Prestige Spending System

Chapter 5

The inside of the luxury boutique was dead silent. The only sound was the heavy rain hitting the large glass windows outside.

Julian Musk held Mr. Caldwell’s wrist in a grip as tight as iron. The arrogant store manager, who had just tried to steal Maya’s commission, gasped in pain. His face turned pale, and a single drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Let go of me!" Mr. Caldwell hissed, trying to pull his arm away. But Julian did not move an inch. He stood his ground, his eyes burning with a cold, intense anger.

"Put her name back on the receipt," Julian said. His voice was low and dangerous. "She earned that money. Not you."

Mr. Caldwell sneered, trying to hide his fear behind corporate rules. "You do not understand how luxury retail works, sir! This is a high-end boutique! Store policy clearly states that junior staff members cannot process VIP transactions. It is a security measure. I am the senior manager. I must put my name on the sale to protect the store!"

Julian felt his blood boil. Store policy. Security measures. It was all a lie. It was exactly what his ex-boss, Marcus Rutherford, had told him just a few hours ago. Read the fine print. The company owns your work. It was always the same story. The powerful people at the top made up rules so they could steal from the hard-working people at the bottom.

Julian looked over at Maya. She was standing against the wall, holding her hands to her chest, looking terrified. She reminded him so much of himself. He could not let her be crushed by a greedy boss. Not tonight. Not ever again.

"I am the customer," Julian said softly. "And I am telling you that Maya is my sales associate. Put her name back."

"No!" Mr. Caldwell shouted, finally yanking his wrist free. He rubbed his sore arm and glared at Julian. "I am the manager of Aurelius! You may have a little bit of money, boy, but I run this store! I make the rules here!"

Julian slowly lowered his hand. He took a deep breath. A strange, calm feeling washed over him. "You make the rules because you run the store," Julian repeated slowly. "So, who makes the rules above you?"

"The Regional Director, obviously," Mr. Caldwell laughed cruelly. "But he is a very busy, very important man. He does not have time to talk to a wet, muddy nobody who just got lucky with a single purchase."

"Is that so?" Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out his cracked smartphone. The golden System application was still glowing brightly. He looked around the massive store. He saw hundreds of expensive suits, shelves full of leather shoes, and glass cases filled with diamond watches.

"How much?" Julian asked.

Mr. Caldwell frowned. "How much for what?"

"For everything," Julian said, pointing his finger around the room. "The suits. The shoes. The watches. The ties. The entire seasonal inventory in this store. How much does it cost to buy everything in this room right now?"

The four senior tailors standing nearby gasped out loud. Maya covered her mouth with her hands.

Mr. Caldwell stared at Julian as if he were completely crazy. "Everything? You are insane. The total value of our seasonal inventory is easily two and a half million dollars! You cannot possibly afford that!"

Julian tapped his phone on the glass counter. "Call your Regional Director. Right now. Tell him I want to buy the entire store. But I will only make the purchase on one condition."

"You are bluffing," Mr. Caldwell scoffed, crossing his arms.

"If I am bluffing, the Director will hang up, and you can throw me out," Julian said simply. "But if I am not bluffing, and you refuse to call him, you will be the manager who cost Aurelius a multi-million-dollar sale in a single night. Do you really want to take that risk?"

Mr. Caldwell’s cruel smile completely vanished. He looked at the receipt on the desk. Julian had already spent $145,000 without blinking. The manager swallowed hard. His hands were shaking as he picked up the store's telephone and dialed a private number.

He spoke quietly into the phone for a minute, looking nervously at Julian. Then, he hung up. "The Director... he is on his way."

"Good," Julian said. He turned to Maya and smiled gently. "Get ready to process a very big order."

Ten minutes later, a loud, heavy chopping sound echoed from the sky. The ceiling of the boutique seemed to vibrate.

"Is that... a helicopter?" Maya whispered, looking up at the roof.

Moments later, the back doors of the boutique swung open. A tall, sharply dressed man with silver hair hurried into the store. He wore an expensive trench coat and carried a black leather briefcase. This was Mr. Sterling, the Regional Director. He looked powerful, serious, and extremely busy.

"Caldwell," Mr. Sterling barked as he walked in. "This better not be a joke. I redirected my flight for this. Who is the client?"

Mr. Caldwell pointed a shaking finger at Julian. "H-him, sir."

Mr. Sterling looked Julian up and down. He saw the wet, ruined suit and the muddy shoes. He frowned deeply. "Is this a prank? This man looks like he lives in an alley."

Julian did not waste time being offended. He picked up the long receipt from the desk and handed it to Mr. Sterling.

The Director looked at the paper. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the approved transaction for $145,000. He looked back at Julian, his expression changing from annoyance to deep respect. In the world of high fashion, money was the only language that mattered.

"Sir, my apologies," Mr. Sterling said smoothly, offering his hand. "I am the Regional Director. I understand you wish to make a bulk purchase?"

"I want to buy your entire seasonal inventory," Julian stated clearly, shaking the man's hand. "Every suit, every watch, every pair of shoes in this building. I want it all packed up and delivered to a storage unit tomorrow morning."

Mr. Sterling pulled a small tablet from his briefcase. He quickly tapped the screen, checking the store's stock levels. "The total retail value of our current inventory is exactly two million, five hundred thousand dollars. $2,500,000."

"Fine," Julian said. "But I have two conditions before I pay."

"Name them," Mr. Sterling said eagerly.

Julian pointed at Maya. "Condition number one. This young lady, Maya, is the only person who treated me with respect tonight. She is processing the sale. I want it in writing that she gets the full ten percent commission for the entire two-and-a-half-million-dollar purchase."

Maya’s knees almost gave out. She grabbed the edge of the counter to keep from falling. Ten percent of two and a half million dollars was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! It was more money than she could make in ten years of working in the stockroom.