The next day, Gavin stopped by with the documents and new phone for Manuel.
Manuel read through the documents thoroughly and saw it was much to his satisfaction and then he signed it and took a photo of it. Gavin then checked him out of the hotel and drove him over to Skyview Estate, where his villa was situated. Gavin was told to clean up the place after Manuel’s cousin, Zachary Rodriguez, vacated the villa. But Gavin’s grudge for Zach and his uncle didn’t even allow him let Zach spend another hour in that villa. Gavin bought all the necessities the villa would need and Manuel patted his shoulder, extremely satisfied with Gavin’s work. He brought him a drink, from the cellars and placed it in front of Manuel knowing his throat might be parched. “Sir, in two months, there’d be a party hosted by the company to celebrate its 26th annual anniversary.” Manuel just hummed in affirmation. --- Harry was relieved of his duties very much to his dismay. He couldn’t think of anyone he could’ve offended that cost him this. He decided to go along with Penelope to the party the Rodriguez’s were hosting in two months to curry favor with the higher ups and earn his job back or even a better one. Penelope wasn’t even aware of Harry’s joblessness, at least not yet. --- At the Sullivan’s villa, there was another whole different problem entirely going on. The huge contract the Sullivan Group closed recently, they couldn’t meet up with the other company’s requirements and the deal fell through causing them to lose a lot of money. Penelope tried to keep her cool as Harry had promised her during their last dinner together that he was going to provide her with the necessary funds to put her company back on track. She also managed to get an invite after trying hard through different means. This was the Rodriguez Enterprises hosting a party, there’d be a lot of big shots and it wouldn’t be bad to build connections. --- Few days passed and Manuel was just lazing around, he’d been cooped indoors long enough and he didn’t feel the need to attend business meetings just yet so he held it online without revealing his face. There was another gathering being hosted by his former classmates to hold a reunion. He never loved attending such gatherings because he always saw it as a waste of time being hypocritical to each other and all that but he decided to attend this one that was taking place in the afternoon at Eastbay Diner. Manuel found a floral outfit he had once bought while still living with the Sullivans with his savings but he had never found the right chance or occasion to wear it. He put it on and looked at himself through the mirror. He smiled at his reflection in the mirror. Gavin had long left and there was no car to drive him over to the venue and he saw no need to call Gavin over. He ruffled his hair and mounted his motorbike. At the venue, others had already made their way there, Manuel was quite late. He conveniently parked his motorbike and attached the helmet comfortably to it. Walking through the doors of the private room that was rented, few people turned to observe who had just walked in. Whispers began to make its way around as he sat down. “What’s he doing here?” “He still hasn’t made nothing of his life…” Manuel had always loved a lowkey life and had always kept a low profile back in school. He always walked to school and walked back home. This made his peers look down on him extremely but he never bothered with them. Manuel wasn’t bothered with the stares and just brought out his phone and tried to check the internet for what was going on. He found it quite interesting as his previous phone had none of that qualities. Shirley noticed the way Manuel was being avoided and sighed, sorry for him. Shirley had always been the one who stood up for Manuel whenever he was being bullied in school. Having walked up to him, Shirley sat next to him and tried to start up a conversation. “It’s been a while, Manuel.” Manuel turned to his right and finally noticed Shirley beside him and made to respond, “I’ve been well and you?” Just then Damien who had been watching Manuel from the corner of his eye spoke up, “Been well?” “What a funny statement to use for someone that life is yet to favor.” At this, people turned to look at Manuel more brazenly. Damien had always been in charge of the relentless bullies that troubled Manuel while in school and had always resented him for taking all the attention from the girl he adored. “I don’t think your sentence applies to me, Damien or does it?” Manuel looked up at Damien who was standing near him now. Damien snorted and let out a quick chuckle, “Its written all over you. Take a look at those cheap clothes which doesn’t even belong to a brand, your phone seems to be the only slightly expensive stuff on you.” “Even heard you came here on a motorbike. You’ve been staring at your phone excitedly and its just the internet. Its pretty obvious you had to borrow it to leave a bit of reputation for yourself.” “And in just what position do you think you are to state those out?” Manuel asked with an unreadable expression. But Damien just thought he was hitting a nerve already and that excited him to say more. “As the sponsor of this glamorous gathering,” Damien signaled to the waiter assigned to the room and demanded for the most expensive wine. The others were shocked. This wasn’t just an ordinary diner, it was the most expensive one in Colburn and for someone to be able to afford a private suite, it spoke volumes and now the most expensive wine?!Latest Chapter
Chapter 51
