Carol's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, and she shifted comfortably in her seat. "No. It's not exactly good news," she said, biting her lip. "It's about Haley B… She has declined the thirty million dollar offer to endorse us."Damien rolled his eyes. "That much was expected. Haley B is an international superstar with millions of fans. Thirty million dollars means nothing to her. Moreover, she is arrogant and elitist and doesn't listen to anybody but herself." Damien rose from his seat, eager to leave the meeting. "This meeting was pointless…"Carol pursed her lips. "Haley B told me she will sign with us if a condition is fulfilled."The young man stopped in his tracks. "What condition?""That you go take her out for a dinner date."Damien raised an eyebrow and sat back down. "What? Haley B said if I go out with her on a dinner date, she will join us as our brand ambassador?"Carol nodded. "That's correct."Damien crossed his legs and went into contemplation. He had been pursuing H
"Tabitha is an angel!" Dave's message said. "She is beautiful, intelligent, and kind. I love going out with her since we have so much in common. I don't want to jinx it, my friend… But she might be the one! Thanks for everything…"Victor read the text with amusement. Kyle Shannon had gone to great lengths to make up for his sins. He promoted Dave to a manager position, set him up in a newly furnished apartment on a high rise, and arranged a date with a lovely woman. Freshly divorced, Dave seemed to have fallen in love. He had never been happier in his life.Victor slid the phone into his pocket and parked his bike in an inconspicuous corner. He was in the parking lot of Sparkling Soy restaurant, popularly known as SS. It was a sophisticated international chain of restaurants that had opened a new franchise in Springfield. SS did not accept walk-in customers. Reservations were made only after confirming the customer's social status. Therefore, only the wealthy, elite, and influential
The security team nodded and flipped out their stun batons. No matter how fast the stranger was, an attack from all sides would trap even the most gifted fighter. Besides, the stranger had no weapons. It would take a few seconds to neutralize him.Victor felt the entire spectacle to be uninteresting. He picked up a newspaper from a nearby stand."What will you do with the paper?" the head of security snapped. "Do you want to read the news while we're beating you into a pulp?"Victor offered no response but folded the newspaper into a tight roll. The guards shook their heads with pity and then rushed at him, firing their batons on a full charge. They attacked him from all sides. Victor moved so fast that they never had a chance to land attacks. The man slapped the newspaper roll as he glided through the dozen guards at a frightening pace. Within ten seconds, all of them lay on the concrete, writhing in pain. The newspaper roll in Victor's hand looked tattered, as if it had been dipped
Rose and Claire appeared ecstatic, with their arms linked with Victor. It was like they were a romantic threesome walking down the red carpet. They clung to him tightly as if he would run away otherwise. Victor sighed. The beauties were taking the charade too far. Onlookers inside the Sparkling Soy restaurant began to whisper among themselves. They were Springfield's wealthy and influential, who would spread every bit of gossip like wildfire."Who is the mystery man?" "Is he dating both the billionaire goddess and the queen of roses?""Could there be a luckier guy in the world?""Did a man finally meet Claire's high standards?"The place was abuzz with fresh gossip."Don't you like the attention?" Claire whispered to Victor, her eyes sparkling. "You can be much more popular if you become my lover." She waved to a few friends and ignored most of the others."I'd rather keep to myself and not be noticed." the man replied. Rose overheard their conversation. "Don't claim Victor for you
"I also heard about how you rescued Claire,"Rose went on. "You are a force of nature, and I fear your true identity is more shocking than I can imagine." Claire was aware of some of Victor's achievements, yet she eyed him in a new light. The man had exhibited mind-boggling power, influence, intelligence, and physical strength. Was there even more to him she was missing?"Let's order some food," Victor said, unwilling to engage in the topic.Rose pursed her lips. "Okay… I respect that you want to keep it a secret. But I'll find out everything about you one day."Victor offered her a brief nod. It would be pointless to dissuade the young woman at that point. "Your boyfriend had also washed his hands off you after the scandal leaked. Did he return?" The question took Rose by surprise. Her cheeks turned red, and her voice faltered. "Yes…" "Who is your boyfriend, if you don't mind telling me…" Claire asked with narrowed eyes. She couldn't believe that Rose had kept such an important secr
Claire’s eyes widened. "What? Are you kidding me?""I'm most certainly not!" Rose replied.She looked from Victor to Claire in panic. "No! I am not a spy, I swear! I don't know what you are talking about!"Claire inched away from her. "Are you sure about this, Victor? Is she really a source of trouble? Which villain planted her?"The man nodded, his grave eyes trained on Rose. She was trembling in dismay. "My intel is solid and indisputable. I've been looking for an international mastermind terrorist. He's called the puppetmaster, who threatened to upset the world order twenty years back. He has returned to Springfield now, activating his minions and sleeper cells. My informants have reason to believe that Rose is a minion of the puppetmaster."The billionaire goddess looked shocked. Was Rose a terrorist hiding in plain sight? She must be an incredible actress to maintain the cover of an innocent damsel in distress.Rose shook her head vigorously, and her eyes filled with tears. "Plea
After Victor and Claire left, Rose freshened her makeup again and headed towards the parking lot. Victor's interrogation and dramatic revelations had drained her. It was unbelievable that she was intimate with a terrorist in the past. Raylan had never shown any criminal tendencies. But she was too young then to know any better. Rose wondered if Victor still trusted her after discovering she was fluent in Riotish. The beauty wished she could tell Victor the truth—she loved him too much to betray him.The door slid open as Rose approached the elevator, and a young, glamorously dressed couple entered. The male was boyish and slender, sporting an expensive Armani suit. He spoke arrogantly as if he owned the restaurant. Considering that Sparkling Soy only allowed the filthy rich to book tables, it was natural the restaurant would be frequented by vain, entitled men. As soon as the young man laid eyes on Rose, he stopped in his tracks. "Hi! I am Tony," he said, blocking her path. Although
Tony fished into his coat and retrieved an attractive catalog. He opened it up to show her the workflow. "A customer can order premium gifts online after filtering through thousands of options and customizations. You can gift something as simple as a ring to something as expensive as a luxury car. We handle everything, including purchases, transfers, paperwork, gift packaging, special messages, and requests. The final premium-exclusive product is sent to the customer's loved one in an attractive mode.""This is outstanding!" Rose said, perking up. "How much does a gift usually cost?""The gifts begin from one thousand dollars and go as high as a million, depending on what you want to buy. Customer reviews indicate that their relationships with their loved ones changed drastically after using our website. So… what do you think?"Rose pondered the information for a few moments. "I'd love to invest. But first, I want to try out the service."Tony smiled and nodded. "Of course. Do you hav