"Are the employees here all so insensitive?" Alex mumbled to himself; he was a bit dissatisfied as he continued to browse the variety of luxury suits!Just then, Alex paused as he saw two boutique staff members glancing in his direction. At first, he thought that they were simply arranging the tuxedos.It looks like they've been trailing behind him for some time. Of course, Alex would notice the two of them.At this point, Alex was watching as the two male boutique employees walked up to him. One was tall and skinny, while the other was short and chubby."Sir, my apologies for the inconvenience, but...." The short, chubby boutique employee had a nonchalant expression as he said that sentence. He halted his speech for a moment before proceeding. "....But we would like you to leave this section. As you can see, only our distinguished guests are allowed here. May I ask you to leave?"Alex could only shrug it off as he nodded."I understand." At this time, Alex was in another section of
Alex was seconds away from paying for the Giorgio Armani suit that he liked, but unfortunately, someone had to pick a fight with him for the suit, and on top of that, the sudden arrival of the boutique manager!Alex couldn't help but click his tongue. "I hope this lady manager is sensible..."But then, Alex's facial muscles twitched as he saw a female employee from earlier who was occasionally glancing with ridicule at him.That lady employee came to explain in a whisper at the boutique manager's ears, which made her eyebrows flare as she took a peek at Alex as though she were sizing him up.Alex didn't expect that he would be cut off by the arrival of the boutique manager, who wouldn't let him explain his side of the story. Clearly, she was being one-sided!"Actually, Mrs. Manager Katherine, this is what happened....." Mr. Kim was very articulate with his words, telling the manager about his grievance about buying the clothes."...I already ordered it." Mr. Kim managed to convince th
Inside the office of the Landmaster Company, there was quite a commotion as the company worker saw the announcement on the bulletin board."Huh? The sales manager position is being changed?" A female company employee chimed on the side."Who could be the new manager?" Another company employee commented, and just like that, everyone in the office started gossiping with interest."Who knows? But someone from our department would likely be chosen!" Someone excitedly remarked.Just then a male employee blurted out, interrupting everyone. "Hey guys, I heard something unbelievable from the Company Secretary. It's Alex; he's the new sales manager!" "What?! Although it's the worst managerial position, is Alex capable? I highly doubt it, and wouldn't the previous Roger Plump hate him to the bone?"The Landmaster Company's sales department employees had an expectant look on their faces as they knew that another interesting occurrence was bound to happen!Currently, Alex could be seen calmly pa
Alex knows that he has a bad record in the company with his conflict with the previous CEO's son, Bruce, and his ex-girlfriend Shenna, and even now, his coworkers' gossiping hasn't completely died down. A single spark of suspicion was enough for Alex's co-workers to suspect him. Although Alex could just avoid and dismiss all of these tiresome accusation by declaring openly that he was the company CEO and that it was his father, Charles Crown, who brought it for him. However, where would be the fun in that? Not to mention, Alex wanted to know what kind of cards his ex-manager Roger had in his hands!Alex couldn't help but crack up, 'it would appear that a certain someone would have to run around butt naked,' he thought while glancing at the ex-manager Roger putting on a show. He was at the peak of his confidence that he could pin the blame on Alex. With that, the ex-manager Roger stated viciously. "The loser would have to run butt naked in front of everyone!" Hearing that Alex's
'Forgive Mr. Roger?' Alex couldn't help but laugh in his mind at manager Glenn's statement.In response, Alex said. "Manager Glenn, the decision is already mad-""That's where you are wrong, junior Alex!" Managed Glenn confidently said while cutting Alex's words in half. "As you can see, the other department manager has given their vote for Mr. Roger to remain as the sales manager!"Alex wasn't that naive. The sudden appearance of manager Glenn and the other department managers and their voting for Mr. Roger to remain as the sales manager goes without saying that it wasn't a mere coincidence! It's clear as day that they want to save Mr. Roger's position.At this time, department manager Glenn let out a hearty laugh. "Junior Alex, it looks like manager Roger won't be giving you the position anytime soon!"Instantly, a flash of coldness appeared deep within Alex's dark eyes. So they want to bully him with their position and numbers? If it was before, he would have compromised. Alex snor
Meanwhile.... "He is not a man of his word. What a bull!" "So our former manager only amounted to this much? He doesn't have a backbone. This is disappointing!" Alex's coworkers didn't hold back on their comments and were getting more and more vicious than their previous remarks. It had to be mentioned, that ex-manager Roger's relationship with the other managers was starting to collapse while they were withdrawing themselves, as they didn't want to be associated with him any longer than necessary as there was a high possibility that they would be affected; it was too risky. Also, they didn't want to make an enemy out of the company employee and become a target for criticism! "Alright, alright, I'll do it." The ex-manager Roger felt like pulling every strand of hair out of his body. He glared at Alex, who merely smiled nonchalantly, as though his misery had nothing to do with him. Ah! That guy pissed him off to the bone. 'Isn't it simply undressing for a duration of time? I
