Andres used the security camera footage to look for the blonde man’s identity on the internet. He didn’t search it for himself but made a worker do it.
And the female worker wearing glasses was shocked by the search results. “SFF Charles!”
“What?” Andres didn’t like the tone of the worker. “Who is he?”
“Straight-fucking-flash Charles, sir!” the worker seemed quite shocked. “This guy got an undefeated record at poker. He pulls out straight flushes half the time and utterly thrashes everyone at the table. Whenever he played, nobody has pulled out a Royal Flush. Never. Not once. Only straight flushes are possible, and that’s also only by him, which is why he’s got the infamous name! Many casinos had already banned this guy from entering!”
“He’s a gambler?”
“He was. After he got banned by most casinos, he began entering official tournaments, unofficial gaming series and charity events. Do you remember the billionaire Bisconsley’s charity event that happened last month? This guy went and earned over 30 million dollars at that event. Everyone thought he would donate, but he didn’t. He became headlines in many newspapers the next day. After suffering backlash from the media, he publicly challenged anyone to come and beat him at poker, and that if he loses, he’d give hundred million dollars to his opponent and also donate another 100 million dollars to the charity.”
“What?” Andres looked like he was hearing some fairy tale. “Just how much money does this bastard have in his bank account?”
“At least 200 dollars from what we can tell, assuming he isn’t lying, of course, sir.”
“Tsk,” Andres walked away angrily.
The worker felt a little disappointed that Andres didn’t even appreciate her for her efforts.
She looked for Myers’ mansion on the internet. “Geez, look at the size of it.”
“Wow, whose building is it?” a male worker joined in.
“Gregory Myers… the founder of the Myers Enterprises. The guy lives in a freaking five-story mansion spread over 15,000 square feet, and don’t even get me started about all the McLarens, BMWs, Ferraris and other exotic luxury cars he owns. He is living like a king.”
“Damn,” the male worker openly displayed his envy as the pictures of Gregory’s lifestyle and his touring moments were being displayed on the desktop. “I want to live like him and one day wake up in a 500 mil~ private jet with coffee and newspaper ready and a beautiful maid to say good morning.”
“Haha, there should be a limit to your dreams,” the female worker laughed a bit disappointedly. “Forget about a 500 million dollar jet, I’d be more than happy if I could buy a 50,000 dollar car. If only I was good at something like Charles was at poker…” she could only wish her fate would somehow change one day.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city.
Charles visited the grocery store he owned and opened as Carlos, just to check on the workers and how things were happening there. The store received produce from a few brokers, exporters, and various other sources. Once he had opened the store, most of the grocery stores he had relationships with terminated their contracts and stopped supplying goods to him. However, there were many entry ports where Carlos could fetch fresh goods from. He had even attended auctions or received donations from local farms whenever possible.
Thanks to his efforts, he became successful, but there was a big difference between his grocery store and others in that SGNG actively delivered groceries to whoever requested them.
The average customer requested 1 to 2 orders per week. SGNG had only one branch, and so the growth rate had slowed down. He approached the restaurants and made deals with them. This was a game-changing move for his company because from then on, he didn’t need to worry about how many grocery orders people made every day. He received stable profits, and the business was going pretty good with high asset turnover. After leaving the company in the hands of a capable worker, he assumed the identity of Charles Wallace.
He approached the grocery store manager as Charles, wearing a rather friendly expression. “The store looks neat, and the products look fresh.”
“Ah, yes,” the manager, an adult man in his fifties, smiled and said, “we take utmost priority in keeping the store clean as the owner wants.” He was cutting melons and packing the pieces in a bag.
“You’re the manager, right? Why are you doing this labor?”
“I’m free right now, and I don't want to be sitting and doing nothing, so…”
Charles smiled pleasantly. “The store owner is lucky to have a hard-working manager like you. How much do you get paid here?”
The manager’s expression changed. He observed Charles a little more intently. He could tell Charles was a rich man just from looking at his attire, but what were his reasons for visiting the store? “What do you want, mister?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to take a look…” Charles started walking away. (I won’t be coming here for a while, so run it well, Tom.) Tom was the name Carlos used to call him back when they used to live in an orphanage as kids. Thomas was his real name, and he couldn’t recognize Carlos because it had been so long, but Carlos didn’t blame him. Also, Carlos couldn’t reveal his true identity to his old friend for his own safety.
Charles walked out of the store, entered his s-class black Mercede. “I couldn’t get my hands on a Ferrari, but this should be enough to not disappoint the bitch,” he thought, and the benz car then took off and disappeared into the distance.
