"Hey Claire," Claire's manager rose to his feet and pulled Claire into a hug. His eyes raked over her, "You look stunning."Claire blushed. "Thank you." Then her eyes took in his expensive suit, usual cologne, and equally expensive shoes and she almost rolled her eyes. It used to mean a lot to her before but now, she knew that his outfit altogether was not worth the door to Brad's apartment. But she smiled anyway, "You don't look bad yourself, Gary."Gary spread his arms, his ego getting bloated. He had intentionally worn one of his most expensive tuxedos. Then he tapped her lightly on her bare arm, "Happy birthday once again." He picked up his wineglass from the table and raised it. "Cheers to an equally stunning year." Claire chuckled delightedly, "Thank you, Gary." She clasped her hands together, "And thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.""Come on. It's my pleasure." Gary's gaze suddenly slid to the man beside Claire. He nodded slightly toward his direction wondering who

Immediately after he said that the man closest to him rushed at Brad, his broken pipe with the pointy edge was raised in the air, ready to strike Brad but his breath was knocked out as Brad sent a punch in his guts. The pipe fell from his hand and he let out a loud painful groan as he was thrown back.The others shook their heads at him. He was the second in command to their leader and they wondered how he had let Brad defeat him that easily. With a shout, they rushed toward him one after the other but Brad expertly sent a punch up their ass or in their face that kept sending them reeling back. The men who hadn't attacked yet and the ones who had managed to get back on their feet saw that Brad might turn out to be more of a challenge than they had thought so they decided to all go at him at once.Brad's muscles bulged. He saw that only his punches would not keep them away again so he picked up the broken pipe and baseball bat that had fallen. Brad's head turned from side to side as

Claire's eyes gleamed as she pulled away from Brad. She was filled with sheer joy as she picked the earrings from the box. "I'll put it on," she said, already putting on the earrings. "How do I look?" She held her hair to the back so that Brad would be able to see the jewelry on her. Brad took in her grin and the glow on her face. He hadn't expected that the gift would make her this happy. He had just gotten it as an afterthought. "Brad?" He shifted his gaze to her ear when he heard his name. The earring was fine and it looked okay on her, he guessed. Well, he didn't know and he didn't care. He shrugged, "I guess it's okay. It looks fine on you." Brad saw Claire's cheeks turn pink even though her smile dimmed a little. "Thank you," she muttered. She had been expecting a more grand compliment but she guessed he was still coming around with the idea that he liked her. Claire glimpsed her parents still watching them from the entranceway. She could see their expressions but she co

"Shut it right there, Claire," Claire's mother burst out sternly. "Why will you have a man like Gary and still insist on a good for nothing?!" She passed Brad a scowl."Can you not see the stark difference, Claire?" Claire's father held her shoulders tenderly and tried to speak sense into his daughter's head. "Can you not see that Gary is responsible? Have you ever caught him in a fight or the company of criminals?""Dad," Claire furiously shrugged his hands off her shoulders, "What are you insinuating? That my boyfriend is a criminal?"Claire's mother closed her eyes in frustration. When she opened them back, she shouted at Claire. "Will you stop calling him your boyfriend?!""I will not stop because he is! Brad is my boyfriend!""So you want to spend the rest of your life struggling to get your basic needs, is that what you want?" Her mother held her gaze, "Your father and I have always made sure you have everything. Now you want to leave a very suitable and successful man and go fo

Claire looked back at the car again. If her brief knowledge of cars wasn't failing her, she recognized the car as a Jaguar model. If she didn't know how deep Brad's pocket was, she might have been swayed but now, she just rolled her eyes. She could bet her pinky toe that the amount of only the necklace Brad got her would solidly be half the price of that car."See?" Gary was looking at the car with pride. "Very different from these junks that wretched man gave you." He fingered the teddy and shoebox in Claire's arms and she defensively pulled them away from his reach. Gary chuckled, "For real, how much is a bouquet? How much are all these things out together? It wouldn't even feed a street dog for a week. This is what you deserve, Claire. It is what befits a royalty like you."Cakure let out a frustrated breath. If only this had happened some weeks back, when she hadn't made the deal with Brad then she would have been stuck with the arrogant Brute and she wouldn't even have an idea."