The sun shone brightly through the windows. The sun rays hit Derek's eyes so he had no choice but to wince and blink. 'A few minutes more please.' thought Derek. With good reason too. He slept like a baby for the first time in his life, on his king size bed. "Oh S***!!! I'm late for work!!" Derek jolted himself awake and for a brief moment, he was in a cold sweat. In that moment, it had not dawned on him that we was no longer Derek Smith; he is Derek Quinton. He thought he was going to be late for work and get bullied by his boss and colleagues. But he soon recalled the events of the day before and quickly calmed down. He remembered that he was fired from his job, thrown out of the Smith mansion, then picked up by Owen Beck to be reunited with his biological parents, the powerful Peter and Lea Quinton. 'That's right. I'm Derek Quinton now. No need to worry about an unrewarding job full of corrupt managers and ass-kissing workers. Nice.' thought Derek.At that point, heard a knock
Lea explained, "The Quinton Consortium is a collection of companies where we either own or have mast majority shares in. We don't invest blindly. Each company under the Quinton Consortium has a minimum net worth of at least $2 billion. We currently have 60 of the top 100 companies in Townsville and other cities around the world under the Quinton Consortium." Peter continued, "So you can imagine son, our Quinton family's net worth and value. Given your young age, your mum and I hope that you can take over our position soon." Derek listened intently with awe of his parents. He knew that they were rich and powerful but he had no idea the levels of wealth and power they actually have attained. But Derek is also quick witted and his mind works like a computer. While he was listening to his parents' explaination and wishes, he was already formulating a plan. "I know time is of the essence mum and dad; and someday I will be responsible enough to take over the whole consortium from you. I
Derek decided to wear his worn-out shoes that he had been wearing for the last two years. This is an additional step to disguise himself from his new found identity. To know who is worth his time or not, he knew he cannot reveal his true identity to the world just yet."Young Master!" a voice called out to him from the Quinton garage. Derek turned and saw the family driver, the same driver he saw the day before that picked him up from the bus stop. "Hi there. Just in time. I'll need a ride to the business district. Can you take me there?""Certainly, Young Master." replied the driver."Thanks a lot. By the way, how may I address you?" asked Derek."My name is Hector, Young Master. I've served the Quinton family as their driver for the last 30 years. I'm honoured to drive you around now Young Master.""Nice to know you, Hector. Oh wait, do you have Owen's number? I forgot to ask him for it. Send me his number and we'll get going." "Not a problem, Young Master. One moment please." Di
'Am I sticking out too much in the crowd? Maybe I should have worn something less casual.' Derek was looking around and started having second thoughts about his dress code. 'Maybe I'll get a couple of cheap suits just to blend in. I see a mall nearby. I'll go explore there.' Holding and sipping away on his cappucino, Derek then proceeded to the shopping mall named The BDT Mall. Inside, there were several men's clothing shops to choose from. Derek decided to window shop first to have a gauge of the prices in the business district. Needless to say, because the vast majority of the people are wearing business suits at the very least, they do not sell as cheap as Derek may think. 'Wow, the average price of the cheapest suits costs about $5,000. If I wasn't a Quinton, I can forget about coming to the HNW zone.' Derek thought in shock and awe. 'Ok this shop looks decent. I'll go in and have a look.' thought Derek. Before stepping in, he made sure to dispose of his finished cup of capp
Barely hours into his first day in the business district; and Derek had already experienced two polar ends of what it means to be working there. He knew, after stepping out of the BDT mall, that he has long road ahead of him.Ding!A message notification interrupted Derek's thoughts. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and read the message.'Young Quinton, I've sent you a pin location of the Quinton Tower. I've also forwarded Amanda's contact to you. Contact her when you arrive. See you later. Owen.''Well...tour time in the HNW zone is over...for today anyway. Time to get down to business.' thought Derek. Before heading over to Quinton Tower, Derek stopped by a nearby food truck to order a steak sandwich for lunch. He wasn't going to waste time dining in a fancy restaurant even though he could. Not this day anyway; he didn't want to be late on his first day.Derek then hailed a cab to go to Quinton Tower. Traffic was surprisingly a breeze despite peak traffic during lunch hours.
Amanda escorted Derek to a private elevator in the Quinton Tower. It was easy to tell that it was a private elevator because there were only a few buttons that connect to the top floors of the building. Once inside the elevator, Derek asked, "So, which level is my new office located?" "The top floor, boss. You'll love the office. I promise you that." replied Amanda confidently, with a wide smile on her face. "Wow. You sound very confident. That's a good trait to have. I look forward to your work." "Thank you boss. I'm really excited to work for you." Amanda replied. Ding! "We're here boss. Welcome to your new office." Amanda ushered Derek in. At first sight, Derek was blown away when he stepped in. The office space itself was the similar to a small startup, full of top of the line furniture, lighting and amenities. "Allow me to show you around, boss." offered Amanda. "Yes, please. Hey, are you sure this is my office? This looks more like a small yet luxurious condo apartment!