Alex drove his Mercedes-Benz toward the location that Ms. Athena had given him. He glanced at his wristwatch; it was 4:00 p.m. or noon, so there was quite a bit of traffic in the city center.He let out a sigh; luckily, he arrived in time at the meeting place. Looking ahead, Alex could see an elegant-looking restaurant as the diners with elegant and expensive suits and dresses entered with their partners. "So this is the place..." Alex took a deep breath and hoped that nothing would go wrong. Soon, Alex entered the prominent-looking restaurant, but the first thing he noticed was that there wasn't any presence of bodyguards, which is odd considering this is a high-end restaurant. What's even more unusual is that there weren't any diners present inside, apart from the occasionally appearing servers. It was very quiet inside.'Weird....' Alex murmured to himself.Anyway, Alex took his seat at the farthest table. 'Miss Athena said I should wait here; I hope it won't be long...."Just th
And just like what Ms. Athena told Alex, though limited, this person in front of him had a pale complexion, a tall figure, and an aura that commanded respect, but at the same time, he was the lustful type. He was expecting it to be merely a rumor, but it would appear it was true.He was no ordinary man; on both sides, two ladies wearing similar masks were serving him liquor, while the other one was very touchy with him."Hmm? Who are you?" The young man finally took notice of Alex's arrival, but then he recalled something as he spread his arm wide open in comfort while inviting Alex to take a seat on the expensive couch.In response, Alex said."I am, Ale-...." In the middle of his sentence, Alex halted his words."What's the matter?" The young man smiled kindly at Alex.Alex shook his head. It was better for him to hide his real name in this kind of environment, not to mention the curious and judging eyes of the guests that were observing him. With that being said, Alex proceeds to
The guests in the Golden Paradise were stunned, and then they started to hang their heads down, terrified at this group of mafia-like men. They didn't want to get into trouble themselves, so they walked a bit further from the entrance.On the other hand, the employees were intimidated, not to mention that they had just seen the guards of the Golden Paradise outside groaning in pain. Clearly, they were beaten up.The senior manager gathered his courage. "Sir, please leave you're scaring the guests; if you don't, I'm afraid I would have to call the polic-"Before the senior manager could finish speaking, Alex cut him off. "It's alright, manager Kevin; from here, I'll handle this." Listening attentively to Alex's words, senior manager Kevin immediately bowed in Alex's direction and spoke politely. "Yes sir. Please excuse my rudeness." Alex turned his attention to this fellow, who was a member of the Crown family and must likely be his cousin...Alex never imagined meeting his cousin a
Teacher Vivian recovered from her shock and glared at her husband. "What are you waiting for? Shouldn't you carry your own luggage?""Um..." Richard's face was turning a shade of red as he hurriedly grabbed the bags Alex was carrying."Y-You must be tired, junior brother?" Richard wanted to keep his dignity, so he was making excuses not to be obvious. Furthermore, he had no idea about Alex's identity; he was horrified inside thinking about offending someone he shouldn't have. However, would Alex not notice what Richard was thinking? So he feigned ignorance and stated it in a calm voice. "Tired? Not at all. I can carry it for you all the way."Richard was stunned then, his back broke a cold sweat as he felt like crying with no tears. Not to mention, his wife was glaring at him."I-I'll carry it from here, please." Richard uttered, and at the end of his sentence, his voice was the sound of a mosquito; it was barely audible. On the other hand, Teacher Vivian came forward and faced Alex
"What do you mean my credit card didn't go through?" Richard was frowning heavily. How come his credit card wasn't accepted? He was pretty sure it had some savings in it.The server rolled his eyes, although he was annoyed. Nevertheless, he still had to maintain professionalism. With it in mind, he politely explained. "With all due respect, we only accept credit cards from reputable banks, mostly VIP card holders, but we do have a beer minimum; it would be the C.F.R. City Bank."The moment Richard heard those words, he was dumbfounded. What the... VIP card holders? What's even more incredulous is that the C.F.R. City Bank was considered a beer minimum.'Wasn't the C.F.R. City Bank the biggest bank in the City?' Richard mumbled in disbelief. On the side, teacher Vivian was similarly stunned, but soon she recovered, and she was starting to worry as she uttered. "Does it mean we will have to leave?""Let me think..." Richard gritted his teeth; he shouldn't have lost his cool, yet he had
