Zeta's heart raced as she faced the board of directors. There was a sudden calmness running through her veins that slowly drowned the rage piercing deep into her bones.
She flashed a confident smile at the board of directors, who seemed puzzled by Noah's presence.
Zeta then turned to Davide who seemed confused.
Davide was stunned, seeing how they lowered their heads to Zeta made him want to question everything but instead, he caught a glimpse of Noah.
A smirk played on Davide's lips, seeing Noah still trembling. He wanted to pull his tie and punch his face.
He wanted to embarrass him like Noah did to him, but Davide suddenly felt Zeta's hand on his arm.
He stared at her hand, his brows raised in curiousity, he looked back at her meeting her gaze.
Zeta met his eyes, she urged him to calm down silently praying that he gets her message.
Davide nodded slightly.
"Who is this man?" Zeta asked the board of directors.
She could feel rage coursing through her veins. She pointed at Noah, her eyes squinted and her voice increased as she asked, "Is this the man you sent to welcome me?"
The board of directors exchanged confused glances among themselves, clearly not recognizing Noah at all.
One of them said, "We have no knowledge of this individual. He does not belong to our team."
Zeta smirked and walked over to Noah, "They don't seem to know you..."
Zeta's smile faded, and her eyes narrowed as she leaned closer to Noah, who looked increasingly terrified. She approached him with a cold smile, her demeanor commanding and unwavering.
Zeta's tone was half threatening and half coaxing. She looked straight at the man and said, "So, you aren't the boss around here?"
Noah's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground in a kneeling position, his voice trembling as he said, "I-I am a new manager here." His earlier bravado had completely vanished, replaced by pure fear.
The man's gaze were fixed on the ground. His body quivering as he thought-
'Is she the boss?'
Noah knew without having to think that he was in trouble.
Zeta crossed her arms, her expression stern. "And yet, you posed like you run things here? Care to explain why?"
Noah's face turned pale, and he struggled to find an answer. "I-I didn't know who you were," he stammered. "I thought you were intruders trying to enter without permission."
Davide, who had been observing the exchange, couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Intruders?" he said, shaking his head incredulously.
Noah's fear intensified as he realized the gravity of his mistake. He had let his arrogance cloud his judgment, and now he was facing the consequences.
Zeta's eyes bore into Noah, her voice firm. "Your actions have caused unnecessary delays and disruptions. This is unacceptable, especially from a manager."
Noah could only nod, unable to come up with any excuses. He had been caught in his own web of lies and deceit, and there was no way out.
Zeta eyes narrowed as she flashed a cunning smile at Noah, "You said I can only enter if I spend a night with you, that you knew the owner."
Zeta's patience was wearing thin, and she couldn't help but press Noah further. "So, who is the owner of this plaza?" she demanded, her voice tinged with frustration. "Introduce me to him."
Noah's face turned even paler, and he stammered, "I-I was just talking nonsense. I don't know the owner."
Davide couldn't hide the mockery in his voice as he said, "You made such request earlier, knowing you're just a manager?" he questioned Noah.
Noah hung his head, his guilt weighing heavily on him. He had let his fear and insecurity cloud his judgment, and now he was facing the consequences of his actions.
Zeta's expression softened slightly as she looked at Noah, "You have to pay for your cowardice."
As the board of directors learned about Noah's deceitful actions, murmurs of concern and fear spread among them. They realized that Noah was their own employee, and his actions had caused embarrassment and potential harm to their consortium.
One of the directors interrupted as he said, "Considering what Noah has done, he must be fired immediately. We can't tolerate such behavior."
Zeta glanced at Davide, silently seeking his opinion. However, Davide shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't want to reveal his true identity as the owner of the plaza. Zeta understood the situation and took charge.
"Based on his actions, I agree that Noah should be dismissed from his position," Zeta said firmly. "We can't afford to have dishonesty and deception among our team. He has violated our trust."
The board of directors nodded in agreement, and Noah's fate was sealed. He was escorted out of the plaza by security, his head hung low as he was being dragged out.
As Noah struggled against their firm grip, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't believe how quickly things had unraveled, and he blamed Davide for his current predicament. In his mind, Davide was nothing more than a gigolo who had somehow tricked his way into a position of power.
With a burning sense of anger and resentment, Noah vowed to take revenge on Davide.
Zeta turned to Davide after Noah had left, her expression grave. "I'm sorry that this happened," she said sincerely.
Davide smiled faintly. "It's not your fault," he said. "Noah made his own choices."
