Dave adjusted on the podium uncomfortably, swallowed as he maintained a tight smile to the crowd whose gazes were fixed on him. That bastard. He seethed within him. He shouldn’t underestimate him. But then, doing what he asks is like betraying Kokura. More like making a fool out of him. His eyes met Kokura who was sitting on the high table.“Don’t try to play smart, Dave. I know you have found a way to acquire the building. You would use the government authority to get us to give it up. Now, here is good news, I give my consent happily! So does Jitsu.” August chuckled playfully. “Now….” August's gaze was now intent on Dave from the far point where he stood. “How will you repay us for our kindness?” He asked with a calm tone that sounded threatening.“Still thinking?” August’s voice came through the receiver after a moment of silence as he tore his gaze away from Kokura who had a smile on his face, obviously enjoying the party of his newfound ally.No one. No one in history has ever pu
“What?” August has always been one to keep calm whenever an issue arises. Especially the ones as dire as this one. Arizona Gaming stole their game? “I couldn’t believe it either…” Greta walked up to them, some strand of her hair already falling on her face. This only happens whenever she was in a dire situation that drove her to the edge. “Those bastards! How did they get exactly our idea?!” She gritted her teeth in rage. “This is bad.” Scot walked up to join them while biting on his nails nervously. “We worked our ass over this game! And the monthly game survey for the most played game in the country is in a week’s time. If we can’t come up with another game, we will…” “They stole our game! We shouldn’t be the agitated one but them!” Greta berated angrily. The tension that stemmed from what Ralph said and her anger merging to make her completely nervous. August pulled out his phone and turned on the live news as he watched Dave’s gaming team introduce the game. “How is that pos
"This is a mess. Just when we are making progress," Greta muttered under her breath in frustration and shoved her hands through her hair as she walked to occupy a vacant seat."But they separated…" Scot immediately added. "But I heard rumors that they’ve gotten back together," he added again, earning him a frustrated groan from Ralph."Stick to one thing, Scot. And how the hell did you even know that?" Ralph said with an irritated look, which had stemmed from his hip being raised and crushed almost at the same time."I am the biggest Stan. We have a fan group of which I am an active member. So we know these things, especially things that are unknown to the public," Scot defended."I can’t believe you have time to support a girl group and still make games," Ralph scoffed, while Scot ignored him."Dave will never let her work for us," Lila shifted her gaze to August, who looked like he was in deep thought."We can never know until we try. Lila, you are coming with me on this trip to mee
"Oh shit." August sighed in frustration as he rolled his eyes the moment his eyes met with Dave who walked up to Hannah and wrapped his hand around her waist and drew her towards him, a smug smile on his face while Hannah tried to push him away.“He is looking at us, what are you doing?” Hannah grunted and tried to free herself but Dave held on tight with his eyes fixed on August.“Don’t worry. He knows about us,” Dave said as Hannah stopped moving and shifted her gaze to August who shrugged and bit his lower lip, suddenly feeling a flush of embarrassment.“I was just about to take my leave… so enjoy,” August said to Hannah and started to leave as Dave shouted after him.“Stay away from my girlfriend!” August stopped on his track with his back still turned to him. “Fuck you,” August muttered under his breath and left the underground car park.“How did it go?” Lila rushed up to meet him as he brushed his hand through his hair. “He knew... That bastard followed me here. I am not sure if
“Hey babe.” Hannah wrapped her arm around August’s neck out of the blue as Dave immediately sprang up, his eyes widened in shock.Hannah removed August’s mask as she smiled broadly at him. “Help me and I will do anything you want later on.” She whispered to August who was trying to grasp everything that was happening too quickly.He wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled. “Babe.”Hannah gave him a thankful smile and turned to look at a dumbfounded Dave.“How dare you?!” Dave seethed and made to lunge at them but August came to stand between Hannah and Dave. “You shouldn’t raise a hand on a lady, Dave. That’s rude.”“Is this some sort of Joke? She is my bloody girlfriend! Now get out of my way you loser!” Dave raved as August stood his ground.“Hannah, what do you think? Are you done with him?” August moved aside a bit as Hanna showed her face a bit.“We are done, Dave. It’s over between us.” She said, even though her tone was not firm. August immediately took note of something. A
"Ta-da!" August exclaimed as he opened the door to the studio he brought them in few minutes ago as everyone, from Dan, Lila to the gaming team stared at the office compartment.When he had announced that they would be moving to another office, they all thought August was out to pull pranks again. Now they were all staring at one of the sleek office spaces ever, the one beyond their imaginations."Lila, come let’s show you to your new office." August led Lila, who was still stunned, to the room marked by glass walls for transparency. Lila’s jaw dropped as she stared at how professional the place looked with the leather chair and huge mahogany desk. "I even have a name tag!" She shrieked as she grabbed the desk nameplate and shrieked."And you Danny boy, you deserve a space of your own, don’t you think?" August asked with a smile as he started to the adjacent room. "Here’s your own personal space…." August said with a note of pride."And for our dear gaming team…." He turned to Bill an
