It seemed like Arnold was a magnet for a lot of work — whether physical or not. As soon as he returned to the city, Mr Xiu bombarded him with a lot of work. It was like Mr Xiu had piled up all the work that he had missed in the three days he had called in sick and kept it, waiting for him to get back and do it.The sun was high in the sky, blazing through the car and the office, alike. He was just coming back from Mr Xiu’s office after a long, hectic day engaging in a lot of strategic and analyzing discussions with the old man.He all but slapped himself on his head as he remembered, yet again, how he’d lied through his teeth to his mentor.Mr Xiu had asked him how he was fairing, relating to the fact that he’d called in sick for three days at a row. He’d lied about his health through his teeth. Even though he hated that he had to do that, he knew it was for the best. It was better than having to explain that he had spent three days, holed up in the same room with the old man’s daught

The night air smelt like roses and opportunities. Arnold sniffed it in briefly, before walking towards the club for the second night in a row. This time, Zach had driven him all the way here before getting off for the day. He rarely used his driver now, only calling him to drive him on certain occasions."Arnold!" an angry voice yelled out his name.Oh, great, such a lovely way to welcome me here, he thought.He turned abruptly towards the direction of the voice instantly, finding it oddly familiar. But, who knew him by his name around here?The person came into view and he regretted his choice of turning to look instantly. It was Sasha, the very woman he'd put on a good fighting show just to have fun with her for a night and earn some juicy reward from the system (more like, avoid some scandalous effect if he failed). Also, the very woman who had made him to almost lose his friend, Jia.He rolled his eyes.He absolutely despised one night stands who just couldn't get the memo, but ins

Arnold got the meeting way sooner than he even expected. It seemed his threat to Mr Cain had been very effective. He'd never have guessed the man was such a scaredy cat. It was funny because he was a big talker, meanwhile just a little beating and some video threat and he was running at Arnold's command.It was another day at the office and he knew he had a long day ahead. He would leave early in order to meet the big three investors.He looked at the meeting location one more time. Then he typed it on Google to confirm his suspicion. It was indeed their business headquarters right in the heart of the city."Wow," Arnold said to himself. "I really should threaten more people to get what I want and better."He looked up towards the corner of the office now, and found Harry, blending in with the walls in the background. As usual. The big guy had a way to relegate into the background like he didn't exist even though he had a big frame one would think make him stick out like a sore thumb

The big three loved to talk big. It was expected, but it was equally tiring to Arnold. After they had come in, nearly catching him as he downloaded their files into his USB flash drive, they sat down around the big table in the meeting room, and immediately launched into long talks about things he genuinely had no interest in nor did he intend to have interest in.He counted the amount of office pins he could find lying around. He counted the amount of times Mr Evans drank water, always heading towards the fridge to get another small bottle that looked even smaller in his chubby hands. He did just about anything to keep himself from falling asleep.“Are we boring you?” Mr Kim asked, midway in a speech about how they had singlehandedly built the gold mine.Arnold opened his eyes wider and yawned. “No.”Mr Kim nodded and continued talking. The irony of Arnold’s reply was lost on him.They went on, the three of them boasting to their fill. Cain was the only one who said very little. If

With Lisa gone and his boner, too, Arnold went back to what had kept him up all night long — going through the files contained in the USB flash drive. He was dedicated to finding dirt. Like a hobby. Like a need. Whichever, he had to find something, anything.His phone buzzed a few minutes into scrolling and reading at files endlessly. He looked at the caller ID and his face lit up instantly. It was Jia.He picked the call instantly, clearing his throat."Jia," he said, trying to sound chill when, in fact, he was happy to speak to her."Arnold! How have you been doing?""I've been fine, thank you.""Are you free this evening?"He sat up. "Why? Is there a problem?"She laughed nervously. "No, no, there's no problem. I just wanted to, you know, invite you for dinner."His ears perked up. "Dinner? That's cool!""Yeah. It's just my way of saying thank you for the time you spent with me at my grand aunt's place and all the help you rendered.""Oh, it's fine. You don't have to do that.""Don