Benjamin looked at them intently. “How much do you want to be paid?” he asked, his voice calm but commanding.The men glanced at each other, hesitating for a moment. Finally, one spoke up, “Every month… pay us double what Darnell does.”The other nodded, adding quickly, “Yeah. 2000 dollars each.”Benjamin smirked, a glint of amusement in his eyes. He had expected them to ask for something outrageous—10,000, even 50,000 dollars a month. Instead, they only wanted a mere double of what Darnell paid them. To someone like him, 2000 dollars was nothing, even if he had to pay them that amount daily.“Deal,” he said without hesitation, nodding once.They stared at him, dumbfounded. “Wait… deal? Just like that?” one of them asked, disbelief evident in his voice.Benjamin shrugged. “2000 dollars a month is nothing to me if you’re loyal and good at what you do.”They exchanged glances, still stunned by his response. "You... you really mean that?" one of them asked, sounding almost hopeful.Benja
As the men disappeared down the road, Abdelkarim turned to Benjamin, a worried crease on his brow. "Do you trust them? What if they tell their boss everything?"Benjamin's expression was unwavering. "They won’t."Abdelkarim’s eyebrows rose, disbelief flickering in his gaze. "How do you know?"Benjamin smirked, a trace of confidence in his eyes. "Because I gave them something Darnell never has: respect. They’ve been doing his dirty work for scraps. Darnell treats them as disposable. But me? I just paid them a month’s worth in minutes and offered them a way out. Right now, loyalty is cheap—but it’s the one thing Darnell can't buy.”Abdelkarim nodded slowly, his gaze steadying with newfound determination. “I’m ready to work for you, Benjamin,” he said with a slight smile. “But... tonight, I don’t have anywhere to stay. I might just end up sleeping in the car.”Benjamin’s expression softened. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll stay with me,” he replied. “As long as you’re willing to follow m
The men climbed out of their cars and walked over to Darnell’s vehicle, where he stood waiting, his expression already dark with suspicion. As they approached, he wasted no time.“What’s wrong?” Darnell’s voice cut through the silence, his gaze sharp and unyielding. “Where’s the last car?”The men looked at each other, shifting uncomfortably, clearly at a loss. Finally, one of them spoke up. “We...we don’t know, boss. One minute, they were right behind us, and the next...they weren’t.”Darnell’s jaw tightened. “I don’t want excuses. Give me an answer.”They fumbled for words, but all they could offer was a helpless shrug. Frustrated, Darnell took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Fine. Who was in the last car? Give me their names. Now.”The men stammered for a moment, then rattled off the names of the three who had been in the missing car, exchanging nervous glances as they waited for Darnell's reaction.Darnell narrowed his eyes, his impatience evident. “Call them. Now,” he ordere
The men exchanged nervous glances, doubling down on their story despite Darnell's threat. The first man cleared his throat, attempting to sound confident. "Boss, like we said, it was just a routine check. We saw the car following and thought it could be a minor threat, so we stopped to make sure it wasn’t an issue. But they turned around as soon as we approached."The second man nodded quickly. "Exactly, boss. We didn’t think it was worth disturbing you for something so small, figured we could handle it ourselves.”Darnell's gaze remained icy, not buying the excuses. His eyes bored into each one of them, but they held firm, each nodding in agreement, sticking to their story. "We were just looking out for you, boss," the third one added, trying to muster confidence. "Didn’t want to waste your time.”Darnell narrowed his eyes at them one last time, as if weighing the truth of their story. Finally, with a wave of his hand, he dismissed the tension. “Fine,” he said sharply. “Get back in
It was around seven o'clock pm at Elysian University. The night had a festive air, with students enjoying themselves all around. Meanwhile, as the students enjoyed themselves, in the quiet Elysian library sat Benjamin Hayes, a young student with a book in his hands, deeply engrossed in reading. Despite his handsome appearance, Benjamin's clothes could tell from a first glance that he was poor. The truth is the 24 yr old student was an average student, juggling various jobs to make ends meet. At times, he would run errands for wealthier students just to earn a few extra bucks, and this made him one of the most looked-down-on students on campus. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the campus, shattering Benjamin's peaceful reading. He closed his book with a frown and rose from his seat. Since the library was on an upper floor, he approached the glass window to see what the commotion was about. "Huh!"The sight that met his eyes was astonishing. More than a hundred college students h
Seeing Benjamin kicking Maverick, a group of students loyal to Maverick, quickly rushed forward and held Benjamin forcefully pulling him away.Benjamin, still struggling to break free and continue hitting Maverick yelled, "Leave me, leave me!" But his protests fell on deaf ears as they held him in a firm grip.A few students from Benjamin's department observed the spectacle, shaking their heads in dismay. One remarked, "So, this useless guy is back to cause trouble?"Another inquired, "Do you know him?""Of course. He's a popular broke guy, poor as a church rat," came the reply.Laughter rippled through the group. "I've seen people become popular for being rich, but never for being broke," one of them said. "Haha, Benjamin isn't just broke; he's the epitome of poverty. Utterly useless and frankly, quite repulsive," another chimed in, disdain evident in his tone."He's pushed it this time. Hitting Maverick? He won't get away with it," predicted another."Indeed. I bet he'll be left in
Dorothy frowned, about to reply, but her words were cut short by Maverick's interruption. He slung an arm around her neck, planting a kiss on her cheeks. "Don't worry about talking too much Dorothy. Let me handle this," he assured.Dorothy smiled in agreement, nodding. Maverick took a step forward, addressing Benjamin sharply. "Benjamin Hayes, I didn't catch what you said. Repeat it."Benjamin's lips curled into a sneer. "Ask her then. I don't have time to repeat myself." A brief furrow of Maverick's brow revealed his irritation. "Fine, forget it. You want your $1000 back that you lent her?""You heard it clearly, so why are you asking again?" Benjamin retorted, his tone laced with impatience.Maverick's patience was waning, but he maintained his composure. "You claim she owes you. First of all, are you a loan officer? Secondly do you have any evidence to prove that Dorothy owes you?""Mind your own business. Who are you, and what do you know? Where were you when she asked for the m
As Benjamin left, Maverick turned to the gathered students with a triumphant grin on his face. "Y'all, thank you for being here. Don't worry, just give me a total headcount, and I'll have some delicious food delivered from our hotel right here for you tonight. Let's make sure you all have a great time."The crowd erupted into applause, impressed by Maverick's generous offer."You're amazing, Maverick! "Wow, this is so generous of you!""I can't believe he's doing this for us. What a guy!"Maverick basked in the praise, his chest swelling with pride. He turned to Dorothy, his tone filled with confidence. "My car is parked outside. Let's go have the best dish tonight at my dad's top-notch hotel." Dorothy's eyes sparkled with delight. "Okay, okay."After Maverick gathered the total number of those he was going to send the food to, he and Dorothy made their exit. Meanwhile, Benjamin trudged back to his dorm, his face etched with sorrow. Getting inside, he saw no one there including his