“Hey, George,” August smiled, trying to wave away the tense atmosphere that accompanied George's cold reception as he took his seat on an empty chair opposite where George sat, a huge table with different delicacies of food separating them.“What’s with the half-hearted smile? You look like you’ve been forced to come here, August,” he snorted as August still maintained his smile.“Maybe I was,” August tried to add a hint of humor as he made to serve himself, but George stopped him as he hit his hand on the table fiercely, shocking everyone in attendance.“Do I look like a joke to you, August?” George asked with a sarcastic laugh as August raised his head slowly to look at George, his patience already running out. As if Charlie, who sat beside George, noticed, he immediately chimed in. “Come on George, don’t be a killjoy. We are not college kids any longer. We are now successful people in different fields. Give August a break,” Charlie spoke softly to George, as if he didn’t want Augus
"Come on, guys, let’s not turn the reunion into a battle. We are here to meet each other after years of not seeing each other. Let’s not make it a sour event," Charles immediately chimed in, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere, but the electric gaze August and George exchanged at that point wasn’t something more words could cut off."August…" Charles tapped on August’s hand as August narrowed his gaze at him. "You were here when he was challenging me. Everyone was listening. It wouldn’t be good if I backed down now, would it?" He asked as Charles sighed in frustration and moved close to August to whisper. "Hey, I am trying to save you here, okay? We both know you don’t have a dime. Ignore that dork. He is just trying to show off since he got a raise recently. The bill in this restaurant is no joke, and I heard George is paying more part of it," Charles pleaded and straightened back on his seat while August slowly shifted his gaze back to George."He is trying to help out. Just list
“I think you’re mistaken, Miss. I hope you can check through again in case you missed something….”“Are you trying to teach me my job?” The receptionist snapped, shocking Aliya with her abrupt outburst.A mere receptionist was talking to her rudely, and there was nothing she could do. They weren't in the same league, but if she caused a scene with this secretary here, what would the trillion-dollar company think of her?She pressed her lips together for a while, trying to suppress the growing anger within her.“I am not trying to teach you anything, Miss. I only want a chance to meet the chairman,” Aliya managed to muster in a calm tone.“And I am telling you right now that there is no room for you, Miss. Please leave, or I will have security drag you out,” she hissed impatiently and shifted her attention to the system in front of her.Aliya wasn’t sure how to behave afterward. Even from the beginning, this whole thing had worn her out. Pushing through was something she was barely cop
“I can’t believe you agreed to it just like that, Grandfather.” Simon walked into Pa West’s study room later that evening to vent. Even though he had looked calm when everything was concluded earlier, deep down he was pissed.“Don’t be such a fool. Didn’t you realize the stunt that loser was trying to pull? He is trying to delay the vote to take down his wife.” Pa West took a gulp of his liquor while seated on the luxurious leather seat in the room. He relaxed backward and gave a satisfied groan as the liquid went down his throat.“If we had dismissed his suggestion like that, the shareholders might start to think we only want to remove Aliya due to personal reasons. These people don’t give a fuck about sentiments. All they care about is profits. And Allen, that weird pauper, knew that and played his card well.” He placed his hand on his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. “I wonder how he got the idea to bring in the trillion-dollar company into this. He talks about the company like
“The both of you could compete for who could bag the contract with the trillion-dollar company,” August suggested with a confident look. “I am sure the owners won’t mind if they see that the West Corporation is enthusiastic to work with them.”“Don’t be ridiculous,” Simon chuckled as he tried to wave off the suggestion. “They would think the company is divided if my sister and I submit different proposals to them for the same company.”“And who said you would be the next chairman if it isn’t Aliya? What do you take me for?” Landon immediately cut in as Simon shifted his gaze slowly to meet his enraged brother.“Shut up and stop embarrassing yourself, Landon.” Pa West seemed to be pissed too as a deep frown formed on his face.Landon gritted his teeth as he tried to hold himself from speaking again. But he knew better. His grandfather, who was his only backer, was solidly behind Simon. It felt like all he had been working hard for was a waste. He had been fighting Aliya all this while
