July's eyes widened as the rip echoed through the room. For a second, she just stared at the fabric in her hand, disbelief washing over her face. Then, like a switch flipping, she jumped at Alexa, blurting out, "It's not me!"Alexa raised an eyebrow, momentarily stunned before letting out a cold laugh. "Are you serious right now? You were the one yanking at the dress. If it's not you, who is it? Me?""I said it's not me!" July retorted, bent on not taking the blame. She had merely wanted to feel out what was between Alexa and Max a little and intimidate Alexa while at it. She was absolutely not prepared to get in trouble while at it."You know what?" Alexa shook her head and laughed. "I won't bother arguing with you."She scoffed like she thought July was nothing but a joke before walking past her. July was stunned at first but quickly recollected herself and shouted, "Where are you running off to? You were the one who took the dress in the first place? How dare you try to leave it f
The person who spoke was a young lady in pink at the forefront of the group. When Alexa looked over, she quickly slipped her hand into the arm of the man beside her. The man in question looked at Alexa and seemed a bit flustered even though he managed to look calm. Alexa gave a light scoff at this, which Max noticed, and he glanced at her face before looking at the faces of the people in the group with a scrutinizing look in his gaze. There was only one man in the group, and when the girls saw him look over, they all began to stare at him intently with giggly eyes and whispering amongst themselves about how handsome he was. He didn’t recognize any of the faces but recalled that the girl at the front called Alexa, ‘sister’. Albeit, it was devoid of any sincerity. The girl in question faced her group of friends and said in an excited tone, “This is my sister, Alexa.” Her friends looked at Alexa’s face and gave her strange looks before looking at the face of the man Alexa scoffed at e
The sound of wine hitting the marble floor echoed as Alexa stood still, her maroon dress soaked but showing no visible stain. Her eyes hardened, jaw tightening as she glanced down at the mess.Max stepped closer, concern in his voice, "Are you okay?" He offered her his handkerchief.Without a word, she sidestepped him, her gaze locking onto the girl who had dared to spill the wine. In one smooth motion, she grabbed a full glass from a passing waiter’s tray and, with a sharp sneer, tossed the wine straight into the girl's face.Gasps filled the surroundings, but Alexa wasn't done. She grabbed another glass and splashed it all over Sabrina’s light pink dress, the wine staining it instantly.Afterward, the entire place went silent. With all that splashing, it was inevitable that they had caught the attention of everyone in the surroundings. But thankfully, they were some distance from the front of the hall, so it didn't disrupt the ongoing banquet.But regardless, it was still rude to ca
The meeting room was already filled with people by the time Max walked in, and even Noah and Lauren were already seated. Soon, the rest of the people involved came, and the meeting began. Since it was Max who called the meeting, he directly took charge. "Good afternoon, everyone." Max started, picking up the tablet where he had neatly drafted his points. “This meeting is to discuss—”A loud scoff suddenly cut through the air, and Lauren leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "How about you get straight to the point? We don't need this unnecessary show of words. Who knows what CEO Lawson was thinking when he got a newbie like you on the job?"Everyone went silent once she spoke, and some sniggered under their breath at her words. Several eyes fell on Max, and he could sense the mockery in them from several miles away. Majorly, it was because most of them were intimidated by Lauren, and no one liked Max, who suddenly came out of nowhere and got to be Noah's manager, albeit he was an
"Are you sure we don't need to inform them in advance?" One of the legal team members asked the team leader as they pulled in front of a small house.The team leader shook his head. "Even if we did, they wouldn't agree to meet us. The victim's father is quite arrogant. Otherwise, why would I bring you to discuss the compensation and settlement at their home and not at the company."In the car, Max looked out of the window, and his gaze briefly surveyed the house ahead. After a couple of seconds, he took out his phone to take a picture, which attracted the attention of the rest of the people in the car. Several of them nudged one another uncomfortably, and someone even asked the team leader in a low voice, "Team leader, why is he here with us?""Yes. Why did a manager tag along with us to discuss the settlement?"The team leader looked Max's way before shrugging. "Maybe he's just curious about how we'll handle things.""If he's curious, he'll find out when we're done. What's with the t
Silence enveloped the entire team, and they seemed at a loss as they looked at one another for suggestions. In the end, the youngest piped up, "Team leader, what do we do?"The team leader sighed. "Let's just go back for now and discuss an increase in the compensation.""Okay."And so, they all turned to return to the car whilst Max followed behind them languidly. But just then, out of the corner of his eyes, he sighted someone peeking out a window of the house directly beside it. He stopped walking instantly and looked that way. When the person realized that they were noticed, they quickly pulled the window blinds and retreated into the house.Max suddenly realized something - the neighbors seemed to be the gossipy type. Maybe they saw something?He directly turned to the group he came with and said languidly, "You can go ahead. I'm meeting up with a friend close by."They didn't seem to care whatever he did with himself anyway and merely gave noncommittal responses before leaving in
Meanwhile, at the Thompsons.... Another car pulled into the driveway after Max left, and a man appeared wearing a long trench coat and his whole face covered with a mask. He strode up to Thompson's apartment and knocked. Inside, Richard's gruff voice echoed, "Who’s there?" Whatever the man said in response was too low to hear, but the door swung open almost immediately. Richard’s eyes widened for a brief second before he bowed deeply, stepping aside to let the man enter. The masked man didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He settled into the couch as if he owned the place, while Richard stood, hands behind his back, respectfully. “Why are you here, sir?” Richard asked, his voice cautious. The man ignored the question, his tone calm and direct. “There’s been a change in the plan. You won’t need to take the lead anymore. We’ll arrange for a reporter to ask you the right questions. You just need to answer them properly.” Richard blinked, taken aback. “I see. What about the balance pa
Max strode out of his office, twirling a pen between his fingers as he passed by two other familiar agents. But to his surprise, they suddenly turned and called out to him, "Agent Norman.""Good afternoon. Are you going down to the cafeteria too?" One of them asked, and he looked at them in mild confusion. Usually, no one paid attention to him, and he was beginning to get used to thinking only him who worked in the company, but they actually took the initiative to talk to him today? What a surprise!So he didn't ignore them like he normally would and nodded, walking over to them. "Good morning. Yes, I am.""Oh!" He laughed and nudged his partner. "Let's go, together then."So they entered the elevator together, and Max stood at the bag, leaning on the elevator wall casually while the other two discussed amongst themselves. Eventually, they seemed to recall he was with them, and one of them turned to him and sheepishly introduced himself, "By the way, I'm Jason, and this is my friend