Rebate System: From Poor Student To Billionaire Playboy

Chapter 19. Playing Games

When Harry finally dropped Clara off at the house, he let out a deep sigh of relief. As charming as she could be, that little detour had eaten into his evening, and now his mind was fixed on one person, Alicia.

Back at his apartment, Harry unloaded the candles he’d been given by the redheaded store owner as a “thank you.” He wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do with them, he wasn’t a candle guy, but he didn’t complain. He shoved them into one of his brand-new drawers, still not used to how different his place looked now.

The renovation had gone better than he imagined. The painters had done an incredible job, though the faint smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air. It was sharp enough to make his head ache, which meant sleeping there that night was out of the question.

Everything looked new, because it was. A massive flat-screen TV was now mounted on the living room wall, and the old, cheap furniture was gone, replaced by sleek, modern pieces. It looked like something straight out of a luxury magazine.

He remembered how it all came together. He’d sent the renovation company his dream design, they’d done the math, sent him the cost, and he paid it the same day. They’d moved fast, working nonstop until his place looked unrecognizable. Pricey? Definitely. But for once in his life, money wasn’t something he had to worry about.

Harry showered, ran a towel through his hair, and threw on a clean shirt. A quick spray of cologne, not the fancy kind, but it would do, completed the look. Then he picked up his phone, expecting a message from Alicia. Instead, the notification lighting up his screen was from Clara.

Thank you again for today, her message read.

Harry stared at it for a moment before locking the screen. He didn’t bother replying. Not tonight. His focus was elsewhere.

He dialed Alicia’s number. It rang and rang but went unanswered. He tried again. Same result.

A slow grin crept across his face. “This bitch…” he muttered, half amused, half irritated. Typical Alicia, she wants Harry to be her lap dog like he used to. Well that is never happening again.

But still, it only fueled his curiosity. He leaned back, arms folded. “I wonder what the next upgrade’s gonna cost me…” he mumbled.

That’s when the system’s mechanical voice cut in.

> [The system will meet the requirement once the affection bar for both harem members is maxed out.]

Harry groaned and dragged a hand over his face. “Of course it will,” he muttered. But he couldn’t help but feel a little excitement too. Every upgrade came with new rewards, and more money. The last one had dropped lottery tickets and doubled his fortune overnight.

If this new upgrade boosted his multiplier too, he could be looking at something massive. The catch, though, was that he had to max out affection for every “harem member” first.

It was a strange setup, forcing him to keep these women happy, but it was working in his favor. He just had to play it smart. Still, he wasn’t thrilled about Alicia being one of them. That addition had been accidental, and now he was stuck with her until the system said otherwise, and this made him curious, he just spent money on Clara and yet she isn't a member of his harem?

[For a woman to be a member of your harem they have to meet the requirements; (1) You must find them attractive and must have spent money on them. (2) You don't see a viable obstacle to sleeping with them.]

“Oh, that explains it.” Harry thought to himself. “I see Brandon as a friend, hence he is an obstacle to me fucking his wife.”

Harry shifted his focus elsewhere, to someone in particular, Alicia. Her affection bar hadn’t budged, so clearly, she wasn’t that into him yet. But that didn’t matter. He knew she’d come around eventually. She always did, girls like her couldn’t resist a man who could spoil them senseless.

Harry’s phone buzzed again, and this time, it was Alicia.

He opened the message expecting a snarky response or a flirty line. Instead, he found an image attached.

When he tapped it open, his breath caught, and a slow, wicked smile curved his lips.

Alicia had sent him a picture. Not just any picture, the kind of picture that gets a man's heart racing.

Her sky-blue designer dress was barely hanging on, her pose deliberate, teasing. The photo was seductive without crossing the line completely, the kind of thing that made a man imagine the rest for himself.

Harry leaned back in his chair, eyes lingering on the screen. No wonder she was such a manipulative piece of work, she knew exactly what kind of effect her body had on people. That figure of hers could make saints sin.

He scrolled down, waiting for whatever came next. A moment later, her follow-up message appeared.

> [[Oops! Wrong person]]

Harry laughed out loud. “Oh, she’s playing with me.”

He shook his head, amused but unmoved. He’d seen that trick before, pretend it was an accident, bait the guy into begging for more. Not this time. He wasn’t one of her gullible followers.

Still, there was something else attached, her exact location. Intentionally or not, she’d just told him exactly where she was. Harry has never known where she lived, when they were dating, Alicia always made sure they met up at his house or at school.

Harry stared at the map pin for a second, then smirked. “So that’s where you’re hiding, huh?”

********

Across the city, Alicia stared at her phone, frowning.

The photo had been meant for Harry, of course. Every pose, every angle had been crafted to make him drool, but now she was second-guessing whether it had worked. She’d expected an immediate reaction. A call, a message, something.

Instead she got nothing from him.

She checked her screen again. Still no reply. Not even a “seen” notification.

Alicia adjusted her dress in the mirror, admiring how perfectly it hugged her shape. It was a gorgeous piece, soft blue silk that shimmered under the light. Expensive, elegant, and bold. Exactly the kind of thing she liked.

If Harry was as rich as she now believed, she needed to keep him interested. Men like that were rare, and valuable, not like Marcus who is a daddy's boy.

But the silence from Harry made her uneasy.

She was used to being worshipped. Usually, the moment she sent a photo like that, her inbox exploded with messages, compliments, pleas, offers. Yet Harry hadn’t even flinched.

Her jaw tightened. “That bastard…” she muttered under her breath.

She’d thought she could toy with him, but his silence said otherwise. It told her he wasn’t falling for her tricks, and worse, it made her want his attention even more.