"We apologize." The directors lowered their head as they waited patiently for Davide to accept their apology.
But Davide's gaze were fixed on Noah. He could see his malicious gaze, despite being thrown out and treated like the fraud he was.
Zeta noticed the directors still had their heads lowered. She looked at Davide, and noticed he was focused on Noah, she slightly pitched his arm, and instantly, Davide's gaze fell on her.
"The directors..." She whispered to him and he spun around instantly.
Davide looked at the board of directors and accepted their apology in a composed manner. His eyes wavered between their faces, expecting to see a glint of familiarity in their eyes, but they didn't seem to know him.'They don't know me?' He scoffed and his gaze drifted to Zeta. Zeta's lips widened as she smiled at Davide. She held Davide's hand, "Let's go." Davide stared at her for a moment, and sighed. When he looked at the board of directors, the confusion on their faces seemed to have worsen seeing Zeta was holding his hand but none said a word.They entered the elevator, heading to the 54th floor which was the highest floor in the building. Within minutes, the elevator opened. Seeing how big and exorbitant the plaza was, a sudden rush of doubt rushed through Davide's spine. His heart thumped faster, and his mind was a whirlwind of emotions. He couldn't believe that he was now the owner of the biggest company in the city. Excitement, fear, and a sense of overwhelming respons
The middle-aged woman sat in her office, her face red with anger. She had called Sarah, the underling, to her office, and she was not happy with what she had to say."Sarah, how could you not tell me in advance?" the woman cursed, her voice rising in frustration.Sarah felt wronged by the accusation. "I sent you an email, but you didn't reply," she protested.The middle-aged woman sneered at her underling. "You think that's an excuse? You should have made sure I got the message, it's all your fault."Sarah's heart sank. She had been working hard to keep up with the demands of her boss, but it seemed like nothing was ever enough. She tried to speak up, but the woman cut her off."Enough. You'll just have to help this young man finish the process. And don't mess up again, or else you'll be out of job."With that, the woman sat back in her chair, pulling out her cell phone as if nothing had happened. She suddenly paused and turns to Davide who gave been quietly watching her and Sarah."G
The hours dragged on, and finally, the work day had come to an end. Davide remained in the office because he had no clue where to go, and he needed to talk to Zeta about the things he noticed in the office.Under everyone's watchful gaze, the manager still sent lecherous looks toward Gwen. It irritated Davide and made his heart boil with rage.The company was the biggest in the country, and only the workers knew what was happening behind closed doors. There were problems that none of them could speak about, and if they attempted to, they would be silenced or tagged as whistleblowers, which would greatly affect their opportunity of having a job in the future.This was one thing that Davide understood regarding the matter concerning the manager and Gwen, and he also guessed that Gwen wasn't the first woman that had gone through unspeakable things in the company. There was Sarah, who was underappreciated and was going through a lot of maltreatment from her superior. Davide couldn't even
Davide absorbed the information while nodding his head. He checked the wristwatch tied around his wrist for the time. He still had a few hours before the dinner. "You should get rid of that". Derek pointed at his wrist. "You're going to inherit all of this and you shouldn't be caught wearing something so cheap". Davide chuckled, he instinctively hid his wrist away, "nobody should know I'm alive just yet. I cannot head a company as big as this when I have no past experience about working. I made the decision to work as an employee first before I'm announced as the head." Derek smiled, "you're just like your father; humble and naive". Davide chuckled. "You should meet my son, he's twelve years old and he is almost a teenager now and he isn't holding back on his rebellion. He's nothing like any twelve year old boy and he keeps getting on my nerves. I don't blame him though, when I was his age, I gave my parents a hard time." Davide laughed. Derek led him out of the study and Ze
Zeta was distraught by the sudden emotions that washed over her. It couldn't be denied that the main reason she reacted that way towards him was because Davide was a handsome man.It was a truth that could not be put forward for more investigation. And then, such a handsome man was wearing a suit.Davide had a lithe figure, his skin was marvelous and his body was perfect. He had long legs, slim build and an aura of beauty. 'of course, it had to be that. It had to be because he is so handsome'. Zeta thought.Her once raging heart was finally put to rest and the smile that appeared on her face couldn't be anymore platonic."Marvelous!" She exclaimed. "It's such a perfect fit".Davide chuckled shyly, darting his eyes away, he removed the jacket and handed it over to Zeta.She collected it with raised eyebrows and a teasing smile, "what is this?"Davide chuckled, "I don't know if it's a good idea to own things like this. I still have to go to dinner and it's already past hours".Somehow,
