"What brings you here, The Apprentice?" Mr Black asked, staring at Arnold earnestly as he waited for a reply.Taking an empty glass and pouring a considerable amount of whiskey in it, he handed it to Arnold who collected it sharply. “Do you like whiskey neat?"“I do sir.” Arnold nodded and taking the glass, he downed a respectful sip and then nothing more. Despite how much he needed the burning alcoholic liquid at the moment to calm his nerves, Arnold also knew he had to keep himself in check. He wasn't about to go get himself drunk, and act out of plan. Besides how would he able to negotiate if he was drunk, and slurring out in his speech?‘Get a grip on yourself man. Get it together.’ He thought inwardly, hissing slightly at the same time. "Come, sit on the couch with me. Let’s talk.”Mr Black said again, his hands outstretched as he led pointed to the couch at the middle of the room, and Arnold followed him as he walked over.He watched Mr Black get comfortable, and then the r
Mr Black’s request played in Arnold's head over and over again, like an insistent buzz.His eyes widening and mouth dropping open, he looked at the man seated across him in stunned disbelief. What the…?! "Mr Black, I—" He began, trying to bargain and ask for another thing from him, but the look on Mr Black’s told Arnold all he needed to know.Mr Black wouldn’t budge. This enigmatic and rather cunning man was one stubborn human specie, this he noted.Suddenly, the system in Arnold's head spoke up, reminding him of the research he'd done about Mr Black and all the things he’d discovered.Nexus took him down memory lane, reminding him of how he'd discovered that Mr Black was good at using people and monopolizing their talents for his own good.How could he have forgotten so easily? Surely Mr Black’s request shouldn’t come as a surprise to him. If anything he should have known, and this Arnold remembered.Everything was coming to him in bits and pieces. All too damn well, and just like
The gold market was now Arnold's main concern. He was like a new mother with a new baby which he was still nursing. Fragile. Always checking the baby monitor. The quest to dominate the gold market was a very tricky one, despite how enormous the reward he’d get would be. And as such he had to be alert to swipe in and take his pound of flesh or else he could get hurt in the process too.He didn’t want to even think of the sordid punishment he’d get should he fail the quest, or go against the rule of the system. Morning, afternoon, evening, he monitored the gold trading market. Checking. Gauging. He had all hands on deck, as he curiously waited for the right moment to come — the moment when the big boy investors would start investing, and he’d watch them out their all before outbidding them. And he wasn’t going to let any opportunity slip by. He was determined not to fail. So long as he didn’t lose any blood in the process, he was sure he could pull this off… and there was the added
Arnold's risky and bold move earned him enormous profits. But, with great gain came great enmity. His win not only attracted good recognition, it also attracted the attention of powerful players in the market — deadly ones that were determined to take him down.And, as Arnold revelled in his newfound wealth, he became increasingly paranoid, too, about the possibility of retribution. Each and every day, new players in the gold market came up, and he would check them out, seeing different, unfamiliar names of investors. However, none of them could top the amount he had invested to get to the top. He was still in the lead.But, each time he began to celebrate, that voice from the system warned him to be careful.As if topping the big three investors in the gold market was not enough, Arnold decided to do something wild again.He knew that the big three investors were most likely broke by now and he knew that they would be desperately trying to get more money to top the anonymous gold in
A few days after the sale of the paper company the big three investors usually used to move gold, Arnold was holed up at his apartment, whiskey glass in his hand as he recalled the events of the last few days.If there was one peculiar thing about him, it was his ability to take inventory of what he'd done so far, so he could see how far he'd come and plan his future better.Arnold took life really seriously. Having tasted the harsh side of life before, he knew that if one got too comfortable with the frivolities, things wouldn’t end up looking good in the ledger book and he just couldn’t afford that.So even though his life was a bit more exciting lately, Arnold kept working like a horse and planning at the same time. He just didn’t want to get carried away. Not at this early stage even. He was yet to make his mark, or even if he had, he wanted to make more marks.He wanted to be at the top of the top. Not necessarily in the greedy way, but then he wanted to build a very solid reputa
Mr Kim, Mr Evans and Mr Cain all looked at Arnold in total shock. He could see the sweat trickling down their faces and necks through the video chat screen, as they mulled over what he’d just told him. They were shaking, floundering, looking for solid ground to hold on to and Arnold beat his chest slightly, proud that he’d done this. He'd made them feel that way, and it felt so damn good.Now they’d know just how it felt like to be helpless. All the times when they’d leeched and made innocent victims who fell into their traps suffer, and the agony and pain they’d caused innocent investors who’d then beg them for a way out. Now it was time for them to eat out of the pot they cooked, and Arnold watched with satisfaction in his face as they cowered.They needed a lesson. A really tough one. And Arnold had delivered ever so spectacularly.Oh, it felt good to be the one delivering this to them, and not the other way would. Usually they’d be the ones doing these things to someone else,
With his plan successfully executed, Arnold was now even richer than before. There was a pep in his step and a feeling of invisibility he carried with him from that day onwards. Like he was untouchable.He recounted the deals with the big boy investors, recalling how he had successfully passed the quest of dominating the gold market. He could still remember what the system had shown him on the screenThe reward he’d gotten, and just how proud Nexus had been off him—something that was strange but uplifting.The Quest details had went thus—[Quest to Dominate the gold market completed successfully!][Quest reward] - $40,000 in your lavish account and another $40,000 in your main account. Some extra dollars. That was just so sweet.The ringing of his alarm clock that early morning, was all it took for Arnold to snap out of his head and come back to reality."Oh, shit," He cursed as he began to get ready for his appointment, for the day.He was to meet up with a realtor for a tour of ano
Vera stepped out from the bathtub, soaking wet. She grabbed her towel and skimmed it over her body then wore her white bathroom robe before stepping out of the bathroom.Like a princess.She wanted to feel like a damn princess.Yes, her life after marriage wasn't the way she wanted it to be, but each time she could catch time alone, she always tried to spend it, imagining she wasn't so miserable. That she enjoyed this life even though it was currently far from what she'd initially wanted.The cold air from the air conditioning in the room caused her to shiver, and she pulled the bathroom robe tighter around her.Home alone, she didn't have to tiptoe around the house. No. Yet, she walked silently, though, already used to it. Her husband wasn't back from work and she surely did not miss him in his absence. Not when he now spent half of his time, trying to add more collection of scars to the ones he'd already created.She grabbed her fraying face towel from her pile of skincare things in