CHAPTER TWENTYCold sweats were streaming down Drake’s face.He stepped forward and summoned every courage in him to respond,“We will not go back on our word. We will pay for it.”As he spoke he gave a pleading look towards his grandmother.There is no way he could find four hundred thousand dollars this evening so he unconsciously took a step towards grandma Jones like he little poor puppy.Grandma Jones forced a smile and said to Mr. Collins,“It was our fault tonight. Mr. Collins please don’t hold it against us and don’t worry, we’ll get you the money right away.”After saying that, she turned to the Jones family member who were in the banquet hall,“We can’t let Drake pay all the expenses tonight. Each of you should contribute five thousand dollars, the rest of the money will be paid by Drake and me.”Everyone nodded in agreement.They had no choice but they wanted to look like they were okay with it.However, two of them couldn’t hide their concerned and had very embarrassed exp
Collins remembered all the good things Kevin had done for him in the past and said,“It’s hard to change old habits, boss… ehrm, I mean Kevin”You could hear everyone’s heave sigh of relief.They didn’t understand why Collins would call Kevin bossStill, everyone wondered on how Kevin and Mr. Collins knew each other.Kevin asked his friend,“If you could just ask the waiter confirm the price of my table, I could give you my card to pay.”With a big smile, Collins shook his head replied,“Your money is no good here. Put your card away.”He was going to give Kevin his meal for free.Then he told the hotel manager that Kevin’s meal would be free even in the future.Kevin was stunned and he opened his mouth to speak but Collins immediately understood and quickly changed his offer.“How about I give you a discount? A fifty percent discount!”He turned to the hotel manager and said,“Please go ahead with Mr. Williams bill and bring it back to me.”The hotel manager quickly nodded,“Right aw
Kevin raised his eyebrows when he remembered Eliana WhitesWhat a nice surprise!He was very happy that she was doing well too.Kevin met Eliana when he lost his briefcase in a wine shop.She was working in the shop and noticed that he’d left it behind.When she went outside with the briefcase, Kevin had just gotten into his car and left.Eliana ran after him for three blocks and tried to catch up with him.When Kevin finally remembered that he forgot his briefcase, he made a U-turn and saw her standing there, out of breath holding his briefcase in her hands.Kevin found out that Eliana wanted to start her own business so he formed a partnership with her.He also gave her a hundred thousand dollars just like he gave Collins.He didn’t really expect Eliana to be so sharp at running a businessWhat he was sure of was that she was honest and hardworking.After all, she had chased him for three blocks to return his briefcase.In just a few short years, she actually built the West Veridoni
Simon was shocked to see his boss.“Mr. Collins, Miss. President… what a pleasant surprise”Simon dropped his hand and with a big smile on his face, he quickly went to greet the two of them.Collins glared at him and brushed his hand anyway,“Who the hell are you!? Do you want to take a swing at me too?”Simon was shaking,“No, no, no. It was this man who was looking for trouble and I was just trying to scare him. You see Mr. Collins, I just got promoted. My name is Simon Hunter and I’m the new manager of the entire region. Of course I wasn’t going to hurt him, I’ll get someone to take him out right now!”Simon knew that Collins had a very good relationship with the company’s president, Eliana.Plus, he knew how powerful the man was so he had to suck up to him“Regional manager, is it? Eliana, I think you know what to do.”Collins was too tired to waste any of time speaking with Simon.Eliana couldn’t believe that Kevin was almost beaten up in her company headquarters.She turned to S
All of them was indebted to Kevin and that was why they all came together to search for him.This was pretty much how they got to know each other.Antoine spoke first,“Kevin! We have been looking for you for years! If only we thought of looking for you right here in Veridonia.”He sat across Kevin and looked him in the eyeThe man looked like he was about to cry,Kevin chuckled,“It’s really been too long, Antoine. I can’t believe this is your bar. You have done well for yourself!”Antoine smiled broadly when he heard Kevin’s praise.He stroked his chin and laughed.Kevin smiled and shook his head when he saw this,“You’re still the same as before, Antoine. You’re a big man but deep down, you’re like a little boy. Are you starting to blush?”Everyone laughed.“So, Enoch what are you up to? Are you working together?”Kevin looked at the tall handsome friend who was wearing a black casual outfit.Eliana answered the question,“Enoch is doing very well… he runs a security company. His e
Kevin had a mocking look on his face.He said firmly,“He seemed very early, don’t worry about him now. Please contact the Jones family directly. Let them know that, since they have ignored my previous instructions, our agreement with them will be void if they send him here again. If they want to continue to work with us, then they must ensure that all cooperate matters will be handled by Lily and Lily alone, otherwise we have nothing to talk about.”Kevin felt a headache so he closed his eyes and slept back on the sofa.He gentle rubbed the space between his eyebrows.Miss. Johnson nodded,“Sir Drake Jones will have to leave for good if the Jones family still want the agreement to be valid?”“Yes!”Drake sat for a long time in the first floor waiting room.Just as he was getting impatient and was about to go to the front desk for an update, he received a call from Grandma Jones asking him to head home.When he hung up the phone, Drake had a puzzled look on his face.His grandmother
