Alexa's words stunned everyone at first but in a couple of seconds, they burst into mocking laughter.The boss laughed heartily, shaking his head at Alexa. "Pretty girl, you look beautiful, but you seem to have a few screws loose up there," he said, appreciating her beauty while flirting with her in a way that was far from subtle. Beside Alexa, Max's brows wrinkled and he looked displeased but didn't intervene knowing she had it all under control.The boss continued to taunt, "You shouldn't spend too much time with a loser like Max. Otherwise, you'll begin to have some serious delusions. You really think my bar would go bankrupt just because of a phone call of yours? That’s absurd. Your showoff act is getting on my nerves."He was pretty confident as he strutted around in front of them. But Alexa was rather calm and unfeeling, merely gazing at him coldly."Don't be so quick to laugh," she replied. "Who knows what might happen by the time five minutes are up?""What will happen is you
She stood akimbo, and it was obvious that she was furious. The aura around her was intense, and everyone in the scene could tell that she wasn't to be messed with. Although Alexa looked young, it was obvious she had some good backing.Even Max could not help but give her a few more cursory glances."It won't stop with your rent, loan, and tax," Alexa continued to speak, her chin raised as she evened her cold gaze on him. "If I want you and your entire generation to pack up from this city with nothing, no one can stop me."Max could tell she was not going to let it go. Seeing how the boss and the rest of his colleagues looked terrified, he felt uncomfortable and muttered, "Alexa..."She quickly spun to look at him. "I was already furious with that foolish... woman... erm.." she coughed and gazed at him carefully, unsure if he would be angry at her with that term of address."Anyway, I was already angry with July and her stupid lover," she continued to say. "And yet, he came to provoke
A blue colored SUV sped through a grove of lush and tall trees before stopping in front of a tall iron gate. The building behind the gate was shielded by the tall gate, but it was still evident how magnificent it was. There were two guards standing ramrod straight at the gate with rifles in hand, and when the SUV stopped, one of them quickly approached. Alexa rolled down the window. The guard questioned respectfully, "Do you have a permit, ma'am?"She paused, having forgotten that one needed a permit to enter the Norman mansion. She had gone out in a hurry to pick Max up and didn't take her permit along. She was about to explain this when the guard suddenly sighted the person in the passenger seat. His face immediately changed, and he saluted, "Welcome back, Young Master."Max finally looked over and gave an embarrassed smile. "Hi, Marcus."The guard was clearly pleased to see him and said excitedly, "The door is open. Please go in.""Thank you."Immediately, the gate opened up, an
Max went silent for a few moments.Upon seeing this, the old man sighed and clicked his tongue. "You still don't want to? I thought you would have made up your mind by now."He was still quiet and seemed to be contemplating some things. Eventually, he looked up at his grandfather and declared, "I'll do it."The old man looked surprised at first but quickly regained his composure and nodded graciously. "You made the right choice. You'll begin working from tomorrow, and your first task is attending the business party being held at Dawn Entertainment Corps.""Our affiliate company?" Max asked in surprise. It was just one of the many companies affiliated with the Norman family, and usually, the main branch didn't need to intervene with its activities. "Yes. I've seen that you're a bit knowledgeable when it comes to the entertainment industry. You should start with something you're already good at."His words made Max smile bitterly. There was really nothing he could hide from his grandfa
The Galaxy Media Hotel was alive and bustling that evening. Decorative lights shone around its vicinity, illuminating every nook and corner. Rows of sleek and expensive cars lined the red carpets, filling up the entire parking area, and from time to time, superstars stepped out of them with their various partners. As it was a big event, countless showbiz journalists and reporters were on the scene, each jostling to get the best snap and blinding light flashed from time to time.A sleek black limo pulled up a block from the hotel, and Max stepped out, smoothening the slight creases on his blue suit. He looked toward the hotel and could see the flashes of light in the distance.He shut the car door and leaned down the window to speak to the driver with a slight chuckle, "Thankfully, I quickly stopped you before you parked there. It would be hard to drive out after the event."The driver nodded courteously and asked, "Shall I wait here for you, Young Master?""No." Max shook his head li
"Stop!" A female voice rang out from the other end of the red carpet.When everyone looked over, they saw a lady in a maroon fishtail dress standing there. She was quite a beautiful woman, and although her makeup seemed pretty heavy, it fit her disposition and highlighted her beauty.When Max saw her face, he instantly recognized who she was. Claire Moretti - July's biggest rival in the entertainment circle.The faces of the other people also changed once they saw who she was, especially the rude usher. Who did not know who Claire Moretti was? She was the most ill-tempered of actresses and so sharp tongue that whenever she had it out with even the most bothersome of reporters, they would eventually run away with their tails between their legs.She was what people would call the 'shrew of entertainment industry.'Claire looked at their faces and smiled haughtily seeing how careful they were. She looked quite arrogant, and even the reporters didn't dare to tale her pictures wantonly.Th
