I Was Their Clown, Now I Wear the Crown

Chapter three

Ava was stunned, clearly not expecting me to make such a demand.

"You're asking for trouble, buddy!"

The male employee and the HR rep were equally shocked. The employee was the first to react, pointing a finger at me and shouting.

He looked like he wanted to tear me to pieces.

I ignored him, a faint smile playing on my lips as I kept my eyes fixed on Ava. The longer I looked, the more I realized her beauty was the kind that words couldn't truly capture.

Paired with her cold, powerful-woman aura, she was utterly captivating.

Maybe it was my words, or maybe it was my unwavering gaze, but a faint blush crept onto her flawless cheeks. Against her snow-white skin, it was like a plum blossom blooming in the winter—breathtakingly beautiful.

"You really want to have me that badly?"

She looked me straight in the eye, a taunting smile on her lips.

"Of course. What man wouldn't want to conquer a beauty like you, Ms. Barlow? I'm a simple man, and I'm no exception."

"Heh."

She let out a cold laugh. Just when I thought she was going to furiously reject me and storm off, she said something unexpected.

"Alright. I accept your wager. But I have a condition of my own."

"Name it, Ms. Barlow."

Ava said, "I'm only giving you one week. If you lose, not only will we drop everything that happened between us, but you will also have to leave this city for good!"

I was slightly taken aback. Her words made it crystal clear just how much she despised me.

But that didn't make me want to back down. In fact, the more she pushed, the more I wanted to conquer her.

"Deal!" I nodded firmly, accepting her terms.

"You can go get your paperwork processed now. Someone will give you the detailed file on this contract. The clock starts now. You have one week. If you can't close this deal, get the hell out!"

With that, Ava turned and walked away, the sound of her high heels clicking against the floor.

Suddenly, the small office was empty except for me, the HR rep, and the other male employee.

"Come with me to get your paperwork done."

I was still lost in my fantasies about Ava. The HR rep's voice snapped me back to reality.

Ignoring the murderous glare from the other employee, I followed the HR rep to get my employment processed.

A strange, almost comical feeling washed over me.

I had a job. The first step to rebuilding my life had begun, and of all things, I was working under Ava Barlow and had just made a ridiculous wager with her. The whole situation was completely absurd.

Now, about this deal I had wagered with Ava.

I heard the client was a classic new-money tycoon. He was in his forties, with a big belly and a tough-guy attitude.

He'd made a fortune in mining years ago, and seeing how profitable the gaming industry was, he had thrown a ton of money around and moved to Starlight City to start a gaming company.

It wasn't a small operation either; it was a major company with over a thousand employees. They had initially agreed to purchase millions of dollars' worth of smart office equipment from Intelli-Ware.

At first, the tycoon was easy to deal with. All the details were settled, and they were just waiting to sign the contract. But then he met Ava, and everything changed.

He demanded that Ava spend a night with him, or the deal was off.

What was worse, this tycoon had a background in the criminal underworld. He actually had his old cronies threaten other companies that worked with Intelli-Ware, forcing them to terminate their contracts.

He even spread the word that if Ava wanted to do business with anyone else, she'd have to sign his deal first.

And the condition for that deal was that she had to give herself to him.

The fate of Intelli-Ware's local branch was suddenly tied to this one deal, and to Ava's choice.

Learning all this, I couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. No wonder Ava had agreed to the wager so easily.

She had probably already given up on the deal herself. Making this wager with me was just a convenient way to get me out of the city for good.

What a calculating woman.

On my first day, I spent the entire time poring over the information.

Because of my wager with Ava, I didn't have to clock in and out like the other employees. So, the next morning, I headed straight for the tycoon's company.

His name was Vince Russo. Just like the file said, he was a middle-aged man in his forties. His background in mining gave him a heavy air of street toughness.

According to colleagues who had met him, Vince was covered in tattoos of dragons and phoenixes. He was fierce and hard to talk to.

Basically, everyone who had gone to get the contract signed had been chewed out by him. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder with the whole world. Over time, people became afraid to even see him.

Not only that, but Vince was always surrounded by beautiful women. After striking it rich, he had divorced his first wife for some reason and started hooking up with a string of beauties. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

He had three or four secretaries at his company alone, and the nature of their relationship was an open secret.

I waited in their reception area for the entire morning, but I never saw Vince Russo himself.

I spent the whole lunch break wracking my brain, but I couldn't come up with a good solution to this Vince Russo problem.

Still, sitting around and waiting wasn't my style. The problem was right there in front of me, and I had to find a way to deal with it, no matter what.

So, in the afternoon, I decided to try my luck at Apex Gaming again. I had to at least meet the jerk face-to-face.

As I walked through my company's lobby, some of the employees who knew about my wager with Ava started pointing and whispering when they saw me.

I chose to ignore them completely.

Let them say what they want. I couldn't care less.

When I arrived at Apex Gaming again, it was no surprise that I was greeted by Vince's secretary, Jones.

Before I could even speak, Secretary Jones, who clearly looked down on everyone, rolled her eyes at me. "You again?" she said with disgust. "Didn't I tell you? No one's getting in to see him except your boss, Ms. Barlow."

After saying her piece, she swiveled her shapely hips and walked away, completely ignoring me as she went to make herself a cup of honey water.

I forced down my anger and plastered a smile on my face, reciting the excuse I had prepared.

"It's like this, Secretary Jones. Ms. Barlow wants to see Mr. Russo, but she's just too busy with work. So she asked me to deliver a message to him for her."

"A message? With all the technology we have today, she has to send someone in person to deliver a one-sentence message?" Secretary Jones was clearly skeptical.

I kept my smile in place. "Secretary Jones, I'm just an employee doing my job. I don't know why these bosses do what they do."

"And Ms. Barlow said this message has to be delivered to Mr. Russo in person, by me. Otherwise, it doesn't count." I added this last part to quell her suspicions.

Secretary Jones's delicate brows furrowed. She sized me up for a long moment, then said doubtfully, "Alright, fine. I'll go tell Mr. Russo. You wait here."

Then she turned and sashayed towards Vince Russo's office.

A few minutes later, Secretary Jones returned. She gave me a dismissive look and said, "Mr. Russo will see you now."

She led the way.

I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, after all this hassle, I was going to meet that scoundrel Vince Russo.

As I felt a sense of relief, I couldn't help but curse Vince Russo in my head. That jerk was so cunning. The last time I came, they said he wasn't in the office. Now, the moment he hears Ava's name, he magically appears. The nerve of this guy.

When I entered Vince Russo's office, I saw him immediately, sitting behind his massive desk.

Just like the rumors said, he had a large head, a portly figure, and a bald pate. He wore a ridiculously gaudy gold chain around his neck—the very picture of a new-money tycoon.

The massive dragon tattoo visible on his forearm only added to his tough-guy persona.

"Hello, Mr. Russo."

I calmly composed myself and walked towards him.

Vince looked up as if just noticing me, a look of feigned realization on his face.

"Oh, you must be Kian. Come, have a seat."

After the pleasantries, Vince couldn't hold back any longer. "So, Kian, I heard Ms. Barlow sent you with a message for me. What is it?" he asked, his face full of eager anticipation.

I told him the truth. "I'm sorry, Mr. Russo. I lied to you. Ms. Barlow didn't send me with any message."

Vince froze.

The smile on his face slowly hardened, and then his expression turned completely dark.

"Are you messing with me, bastard?"