The board meeting unfolded like every other board meeting. Manuel had slept in the room in his office and so he was able to be in the office earlier than most people. Now, the board members were slowly beginning to get used to Manuel and some of them had even began to talk freely.One director complained about rise logistics cost, another suggested delaying the european partnership and someone else proposed increasing the advertising budget. The routine was normal for a board meeting.Manuel stood at the head of the table in silence and began to tap his fingers slightly against the polished wood as he looked distracted and then he stopped. Across the room sat the people he had worked with for a few months and some had even served the company longer than he had been alive yet one of them had hacked their way into his trap but which one?“President Rodriguez?” Director Hayes pushed his glasses up his nose. “The manufacturing reports require your approval.”Manuel glanced at him, snappin
Chapter 50
Four years ago…Alistair burst into the hospital room, flowers in one hand and documents in the other. “We’ve going to be okay.”His wife looked up at him and said weakly, “You sound confident.” He laughed shakily, “The merger goes through next week. We’ll have enough and you’ll receive treatment. We’ll travel after this, you’ve always wanted to see Italy, remember?”She frowned slightly and asked, “The merger you told me you were still drafting? But it’s not finished yet.”Alistair was ambitious and didn’t just want to be a board member or a chairman in Rodriguez Enterprises, he also wanted to become a reliable business partner to them. He was working on the merger before his wife fell ill and then he had to abandon it and if the deal fell through, he believed to receive a lot of profit from it. Though it was not yet completed, he was going to mask it up and send it directly to the CEO, who was also known as the shadow broker even though he had never seen him in person despite his po
Chapter 49
Past midnight, Rodriguez Enterprises remained unusually quiet. Most of the employees had gone home hours ago and only cleaning staff moved through the deserted corridors.Inside the President’s office, the glow of his computer screen illuminated Manuel’s face and stacks of files lay open across the desk, board attendance records, archived reports, meeting transcripts and old investment summaries. Manuel had the habit of maintaining order but for him to be that messy, it was strange.Gavin sat on the couch adjacent to Manuel and couldn’t help but watch his boss sift through old documents that had been long forgotten. “You’ve been looking through documents from four years ago the entire day. Sir please, you need to rest.”Manuel didn’t answer immediately as his eyes still remained on the screen going through the Project 608, the merger proposal, board discussions and attendance sheet and the same names appeared repeatedly. Gavin stood up and walked closer to Manuel, “What exactly are yo
Chapter 48
Three days later, the trap was ready and Brandon personally delivered it. The employees of Rodriguez Enterprises were in awe and fear of Brandon as they watched him head straight in the direction of Manuel’s office. “Brandon looks so cool,” a female employee said in a slightly hushed tone to her friend and her friend replied, “Of course, he would be. Seems like Brandon is close with our boss, this isn’t the first time he’s come here and when he does he always heads in the boss’ office direction.”On hearing that, the female employee squealed, trying to keep her voice under wraps, “Then I should hit the salon and spa more often if Brandon Walker is going to keep showing up here. Who knows, one day he might notice me.”Nudging the female employee, her friend said, “You better snap out of your delusions. We’ve got work to finish, as if someone like him would ever notice insignificant beings like us.”Hours passed as they tested every feature, every folder, every document, every hidden p
Chapter 47
The evening rush at the Eastbay Diner was in full swing. Waitresses and waiters moved between tables carrying trays loaded with food and drinks. Laughter mixed with the clinking of glasses while a live band played softly from a small platform near the far corner of the restaurant area.Outside, luxury cars and ordinary sedans filled the parking lot alike. Inside, nobody cared. Eastbay Diner had earned its reputation years ago and it wasn’t just because it was a famous place to dine and wine but also because it didn’t just offer menus to the rich. Rich and average classed, everyone came for the food and also for the owner. Whoever could get on Brandon Walker’s good side and possibly strike a deal with him would be said to have supposedly hit the jackpot.The glass doors opened and a cool breeze swept inside as Manuel Rodriguez stepped into the diner wearing a black coat over a dark shirt. He looked so casual and Gavin followed a few steps behind. Several customers glanced up from whate
Chapter 46
“My firewall showed attempted penetration. It wasn’t noticeable but because I had Brandon get someone to strengthen my firewall with a detector, I noticed. And I was also able to find out someone else besides Penelope had a motive for our dinner that day and so I indulged her.”Even though Manuel had proven himself to be worthy of the positions as the President and CEO and was obviously doing well, there were still some people that did not want to accept it but no one had the audacity to voice out especially when he was revealed to be Sir Jeremy’s successor. Unfortunately, they’ve now chosen to resort to extreme measures.The next day, Penelope got to her office very early to avoid the stares and gazes of some people but as soon as she stepped into her office, she saw someone in a black suit with his back to her sitting on her own swivel chair facing the glass wall and looking down at pedestrians down below. She became on high alert and quickly pulled out her phone.“There would be no
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