Davide felt like he was rooted to the earth. He had momentarily forgotten what he had planned on doing and where he had found himself was in the deep waters of Avery's eyes.'fuck'.He was too distraught to allow himself to get lost in wondering what she was doing there or if she had appeared suddenly because she had someone tracking him.He wanted to go over to her and maybe talk to her but then he remembered that Avery did not want to talk to him.He remembered the abuse, the ridicule, the disrespect and suddenly, the desire to hear the sound of her voice faded away. It was immediately replaced by the pricking hate he held for her.And that hate reflected in his expression.He walked away towards the bathroom to find Gwen.There were two doors standing beside each other, one was labeled 'Men' and the other, 'Women'. Davide didn't know if it was proper to just barge into the women's bathroom so he decided to knock.He placed two knocks then placed his ear on the door trying to liste
As the fist collided with his jawline for the second time that night, a series of gasps filled the room, especially from Davide's colleagues.The men there had no idea of what their boss was doing and so they thought that Davide was being a piece of shit for punching their boss.They all stood up to defend their boss."What the fuck is your problem, newbie?" One of them asked.The other one, probably called Ray, wasn't so wordy, he sent a punch at Davide and it hit him right on his nose.Gwen shrieked when she saw Davide's body falling to the ground. The place became rowdy and scattered all of a sudden. The male colleagues were making their way over to Davide to continue with their assault."Stop. Everybody stop!" A woman appeared, she wasn't a customer. From her figure and elegant appearance, it was obvious that she was the manager of the restaurant."I want you all to leave this place right now. Violence is not condoned here and you all should leave right away"."I don't think it'
Davide frowned as his eyes met sparkling blue glossy, wide childish eyes. The twelve years old boy standing in the middle of the room didn't act like he was in a strange environment. He had his pajamas on and a curious look on his face.His eyes left Davide's own to scrutinize the room with an unreadable expression on his face."My dad told me you're my cousin". He suddenly said,Davide was beyond baffled at the boy's aura and the tone of his voice like he was talking to someone that can actually be fucked with."He also told me that everything I own, all the money belongs to you". Davide decided that the child was unworthy of his unwavering attention. He walked to the closest to grab some clothes."Why is it so?""How come you own everything?" He asked again."I'm your uncle's son". Davide answered nonchalantly."My uncle died a long time ago, why don't I know you?"Davide found a set of blue pajamas folded neatly waiting for him in the closet. He grabbed it and fitted himself int
Davide and Mr Lee decided to check on the designers. The car ride had been silent, upon the discovery they just made considering Avery and even Mr Lee himself, one would believe they would be talking non stop about it but surprisingly, they weren't.They were both silent. Keeping their thoughts in, wondering if the other would like to talk. "How do you feel?" Mr Lee broke the silence, "you've been quiet, it makes me anxious".Davide chuckled, "I'm just thinking about what happened"."You have a suspect in mind" it wasn't a question, it was more of a declaration because it was the truth. These past few days, Mr Lee could say that he knew Davide to a extent and he knew that Davide had been thinking about this since Avery had said itFor Davide to have been told that he knew who the person was, his thoughts had not been able to settle, the erraticness of his heart was what shut his mouth up. He could not voice how he was feeling, where was hurting or would he come up with what to do abo
Cassie and Avery were no doubt excited about this. Seeing that Avery knew a lot about fashion and knew a lot of designers, Cassie decided that in this secret mission of theirs, Avery was going to be her assistant."I think it'll help tremendously if we were to leave the country". Avery said.Cassie, Davide and Mr Lee looked at her in confusion. They couldn't understand how this would help, they couldn't see it from her point of view.Avery recognized the confusion in them and only smiled before further explaining: "I know Cassie would be the last person they would think to search, but she will still be on the list, they know you guys are together and that Cassie is obviously on your side. So the best way to ensure that they don't find out about this, is to do this in another country".Davide nodded his head, "you're right," he said. "Leaving the country is a good pla
Mr Lee sounded so broken as he talked about his father. When he had told Davide about his family, he never really went into details about anything, only sliding over the surface as he spoke about the things his parents had put him through. He didn't talk about the punches, about how he had to defend himself against them, about how he had felt to see the man he called his father, the man he was supposed to love, the man that was supposed to be his hero turn into his greatest adversary. He never spoke about how those punches destroyed him, he only talked about how his mother's words broke him acting like the effect of his father's actions had not in any way affected him when in actuality it had made him less of a person. He had lived with the trauma, he had received abuses, punches from people just because it felt natural. But he was an adult now and he knew nothing about fighting back. He could not fight back because he was broken, he had been made less by the most important person to