"I am July's ex-husband," he whispered.Claire was shocked. The look on her face was even more unnatural when her gaze flickered to July and saw the way she hung on to Greg. July had only just known Greg recently and everyone already believed they were together.She knew that July was entangled with this bartender and recognized him - that was why she helped Max earlier as she noticed he was no longer around July. She simply thought it was just a matter of minor disagreement and just wouldn't pass the chance to discredit July.Who knew she would stumble upon such explosive news? If Max was July's ex-husband and had been around her for so long, yet, she was now flirting around with some richer man, it would mean that July had cheated on him during their marriage.What a big scandal!July noticed the strange look on her face and her gaze flickered from Max to hers consecutively. A bad premonition suddenly sprouted in her heart seeing how Max was whispering to her. She suddenly suspecte
"What... are... you... talking about?" She stammered, her eyes boring holes into both of them. "Claire, you better don't spout nonsense. If you say anything misleading about me, I won't forgive you." Claire, however, gave an unbothered laugh at her reaction, folding her arms. "Did I mention your name? What are you so sensitive for?" July clearly had no words to retort. She could only keep shut knowing that Claire was deliberately trying to piss her off. Claire was delighted after getting the upper hand. She had a bright smile on her face, and as she spoke, her red lips curled seductively yet with a hint of schadenfreude. Greg, who was beside July, could not help but stare at her a few more times with a rather lascivious gaze. His stare was pretty obvious, which made July even more annoyed, and she stepped forward, blocking Claire from his gaze. Max was also watching their antics now feeling bored, but this time, his gaze was on Claire. She was really deserving of being an actre
"This is the list for available artists," Ivan muttered, throwing the file in his hand on the desk casually. "Take your pick." His attitude was full of arrogance, and it was obvious he was throwing his weight around now that he was in charge of Max’s affairs. But the latter did not seem bothered by his attitude and simply picked it up, flipping the pages open to take a look. After some time, he looked up again and pointed to a name amongst the list. When Ivan looked down and saw who it was, his face instantly changed. "What? Marianne? Who put her on the list? She's my artist. Choose someone else." Max gave him a scrutinizing look and retorted simply, "She's the one I want." "What do you mean she's the one you want!?" Ivan was about to blow his top in anger. Just then, the door of his office opened, and Marianne entered right in time. She stood by the door, hesitant, and faced Ivan. "You wanted to see me." Ivan nodded, beckoning to her. "Yeah. Come over here." She looked towar
"Claire?" Max called out in surprise, and she spun around immediately when she heard his name. She looked surprised to see him standing there, but it was only for a moment before she looked at herself and the drunk man hankering about her, and a look of utter mortification crossed her face. The man who grabbed her didn't seem to care that there was a third party and continued to hanker, "Why the attitude, huh? Chris already gave his approval. You think you can last in this industry without pleasing us directors?" Claire’s lips curled in disgust, and she yanked her arm away from his grip. "So what if I can, you slimy old geezer? Do I look like some young girl you can prey on? Do I look like some naive starlet you can toy with? Take your filthy hands off me, you creep!" "You bitch-" The director looked even more furious when he heard that, and he reached out to grab her again. But Max was faster and directly pulled Claire over to his side, giving him a backhand slap. Probably, it w
Blue Lagoon Bar Max swung his car into the bar's garage, the quiet purr of the engine cutting out as he stepped out. The cool evening breeze tugged at the black-on-black outfit he wore—a tailored shirt and slim-fit trousers - simple yet unmistakably expensive. He adjusted his cuffs, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he strolled toward the bar entrance. When he entered, he found his former boss, Sam, waiting by the door for him with two assistant managers beside him. When Max entered, they all stared at him in a mix of shock and awe - Max had really hit a jackpot. He went from an ordinary bartender to a noveau riche out of nowhere. Even though he wore a simple black on black attire, it wasn't hard to tell that they couldn't have been cheap out of the market. "Eh, Max. It's really you!" One of the two managers leaned forward, blinking hard. "You've really changed." The second manager chimed in, still trying to process the sight in front of him. “Man, you’ve changed. If I didn’t
