SUPREME STYLIST: RETURN OF THE HUMILIATED GENIUS

Chapter 0014: Finding out WHY.

"WHO IS MRS. JOYCE LANG TO YOU?"

The question hung between the two men, stretching the silence despite its simplicity.

No, maybe it was complex. Too complex it caught Rowan's tongue for a few seconds that stretched like eternity. Rowan had never really thought about it before, and so the question echoed in his head again over and over again without any plausible answer.

WHO IS MRS. JOYCE LAND?

Mr. Henderson misinterpreted the silence for reservation.

"Pardon me, Mr. Rowan," he quickly said, "I don't mean to snoop into your personal matters. I was just..."

"I understand." Rowan cut through his words gently. A second pause, his mind processing. "I'll put it simply— Mrs. Joyce is someone who is close to me."

He said simply.

The manager wasn't satisfied by the response but he didn't push it. He nodded and turned, walking out of the room. The door clicked shut, leaving Rowan staring after it still spiralling about the question that made him reason about his place in Mrs. Lang's existence.

If anything, Mrs. Lang is just that woman who believes in his dream. Nothing more.

Rowan pulled out his phone to call Knox for some information about Mrs. Lang but he hesitated.

"He works for Mrs. Lang. It'll look like I'm getting suspicious." he mumbled thoughtfully, phones glowing in his hand unused. "I'll find out myself. Everything. Why Mrs. Lang transferred half her wealth to me.."

Rowan paced the penthouse, mind reeling with one thought, one question that was pregnant with different possibilities. He stopped at the railings, staring at nothing in the city of constellated lights.

"Is she... having feelings for me?" He said and let out an amusing laughter. He tapped his cheek. "C'mon Ro, that's impossible... Moreover, she's older than I am." He reminded himself.

He stared at the phone again. Mrs. Lang hadn't given him her contact. Only assets estimated in billions and a card that could buy his former house ten times and then she disappeared to wherever.

That thought gave Rowan the assurance that Mrs. Lang has no string attached. Just a woman who saw a talent and invested billions. But isn't that too costly for just what it was?

Rowan was already out of the penthouse. While Mr. Henderson had left to prepare the dinner, he went to Brown Gadget and accessories to get a laptop and a better phone, to source out information about Mrs. Lang.

The store was made of glass and steel that could see through the street. Rowan walked inside still in previous day clothes, the one that anyone would glance at and look away with twisted expression.

He walked in confidently and met one of the staff, aware of the customer's gaze casting judgement like they've seen a wrong man walk inside a wrong room.

"Good evening... Sir." The male staff greeted politely, scanning Rowan briefly and concluding he was just average. Maybe lesser. His professionalism cracked slightly but he wore it back forcefully. Manager is watching through Camera footage. "Welcome to Brown Gadget. What will you be getting from us...Sir?"

It sounded like ash and discomfort.

"Evening," Rowan said, looking around the glass display of devices. "I need a good laptop and phone. Good models. The best you have here. I don't mind the cost." He said confidently without breaking his voice. His voice was low yet the tone and demand drew attention to him naturally.

The staff attendant shifted slightly. "The best is always expensive, Si—"

"I know."

"Alright. Alright.. please come with me, Sir."

Rowan followed the staff. They entered another section more orderly and less crowded than the front section. Patrons in outfits that announce themselves and raise the shoulder with arrogance and pride born from entitlement and wealth. They mingled through the space, gentle conversations mixing in the air that already smelled like oppression and money before Rowan walked in.

The room diverted slightly.

Glances. Murmurs. Some group of girls in front of a show glass laughed at his contracting presence while pretending to check out phones they would or wouldn't buy.

"I'll recommend Samsung products for you, Sir." The staff gestured at the show glass with plates holding Samsung inscriptions placed above. Inside, sleek phones of different colours all belonging to the Samsung model lined up on the acrylic phone stand. "Reviews from our customers are topnotch. The products are durable and the best you can use if you want something that'll last and gives smooth operation. Only that— THEY ARE EXPENSIVE." He emphasized.

Rowan didn't react but he knew what message the staff was passing across.

"That one," he pointed to one sleek black phone that caught his eyes. "how much does it cost?"

"That—" The staff paused, voice hitched, slightly surprised, then hesitation. Revelation would cost time if Rowan didn't end up making the purchase which he'd already estimated Ninety percent possibility. Professionalism and customer equity he'd been preserving began to slip now. "— it's expensive. Samsung galaxy Z fold 7. Very expensive. The latest Samsung brand. Water proof. Foldable screen. Are you—"

A man standing nearby, looking Fifty with silver streaks in his hair and impeccable white suit that didn't need announcements, who'd been checking through the glass counter arrangements glanced at Rowan with a raised brow then back to the phone they were discussing about. It was the same model he had in his pocket. The one that cost him two months salary before he could afford it. Beside him, a young woman in a burgundy gown that was too loud and too short checked through the list of phones with frown that made it obvious she had no interest in low budget phones.

"I asked—" Rowan cut through his words. Gentle and firm. "— how much?"

"$3000, Sir."

"And how exactly are you going to afford that, Kid?"

The voice came from the side without permission, calm and degrading. The kind that knew exactly what it was doing, the type that wrapped insults as poison in silk, wearing out confidence and pride with sharp words and instant judgement.

"You'd better go somewhere your pocket can actually afford without sweating. You would end up skipping meals for twelve months if you're planning to get one of those phones and maybe also start planning how to pay debts for half a decade because you clearly show up here because you hit a loan credit."