It's been two weeks since Derek started his life as Derek Quinton, heir apparent to the Quinton Consortium. During that time, Derek kept his promise to his parents Peter and Lea Quinton and studied the companies he took over that are part of the Quinton Consortium. In that time, Owen Beck made sure Derek's identity is kept secret. Everyday, Derek will disguise himself and not to further draw too much attention, requested Hector to chauffeur him in his family's Mercedes G-class. This type of car is rather common in the Townsville business district and would not arouse any suspicion. Derek would also lunch in to keep studying his companies. Amanda Walsh, Derek's secretary, did her part, taking time and effort to update Derek and keep him up to speed with his companies' events and statuses.These companies deal in various industries, including real estate, media, finance, hotels and resorts.Derek and Amanda were having a discussion on real estate when they heard a knock on the door.
After Peter and Lea Quinton, along with Owen left Derek's office, Derek and Amanda went back to their discussion. "Ok Amanda, we've set the time frame for these three projects. How do you suggest we get started?" "Well boss, we will need to do things simultaneously. For the resort and and BDT mall, our legal team is in the final stages to purchase the land and mall. Meanwhile, we need to launch projects of our own to the public to bid on." replied Amanda."For example?" "Interior designs for the mall and resort, suppliers for the construction, new tenants for to open their businesses etc." "Well our legal team should get the acquisitions done by the end of the week. Get our public relations team to start with announcing we are open to bids for design proposals, both interior and exterior. Get the managers of our construction, real estate and interior design companies involved as well. They need to see who's worth working with and who we can just ignore." "Sounds good, boss. May I
Hi Readers, After nearly a year, Who's the Loser Now is finally complete. I hope you enjoyed reading the original and the sequel as much as I have creating the storylines. Man, this was a long journey. There were so many ways to close this series; but I didn't want to get distracted. So, I decided to end it the series in this manner. I will be taking a short break to celebrate the new year. After which, I will start work on a new novel. So, until then, thank you all so much for your support on Who's the Loser Now. Keep the likes, comments and ratings coming to help promote this novel. Your feedback, as always, is much appreciated. It has been a wonderful journey and this one ends here. Stay tuned for the next journey. Altogether, everyone! (With the characters in the background) Happy New Year!! Love, JDHWS
The cameras were flashing as journalists and reporters gathered at the eagerly anticipated launch of the new mall in Townsville, specifically located near the Townsville Hillside Condo. Standing in front of the main entrance, Desmond and Jocelyn faced the crowd. Desmond then took the mic to address the crowd, "After months of construction, through reported ups and downs, we are happy to announce, on behalf of the Quinton Consortium, the officially opening of Townsville Hillside Mall." said Desmond. He then took his side next to Jocelyn and proceeded to perform the cutting of the ribbon, signalling that the Townsville Hillside Mall was officially opened. Applause rang all around the front as Desmond and Jocelyn opened the front entrance doors, welcoming the crowd into the mall. In another corner of Townsville, Wayne and Kimberly were also dressed sharply; but for a different reason. Joining them were Roland and Elaine Russo, as all four of them stood in front of the main entrance t
"Brother Derek, are you sure about this?" asked Charles as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a tuxedo; but not any ordinary tuxedo. Derek had Charles wear his diamond encrusted tuxedo, the most expensive tuxedo he bought from Nick Lopez when he first found out he was a Quinton. "I'm sure about it, Charles. I know I bought it for me initially; but in all honesty, you wearing this tux means so much more." Derek reassured Charles. "Man, I'm nervous. Brother, how did you even go through your wedding with Ms. Amanda?" asked Charles exasperately. "Desmond told me to take a deep breath to calm my nerves. It could work for you, too." replied Derek. Charles decided to take Derek's advice and took two deep breaths. Surprisingly, he felt much calmer. Then he and Derek heard a knock on the door. In walked Mason, "Brother, are you ready?" asked Mason. "As ready as I'll ever be." replied Charles. All three of them then walked upstairs... to the top deck of Charles's superyach
The prison gate key entered the lock. With a click, the warden opened the cell gate, with mixed emotions. "Madam Louise... it's time." In her cell, Madam Louise looked around the jail cell she had been living in, serving her time for her past wrongs. She thought about the time she spent in the cell, forming a close friendship with the warden, being released early to help Team Quinton and the Phoenix Mafia, eventually being a key player in the fight against Pamela. It was a sad day to leave her family after the fight ended; but heading back to prison was necessary. Thanks to Lea Quinton, however, she did not have to stay in prison any longer. She received a pardon from the Mayor of Townsville; and now, she can leave the Townsville prison freely. She slowly stood up and walked towards the cell door, where she noticed her warden friend had a tear in his eye. Smiling slightly, she wiped the tear away from his eye. "No need to weep for me, young man. We will meet again, outside of t
