Piss Off, This Is My Money

5

Inside the office, the dean handed over the documents with… respect.

Jace grabbed them, tossed them on the table, and scanned through the basics. Eighty percent of the shares in the school. He looked up at the dean, barely holding himself together.

“Woah,” Jace muttered. “I’m not doing nothing.”

“I’m sorry… is there a problem, Mr. Jace?”

Jace chuckled. “Oh, of course there are problems. For the past five months, my life’s been filmed. Even when I’m sleeping. Millions of eyes watching me. And you know what’s the funniest part?”

The dean shook his head sharply. “No, sir,” he said quickly.

Jace leaned in, voice dropping like he was about to reveal a sacred secret. “I once told Maya I peed in bed… until I was twelve.” Then he busted into laughter.

The dean trembled, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. That mix of shock, confusion, and terror—classic.

“I find it funny… that a lot of people heard that,” Jace said, the smile fading into something sharp, dangerous.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. If there’s anything you want me to do, sir… please, tell me, sir.”

Jace held his gaze, unflinching, long enough to make the poor man feel like death itself had walked in. He grabbed a pen, signed the documents, and without another word, walked out—straight to his best friend’s dorm.

When you get to college, survival means picking a few allies. Jace? He never made many friends. Not because he couldn’t, but because he refused to let any spoiled kid trample over him. Poor, humble, or not, he called bastards exactly what they were. Straight to their face.

“Hey,” Jace waved, spotting his friend walking past.

He continued walking.

“Maverick?” Jace called.

The guy spun around, storming toward him.

“Were you in on the shit too?” Jace asked. “We spoke throughout those five months.”

“You’re such a stupid guy,” Maverick spat. “I was never your friend.”

“Oh, well,” Jace shrugged, smirk in place. “Knew that, of course. But we both came here on a scholarship, and nothing’s changing that fact.”

“You’re really stupid!” Maverick barked again. “Who came here on scholarship with you? Huh?” He laughed, cruel. “You’re the only scholarship kid in this whole damn college.”

Jace stared at him, unblinking, letting the words hang like a challenge in the air.

“If I were you, I’d piss off right now,” Maverick sneered. “We’ve got more plans coming. And you’ll fall for it again. Stupid you, thinking Maya—a sophomore med student—would actually stoop so low to date you? I expected you to see it for yourself. She’s flawless. Too good to be true…” He laughed.

Jace felt knots in his stomach. Betrayal hits, even for the bravest bastard—but he wasn’t about to show it here.

“Your bad for being a fake,” Jace said, walking off.

“And hey… did you really think you slept with Maya?”

Jace’s steps faltered. Slowly, deliberately, he turned around.

Maverick laughed cruelly. “It was hilarious seeing you that day—happy, all proud. You were drugged at the freshman party, man. We dared Maya to humiliate you. She kissed you, took off your clothes. Nothing more.”

Jace burst into laughter. Loud. Wild. Shocking.

“What’s so funny to you?” Maverick snapped. “Do you think I’m joking?”

Of course, crowds gathered like vultures, cameras raised. Some fools were recording, hungry for content.

Maverick, furious and desperate, stepped closer. “Come to your senses, Jace. You’re a nobody. You dare not laugh when I’m around,” he poked Jace’s chest. “Go somewhere… cry.”

“Oh, sorry,” Jace said, hand over his mouth in mock apology. “I just realized how shitty you really are. Five months of being a fake… for what? Money?” He laughed again, pulling a card from his pocket. “For this money? This sick little thing called money?”

“You think that’s money? Do you even know my family’s net worth? Can you compare it to… oh, let’s not go there. Your brother’s rotting in jail right now,” Maverick said, hand over his mouth in fake apology.

Jace pulled out his phone and thrust it at him. “Type your name. Let me see your net worth, so I can figure out how many times I can buy you and your whole family. ‘Cause that’s literally all you live for.”

Maverick’s lips curled into a condescending smile. “You’re really amusing… in the wrong way.”

“Same here, man,” Jace said, eyes boring into his like a predator sizing up its prey.

“How about another party tonight? Ten-thousand-dollar ticket. I can reserve one for you. Let’s talk there—I don’t negotiate in the open,” Maverick said, glancing nervously at the cameras.

Jace pulled out his wallet, counted a stack of bills—way more than ten grand—and tossed them onto Maverick’s chest.

“Send me the time and address,” Jace said, cool as ice, letting the weight of the money and the words crush the smug bastard.