Lily decided to question Kevin instead of thinking about the Williams Media partnership.“Where did you go last night?”When Kevin didn’t come home last night, she felt more uneasy.She had so many questions to ask him about yesterday but he never came home from the banquet.“I was chatting with an old friend. It was too late and I had too much to drink so I just slept there.”“Old friend? Is Mr. Collins from the Whitefield hotel your old friend?”Lily put down the glass and looked at Kevin.“That’s right.”Kevin didn’t want to hide more things from his wife so he just decided to say the truth.Lily was a little bit disappointed to hear his answer.After thinking for few seconds, she sighed.Leaning back on the sofa, she said“I don’t know how you are such good friends with Mr. Collins. Seeing how you were chatting with him last night, I guess I will just have to believe you.”Lily was still wondering on how Kevin happened to know Mr. Collins so well.After expressing her doubts to he
The next morning…Lily got up early and left work.Immediately Kevin saw that Lily had left, he also left for his office at Williams Media.“This is the life!”He said to himself.Kevin really liked being a CEO.Since Miss. Johnson was such an organized chief of staff, all Kevin had to do was to read a little and sign contracts.Miss. Johnson knocked on the door and walked in,“Mr. President, the Jones family has sent someone over to discuss the arrangement with us. It’s a woman named Matilda Jones.”Kevin thought to himself that the pink suit Miss. Johnson was wearing added a new splash of color. It contrasted the odd colors that surrounded his office.Kevin took a sip of his coffee and answered dryly,“Please ask her to leave.”Grandma Jones really was an interesting character, he had clearly told her to send Lily but instead he had sent Matilda to discuss their partnership.What was that all about?Like Drake, Matilda was also one of the favorites in the Jones family and she defin
After about five days, she would be like any other normal person, and she wouldn't be able to use medicinal herbs to regain what she had lost. I can't believe that this pill can do all that, Kevin marveled. His thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar ringtone. For a second, he wondered if there was a burglar in the house, but then he realized that the sound was coming from his pocket.Who would be making a video call to Penny in the middle of the night? Could it be her boyfriend? Kevin wondered. By reflex, he answered the call. A moment later, he saw a beautiful woman standing in front of her closet picking out clothes. Oops, didn't mean to see that, Kevin thought to himself.She looked very familiar to him, but he just couldn't place her. While he was looking at her, trying to figure out who she was, the woman turned around to see why nobody was talking yet. When she saw Kevin, she screamed and disconnected the call.That's when Kevin realized that she was the young woman whose gr
"How much do you want?" His father asked him, as expected, Wyatt started to freak out. Mike said, "You think money grows on trees? Didn't I just give you that much a few days ago?" How could Wyatt Tripp not go ballistic? He'd worked his entire life to build up his business and now his son was just giving his money away. Mike was frustrated by his father's response. He'd only gotten in this situation because he was trying to get elected student leader.If his father wasn't willing to help, he might have to tell his classmates the truth. "What are you talking about, Dad? School’s going great. And my teachers are fantastic." Mike told his father, laying it on thick. "It's definitely a serious program."“What the hell are you talking about? When did I ask you about school?" Wyatt shouted into his phone. I don't give a crap if you like the place or not. "Don't worry, Dad, I'm doing great." He continued. "But it would really help if you could transfer some money into my account.""I'll tra
"It wouldn't be a great idea to trick her like that." He really didn't want to make a bad impression on Penny. "No problem, Mike." Luther continued. "If Penny helps you pay the bill, you can use it as an excuse to get closer to her. You could even connect with her online to arrange to repay her and to get to know her better." Mike got really excited by this idea.He slapped Luther on the back and said, "I like the way you think. It's a good thing I brought you two guys along." When Kevin heard this, he quickly headed back to the VIP room. As he got to the door, Penny was walking out. Kevin came up with a plan of his own. As Penny brushed against him, he used the light touch that he'd learned about in the secret guide and took her phone and wallet.Let's see what Mike does now. Kevin smirked as he slipped the items into his jacket. With all his posturing, he isn't really that strong. Let's see him show his true colors. When Kevin returned to his seat and sat down, Mike and his two budd
