Prestige Spending System

Chapter 4

Maya scrambled to collect all the items. Her heart was racing. She carefully placed the platinum watch, the rare wool suit, the diamond cufflinks, the silk shirts, and a pair of handmade Italian leather shoes onto the velvet checkout counter.

Mr. Caldwell stood a few feet away, crossing his arms over his chest. He wore a nasty, wicked smile. He was waiting for the moment of truth. He was waiting to watch Julian’s credit card decline so he could laugh in his face and throw him out onto the street.

Maya stood behind the cash register. Her fingers trembled as she typed the items into the computer. She scanned the barcodes one by one. Each time the machine beeped, the total on the screen jumped higher and higher.

"Sir," Maya whispered, her voice shaking. "The total comes to exactly one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. $145,000.00."

The entire store went dead silent. The senior tailors stopped whispering. Even the soft classical music seemed to fade away.

Mr. Caldwell stepped forward, pushing his way next to Maya. He grabbed the wireless card reader machine from the desk and shoved it toward Julian’s chest. His smile was cruel and mocking.

"Let’s see the plastic, sir," Mr. Caldwell sneered. "Or are you going to tell us you forgot your wallet in your cardboard box? If this machine says 'Declined', I am having the guards drag you out by your wet hair."

Julian did not say a word. He looked at Mr. Caldwell with cold, dead eyes.

He slowly raised his cracked, water-damaged smartphone. The screen was still glowing with the golden System application. Julian tapped his phone against the glass screen of the card reader.

BEEP.

For a second, the machine said: Processing...

Mr. Caldwell’s cruel smile grew wider. He opened his mouth to insult Julian again.

Suddenly, the machine let out a loud, cheerful chirp.

APPROVED.

The screen flashed bright green. A second later, the receipt printer on the desk began to hum loudly. Whirrrrr. A long, white piece of receipt paper began to print out, proving that $145,000 had just been successfully transferred to the store's bank account in full.

Mr. Caldwell’s jaw dropped completely open. His eyes bugged out of his head. He stared at the green screen as if he were looking at a ghost. The color completely drained from his face, leaving him pale white.

Behind him, the four senior tailors gasped out loud. One of them actually dropped his measuring tape onto the floor.

"No... no, that is impossible," Mr. Caldwell stammered, grabbing the long white receipt. He checked the numbers. He checked the approval code. It was real. The money was real. This soaking wet, muddy man in a cheap suit had just dropped a fortune without even blinking.

Julian’s phone suddenly vibrated violently in his hand. He looked down.

The red countdown timer disappeared. A bright, beautiful golden message flashed across the screen.

[Mission Complete: First Blood!]

[Target Amount Spent: $145,000.00]

[Public Impact: Extreme Shock and Awe generated.]

[Reward: 15 Prestige Points earned!]

[Current Prestige Points: 15 / 100.]

Julian let out a massive breath of relief. It worked. The System was real. He was fifteen steps closer to saving Lily's life. A heavy weight lifted off his chest.

Behind the counter, Maya suddenly covered her mouth with both hands. Tears began to pour down her cheeks. She was crying so hard her shoulders shook.

"Maya? Are you okay?" Julian asked, suddenly worried.

"I... I am sorry, sir," Maya sobbed, quickly wiping her eyes. "It is just... our store policy gives the associate a ten percent commission on all personal sales. Ten percent of this sale is fourteen thousand, five hundred dollars. Sir... you just paid off my entire college student loan in ten minutes. I am free. Because of you, I am finally out of debt. Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Julian felt a strange warmth in his heart. For the first time all day, he had done something good. He had used the System's ridiculous money to actually help someone who deserved it. He smiled at her. "You earned it, Maya. You were the only one here who treated me like a human."

Mr. Caldwell, who was still staring at the receipt, suddenly snapped out of his shock.

His eyes darted from the receipt to Maya. The words fourteen thousand, five hundred dollars echoed in his greedy mind.

His face hardened. The fear of Julian’s wealth was instantly replaced by pure, ugly greed. He could not let a junior stock girl walk away with a commission that large. That money belonged to him.

Mr. Caldwell suddenly stepped forward and violently shoved Maya hard in the shoulder.

Maya cried out in surprise and stumbled backward, crashing into the wall behind the cash register.

"Move aside, you clumsy girl!" Mr. Caldwell barked angrily. He quickly reached over the counter and grabbed the computer mouse. "Junior staff members are not authorized to process VIP transactions. Store policy dictates that all sales over fifty thousand dollars must be handled by a senior manager."

Maya looked up, her face pale with horror. "Mr. Caldwell! No! He asked for me! That is my sale!"

"Shut up!" Mr. Caldwell hissed. He quickly clicked the computer screen, opening the digital invoice. He highlighted Maya’s employee identification number at the top of the screen and hit the delete key.

Julian’s blood instantly ran cold.

He watched as Mr. Caldwell’s greedy fingers moved over the keyboard, typing his own manager ID number into the commission box. Mr. Caldwell was trying to steal the money. He was trying to take the reward that Maya had earned.

In that exact moment, Mr. Caldwell looked exactly like Marcus Rutherford.

Marcus had smiled the exact same way when he stole Julian’s algorithm. Marcus had used the exact same excuse—claiming that because he was the boss, he had the right to take the hard work of the people below him. The feeling of absolute, burning rage exploded inside Julian’s chest.

Julian did not think. He moved.

Before Mr. Caldwell could hit the 'Save' button to finalize the theft, Julian reached across the velvet checkout counter.

His hand shot forward like lightning. Julian’s fingers wrapped around Mr. Caldwell’s wrist with brutal, crushing force.

Mr. Caldwell gasped in pain, his fingers freezing right above the keyboard. He looked up, furious. "Let go of me! How dare you touch—"

The words died in Mr. Caldwell’s throat.

He looked into Julian’s face and instantly felt a cold chill run down his spine. Julian was no longer smiling. His eyes were dark, empty, and completely ice-cold. There was a dangerous, terrifying energy radiating from the young man.

Julian squeezed the manager's wrist tighter, slowly twisting it until Mr. Caldwell let out a whimper of pain.

"Cancel her name again," Julian whispered softly, his voice dangerously calm. "I dare you."