Davide's heart was beating against his chest violently like drums at a carnival as he waited impatiently for Avery to say what she wanted to say. He was anxious, he wondered if Avery was confident in her own answer, if she really believed that she knew the person.He figured that if she really does know who it was that had come for the gold, then he would know that person as well. Sure, Avery did know a lot of people that he didn't know but the list of suspects was reduced to the people that Avery knew who also knew Davide. This attack, this hate was only against him. It was too strong to be said that It was targeted at the people that were around Avery. This person was coming for Davide directly and so he must know them.A fear gripped his heart, he had known for a while now that the person who was plotting against him in such a way was an acquaintance or even a friend, but being met with facts that proved his deductions had been corr
It did not cross Avery's mind that that was a question she should be asking a perpetrator who was clothed in black clothes. She was, however, anxious and also very scared. The physique of the person was tiny, they looked short and for some reason very curvy.Avery kept scrutinizing the person as the two of them stayed in the same position, eyes focused on the other. Avery wss unrelenting, she was not going to back down, she had been trying her hardest to atone for her sins and now that it seemed she really didn't need atonement the least she could do was give back what she had taken. But this person was going to rob her of that chance.It was highly impossible that Avery was going to let them.The person's eyes darted around the room, possibly looking for an opportunity to escape, but it was unlike it seeing that the room was messy and the only way that they would be able to escape was to jump over heaps of clothes or maybe fly, and it was very impossible that the person could fly.Av
The car ride was silent. But it was mainly because they both just got in. Avery wanted to say a lot of things to him but they mostly just circled around the words: "Thank you".She didn't know where to begin, his eyes were on the road as he drove, she wondered if she was the only one feeling this way. It wasn't so hard to guess that he was just being nice, he just pitied her. Though she felt that maybe it was more than that, maybe there was something else but she couldn't really say. She didn't know how to start the conversation. She didn't know how to start telling him thank you.Mr Lee however was more nervous than she was. He was sweating in places he didn't think existed. His heart was beating very fast and he was surely in need of a conversation.He wanted to talk to her about what happened, however, he was worried that maybe she would get the wrong idea, it was mainly that he wanted to talk about when the depression started, when she started to feel like there was nothing holdin
Cassie had not been expecting that Davide would suddenly ask her that question and especially at a time that really wasn't conducive. They had just more or less had a slight misunderstanding, they were still regulating being a couple. This was the first relationship she had ever been in. And although for Davide it was different, he had even been married but this was all new to her.She had had flings in the past, she had had one night stands but never a relationship. She loved Davide, truthfully. She had always loved him and when he came back into her life, it had been an earth shattering effect on her. She did imagine how it would be like to get married to Davide but it was still so soon. It was too soon for her. "I know you might think that I'm crazy that I'm making a very hasty decision but if everything goes south with this then i want to have the experience of being married to you before I die" Cassie shook her head, "you're not going to die." She had wanted to deflect, probabl
I don't care," Avery said, "I don't care if I die, I have nothing, I have no one in this world anymore. I only bring pain so yes, let them exterminate me. I have lived a fulfilling life".Mr Lee's heart lurched at those words. He was the only one other than Avery who had ever found himself at that place in life where he couldn't bother himself to stay alive, the time where he had just left the hospital. Then it had dawned on him that his mother would prefer that he was dead. At that time, he actually wanted to die, he didn't know what he was staying alive for. His family didn't want him, life was too hard, nothing was going his way. He really wanted to die and get it over and done with.He related quite well with what Avery was feeling and he pitied her because he knew how hard it must've been on her to make that decision that she didn't care. She was being brave but also very suicidal. He recalled the conversation he had with Davide, looking at her, he could see the shadow of that wo
Cassie got serious, she adjusted in her car and then looked around to the people who were with her."An address came to my phone" she said, "it said I would find the person who tried to kill my mother there".Avery's heart skipped a beat. If she had been holding a glass of anything, that glass would've fallen down, scattered, never could it be glued together again.She didn't need a professor to let her know that those people had discarded her. Since she didn't have anybody they could threaten her with, now they wanted to do away with her. Avery wanted to laugh, she shook her head slightly, her mother left her, her daughter did and now even these people wanted to leave her. Avery felt like she was no different from a used tissue, once she had served her purpose, she was thrown away into a waste bin.This was the waste bin she had found herself. She was also kind of happy that they didn't try to kill her, rather they wanted someone else to send her to prison. "And of course I didn't