“Oh, fuck off,” Stone, not believing that we are being genuine, scoffs, “What’s a beggar going to do to me? Your empty threats won’t work. I’m going to give my father one call, and he’s going to come for me. And he will destroy you all.”
Gerald ignores his prattling and goes on to make several calls, whispering furiously into the phone. Kayla hangs onto her boyfriend’s arm, looking frightened at the ten men in black glaring at them.
“I did what you asked,” I hear her plead from her boyfriend, “Can we leave now? I’m getting scared.”
“No, Stone will take care of it,” The bully reassures her, “The twerp can’t harm us. Who even is he? A nobody with some actor friends.”
“My master is anything but a nobody, your man,” calmly, Gerald locks his phone and shoves it back into his pocket, “And in thirty minutes time, you will see what exactly we’re capable of. I know everything about you, Stone Jeffreys, and your father. I know about your family corporation, your father’s business. And in thirty minutes time, you will be going bankrupt.”
A flash of fear runs through Stone’s eyes, and I can see he hesitates for a moment. His confidence in thinking of us as losers and paid actors-which is so dumb- wavers.
But in the typical Stone fashion, he recovers and starts to laugh great belly laughs.
“This is such a joke,” he wheezes. “Did you think I would fall for that, Greyson? My father is the most powerful man in this city, there is no one above him. What can you do? You’re a waiter at a café, you live in a crap apartment where I won’t even let my dog live. You dress like a hobo and you can’t afford to take a date to a decent restaurant!”
His friends join him hesitantly, chuckling along with him. Gerald looks at him with a flat expression before giving me a side eye, “Although I said thirty minutes,” he tells me, “It should be much faster.”
“Did you go through the right channels?”
“You know I always do, young master. The call should come in about three, two…”
Stone’s ringtone blares through the room, and his laughter abruptly stops. With a frown on his face, he pulls out the device.
“What is this? Why is my father calling me now?” he mutters before taking the call.
I cross my hands over my chest and watch as the chaos unfolds.
“What?” Stone’s eyes widen as a masculine voice scream from the other end of the call, “Dad, what are you talking about? What? Wait, seriously? Are you sure?!”
He glances at us, his eyes riddling with fear, “You have to be joking.”
By now the room has gone so quiet that I can decipher what the voice on the other end is saying.
“…my business partner is ready to take me to the courts if I don’t agree with him and terminate all operations in our company, he wants me to resign as a co-founder! I don’t have the majority shares, Stone, what I have is tied to the company and if I resign, we’re going to be left with nothing! Do you think this is a joke? What the hell did you do, Stone?”
“What…what did I do? I didn’t do anything, I’m not even in the business-“
“Bullshit!” His father screams, his rage exuding into the room even without his presence, “Stop lying, you ingrate! This is all your fault. My partner never had any problems with me, but suddenly he calls me and tells me that my son had gotten into trouble with the wrong man, and now he's being forced to lay me off. How could this happen? Who the hell did you piss off?”
“I-I don’t k-know,” Stone stammers, panicking out of his mind. His eyes travel to everyone in the room before falling on me, “I don’t know who he is.”
I can’t help but smirk at him. Damn right he doesn’t know who I am. Nobody in this city does. My name was Jace Greyson, and I never tried to hide it. Greyson is a pretty common surname, so I had nothing to fear. There was no way anyone was going to look at me and recognize which family I belong to. I looked like your average college student on a scholarship. I was on a scholarship, but I didn’t need to be.
My family was rich enough to pay at least a hundred kids to attend King’s College without breaking a sweat.
“Whoever he is, he's rich and powerful, and he’s decided that we are his enemy,” Stone's father screeches, “Everything I worked for is gone, because of you! You’re the reason for all this! Get your ass back home this instant so we can resolve it. Now!”
With that, Stone’s father ends the call.
The silence that followed the call was deafening. Everyone looks at Stone, shocked to their very cores. Stone looks like he’d seen a ghost. I could literally see tears trying to break from his eyes. A savage glee ring through me.
