Simon Black shamefully knocked on the entrance to the Black Manor. It had been over a week since the entire fiasco with Benjamin at the Auctions, and the eventual sale of the Obsidian towers to him. Simon had, instead of returning home for the past couple of days, locked himself miserably in the Millennium Hotel Downtown, trying to drink away the feeling of utter uselessness and incompetence, but more importantly, trying to comprehend how in high heavens had the Son of a Pauper, that Benjamin Black, how had he risen to such heights? He woke up the next day still drunk, still in possession of the deed of sale that had been transferred over to Ivy Corporations, which was apparently that Pauper's new company. So, it definitely wasn't a a dream or some wicked nightmare. The pauper had come into some serious money! In the second day, no sleep came into Simon Black's eyes. Imagining the possible repercussions, imagining the humiliation. The drinks kept piling up, and the hotel dispensed
“What the fuck is wrong with you people?!! Are hotels supposed to reveal sensitive information like that to the general public? What if someone was trying to kill me?!”“I didn’t - I wasn’t the one on the phone, Mr-“ she stuttered.“Then get me who did! I swear, everyone is going to pay. I’ll shut down the Millennium Hotel myself! Today!”The woman continued to shiver. She had been pushing a small trolley when Simon had approached her in the hallway, laden with bottles of expensive wine and spirits. Her fists shook with the handle, destabilizing the entire trolley.“Did you hear what I just said?” repeated Benjamin.“I’m - I’m on my shift, Mr Black.“ The woman had retreated shut. Simon swiped several of the bottles atop the cart, sending them crashing onto the rugs. A few of them broke.“Consider your shift over. Now take me to the manager.” Simon trailed behind her as she dragged the trolley into the elevator, and punched a button for the ground floor. He massaged hisn head on the wa
Before he had a chance for another thought, they blocked his path.“What the fuck is this?” asked Simon loudly, looking carefully at three of them. It was then he recognized the one in the middle. He was a usual guard and envoy for the Black family! “Mr Simon” started the manager from behind. Simon turned to look at him. “I think you should at least listen to what I have to say.” He continued. Simon ignored him once more and turned to the family guars.“Why are you here?” he asked the guard most familiar to him. “Didn’t I leave you back at the house after we finished the auctions? Were you having me followed?” he asked them. Not a single response. That seemed to be it, then.“On whose orders, were you having me followed?” bellowed Benjamin, but he had a sneaking suspicion as to the identity behind the operation. She has been busy, thought Benjamin, referring to Mrs Black.“Answer Me!” he barked again.“Mr Simon” started the Manager again, creeping behind Simon. “You must forgive
“Mr Simon, may I ask when you are planning on filing the lawsuit? It would make my report look a whole lot neater.” Asked the manager, grinning. This bastard! thought Simon. It was obvious there would be no way for Simon to sue the hotel since he would be suing his family’s company! The Blacks were a major stakeholder, after all.This manager was just a little bit too smug. “You son of a bitch” gnarled Simon.“Now, now, Mr Simon. There is no need for that kind of language" the manager said, approaching. “You caused quite the stir there, I just want to make sure that we are satisfying your wants,” he said, sardonically. “You think I can’t come after you because you work for my mother?” asked Simon, bluffing.“Not at all Mr Simon, I am only interested in your well-being” said the manager, with a tone that was difficult to decipher. “Allow me to say this, on behalf of the hotel Millenium, Mr Simon, I take all the responsibility and apologize for the way you have been treated until now.”
But something moved. Something moved ever so slightly that it had taken until this moment for Simon to even notice his presence. It was the youngest member of the Black Family. James Black turned a few pages on the journal he had on his lap, making no apparent observation of anything or anyone around him.Simon, at least relaxed. His mother, Joanne Black, was nowhere in sight. He coughed a little to get his brother’s attention. James, however, continued, his light reading uninterruptedly. “You’re back, Brother,” said James, not looking up from his book.“Uhh, yeah, obviously” started Simon, finding a place to sit among one of the sofas. “This is definitely a surprise. What are you doing outside your room?” Simon asked. James had belonged to that category of persons who shut themselves indoors to pursue their innate interests.His mother and father had not usually berated him over it, considering he was still under 18. It was a behaviour they hoped he would eventually grow out of, and
“I’m correct, aren’t I? And If I remember correctly, the sticker price, what we paid for construction and land and the permits a few years ago, everything was a sum total of 65 million dollars.So, not only have we lost out 15 million, actually accounting for inflation, it’s way more than that, somewhere around 30 million we’ve lost, and instead of negotiating for part ownership or something, and now we have actual cash of 55 million, which is depreciating in the bank every single hour? Is that what you mean by liquidating?” asked James.The concept of cash depreciation had totally skipped Simon’s mind. He leaned back on the sofa, groaning. “Someone would almost think that you were trying to screw us intentionally” added James.“No! Fuck, I swear that’s not what happened.” Pleaded Simon.“I know, but Mother and the rest of the board wouldn’t have seen it that way, which is why I needed to step in” stated James.Simon looked at his younger brother, really looked, he wasn’t even old en
“Then you pretended to wait for a call from this Mr Jenkins and decided for the farthest possible hospital away from here. Once we were gone, you would tell the police that you just saw us fleeing from the scene, and a long chase downtown would ensue. We would be handcuffed before we had a chance to tell our side of the story.” finished Benjamin's tale. Amber stood amazed, marvelling at Benjamin’s insight. Nicole, on the other hand, was convinced she was in a nightmare. "Well?" asked Benjamin. Nicole stuttered and muttered words that were only comprehensible to herself. If she was physically able, she would have begun to foam at the mouth. She took shorter and shorter breaths, steeping back away from them, darting her eyes around, looking to see if anyone had overheard Benjamin's analysis. Benjamin slicked back his hair satisfactorily. "That confirms it, then," he said. "Confirms what?!" snapped Nicole. "I think the city police have their first murder suspect on the case of Mr Ki
Benjamin was puzzled too. Did MedHill hold that type of reputation to admit an A-list CEO, or was it a distance thing? Sy Claire's was as equally far away as Med Hill, on either side of town. Maybe it was traffic? But Benjamin was unsatisfied. He suspected something else in play.Amber made another high-speed turn, shaking the entirety of the cabin, Benjamin in the passenger side, and Nicole in the rear-facing seats. On the third turn, Nicole had started banging her head on the A-pillars. [Warning: Incoming Notification from Driver's Skill] [Warning: Incoming notification from Driver's skill] [Warning: Incoming Notification From Driver's skill] "What the hell is all this?" Benjamin muttered to himself. "Allow me to explain, Sir." Started PAYTON. "It would seem that the system is trying to relay a message to you, the host, but the message is locked upon the activation of the target skill" it explained. "The skill in question this time looks to be [Driver's POV]" "Alright. Activat