Only the important guests were invited to the birthday party of Caroline Bisconsley, the wife of the late Benedict Bisconsley who loved her wife so much he gave his entire property to her. Naturally, all of her children and relatives very much sucked up to her at every possible moment. While Caroline greeted everyone equally, her eyes caught sight of two handsome men in the crowd. She showed them to her granddaughter, Laurel, from a distance. “The orange-haired one is Marlon Myers. The only son of Gregory Myers,” Caroline said. “From what I know, he’s definitely going to inherit at least half of Myers’ assets.” “He’s good-looking, for sure,” Laurel said and glanced at the second man. “What about the other guy?” “Ah, he’s more of a rogue with a vague background. Don’t know if it’s his real name or not, but he calls himself Charles Wallace. He’s a gambler who’s got hundreds of millions sitting in his bank account.” “Charles Wallace?” Laurel was a little surprised. “Isn’t he the one
“Why did you stop me?” Laurel’s tone was serious, and her gaze was piercing sharp. “She apologized, didn’t she?” Charles’ sent daggers back at her. “That’s…” Laurel bit her lower lip for a second before yanking her hand out of his grip. Quarreling with Charles at such a party wouldn’t do any good for her, she thought. Still, she coldly peered at Narika and said, “Watch where you’re going, woman, or what’s the use of having eyes and big-freaking glasses?” Saying that, she hurried upstairs to get her dress changed. Charles turned and looked at Narika. Their eyes briefly met, and she turned around and hurriedly left. “Not even a thanks, huh…” Charles muttered under his breath. “Not that I expected it, but… she does look a lot different in short hair. Sofia’s shy sister. She’s become quite lean as well. I almost couldn’t recognize her.” Charles had no idea that the Myers family had put Narika in a dog cage and starved her for almost two months, giving her food every few days so she wo
Charles just won another poker competition and pocketed 3.5 million dollars. The press interviewed him afterward and asked for the secret of his success. “Focus and determination. Those two things will help get results.” That was all he said. “What about luck?” a random reporter asked back. “There’s no such thing as luck,” replied Charles. “Everything in this world is ordained by God. He once stripped me of everything, and then he decided to make me sit here and talk with you guys.” “Haha, you mean you’ve become successful because God wished for it and not because of your own hard work?” “Well, I always work hard, but my effort ends with picking the next poker card on the table. I can’t control the cards every other player picks, can I? The picture I see is very little compared to what a bird in the sky can see, let alone the guy sitting up above the sky, don’t you think? So, the answer to your question is… will you live for a thousand years just because you breathe harder?” His
“Sofia, can we have dinner together today?” “I’m not feeling like going outside, so I can’t.” “Sofia, how about lunch in your favorite restaurant tomorrow?” “I have some important work, no.” “Sofia, do you hate me? Why do you avoid eating with me?” “I don’t hate you, Carlos. Why would I hate you, my husband? I know I hit you sometimes, but that’s because I care for you. You meant the world to me.” “Then, let’s have dinner together tonight.” “That’s… I’m afraid I have a party to attend.” “Then, take me along.” “It’s a women only party, so…” Charles kept thinking back on the times he had asked his wife to spare some time for him only to get refused time and again. Now that he was wearing a new suit, tie, and face, she suddenly had the time to not only call and ask him for dinner but to also pick the dinner spot. And he didn’t find it funny. “I was ignorant back then. She looked beautiful, and I took the bait. I had no idea she had a long list of ex-lovers, and she even met th
“There are hundreds of Sofias in this city,” Charles stated, “and I’m sure people can recognize the difference between Sofia Myers and Sofia Becic even though both are in the acting profession.” His words not only restored Sofia’s face but also greatly boosted her confidence. “I don’t use my grandfather’s name before every little thing I do like someone else,” Sofia said, smiling. Laurel’s eyebrow jerked a little, but she did well controlling herself. “Mr. Charles,” she peered at him with intense green eyes. “When are we going to have dinner together?” Charles’ heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t prepared for this question. He had not expected for Laurel to be here, after all. Laurel seemed to be much more of a bold and straightforward woman than Sofia, he thought. And this wasn't good news for him. But what should he answer now? What response would satisfy both the prideful women sitting at the same table and staring at him with inquiring eyes. “Aren’t we already having one?” Charl
The moment they entered the mansion, Victoria came to receive him. The timing was too perfect. He guessed that Sofia must have texted her mom and told her to be ready. He couldn’t help but be a little scared by how fast-thinking they were. They already had so much wealth, and they could sit idly without doing anything, but, no, they were always in search of doubling and tripling their wealth at any cost. No wonder they say, the more money you have, the more they try to look busy and good. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Charles,” Victoria shook hands with him and liked the firmness in his grip. “Please take a seat.” Charles sat comfortably on the couch. In fact, he put one leg on the other, which slightly discomforted Victoria. However, her handshake had rattled him a lot more. The maids brought snacks and drinks. Charles, however, didn’t touch the food until Victoria insisted. “So, Mr. Charles, I heard you are a professional gambler,” Victoria sounded curious, and she had this
Charles was staring at two scent bottles. One was the strawberry flavor, which Sofia loved. The other was the banana flavor, which she hated. There was even a time when she vomited at a ceremony because the banana scent was used on every guest at the entrance. He kept staring at the banana scent bottle. “It’s still too early to put this on.” He picked up the strawberry flavor. He sprayed just enough of it, then put on the mask and the wig and stared at the mirror for a little while. “Should do.” He drove to the cocktail party thrown by the governor of the state, Langdon Campbell. Why was he throwing a party? Charles didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He was invited, and since Myers would likely be invited, he had to attend. The party was much simpler and classier than he expected with a popular band playing soothing music in the background. Langdon was too prideful to talk to every guest attending the party, but his son Arlo was different. He came up to Charles and asked, “Is everyt
When Sofia made her way over, Charles hated that he had to smile and get up from his chair to receive her. In doing so, he brought out an amused smile on her face. “For someone who makes a living by playing poker, you’re really such a gentleman,” she voiced her mind in a soft, tickling tone. “You must have been a knight in your past life.” “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he slightly tilted his head toward her, “though I don’t believe in past lives or future lives for that matter.” “Oh, so you’re one of those types who only believes what he sees.” “Not really. I see what I see, and I believe what I believe.” “Haha. Funny,” Sofia looked around and noticed a particular woman who could rival her in terms of body proportions. Moreover, this woman’s attire all seemed to be made of special editions. She wanted to test him, and so she said, “Do you see her? The one in the shiny blue dress?” “Mm?” Charles took a look. “Yeah. What about her?” “She’s Elizabeth Sterling,” Sofia whispered.