Arnold got the meeting way sooner than he even expected. It seemed his threat to Mr Cain had been very effective. He'd never have guessed the man was such a scaredy cat. It was funny because he was a big talker, meanwhile just a little beating and some video threat and he was running at Arnold's command.It was another day at the office and he knew he had a long day ahead. He would leave early in order to meet the big three investors.He looked at the meeting location one more time. Then he typed it on Google to confirm his suspicion. It was indeed their business headquarters right in the heart of the city."Wow," Arnold said to himself. "I really should threaten more people to get what I want and better."He looked up towards the corner of the office now, and found Harry, blending in with the walls in the background. As usual. The big guy had a way to relegate into the background like he didn't exist even though he had a big frame one would think make him stick out like a sore thumb
Arnold discussed for a large amount of time after the agreement with Sasha. They went over the job details and he watched her set up her equipments, ready to start working on the job once they finalized the details."Remember, you'll hand over a USB flash drive as requested. This is what I'll use to access the systems and get all the files within the systems to you. I dunno the terms, but you get what I mean."She nodded, tapping away on her system."Did you get everything I said or do you have questions?"She huffed and replied, "I got every damn thing, Arnold."He ignored her tone and watched her work. It took a long while, but she gave him the setup USB flash drive he'd insert into their system to download the files."Here," she said, putting it in his hands.He took it and looked at it, examining it in the low lighting. "This is it.""Yes, it is," she said dryly.He stood up then, ready to leave, now that he'd gotten what he needed in order to execute his plan."Thanks for your h
The big three loved to talk big. It was expected, but it was equally tiring to Arnold. After they had come in, nearly catching him as he downloaded their files into his USB flash drive, they sat down around the big table in the meeting room, and immediately launched into long talks about things he genuinely had no interest in nor did he intend to have interest in.He counted the amount of office pins he could find lying around. He counted the amount of times Mr Evans drank water, always heading towards the fridge to get another small bottle that looked even smaller in his chubby hands. He did just about anything to keep himself from falling asleep.“Are we boring you?” Mr Kim asked, midway in a speech about how they had singlehandedly built the gold mine.Arnold opened his eyes wider and yawned. “No.”Mr Kim nodded and continued talking. The irony of Arnold’s reply was lost on him.They went on, the three of them boasting to their fill. Cain was the only one who said very little. If
The next morning, Arnold woke up with a start. There was a loud knock on his door.He sat up immediately and rubbed his eyes. They were a bit crusty from the fact that he had stayed up all night, looking through the big three investor's files.He looked at the time on his Rolex by his bedside table. It was 6am in the morning."Who the fuck is at my door by this time?" he muttered, swearing under his breath.He walked towards the door, grabbing a wooden bat on his way there. Just in case.He'd not ordered anything this early and he didn't know anyone that would come visit him by this time. So, who could it be?He peeped through the hole and who he saw shocked him.He opened the door and came face to face with Lisa, his horny, married neighbor."Long time no see," he said dryly. He couldn't help himself. It was rather surprising that she had remembered to stop by his apartment, and by this time."Hi, Arnold." She smiled.He didn't return the smile."What are you doing here this early?"
With Lisa gone and his boner, too, Arnold went back to what had kept him up all night long — going through the files contained in the USB flash drive. He was dedicated to finding dirt. Like a hobby. Like a need. Whichever, he had to find something, anything.His phone buzzed a few minutes into scrolling and reading at files endlessly. He looked at the caller ID and his face lit up instantly. It was Jia.He picked the call instantly, clearing his throat."Jia," he said, trying to sound chill when, in fact, he was happy to speak to her."Arnold! How have you been doing?""I've been fine, thank you.""Are you free this evening?"He sat up. "Why? Is there a problem?"She laughed nervously. "No, no, there's no problem. I just wanted to, you know, invite you for dinner."His ears perked up. "Dinner? That's cool!""Yeah. It's just my way of saying thank you for the time you spent with me at my grand aunt's place and all the help you rendered.""Oh, it's fine. You don't have to do that.""Don
A large box of pepperoni pizza lay open on Arnold's bedside table, with just two slices left. Three jumbo cups of coffee were right next to it. Arnold sat cross-legged on his bed, bent over his laptop like his life depended on what he was doing.The adrenaline rushing through him kept him straight at it for a long time. His fingers were beginning to cramp from scrolling and scrolling and scrolling for far too long. But, he continued. He'd come this far. He couldn't give up now. He couldn't sleep now, either.He looked outside his window briefly, and caught a glimpse of the sun beginning to set. When he looked back at his laptop screen, he finally discovered something new. He sat up, straightening his back as much as he could. Then he scrolled down, down, down, his eyebrows raising higher and higher as it all came together right before him. It felt like he was finally able to find the missing puzzle pieces and he was placing them back where they belonged.He cleaned his eyes with th
Arnold found a parking spot in front of the restaurant. It was a little bit of a hassle, but he did it. As he alighted, he caught sight of Jia coming down from her own car and smiled.So she'd driven today, he thought. She was becoming brave."Jia!" He waved at her.She smiled brightly as soon as their eyes met, and all but ran over to meet him.As she got to him, he pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek, moving back to watch the redness creep up her neck to her cheeks."What a coincidence!" she said, bouncing on her feet with glee."A pleasant coincidence," he concurred. "Shall we?" He stretched his hand out for her to walk in front of him.Together, they walked towards the restaurant.As they passed by the door and entered in, Arnold got a strange feeling. He turned to the side and caught a glimpse of a strange looking woman dressed in all black, her forehead bent in mock sobriety as she stood outside the restaurant, just by the side of the door. A black face cap covered
Arnold could feel someone's stare burning an invisible hole through him. It made him very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that he could no longer sit still opposite Jia and eat his meal, sip white wine, and pretend like all was well when it wasn't."I'll be back soon," he told Jia.Standing, he scraped his chair against the floor as he moved swiftly, trying to catch the person fast. Jia watched him in confusion, but for a moment, he didn't mind.If it was who he thought it was, he didn't care what extent he had to go to catch the culprit.That lady on all black was going to pay.He balled his hands into fists by his side as he walked towards the door of the restaurant, ready to avert trouble from Jia and him while teaching the person a lesson, in return. He had to do what he had to do. And fast.His phone buzzed.It was Jia.I dunno why you left the table in a hurry. Any problem? By the way, my client has arrived. I'm heading outside to meet her.As soon as he read the message, he put