Around ten in the morning, Alex finally arrived at his destination.He got out of the car while taking off his eyewear, which caused his brows to involuntarily twitch as he felt the heat rays from the glaring sun. Then he turned his attention toward the famous property of Antonio Florence.Undoubtedly, the plantsIt was a mixture of greenery and modernity, as the villas and the mansion were surrounded by gorgeous, rare plants. Alex wondered how they managed to grow those plants that could only be seen in different countries!Indeed, the place deserves its name, the Golden Paradise.Just then, someone came toward Alex."Sir, this way, please." A young man in his late teens who looks like an employee with his white and black uniform came to Alex and led him toward where a group of visitors was.'Kate and the others are not present. They've already gone ahead; I should look for them later.' Alex mumbled while scanning the crowd, looking for his co-workers, only to fail.At this point, as
Weeks passed, and everything was back on track. Alex could be seen jogging around the plaza, as the children were playing while noticing the young man, Alex pass them by while gasping for air.Gradually, Alex slowed down. He was thirsty and dead tired from working out. He took a seat on a vacant bench, gulping down the water bottle and putting some on top of his head to refresh himself. "That felt good," Alex uttered while feeling his muscles start to relax.Just then, Alex heard his name being called from a distance. He shifted his gaze toward the direction of the voice and saw a young lady wearing a yoga outfit.Rihanna? Alex thought in surprise at her appearance."Alex..." Rihanna was catching her breath as she spoke. "I noticed you from the apartment's balcony earlier; I wanted to tag along, but you were jogging too fast... Oh, I almost forgot this is for you."Rihanna took out a small pink towel and handed it to Alex in a shy manner."Wow, thank you, Rihanna." Alex grinned as
At this juncture, the veterans were starting to incircle around Alex; one of the veterans even moved a step closer toward Shenna.Just as the perverted veteran was about to grab her, Alex suddenly blocked his outstretched hands with his body."Tell your men to stop." Alex's words were directed toward the veteran leader, who was simply standing at the back of the group of veterans.Hearing Alex's sentence, the veteran leader signaled to his group of veterans to stop."You want me dead, right?" Alex said while pushing the terrified Shenna behind him to cover him from the veterans."Indeed, we want you dead; your head will be valuable." The veteran leader's statement was very alarming."At least give me a reason why you are after me... Is it because of the Crown family?" There was no need for Alex to hide his identity at this point; most likely, they already knew him beforehand. What's more puzzling is: what was their intention?"You sure have guts." "Alright, I'll explain it to you....
Bruce was taken aback as he looked at the furious Alex and Shenna, whose eyes were burning with defiance as she glared daggers at him."Pft." Bruce couldn't hold it in as he burst out laughing, and he wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes."You two are really similar! Showing such a face, how scary."Bruce stopped laughing as he continued to mock Alex. "Remember this place? Isn't it ironic? It's where your 'little girlfriend' decided to betray you because she wanted to use me to get promoted? If I were in your position, there's no way I would date such a woman, not to mention putting myself in danger!"Bruce wasn't done mocking Alex, as he proceeded to speak while leaning at the table with a grim face. "If you aren't blind, then you're certainly a fool!"In Bruce's opinion, Alex was an idiot.Alex understood that Bruce was using this tactic to play with his head. He was cleverly sowing discord between him and Shenna. But would he allow himself to fall for it easily? No!However,
The sudden interruption made Bruce's countenance stiffen; it took him a few seconds to recover as he mumbled. "Speaking of the devil!"There wasn't a doubt in Bruce's mind who the caller was! Without hesitation, Bruce picked up the call."My, my, I didn't think you'd be this fast for a fool!"Alex didn't immediately answer, making Bruce irritated. Just as he was about to yell at Alex on the phone, Alex's voice could be heard."... I'm outside, the money is already here, and I want to see her." Bruce signaled his men to go downstairs. He chuckled coldly while replying. "Showing concern, aren't we? Why don't I invite you in?""Alright." Alex replied on the phone.Bruce thought for a moment before responding in a mocking manner. "Do you want me to put your little girlfriend on the phone?" "There's no need for that; just make sure not a strand of hair is missing; otherwise, you'll regret it." Alex's tone of voice was deep.Without giving Bruce a chance to reply, the call was suddenly cu
Shenna was thinking hard about what purpose her abductors were after...Was it money? No, that shouldn't be the case, as who didn't know she didn't have anything on her name...Shenna couldn't help but think of her family, but then she smiled bitterly; knowing her family, she could easily imagine their indifferent reaction; they wouldn't lift a single finger to help her. If they knew he was abducted, they would even blame her for being careless...Unconsciously, Shenna bit her cheery, ripe lips until they bled; however, she didn't care as she ignored the pain.Although she could feel her anxiety rising, she had no idea where she was or what she should do; she was all alone in this lonely room, waiting for her abductors to do their worst...'No, I hate this feeling. I need to do something; that jerk Alex would mock me if I didn't do something. Shenna did so angrily in her heart; she didn't want Alex to look down on her. She inhaled deeply. She needed to figure out how to escape here be