Devin was still in bed, shirtless, staring at the ceiling like it had personally offended him. His mind was a mess of guilt, and all he could hear was Petra’s voice in his head, and her wonderful scent still lingering on his skin. His phone buzzer on the nightstand. He had put it on silent for a reason, so he didn’t want to check it. His phone started to buzz again. Something in him told him to check in case it was important. He groaned, sat up slowly, and grabbed the device, picking up the call. “Yes?” His voice was rough. “Sir, good morning. This is Wendy Brown, your company’s HR head.” She sounded nervous. “You need to come to the office now.” Devin frowned. “Why? I told everyone I’m on leave this week.” “I know, sir, but… we have government people here. The IRS and two men from some federal agency. They said that someone filed a report against you.” Devin sat up straighter. “Filed a report? What kind of report?” “They said that the company is involved in laund

When Devin entered the conference room, he could feel it. The place was off, and even though nobody was saying anything, he could feel the tension, and thing was, he understood why. Every major stakeholder of Stone Industries sat around the large, oval glass table, all dressed in fitted suits. He walked to the head of the table and took his seat. He was dressed in a well tailored green suit, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. He was livid, and he took a deep breath, wanting to take the annoyance out of his tone before he started speaking. “Good evening Mr Stone.” Some of them said. Devin nodded, raising a hand. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for coming on such short notice. If I could have avoided this, I would, but something urgent is at hand.” Devin said, sounding irritated. “But let me get to the point, I’m under attack. We’re under attack.” The room stayed quiet, and no one dared to do so much as shift in their chairs. “Some piece of shit filed a lawsuit

The alley was damp and stinking of piss, the kind of place you wouldn't expect a multi-millionaire like Matt to be crawling around in. But here he was anyway, dressed in a wrinkled grey suit and loafers that had seen better days, looking around like a guilty dog. For the first time ever, he looked quite unkempt. His shirt was untucked, and there were large sweat patches under his armpits that stained his white shirt, and his hair which was usually slicked back was messy from running his fingers through it throughout the day. How awful was this? He had already been humiliated by Devin and had gotten in front of everyone. How could he look people in the eye as a respectable man now? He had been kicked out of the company like garbage, and that humiliation still burned in his bones, in his own soul. This was a small thing to do to get the better of Devin Stone. He checked his watch for the third time. "Where the fuck is this bastard?" He muttered under his breath. "Does he think

The waitress stared at the card in Devin’s hand in disbelief. Her mouth parted, but no sound came out. “I… I don’t believe it!” She said, eyeing Devin from head to toe. “There’s only one of that card, and it belongs to the richest man in our city! Look at you, it can’t possibly be you!” Petra got up and stared the woman down. “EXCUSE ME?” “Excuse yourself. I’m sure he stole that card! Do you even believe that he’s the owner yourself?” The waitress asked her. Petra folded her arms, clearly unimpressed. “Don’t make me slap you. Swipe the damn thing or I will call your manager myself!” “If this doesn’t work, I’ll have the police down here immediately and they don’t play with us. You will be locked up, and when the real owner sees what you’ve done, oh, you’d be as good as dead!” People we’re already watching now, drawn to the commotion “TAKE THE FUCKING CARD!” Petra said. “You’re a talkative.” The waitress cleared her throat and took the black card from him reluctant

Matt was still looking down at the message on his burner phone. He had just got one to communicate with recently, but all he had gotten was a short message that spoke volumes. -Kill Devin Stone.- His hands clenched tighter around the device as he started to tremble. Why did he have to do the dirty work? "Motherfucker!" He grunted. The message had come from the same masked man he'd met with days ago, the same one who promised him Devin's company, his power, and the best seat at the table. But this was beyond what he was actually willing to do. He was alright with maiming, framing, and destroying him, but this wasn't just ordinary sabotage. He was being asked to get his hands dirty, literally. He paced the length of his large room, keeping the lights off, with the only lights around coming in from his large compound. His friend, Ray, sat on the couch, arms crossed. Matt had told him all that was going to happen as soon as he got home days ago, and he was there when Matt recei