SIMON THE ZILLIONAIRE FROM NOWHERE

4

"We should talk in the car, come on!" Gilbert hurriedly pushed Douglas to leave the terrace of his house.

However, Douglas, still shocked by Eddie's statement, chose to stay and said, "Wait, Gilbert! How could you not tell me about this guy's presence! I mean, this is a ridiculous thing happening in my life! How can a convict become an investor in my company?!"

"Calm down, Dude!" Eddie chuckled.

A grin spread across his face, all the fear and nervousness that had come rushing in earlier had completely disappeared. Eddie seemed like a different person; he was much more confident to refute every word coming out of Douglas's mouth.

"Okay, the situation is getting weirder now, as I said before--." Gilbert's sentence stopped when Eddie signaled him to be silent.

"It’s okay, Gilbert. Even if he doesn't want to work with us, it's not a big deal. I am an investor, and it's clear here who needs whom, right?"

"Ah, you want to act arrogant just because you're Mr. Jehemian's heir? Damn it! You're nothing but a fool who ruined my project back then!" Douglas snapped.

"I indeed don't have enough evidence to make you believe that I didn't steal your files; I was just framed by Frank, your best rival, my ex-director, and best friend. But one thing you should remember, I have a lot of money to make you and your company crumble. I may be new here, but I'm sure my father's influence, Mr. Jehemian, is very significant in making many people bow down. So, it's all up to you; I won't force it if you want to stop us as your permanent investors in Zeula Corp."

Gilbert looked fascinated by Eddie's reaction; he wore a proud expression. Meanwhile, Douglas looked puzzled, furrowing his brow and clenching his hands with emotion.

Silence among the three of them lasted quite a while, and it all ended when Douglas approached Eddie, bowing his head.

"Forgive me for my rude behavior; I deeply regret it. If only there were a more powerful way to redeem the mistakes that happened, I would definitely do it. I beg you to remain an investor in Zeula Corp. Late Mr. Jehemian was a very important person in our company; without Mr. Jehemian, this company would not run smoothly. And also, regarding the betrayal by Frank, I am ready to bring him back into this case. It might be a little difficult, though, considering he's close to one of the minister's children who organized this implant chip project."

"Wait, what? Weren't you the winner of this project? From what you said, it sounds like Frank might likely replace your position. What happened?" Eddie asked.

Douglas raised his head, his expression, previously filled with anger, now much more relaxed. "Let me explain as we go, and just to inform you, Frank will be coming to this party."

Eddie grinned sideways. He patted Gilbert's shoulder and said, "Well, let's go, then. Let's not waste our time because I can't wait to see Frank's face. I miss seeing my friend."

Douglas walked ahead to the car, and Eddie's step was halted by Gilbert. Gilbert seemed to shake his head and whispered, "I never expected you could change in an instant! As far as I remember, you were very scared earlier, but now you just made Douglas weak!"

"I'm confused too, it's like all that anger disappeared just like that. Courage came, and I imagined how I had to be treated like a dog in prison, not given a chance to speak and always being used as a punching bag for people there. It all seemed to crush my worries; besides, I'm also aware of the influence I have now. I hope you can always help me, Gilbert, even though I know it must be painful for you to give up everything for a stranger who suddenly came into your life."

"Of course, I'm jealous, but I'm still sane enough not to do anything stupid. This is not a movie, Eddie, just relax. I appreciate how the process is going in my life; I'll support you until you're truly able to walk alone. Besides, this isn't free; I haven't made an offer to you yet, have I?" 

Eddie shrugged his shoulders, and they continued their interrupted steps to get into the car.

"Do you want to listen to the radio?" Douglas asked as the car drove off.

"No, I just want to hear the rest of Frank's story," Eddie replied.

"Ah, yeah, that's much more interesting. So, Frank used to cheat on my fiancée; this will be the starting point of why he could get close to the minister's child. My fiancée was close friends with him, and coincidentally, the minister's child, Monica, was interested in Frank.

When the old minister stumbled upon a case and had to be dismissed, Monica's father was appointed as the minister, and this tempted Frank. He saw such a huge opportunity to snatch this project, especially since I was having difficulty with funds because your father had just passed away. This happened five months ago, by the way.

You know, the value of this project is very large; everyone would rush to get it. The oddity began when my chip, which was initially very good and working well, turned out to have errors and was suspected to trigger a very aggressive disease that could kill people within two months.

Our work had to be stopped, and we were asked to wait for further orders. And now, I am surprised by the development of the chip from Frank's company. With you here now, we can move forward and even sue them all, considering I haven't received any letter for the cancellation of this project," Douglas explained.

"Interesting, we won't stop and give up so easily. I'm sure Mr. Jehemian has a lot of influence in the government, right, Gilbert?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, the minister mentioned by Douglas is our father's enemy. They had a disagreement back when I was little; I still remember it vividly. So, maybe this will be an interesting war between you who have grudges against each other."

Eddie nodded slowly. In his head, he remembered how Frank trapped him on the rooftop that time.

"We will make Frank regret playing with us, and by the way, Douglas, this is the same car as the one Frank gave me when I was framed. What happened? How could he use your car?"

"Since you said he framed you, I realized that night my fiancée did borrow this car to go to her grandmother's house. So, it's highly likely that it was a plan they both concocted. I truly regret what happened; maybe this will ease your pain a little. My ex-fiancée is now in jail for embezzlement, so only Frank is left for us to deal with together," Douglas replied, staring at Eddie through the rearview mirror near his head.

Eddie rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. His young brown eyes seemed filled with anger. "Yeah, I don't care about your fiancée, by the way, but one thing's for sure, Frank is our common target."