With the mask worn on his face; and the briefcase full of cash repacked into a duffel bag found in the control room, Charles slung the bag over his shoulder, ready to move out of Pamela's HQ. Before heading out, Charles made sure to surround himself in a nanoshield sphere to avoid any sudden sneak attacks. After which, Charles used his upgraded suit to do a thorough scan, looking to devise an alternate way out of Pamela's HQ. 'Hmmm... it looks like I'm going to have to blast my way out of here. Time to check out what weapons are at my disposal.' Charles thought to himself. Scanning the system in his suit through his mask, Charles was surprised to find various forms of weaponry to pave his way out. "Well then, let's get started." Charles said to himself. However, as we was about to step out of Pamela's control room, an alarm sounded inside of the control room. Red emergency lights were flickering in the control room. Charles turned his direction to one of the screens in the control
"Gerard! Andrea! You certainly have some guts showing your faces here after you betrayed me!" Pamela sneered at the couple. "Lady Boss... wait! We did not betray you." Gerard defended himself. "That's right, Lady Boss! The hostages... they escaped!!" shouted Andrea. "WHAT?!?!?" Pamela shouted angrily. She then turned her attention to Charles, who was standing there, perplexed. "Charles!! You were at the dungeon earlier. You said you saw your team in their cells. Is that true?!?" Pamela asked authoritatively. "Absolutely, Lady Boss. I personally locked up the dungeon after making sure that loser Derek was in his cell." replied Charles. "He's lying, Lady Boss. Charles must still be working with his friends. Somehow, they managed to get their suits from the lab and escape from this place." Gerard said accusingly, pointing at Charles at the same time. "Hold on there, Gerard. Up until just now, when Lady Boss showed me her lab, I did not even know that existed." Charles defended hims
"You tell me, Charles. How did you and that loser escape in the first place?" Pamela asked suspiciously. Charles was calm in his answer, "Well, I found a couple of metal pins in my cell and I used it to pick my cell lock." Charles began. "Once I got free, that's where I hatched my plan. I picked the lock of Derek's cell. I had to convince him that he and I were on the same team in taking you out. So, while the rest were in their cells, which, by the way, they still are, Derek and I made our way out of the dungeon." explained Charles. "Well, you certainly have some talent, unlike that loser. Still, Gerard and Andrea not reporting back is concerning for me." replied Pamela. As she looked at the monitors of the control room, she noticed something peculiar, then she started frowning. "What's wrong, Lady Boss?" asked Charles. "Take a look at that." said Pamela, pointing Charles's attention to one of the monitors surveying the lab. "What about it, Lady Boss?" asked Charles curiously. "C
Before Charles could answer, they heard footsteps approaching the dungeon. Derek passed Gerard's dungeon keys to Charles before he cloaked himself again. In order to play along with Pamela's ploy, Charles quickly opened the dungeon door, placed Victoria gently inside before locking the door again. The footsteps grew audibly closer towards the dungeon door. Charles turned his attention towards the sound of those footsteps and walked in that direction, taking caution to who he might run into. As he turned around the corner, he found out who those footsteps belong to. "Oh my gosh, Esther. What are you doing here?" Charles exclaimed softly as he embraced his girlfriend. "Wait, you shouldn't be here. Didn't Mr. Quinton give you and the rest the order to head to the safehouse?" asked Charles. "I had to come here. I was not going to let that b***h Pamela take you." replied Esther emotionally. Just then, Derek decloaked himself and met up with Charles and Esther. "Esther, so it was you. G
"Ok, Charles, the feed is on." said Pamela. "Take your position, on Derek's right side." "Understood, Lady Boss." replied Charles. Seconds later, everyone, including the people in the Phoenix Bunker, the safehouse and the combined invasion and rescue team saw the live feed on their screens. "Your eyes do not deceive you, Peter. Charles has betrayed you. He has decided to join a real mafia and I will nurture him properly, so he can be a real Don." began Pamela. "As you can see, I have your son as hostage. If you ever want to see Derek again, in one piece and alive, firstly, call off your attack dogs. Secondly, you will, and I mean WILL, surrender your precious Quinton Consortium to me. Oh, before I forget, that includes your so-called Phoenix Mafia as well." "And just in case you think I'm not being serious... " Pamela then did something no one expected. She pressed a button on her control panel; and in the next moment, Ivy's suit emerged from a corner of her control room. 'What th