Lenard Finley stormed into Mr Ben’s ward, glaring daggers at him. “You foolish man!” He roared. “What were you thinking, damaging my taxi like that?!”Adrian looked at the man inquisitively before Mr Ben whispered to him in explanation. “He’s the manager of the taxi company.”A second man, who looked to be around the same age as Mr Ben shuffled in behind Lenard. His eyes held a glint of disappointment as he stared at Mr Ben. This man was Lin Cheng, the sick friend who Mr Ben filled in for.“Mr Finley, I apologize for damaging the car.” Mr. Ben voiced out in a strained voice. “It wasn’t intentional-”“I don’t care if it was intentional or not!” Lenard spat as his eyes glinted with disdain.You have to pay for the damages. And Lin, this is all on you. Why did you allow such an irresponsible person to fill in for you?” Lin’s hands balled into a fist, his frown deepening. “Benjamin, you call yourself my friend and you do this to me? My job is now at stake because of you. I shouldn’t have
Lenard’s phone escaped from his grasp, clattering to the ground as soon as he saw the notification indicating that the fourth transfer was successful. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gulped nervously, his bravado crumbling completely.“Well, Mr Lenard,” Adrian began, his voice laced with amusement. “It looks like you’ve lost the bet. Time to fulfill your end of the deal.”Lenard’s face contorted into a mix of horror and despair. His eyes frantically darted round the room, searching for an escape route. “This…this is unacceptable!” He sputtered. “There’s no way a lowly migrant worker like you could have that kind of money! How am I sure those transfers weren’t fake?”“Stop trying to weasel your way out of the bet like a coward, Mr Lenard.” Adrian countered, a slight edge to his voice. “The transfers I made are as real as the holes in your singlet. So, instead of making excuses, take off your fourth piece of clothing and declare yourself the fool that you are.”Lenard’s rotund
Adrian glanced at Bright, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he racked his brain for memories of him. After a few seconds, he recalled who Bright was—his high school classmate.“Bright, it’s you? I see you are the manager here.” Adrian pointed out casually.Janice felt a sense of panic rise within her, seeing that Bright was familiar with Adrian. “Sir, I didn’t know you two were acquainted. I’m sor-” She began to apologize but Bright cut her off.“No need to apologize, Janice. He's just a...loser that I went to the same high school with.” Bright's voice dripped with disdain as he glared at Adrian. “What are you doing here?”Adrian’s annoyance grew when he remembered how rudely Janice had treated him. “I wanted to buy some herbal supplements but your subordinate here,” he gestured to Janice, “was completely unprofessional. I suggest you keep her in line.”Bright chuckled as he eyed Adrian with distaste. “Who are you to decide if Janice was unprofessional? You are merely a poor and shab
Jacob Stone strode towards the entrance of his traditional wellness pharmacy with distinguished steps. He was dressed in a midnight suit and clean white Nike Air Force ones. As soon as he swung the glass doors open, he was greeted with the sight of his two employees accosting a young man using two security guards. He frowned at this; wasn’t that young man a customer?He made eye contact with one of the employees, Bright Peters, the manager, who immediately scurried towards him, subconsciously straightening his tie. “Welcome, Mr Stone,” he greeted nervously. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”“The owner, Jacob Stone is here. It’s about to get worse for that bumpkin.” Someone whispered in mock pity.Immediately, the security guards heard Jacob’s name and let Adrian go. Janice equally spotted Jacob and maintained a professional posture as she bowed to him in respect.“Bright," Jacob spoke sternly, his gaze fixed on Adrian. "Why is that man being harassed by security? Isn't he a cust
Adrian went back to the hospital with the herbal supplements and handed them to Doctor Arnold. Then, he made his way to Mr. Ben’s ward to discuss an important issue with him.Mr. Ben was stuffing his face with cookies when Adrian arrived. On noticing Adrian’s presence, he placed the cookies on his bedside table. “Adrian, you’re back.” He smiled at him. “A beautiful young woman had been keeping me company for a while. It’s not been long since she left.”Adrian nodded. He guessed the beautiful woman Mr Ben was talking about was Ashley. He took a seat on the chair next to Mr Ben’s bed and regarded him with a curious expression as he realized that he hadn’t seen any of his family members. “Mr Ben, what about your family members? How come they haven’t come to see you?”“Well,” Mr Ben began, his voice tinged with fondness. “My wife and daughters went to spend thanksgiving with my mother-in-law in her hometown. They should be back by next week.”“Oh, that explains it.” Adrian replied in unde
On Regina’s insistence, Adrian took her to Elegantè Couture, a high end boutique in Wibston to purchase the dinner gown. Regina gawked in awe as they stepped into the store. The atmosphere was lively as various high class men and women shopped to their heart’s content. The polished hardwood floor of the boutique glistened under the soft lighting and complimented the walls that were covered in neutral colored wallpapers. Her eyes darted towards the Dinner wear section. “Follow me,” she commanded Adrian as she made her way down the well-lit aisle.“Oh my,” Regina breathed, as she took in all the different gowns displayed beautifully on the clothing racks. Velvet, silk, and satin pieces shimmered in every direction and each gown had a tag displaying its price. Her hands hovered over a velvet sapphire blue dress which caught her eye and just as she was about to graze the fabric with her fingers, a young female attendant, wearing a white and blue uniform stopped her.“Ma'am, please refrai
Regina’s hands fidgeted nervously with the gown in her hands as she discovered its whooping price tag. “It costs seventy-five thousand dollars?! She shrieked, her voice echoing in the boutique and alerting the attention of customers who stared at her like she had gone crazy. To them, $75,000 was merely a trivial sum of money to feel so bothered about.Adrian stared amusingly at Regina’s wide eyes. She was probably feeling so unnerved because she had incurred astronomically more than the spending limit of $5000. “Ma’am, kindly reduce your voice.” The shop attendant said calmly. “You are disturbing our customers.Worry gnawed at the back of Regina’s mind. There was no way she could afford to pay such an amount for a dress, not when Anita was on a budget. How could she have been so careless? “The amount for the damages is $8000, so coupled with the cost of the dress, you would be paying a total amount of $83,000.” the shop attendant continued, completely oblivious to the raging tumult
Anita furrowed as she felt a headache coming on. Today was turning out to be one of the most stressful days of her life. “Mom, what on earth did you do to incite a debt of $83,000!” she scolded, her voice laced with exasperation. “I clearly told you not to not exceed $5,000. What do you mean Adrian has to take the blame and how did it bring about getting a divorce?”Regina flinched at the sharp tone of Anita’s voice. “Well,” she hesitated. “I accidentally ruined a dress worth $75,000 and I have to pay for it as well as damages of $8,000. Since your good-for-nothing husband can’t contribute a dime to help me out, then he should work for the store until he covers the amount of the debt or…he leaves you alone to marry someone capable.”“Work for the store?” Anita reiterated. “Do you even hear yourself, Mom? You’re the one who messed up, so why should he take the blame? I can’t believe you right now!”“B-but…he’s your husband.” Regina sputtered defensively. “It’s his responsibility to loo