DOMINATING HIS FOES

Chapter 5 - downfall

Fred’s hands trembled as he read the message twice. Praying it was a mistake. His breaths hitched as hot sweat drenched his forehead.

His expression could tell a story that things aren’t going properly for him. He raised his brow, staring around the restaurant and at Asher, whose lips curled into a smile.

“Cat got your tongue.” He taunted. “Looks like you have been promoted to the head janitor.”

The manager smiled, hearing Asher’s words.

Fred’s face drained of colour, and sweat dripped down his forehead. He swallowed hard. His throat suddenly dried, and the realization hit him.

“How did this happen?” Fred was left in confusion.

“You didn’t know, I own Venlo Winery,” Asher spoke confidently.

Silent murmurings could be heard from the crowd.

Fred narrowed his eyes at the manager, who nodded in agreement. “Mr. Mancini was the one who saved the business when we went bankrupt.”

Everyone gasped in shock, murmuring erupted through the corners of the restaurant. They all stared in disbelief.

Four years ago, when the restaurant was having financial setbacks, Asher was the one who came to their rescue. Saving them from embarrassment with the money he offered the owner. But he had asked them to keep it anonymous.

“You.” Fred’s voice was barely above a Whisper. “You own Venlo winery.”

“Asher,” he stammered. “There must be some mistakes. I didn’t mean to taunt you.”

Asher leaned on his chair, his expression calm and unpredictable. “You should always learn to respect people whenever you see them, you don’t know where your help might come from.

Fred was dumbfounded, he couldn’t believe what was happening to him. “How is he the owner of Venlo? If he is rich, why did Emily divorce him? Why are there rumours that he is poor?” Fred thought inwardly.

Fred’s knees buckled; he wished he had never mocked Asher. He had worked hard to be promoted and he couldn’t be demoted to a janitor.

If only he had kept his wide mouth shut and not tried to show off. He would still be a happy man with his job.

Damn!

The arrogant and proud Fred was gone; he kept a pitiful look. He was now drowning in mercy and fear.

“Asher, please.” He begged, his voice trembling.

Sweat drenched his face as he clutched the hems of Asher’s clothes. “I was joking; it was all a joke, man. Don’t do this to me. Remember, we used to joke in school. How we used to help each other.”

Asher shook his head. “Jokes are expensive most times and can lead to someone’s downfall. We were never friends.”

Fred clasped his hands together, his voice cracking. “Forgive me, I swear. I didn’t mean to make any of this happen. Please, just give me a second chance.”

His fiancée seeing the humiliation, couldn’t help but walk away from the restaurant with her expression mixed with embarrassment and anger.

“I gave you a second chance to work as a janitor because I don’t want you to go around searching for a job. I know no company will want to hire you when they find out the reason you were sacked.”

Fred’s eyes were watery; his expression was etched with desperation.

“Please, Tony. I need you to help me talk to Mr. Mancini. I need this job.

The same people who had laughed at Asher now looked at him, apologizing for their wrong behaviour.

Asher ignored them. He rose from his seat and adjusted his suit. Stepping away from Fred, he then paused. “You should report to work early. You don’t want my office to be messy. I wouldn’t like it when I see it.”

Tony, the manager, called the security men to throw Fred out of the restaurant. Tony went after Asher to apologize but before he could reach, Asher had zoomed off.

~~~

Edward George slammed his hand angrily on the table, his fist clenched in fury and his eyes were blazing with fire. A few days ago, his company’s stock price was doing well, and now his stock price was crashing.

“The market analysis team confirmed that our stock has dropped another 15% in the last hour. Investors are beginning to panic. The board members are demanding an emergency meeting,” his assistant informed.

His eyes darted to the numbers on his iPad, “This is impossible; we were stable; how the hell did this happen?’

Edward’s mind raced; this was no coincidence. Someone is targeting him. But who? He knew he had many enemies, but none of them had the financial power to pull something like this off.

He paced back and forth, with his gaze filled with frustration and desperation.

Someone is messing with his business, and he needs to do something about it. Or else his business might fall into the mud.

The door cracked open, and Edward and his Assistant averted their gaze towards the entrance to deduce who it was.