“Of course not. I don’t have a son. I just need to teach that kid’s mother a lesson. A mother who can sell her child’s image for a few dollars can do much worse for more money.” Max explained, ridding them of their worry. “We are going to set a date to meet amidst our busy schedule now and then to discuss our progress.” He added. Ryan was confused by his uncle’s arrangement and had to ask, “What about me?” “Oh, Ryan, you already have your plates filled with advancing your career. You should focus on that.” Max suggested. “No! I can manage. And my career is already at the top. I decide what I want to do next, so I can definitely take a break and help. I might not even need to take a break.” Ryan complained. Max knew he would never be able to convince Ryan otherwise, so he decided to give him something to do. “Fine, keep an eye on Arabella. Those people might try to hook her up with some nasty man if she persists.” He said.Everyone became quiet as they dwelled on the thoughts of t
Caleb moved closer and stared at him for a good minute before laughing out sarcastically, “He must have rented it.” He announced which seemed more believable to them. “Rented it? You guys must really think highly of him.” Ashford scoffed, “You need at least $200 to rent a Tom Ford for only an hour. You don’t think he has that much money, you?” He pointed outAria quickly believed his brother knowing how broke he left Max. She moved closer and stared down at him with disdain, “Wearing a low grade Tom Ford and coming over here with so much confidence, are you trying to impress me?” She asked.“Yes.” Max replied bluntly, causing a loud gasp. “He’s become so confident now.” Ava mumbled, still in disbelief of Max’s response. Aria rolled her eyes as she claimed, “I know I am desirable which is the reason I can’t settle for less.” “Let me ask you, If you had a beautiful sister like me, would you allow her to marry a wretched man like yourself?” She asked Max directly. “Of course not. Yo
The room was sent into an awkward silence for a good minute, and while Max stared into her eyes with the thoughts of the pain he’d subject her to once she was finally his, Aria was swept off her feet, mesmerized by his bright blue. Max was handsome and no doubt Aria felt attracted to him looking into his eyes so up close. She has always felt attracted to him, in fact, she had feelings for him, just that he was way too broke that the feelings quickly died. “Replace me?” Tate yelled, pushing him off his shoulder. “Do you think it’s that easy? Aria and I are in love. Don’t think the little change you have now means anything. I am signing a contract with PetroVista soon. I can easily have you fired as one of my terms in the contract. Max scoffed at his statement as he asked, “Love? We were in love too. But I lost my wealth.”“Yeah! You lost your wealth because you don’t even own. As a company owner like myself, I can never lose mine. Especially not upon cooperating with big companies l
“What the hell are you wearing, sir?” Was the first thing Brandon asked as soon as he saw Max stepping out of the car in front of their mansion. Max rolled his eyes, hoping to avoid the question, but as he turned around, he saw his friends, Ryan and even Bryce all ears, ready to hear whatever explanation he had to give. “To cut the long story short, it was used as a collateral to ascertain that I will come for the finalization of the divorce.” He explained, hoping they would understand. They looked at each other confused before Blake went on to ask, “I think everyone is as confused as I am. How does an ordinary suit serve as a collateral? Are they stupid or what?” “Actually, they are! Very stupid to think I rented a Tom Ford. One even said it was fake!” Max complained. “They believed I would make it there since I have to return the suit where I rented it.” He explained, this time, more to their understanding. Carl scoffed in disbelief, “Just when I thought they couldn’t go
“That kinda explains the resemblance.” Blake supported Ryan. “And the importance of the name too.” Carl chimed in his support. Max was shocked by their suggestion with the seriousness of the situation. He laid back and gasped, at loss for words. “Ryan, you’re an actor, right?” Max asked a rhetorical question which Ryan still had to answer. “Yes…” “What was the name of that movie you acted in… ‘A breath away from forever’, right?” He asked again, knowing the answer. Ryan was becoming anxious knowing Max must really be mad about his suggestion but so as not to upset him further, he quickly replied, “Yes.” “Well…that isn’t what we are talking about here, Ryan. If you can’t leave your fictitious life out of this, you might as well stop attending the meeting.” He scolded angrily. “Do you think everything in life is a f@cking drama? Are you also among the people who think I am just an overreacting actor in my life’s drama?” He bellowed furiously. Ryan felt guilty for bringing up s
A satisfying grin spread over Max’s lips as the neon light of the bar cast a glow on the beautiful piece of five-carat diamond ring cradled in his hands, causing it to reflect the diverse colors. “Aria and I have been married for three years, and I haven’t given her any precious gifts. This would be a perfect gift for our anniversary.” He mumbled to himself when a firm hand suddenly jabbed his shoulder, startling him into dropping the ring which landed with a soft thud on the bar counter. “What do we have here, Max?” muttered the snarky middle-aged, obese looking man, “Planning to pawn off some fake jewelry to pay your bills again?” Max always hated Manager Hollis because of his rude and demeaning way of speaking to him, so he wasn't surprised at his statement at all. Rather, he was ready to defend himself. “No sir, this is actually a real five-carat diamond ring.” He defended. “Something you’d never be able to afford.” He mumbled. “What did you just say?” Hollis scoffe
Max snapped his eyes open to a very unfamiliar ceiling. For the first few seconds, he couldn't tell where he was as he scanned his eyes around the room. “Hospital?” He wondered as he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain at the back of his head forced him to lay back down. “Mr. Stratford, you're finally up?” A nurse asked as she walked in and quickly checked his temperature, after which he helped Max sit up. He hissed in pain, asking, “How did I get here?” “The ambulance brought you in.” She replied “You look sturdy. Who would have thought you were so weak?” She mumbled to himself. Max, who heard her clearly, quickly defended himself, “Weak? I was hit from the back! That's one cheap move!” He looked through the window and noticed the sun was already up and remembering he was hit last night. He quickly asked, “How long have I been out?” “15 hours. You spent the night and a substantial part of the day here. You can leave now after paying your bills and getting your drug
"Manager Hollis?" Max mumbled to himself, surprised that he was actually being of help to him for the first time in his life. But Hollis didn't fail to disappoint him again as he went on to say, "So while you're at it, Don’t forget to pay for this too.” Manger Hollis jumped out of nowhere, throwing a bill of $9,750 at him. Max's eyes almost popped out of its socket as he looked through the bill. “$9,750?” He asked in disbelief, “You're supposed to be paying my weekly wages. What's the meaning of this?” He asked again, confused. “Your bill was originally $10,000, and after deducting this week's wages from it, we came up with that.” Hollis explained. Max was still confused as to why he had to pay such an amount of money, so he looked through the bill again, seeing where it was clearly stated he rented out club room 012. “Are you high or something? Why are you giving me this bill? That Tate f*cking Winslow, you should be suing him for harassing a staff member. Why am I be