“This is why I keep talking about the importance of marrying people with brains. How could you just suggest something like that?” Landon spoke up, immediately seizing the opportunity to humiliate August again while August maintained his calm and composed look.He stared straight ahead without sparing Landon a look. He knew Landon was dying to see him crumble. Too bad he was done being a punching bag to them. This would be the beginning of their sorrows.“You always end up saying nonsense whenever you open that mouth of yours. What the hell do you know about business, huh?” Pa West asked.“Do you truly care about my sister? Do you actually want her to lose her position deep down?” Simon asked with a cocky grin. As always, he was the only one who made a point.Normally, they were supposed to just agree to it and watch Aliya fail because bagging a deal with a trillion-dollar company is like an ant trying to move a mountain. The West Corporation is a small company and not among the top th
Simon noticed how Aliya entwined her fingers together. He could already see how tense she was, and he would definitely use that to his advantage. He was always like this—watching with sharp eyes like an eagle and pouncing on his prey when they let their guard slightly down.“Are you tense, sister? If you’re uncomfortable about the whole arrangement and would prefer not to go through with it, you can just step down willingly. Everyone would understand that you’ve grown wary over the years and would like to focus on your family now,” Simon said with a cool gaze, making a face as if he was truly looking out for her.“Don’t be ridiculous, brother. Just because I am a married woman doesn’t make my career hopeless. Forget about stepping down—I dare you to say you are capable of handling West Corporation half as well as I have,” Aliya said in a cocky tone, causing Simon to clench his fist, which was placed on the table.It wasn’t always easy to get her brother to lose his composure, but when
“Did the beating affect your head? What the hell are you saying?” Aliya laughed, not taking his words seriously. He didn’t blame her. He is a pauper with nothing to his name. How could he possibly help her?“You will see how I will make everything easy for you.” August sat up, brushed away the hair covering her face, and placed a peck on her forehead. Aliya watched him, unsure how to react.She pressed her lips and watched him in silence as he lay back. “Could you get me an apple, please?” he asked politely.Aliya, who was deep in thought, shook her head as she came back to reality. She flashed him a smile and nodded. “Sure,” she said and started to walk out of the room.“Babe,” he called when she grabbed the doorknob and was about to open the door. “Make sure to take your time,” he said with a calm smile.Aliya gave him a half-suspicious look before nodding.Immediately after she left, August located his phone by the bed stand and dialed Lila.“That was quick,” she commented the mome
“I will do neither, and none of you has the right to make me do any of it if I don’t want to,” Aliya said stubbornly.“You are testing my patience, girl,” Pa West gritted his teeth. As Aliya made to say something, August held her hand. She turned to look at him, an almost helpless look on her face. August shook his head.“I don’t care,” Aliya still turned around to say. “You all should go to hell for all I care!” she blurted in annoyance and made to leave when Landon rushed after her and grabbed her other hand.Aliya swung around to find Landon staring deadly at her. He raised his hand to slap her. “How dare you speak to Grandfather like that!” he berated.August couldn’t believe what had just happened. He stared wide-eyed at his wife’s now reddened face. He grabbed Landon by the collar. “How dare you!” he fired at him.Landon had never seen August like this. August rarely spoke, but now he looked like an enraged lion about to pounce on its prey.“You crazy psycho. Get your hands off
“What! No!” Aliya blurted out almost immediately, glaring at anyone who dared to look at her.“Are you glaring at me right now because of this piece of trash?” Pa West asked, a disgusted look on his face as August's fist clenched. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t used to people treating him like trash. In the past, he would usually put whoever tried to cross him in their place. Dave's case was a perfect example. At that moment, he felt a sudden urge to reincarnate that part of him that he killed years ago.But he couldn’t do that. He had managed through all this while. Besides, he barely cared about insults as long as Aliya was still very much in love with him. But what he wouldn’t tolerate was anyone trying to take her away from him.“She is feeling like a big shot because Dad made her the CEO, Grandfather. Uncultured people like her, who are raised by nobodies, will always act like they want. It’s so disappointing,” Landon chipped in, indirectly insulting her mother.“How dare you insult
August walked into the room that seemed as quiet as a graveyard. It was the exotic living room of the Wests. They were among the wealthy people in the country, more like among the second tier when it comes to ranking from top to bottom. But theirs was the best of the second tier. They were not to be trifled with at all. With the kind of achievements Aliya had made for the company, it had grown significantly over the last five years. Besides that, August used his secret connections with influential people he had worked with in the past to help Aliya secretly.“Babe, you’re here,” Aliya said, walking toward him the moment she noticed August standing in the doorway.August was carried away by the sight of the familiar yet unfamiliar man sitting on the single-seat couch in the middle of the room. He suddenly realized why nobody bothered to use that particular seat in the room. It was reserved for someone.Pa West. The head of the West family who had been away from the family for the past