CHAPTER 40: NO BULLSHIT BUSINESS

"You—" he looked around the room.

It was him?

"I keep my promises... And bets"

With so much audacity for someone that lost.

"You’ve got guts"

"What?" He scoffed,

"It’s a miracle I made time to come. Being famous sure is hell"

"Having a famous slave will certainly draw attraction" Trent huffed,

"I don’t like that"

Tyson was quiet for a while,

"Uh..."

"Yeah?"

"A–About the Program issues... I’m sorry" he muttered,

"What?" Trent blinked,

Did he just apologize?

The urge to push him further and mock him crept in but he held himself back.

Looked too sincere to taunt.

Ugh.

"That doesn’t fit you" he muttered,

"So, what am I going to be doing for you?" Tyson asked, looking away,

"...You seem to need help." He looked at him and sighed,

"What do you need?"

Tyson flinched as he heard this. Was this another ploy to mock him?

He scanned him for a while.

"If I’m going to work with you, and we need to fool the public, I thought..."

"Just say it, Man..."

"A security company. I’ve always wanted to start one"

"How shameless of you" Trent replied chuckling.

His chest tightened. This was definitely a bad idea.

Those bastards had reached out and he wanted to make a move of his own.

"Alright"

What? He turned to Trent.

"Don’t be surprised. I need to keep my servant close and I can do that with a security company"

Ugh. Really rubbing the servant thing where it hurts, huh?

"I have a team in mind— those guys..."

"Frederick and Sam?" Trent interrupted.

Those bastards? He clenched his fist.

"T–They’ve changed— I promise"

He looked at Tyson.

Well, if he’s changed...

Perhaps.

He exhaled.

"They’re your team— Your deal’s with me"

"So—"

"I’ll tell my secretary to meet you— we’ll open a security company that you’ll head— everything will be up to you"

Tyson looked at him. More lenient than he’d expected— leaving everything to him.

"How much would everything cost? You said it’s your dream..." He asked, teasing.

This crazy—

"Putting everything together for the first year, with the popularity I have now should cost around 1 million—"

"2 million" he cut in,

"We can’t have such a star in need"

Wow. Really struck it rich, huh?

"A–Alright..." He replied, embarrassed.

"T–Thank you very much"

"It’s my business— you’re my slave— gotta take care of what’s mine, no?"

Trent chuckled, standing up.

This bastard...

"Thank you for the 5k" he muttered, softly as he picked his glass.

What? Tyson looked up immediately...

Did he hear that correctly?

Fuck.

Anton...

Doing something so meaningless.

________

"How’s everything coming along" he asked Xander as he reached them.

"It’s going well, Sir"

"All Executives are present" Scarlet cut in handing him a file,

That bonus must’ve sent the message.

"Thank you for your hardwork, Man" he held Xander’s shoulder.

"Its—"

"You should be thanking me" She clicked her tongue,

"Such an ungrateful Boss— they’ll regret working here soon" she huffed, walking off.

"Miss Serta is doing an excellent job too, Sir"

"You won’t believe what she’s putting me through, though..."

Xander watched her walk away silently,

"She’s hardworking though"

"Don’t let her fool you, Man— there’s nothing good there" he chuckled, walking off.

________

"It’s nice to finally meet you all"

They stood up as he entered the room, greeting him.

"You can all sit... It’s too early in the morning to have a tense atmosphere. Relax" he chuckled,

"Mr. Elias" he called out, turning to the Man seating close to him,

The man froze as he heard his name. How does he?—

"The CEO is supposed to know the names of those that are making his company prosper, no?" He looked around

They were tensed— sitting upright like statues.

"Elias here and his team has tried reaching out to other companies for us— real hardwork" he clapped, slowly making them join in.

"T–That’s my—"

"He’ll be promoted with an increase of 100% to his salary"

The hall burst into murmurs as he declared this. Some of them turned to Elias who just stared blankly, confused.

"S–Sir—"

"They’ll also be a raise for your team members. Same goes for Erny, Rob, Kate and McLogin— You’ve all done excellent jobs" he smiled, pointing to each of them.

Xander chuckled as he watched the chaos. He’d been worried that Trent wouldn’t be able to look at everything.

He seemed to be having fun too.

Trent cleared his throat, standing up,

"There’s rewards for good deeds— these team leaders have done well"

He paused and scanned the room, smiling at everyone that met his gaze.

