When Reed knocked on the door, there were none of the jitters or nerves that would come with a first date. His hand was steady, his breathing even, his expression calm.Because this was not a date. This was an assignment, a quest sent by the system. He was only doing this for the reward to come, whatever TBD meant for him. The system had never been random before, and he trusted that there was a purpose behind this request.'I wonder if TBD means I can have a say,' he thought, a small smirk playing on his lips. 'Maybe I can negotiate. Maybe I can demand something good and this time it better last more than one day.'He thought about the last reward he had gotten from the system, the one that had enabled him to buy the film company's debt and twart Marcus Thorne’s revenge plot. It had not only ensured that Miyu had a chance, but it had also doubled Cole Scott's debt, putting the powerful patriarch in a precarious position. Over the time he had used the system, he had gotten some nice

"I hear you are the new kid on the block, we should come to you for tips, is that not so?” Dominic leaned closer, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and something else, something that looked almost like hunger. It reminded Reed of beasts, hungry and growling at his heels, eager to bite off a chunk of his hide. "I would hardly call myself that," Reed answered, his voice calm and measured. "I'm just a small time hustler trying to make a living like everyone else." "Oh, I see you are trying the humility route, that won’t fly.” Dominic insisted, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "You have caused quite an upheaval around here. People are talking. And when people talk, I listen. You've made quite a name for yourself in a very short amount of time." "Where are you even from?" Another of the men asked rudely, examining Reed as if he was some mildly interesting bug. His eyes were cold, dismissive. "I don't recognize you from anywhere. You don't have the look of someone from Ruby City." At

The heads at the table all swiveled to look at Reed, confusion written all over their faces. The wealthy patrons who had been dismissing him moments before now stared at him with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and grudging respect. He had gone from being an insignificant errand boy to the most talked-about person in the room. Cole's face was a study in anger, his features contorted with barely contained rage. It looked like it would implode any moment. His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists beneath the table, and a vein throbbed visibly at his temple. Just a second ago he had been feeling confident, proud of the fact that he had flexed his muscles in Reed's face. He had proven his superiority, his wealth, his power. But he had not expected things to take a complete turn around. He had not expected Reed to have that kind of money. He had not expected to be upstaged. "He is giving four billion?" Christian stuttered, his voice cracking with disbelief. "That's... that's more t

"It would be hard to resist Cole's charm," Christian laughed aloud, his voice carrying effortlessly across the private room. The rich sound bounced off the polished walls and expensive furnishings, filling the silence that had settled over the table. He leaned back in his chair with complete ease, wearing the carefree smile of a man reminiscing about old times. His eyes shifted toward Dominic, sparkling with amusement, completely unaware or perhaps uncaring of the effect his next words would have. "Dom," he said with a teasing grin, "remember that girl? The one in college?" The atmosphere changed instantly. Dominic's face had already been expressionless, but somehow it became even colder. The tiny movements that betrayed emotion in ordinary people disappeared completely. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, the muscles along his cheek flexing once before going still again. His eyes darkened. It wasn't anger that flashed across them. It was something older. Something buried.

After Reed dropped Jessie off at her apartment, neither of them made any move to leave immediately. The engine idled quietly beneath the bonnet, its low hum filling the silence that had settled between them. Outside, the city lights reflected against the rain-speckled windscreen, casting shifting patterns of gold and white across the dashboard. Jessie kept both hands folded neatly in her lap. She didn't reach for the door handle. Instead, she turned towards him. Her large round eyes searched his face with an innocence that almost made him uncomfortable. There was hope there, fragile, hesitant hope as though she were silently asking a question she didn't possess the courage to voice aloud. Her lips parted ever so slightly. She looked at him... Then towards the apartment entrance... Then back at him again. The invitation was obvious without a single word being spoken. She was asking whether he wanted to come upstairs. Not directly. Not boldly. Simply leaving the choice in h