The secretarial section was empty when Max got to the top floor of the company, so he knocked on the door of the presidential office directly. “Come in,” Lawson’s voice echoed from inside. Max twisted the handle and strolled in, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The secretary standing before Lawson paused mid-report, glancing briefly at Max, who made himself comfortable on the sleek leather sofa in the middle of the room. Lawson barely looked up, simply brushing over the secretary’s report, and it was obvious he didn’t want Max to hear what was being said. “That’ll be all. Leave it here.” The secretary nodded, placing a folder on the desk before making his quiet exit. Once the door clicked shut, Lawson turned his attention to Max, an exaggerated look of surprise washing over his features. He stood up and took a seat opposite Max, throwing his coat over the second sofa. “Well, well! If it isn’t our rising star,” he chuckled, slapping his thigh theatrically. “I sho
"I didn't expect that this new manager is quite skilled," Max heard one of the members of the legal team mumble as he approached the meeting room. "Yeah, I simply thought he was fooling around that time he followed us. Who knew he was actually scheming?" "Yeah. So much evidence. Who knows how long he has been tailing that man to have found out so much? He even dug so deep that he found things that Richard himself would have forgotten." "Better be wary of such scheming people." Max merely chuckled to himself when he heard that and strode into the meeting room. His gaze found the speaker, and he muttered, "Don't worry, I'm not a rabid dog who goes around biting other people. As long as you don't cross my path, don't be too wary of me." The man instantly gave an awkward laugh when he heard that, and the rest of the room chuckled, except Ivan, of course. "Just saying..." Max took a seat and looked toward Ivan, who sat with his legs crossed and folded his arms. He was giving Max a p
In Apex Villa, Somewhere in between the livecast, Noah had sat up again and was now watching intently. Once it eventually came to close and the Thompsons were escorted away by the police, he leaned back, folding his arms and stared at the figure in black shirt and white pants languidly striding out of the hall without a word. Meanwhile, Lauren and Jasper were still speechless at the sudden turn of events and everything that just happened. "What a dramatic turn of events!" Jasper finally broke the silence, slapping his thighs as he leaned back in his seat. “Richard was a full-on creep this whole time? He was the one behind everything, and yet he went around blaming you, Noah. Crying in front of the cameras like he was some victim. I swear, I didn’t see that coming.” Lauren’s eyes darted toward Noah, brows furrowing. "Did you know about it? That he was the culprit?" Noah sighed, shaking his head slowly. "No. Not the full story." He thought it had been a simple case of Richard
Max's smile didn’t falter even though she had hit the jackpot just like that. It seemed everyone knew what was going on with Oliver but just pretended not to.He calmly responded, “Yes, we’re here to discuss Oliver’s role and—”She cut him off, a cold laugh escaping her lips. “Dream on. Just because he got a few fans overnight doesn’t mean we owe him anything. In fact,” her gaze hardened as she glanced at Oliver, “he should be grateful we haven’t shown him the door yet. Zero revenue, zero worth. Do you understand what that means?”Oliver swallowed when he heard that, his shoulders tensing, and he looked at Max, whispering, “Maybe we should just go. I don’t want to make this worse.”Max didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, he gave a small smirk as he turned back to the HR head. “No need to worry, Oliver.” He took out his phone, his fingers moving swiftly as he typed. “If you think we’re not worth your time, then I’ll let the committee decide.”The HR head was stunned at first, but sh
Max rubbed his eyes, still processing Oliver’s shocking news. “You’re telling me that your insta went viral? Like, overnight?”“Yes!” Oliver practically shouted through the phone. “A friend sent me a screenshot, and people are talking about me. And it’s not just the followers! Fans are sharing posts about Blades of Honor. They’re reminiscing about my old stunts!”Max couldn’t help but smile. “That’s incredible! Did you check to see if you got hacked?”“I’m worried I did! What if I can’t get my account back?” Oliver’s voice was tinged with panic.“Relax, Oliver. Let me check it out.” Max flipped open his phone, but before he could dive into the app, Oliver sounded panicked again.“Wait! What if someone posted something embarrassing?”“Hang on, I’ll find out right now,” Max assured him, swiping the screen. “But I think you’re just experiencing an overnight fame surge.”“Seriously? Do you think my stunts are that good?”“I don’t know, man,” Max said, stifling a chuckle. “But let’s not wo
Max sat on his bed, phone in hand, eyes narrowed in concentration as he scrolled through the footage he'd captured of Oliver’s stunts earlier. He watched as Oliver’s punches and kicks cut through the air, his movements swift and precise. A smirk tugged at Max’s lips.“Not bad, Oliver,” he murmured to himself. “Not bad at all.”A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He glanced up, giving a brief sigh. “Come in.”The door creaked open, and a young maid entered, head bowed. “Sir, a package just arrived for you,” she said politely.Max gestured to the bedside table without looking away from his phone. “Leave it there. Thanks.”With a quick bow, she set the package down and slipped out, leaving Max alone once more. He didn’t give the box a second glance, too engrossed in sorting the video clips. Finally, after a few minutes, he saved the best parts, satisfied with the shots.His gaze shifted to his laptop, curiosity sparking as he opened the browser. A quick search brought up c