"There’s also punishment"

Xander turned to him,

Was it finally starting?

"There’s been some misdeeds by some of us" he paused letting them stew into the tension.

"Mr. Kershaw"

Kershaw sprang up— bald, big belly and draped in luxury.

He wiped the sweat on his face with a piece of clothing.

What was this about?

"Y–Yes, Sir"

"You’ve been a good worker— excellent hold on the company"

Kershaw sighed, forcing a smile,

"I–It’s my duty, Sir"

"Damn right it is" Trent scoffed, clapping his hands slowly

"Your duty—" his eyes scanned the room, "Monthly vacations for your wife and concubines--"

"N–No--"

"Over 500 grand in private spending--"

"S–Sir--"

"A club ticket costing 10 grand monthly on the Company’s accounts"

Kershaw hid his face as everyone looked at him murmuring,

His feets were starting to weaken.

"Such excellent duty— You’ve made the company your wallet"

He slumped into his seat, face down in embarrassment.

Trent chuckled as he watched him. He definitely couldn’t say anything because of how specific the accusations were.

"There’s more of you that deserve punishment. Kershaw will be relieved of his position as Executive Director effectively"

He glanced at Scarlet.

What was that grin on her face?

"Miss Serta... See to it that he receives his punishment"

"Yes... Sir" she turned to him, chuckling, "Fully"

"You can excuse us, Mr. Kershaw"

Kershaw stood up and walked out of the room immediately— his feets felt like they were sinking in with each step.

"Director Rosetta"

She blinked and sprang up,

Me too?

"S–Sir"

"You’ve done an excellent job with your work"

She could feel the sweat in her palms as she clenched her hand.

"I–I--"

"You’ve secured us collaborations and tried every means to boost our sales— using small influencers... How insightful"

She looked around the room and gulped.

Was this some calm before the storm?

"Don’t be tense" he chuckled,

She forced a smile. How could you say that after what you just did?

"You’ve been a role model to new staffs— You’ll work as the Executive Director from now on"

"W–What?" She gasped— louder than she’d expected.

E–Executive Director? She looked at the other Directors.

"Zion food needs you— work closely with Miss Serta to make it prosper. Do your best"

"Y–Yes, Sir" she stuttered, taking her seat.

"The other team leaders should brace themselves— You know what you did" he chuckled, picking the glass of water.

"Dion, Victoria, Trevor, Tina— Good job in your respective works— Expect your rewards"

He stood up and scanned the room,

"It seems I’ve ruined the mood" he chuckled, raising the glass.

"There’s going to be a ton of work" he paused,

"And a ton of rewards"

They raised their glasses together, facing him.

He glanced at Xander as he stretched for a glass.

"Mr. Xander Ferte will overlook Reeves Tech, while Miss Serta runs Zion Foods--"

He looked up as a cough interrupted,

"It’s getting boring, no?" he laughed,

"Thank you all for coming— expect a little surprise to your accounts"

They all stood up, clapping as he gulped the water.

Perfect first meet, no? He turned to Scarlet with a grin.

_______

"That was amazing, Sir" Xander laughed as he walked towards him,

"You look excited" Trent replied, looking at the people he’d been talking to.

"That’s the Chief Scientist and some executives" he chuckled, looking back.

"They seem to like you already"

"He’s the full package" Scarlet scoffed, reaching them.

"My spec..." She teased, winking at Xander.

"Right..." Trent scoffed, "They don’t seem to like you" he laughed, looking at the staffs she was with.

"They’ll come around" she chuckled,

"I’ve got the charms"

She raised a brow at Xander as he laughed softly,

"You don’t think so?"

"You’ve got the charm, Miss Serta— absolutely... You’re smart, hardwor--"

"That’s alright... You’re going to make her think she really is" Trent interrupted.

"You—" she huffed, "At least Xandy Bear knows my worth" she mused.

"Ugh... That’s disgusting" Trent said, glancing at his phone as it rang— unknown number.

"Just don’t let her trick you, Man"

He glanced at Xander, walking off.

_______

He moved to a quieter corner picking the call,

"Hello" he answered the phone, scanning the room.

"It’s connected, Ma" a lady’s voice cut through,

What’s happening?

"What? For real?"

Another lady’s voice— familiar.

"Hello?" he called out again,

The other lady cleared her throat, taking the phone.

"Hello, dear Savior"