“Young master,” Gerald’s voice breaks the silence. “It’s getting late. Shall we leave now? Your father requests your audience, especially after this.”
I sigh. I knew this was coming, “I need to come back to Empire city tomorrow, though.”
“That can be arranged. Please, your father is dying to see you. Come home.”
“What?” Stone utters, “No, you can’t go. You-you have to undo this. Tell them to stop. Whoever it is. Please.”
I glare at him, “Oh, now you want me to stop?”
“Look, it was my mistake, I’m sorry, I won't ever bother you again. Please don’t bring my family into this, we would lose everything. My father will never forgive me.”
I glance at him, and for a split second, I consider undoing it all. Maybe I could be the bigger guy here.
My name is Jace Greyson, and I am the son of Joseph Greyson. Stone’s father might have been the most powerful man in the city, but my father was the most powerful man in the country, only second to the president. My family was unfathomably rich, and I was the sole heir to his business empire. But there was so much complicated history surrounding it, so I did what I do best and left without resolving anything. I wanted to live a normal life where I could just be a normal man in a normal city, with no drama.
But it seemed like the world wasn't going to let that happen.
Without another word, I turn on my heels. Gerald and the men in black suits fall in line behind me.
Together, we all walk out of the room, leaving Stone to his despair.
My pace is swift as I make my way through the hotel, followed by Gerald and his crew of men in black suits, who were actually security personnel my father had hired ever since I was a child. I feel like I should get the hell out of this place soon because the stress and anxiety from the whole incident are starting to get to me. Tears are right behind my eyeballs and regret pangs in my chestSuddenly, as we near the lounge, a voice comes from behind us.“Please, Jace, stop!”Kayla.Anger and despair war in my heart as I debate ignoring her and continuing on, but she calls my name again and again. As much as I don’t want to talk to her, I don’t think I can ignore her.After all, she is right next to me. She looks as panicked as Stone was, her eyes stormy, her cheeks flushed.The security personnel move to keep her away from me, but I raise my hand, signaling them to stop.“What?” I growl at her.“Jace, please, you have to undo what you did to Stone’s father,” she pleads, and my heart si
My father and I didn’t talk much that night. The level of awkwardness between us was embarrassing. I knew that he was nearly bursting with all the questions he wanted to ask me and all the things he wanted to tell me. Our relationship was never the best, but I don’t think it’s been this strained. Father tells me that we both need to handle this carefully, so he will be giving me enough space.Fine by me. I am in no hurry to venture through this particular no-man’s land.***The next morning, I’m mildly startled by the unfamiliar surrounding as I wake up but before I can panic the memories of the night before flood my mind. I sit silently on the bed as I go through them, one by one as not to overwhelm myself. The hurt I feel is significantly less, but not enough to be called faded.I really don’t want to go to school today. I don’t want to face whatever awaited me there.But the other choice was to stay here in this house and face my father.The choice is easy when comparing the option
The host asks everyone to be seated, so I look around the tables to see if there is an empty spot. There are few, so I choose the one nearest to me. As I make my way through the tables, I realize that the seat next to me is occupied by none other than Coraline Granger.She looks so different from the girl she once was but similar at the same time. For example, her previous bob-cut style haircut is gone, replaces by luscious platinum blond curls that rivulet down her naked shoulders. Her gorgeous blue eyes, larger than life and electric, flashes t her friends, crinkling at the corners as she laughs at something they say. Her face gleams like the full moon, her makeup almost non-existent. Ruby-red lips contrast dizzyingly with the pearlescent tone of her teeth. She wears diamonds in her ears and neck, with a plain, black strapless dress.She looks so mature and sophisticated.Beautiful.I could hear the conversation she’s having with her friends even from here, them inquiring her about