"That has to be disappointing. You think you're more handsome than me? Everyone knows that just isn't true." Kevin teased him. "What do you mean by that?" Mike retorted as he slammed his fist on the table. "Don't be angry, Mike. This whole thing really isn't worth it." Lionel tried to persuade his friend. Then Luther tried to calm him down. "Relax, Mike. You're absolutely right. Kevin must be jealous of you. That's why I said there's something wrong with this pill.""You still don't understand, do you? Both you and your father were cheated by someone. This isn't an augmentation pill at all. Kevin told them bluntly. An augmentation pill is more of a light blue color. Plus it contains some floral ingredients which gives it a beautiful fragrance. Take another look at the medicinal pill you just gave our professor." Kevin continued."It's obviously the wrong color and has no fragrance at all." They were all stunned to hear him say this. Even Penny reacted and stared keenly at Kevin. Mike
"Don't be so modest, Mike. Who is better qualified to be our class leader?" Luther chimed in. The rest of the students just sat there quietly and watched the show that the three of them were putting on. But they didn't want to seem ungrateful. So they were willing to go along with the idea of electing Mike to the position."Since no one has any objections, then how could I decline? But let's just call it a temporary position. If anyone feels that I'm not carrying my weight, just say so." Mike declared as he raised his glass to toast his classmates.Professor Murdock stayed out of the discussion. And quietly observed her students as they drank their wine and socialized with each other. Meanwhile, Penny just sat quietly by the window nursing her glass to mute. Her classmates were too intimidated by her to go up and talk to her.While this was going on, Mike took Lionel aside and asked him to go down to his car and bring back a red gift box that he'd left in the trunk. Lionel came back a
"Since you think this is just a bus pass, I guess I'll just put it back in my wallet." Kevin said as he started to take it back from the concierge. “Well, since you've already taken it out, why don't we give it a try?" Mike replied. He obviously didn't want to pass up this opportunity to make Kevin look like a fool. So he ran things up and added."Let's see what the hotel staff can do with it." While the crowd was laughing at Kevin, the hotel employees were staring in disbelief. They weren't sure how to defuse the situation. The employee who was holding Kevin's card started to get very nervous when she took a good look at it. During their training, all of the employees of the Whistler Hotel had been required to memorize the appearance of the Supreme VIP card. And that's exactly what Kevin had handed her. Cook had explained to them that there were only five cards like this in all of Veridonia. And they were only given to the hotel's most prestigious clients.The group of students saw t
"Unfortunately, the Whitsler Hotel's largest room was only available to special guests." Mitchell Cook didn't mind if the largest private rooms remained empty most of the time. It was more important to have them available for his wealthiest clients. Since the staff hadn't been alerted by Cook that there would be a VIP group this evening, they assumed that this bunch of students didn't have the proper reservation."What kind of rule is that? I don't have a membership card, and I'm not from around here. All we need is a room. I don't care how much it costs. I'm willing to cover it." Mike said confidently."I'm sorry, sir. Without a VIP membership card, we won't be able to open the room for you." The concierge replied firmly. "Then can I apply for a membership card right now?" Mike asked. You could tell he was extremely disappointed to see his plans fall apart like this."I'm sorry, sir. Our largest private room is only available for our most exclusive members. Als
"Please, just say it. You won't hurt my feelings." Kevin exclaimed as he watched the road. "Just look at what happened in the parking lot. Your classmates were all looking down on you because they thought you didn't have a car. It seems that you invite this kind of ridicule, “she said bluntly."If you're too embarrassed to take anything from your wife, then you really should jump at this opportunity." Professor Murdock told him earnestly. "The School for the Healing Arts is the greatest opportunity in your life. Just work hard and focus. If you have any questions, you can always come to me. This is your chance to make a name for yourself.""I understand what you're saying, Professor. I'll definitely work harder from now on," he replied. Kevin stopped at a crosswalk and said to her very sincerely, "But could you please give me my phone back first? I promise I won't take it out during class."“Haven’t you been listening to me?" she snapped at him
"Mike's absolutely right," Lionel agreed. Kevin, "Professor Murdock really took it easy on you today. That's why you're being allowed to come along to tonight's dinner. Don't put any of your classmates in an embarrassing position. Just take a taxi. If you don't have enough money on you for a cab or to call for a ride on your own, I'll give you a few bucks to cover you. How about $20?" Then he pulled some cash out of his pocket and offered it to Kevin.Everyone around them laughed when they saw him do this. They really thought Kevin was pathetic. Kevin frowned as he looked at the money in Lionel's hand. He wondered what the heck was wrong with these guys. "Aren't you overwhelmed by my generosity?" Lionel grinned as he patted Kevin on the shoulder. "There's no need to thank me. After all, we're classmates.""Did I tell you I needed a ride? “Kevin replied very coolly. "What do you mean? Don't tell me you drove here." Mike sneered."You really drove here, Kevin? Quick, show everyone what