2026-04-18 20:47:05Damien was wearing a suit and a pair of leather shoes with the Audi car key hanging on his waist. He looked so handsome at this moment.
Seeing this a lot of people tried sucking up to him and began directing crude remarks at Manuel.
“I’m sure his whole outfit doesn’t amount up to 6 dollars”
“Heard that he’s now out on the streets. Apparently, he was a living with the Sullivans as a matrilocal husband.”
“He’s that feeble?”
Shirley had had enough of the criticizing and spoke up, “You all don’t have a say as to how he lives his life.”
Manuel just tapped Shirley’s arm to reassure him that he was fine but that didn’t stop the others.
“Aye! Although I can’t make any money, I won’t be a live-in son-in-law. Even if you hit me to death, I won’t do it!”
“Poverty stifles a man’s ambition, I never thought you’re such a short-sighted person!”
Shirley slightly sighed at this moment. It was really bad to see Manuel in this situation.
Damien still had not had enough. Trying to show off more, he looked around realizing that the wine he requested for hadn’t been brought yet.
He pressed the service bell repeatedly with pressure.
When another waiter came, he raised his voice and said, “What sort of service is this? Why are you lot so slow? Where is my wine?!”
The waiter was quiet, stunned for a moment.
Even the classmates stopped in their verbal assault on Manuel and watched Damien with interest.
Damien was getting really pissed resisting the urge to slap him at the waiter’s hesitance.
“If you delay me any further, I’ll make sure to get you fired. Unfortunately for you lots, your boss and I are long time buddies.”
This waiter’s eye widened and he rushed to attend to him.
Everyone was shocked.
Having an acquaintance with the Eastbay Diner’s owner was no easy feat.
No ordinary person could achieve that.
This made everyone present gawk at him in awe.
Damien could see the admiration on their faces as they whispered highly of him, everyone trying to suck up to him but he glanced away, pretended to be indifferent.
Soon, the waiter brought the bottle of wine.
Damien laughed and waved nonchalantly.
He picked up his wine glass and looked at Manuel who had already started to entertain himself with the food.
“Look at you having no shame. You’ve already started stuffing yourself with food and is almost done with what you were served.”
“Even if you have no dinner to look forward to, you should at least maintain a little bit of what’s left of your reputation.”
Manuel opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it back after a brief glance and returned his attention to his food.
People like Damien were not worth his attention.
Noticing his nonchalance, people trying to suck up to Damien resumed criticizing Manuel harshly.
“We are ashamed to have such a classmate like you.”
“Damien is just trying to advice you and you’re displaying nonchalance like you can even afford a normal meal here.” Manuel had taken enough insults to last him a week.He initially came out to ease his boredom.
Even though the insults directed at him meant nothing, at least Damien was right on one thing, he still had to maintain his dignity.
Manuel stood up and said to Shirley, “Mind if we go for a stroll?”
Damien sneered, “The party hasn’t even ended and you already want to leave?”
“This reunion was for classmates that are doing well. I suppose Shirley is meant to be here, you don’t have to take him outside to privately beg him to let you hitch a ride with him.”
“If you want, I can call you a private taxi to drop you home.”
“No thanks, I’m fine. Afterall, I came with my ride,” Manuel replied checking his phone for the time.
Someone scoffed, “Heh! You call that rickety motorbike a ride? You might as well call a bicycle a ride too.”
At this, everyone laughed.
Another person chimed in, “You could just ask Damien for a ride as he’s being so benevolent today. You don’t necessarily have to blow your chance all in the name of saving face.”
Damien was the main character tonight.
At this moment they were all insulting Manuel wantonly, even Shirley couldn’t intervene as their voices drowned his.
Meanwhile Damien was not still satisfied and still wanted to show off some more.
He pressed the service bell and a waiter came right up.
He took out a platinum bank card and slammed it on the table.
“Waiter, bill. Let me show someone that he shouldn’t be scared to go home on my expenses as I can very well afford it,” he sneered, his eyes meeting Manuel’s.
Many people gasped after witnessing Damien’s actions.
They marveled at the accomplishments Damien had achieved even at a young age.
On the other hand, Manuel was just a poor loser and was far inferior to Damien.
How could the gap between two people be so big?
He stared at Manuel wanting to embarrass him further, “Hold waiter, I’ve changed my mind. Split the bill into two. One for his share and the rest on me?”
Would it not have been better if he left just now?
The meal for tonight was estimated to contain a lot of zeroes, and the average consumption per person would definitely be more than a thousand.
Shirley closed his eyes at the sight of what Manuel was going through and made to slip his bank card to him.
Manuel expression softened at that but politely refused him.
This was the only person to ever stand up for him in school and even now.
At this moment, the waiter who was holding the card went out and came back in with a man who seemed to be the manager walking briskly behind him.
“Sir, payment isn’t going through due to insufficient balance,” the waiter said with an apologetic look.
Damien was stunned for a moment but then became furious, “What do you mean by insufficient balance?! I still have millions in my account and you’re coming to me with such nonsense information?!”
“Yes sir, I’m sorry. The meal tonight plus the booking of the private suite cost 2.7 million dollars. You still have to pay 2.6 million dollars after deducting this gentleman’s share…”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?!” Damien retorted.
“We have less than 15 people here. How could we almost spend about 3 million dollars? I want to speak with your manager. I want to see just how shameless the prestigious Eastbay Diner is!”
The waiter sighed and stepped backwards revealing their manager.
Previous Chapter
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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