To say I was shocked would be an understatement.Coraline had always been a kind, open person when we were in high school, and never had she treated me like this. When she talked to me back in the day, I always felt like we could be friends if I had the gall to approach her about it. We ran in different circles and my one was generally lower in the food chain, but for Coraline, that didn’t matter.But now, I feel betrayed and devastated. I never thought she would be one of those snobs like her friends were.Tensions are high, and I have a feeling that I was being misunderstood here. I didn’t mean to insult anyone, so I try to rectify my mistake, ignoring the sting of her slap in my face and my heart.“Look,” I start in an even voice, “I’m not trying to insult you or your shoes. What I’m trying to say is those shoes are forges, and whoever sold them to you scammed you. If you think I’m wrong, check the soles. If it’s an original, there should be a signature on the sole. That line of sh
I can’t help but screw my eyes at her in anger as she makes her way towards me, looking sheepish. Now that I’m aware of who she really is, her beauty diminishes in my eyes. I wonder what she’s doing here, trying to humiliate me again? What the hell was with girls and me lately? It had never been like this. Normally, girls are nice to me, and other guys are hostile.Now, everyone is hostile regardless of gender.Maybe there was something in the water which is making everyone see me as a target. Maybe it’s my face. I’ve heard some people saying that certain individuals have faces that make them want to do horrible things to them. Does my face look like that too? Is that why everyone is picking on me?Man, I’m too tired of all this drama.“What do you want now?” I ask her in a hard, cold voice as she comes within hearing range, “Want to rub salt in the wound more? Call out the guys here so they can make it a real public humiliation?”Coraline gulps and looks ashamed, but I don’t let that
For a moment, I am confused.Of course, the card belonged to Jace Greyson. That shouldn’t create any issues, because my frickin name is Jace Greyson. Had Coraline hit her head somewhere? Was that the reason why she was acting so goddamned strange today?“I knew that you were up to something sketchy,” Coraline goes on to say, “This card is clearly not yours, you have stolen it from somebody. Who did you steal from? Do you know how much these cards are worth?”“What? I didn’t steal it, because that’s my card, and that’s my name,” I insist, “I’m Jace Greyson!”The waiter looks in between us, and his brows furrow, “Sir,” he addresses me, “this is a very valuable card, and the miss’s claim is a serious offense. I don’t think I can let you go. We thought you were wealthy upon your initial reaction to our mistake, but now I’m starting to think that it isn’t the case.”Why, the gall…I step forward and grab the card from Coraline’s hand, making her yelp, and read the name on the card.Jace Gr
“Hey, baby,” the guy who got out of the vehicle, the guy who is apparently Coraline’s boyfriend-because of course, this moment has to be more dramatic than it was, why not?-presses his lips to her cheek and gives her a smacking kiss. Then, he takes another drag of his cigarette.He gives me a once over before asking his girlfriend, “Is this dude harassing you?”I gape at them. She was the one harassing me!Coraline shakes her head, “No, it’s complicated…”“Wait, do I know you,” letting go of his girlfriend, he steps towards me, and blows the smoke from his cigarette which he was holding all over my face.I screw up my face in disgust and step back. Geez, where were this guy’s manners?“I doubt you do,” I mutter.“No, no, you look familiar,” he points at my face, “I think I’ve seen you in Empire city. You’re Anton, aren’t you?”Empire city? Well, there is only one place in Empire city where people could find me. That was at the Kings’ College. So, this guy goes to Kings' College, or he
I snap out of the daze I find myself in as Aiden berates Coraline for a crime she did not commit, and rush to her side. Aiden’s rant gets cut midway when I shoot him a glare, but the thunderous expression on his face does not change. For a moment, I wonder if he is drunk, but no, he looks stone-cold sober. This means that pushing Coraline and demeaning her like this was done intentionally. I turn back to Coraline, anger humming in my chest. I did not like her, but that was another issue. It wasn’t right to be treated like this by her own boyfriend. “Here, let me help you get up,” I ask her gently, and she nods, clearly shaken by Aiden’s actions. She lets me help her to her feet. Aiden continues to glare at us, a storm brewing in his eyes. I know I’m not helping my case right now, but damned if I leave a girl alone in a situation like this, no matter how badly she treated me. “You don’t have to go with him if you don’t feel safe,” I whisper to Coraline. Distantly, I saw the Maybach