Credit Alert
1733 Words
Chapter Two
The manager was looking at Zaire with anger. He turned to Vanessa and immediately bowed very low at her
"I'm sorry, madam. He's just a faggot" He pleaded with Vanessa, trying to urge her to calm down
"You should train your employees well. This lowlife just insulted me and my boyfriend and I'm supposed to let it go?!" Vanessa's voice was getting higher, attracting the attention of others.
She wanted Zaire to be humiliated completely.
Zaire sneered, feeling complete hatred for Vanessa now.
It was as though the scales had fallen from his eyes.
He could not believe he had been blind to her faults all along.
The manager grabbed Zaire's shoulders and tried to get him to bow for Vanessa
"You lowlife. Apologize this instant or you're fired!" He roared angrily, his reddened eyes glaring at Zaire but Zaire wouldn't budge.
With a single shove, he sent the manager flying to the floor to the shock of the onlookers as well as Vanessa
"Apologize? Why would I apologise to a cheat and a tramp?" He kept his gaze level as he stared deep into Vanessa's eyes
Vanessa was a bit stunned.
Zaire's eyes had lost whatever love and admiration that were always in them whenever he looked at her
She looked a little disturbed.
Now the only thing left in them was disdain
She watched as Zaire removed the name badge on his uniform and threw it at the manager's face. The manager whimpered and moved away. He had not still recovered from his fall
"I quit! Over my dead body will I serve you people!" Zaire's voice booked across the hall, his eyes red with anger. With that he stormed off, and walked out of the restaurant, amidst the shocked onlookers
"That's too bad, faggot" Kace sneered, calling loudly after him "If you'd worked tonight, I might have tipped you your entire salary"
He laughed loudly and the rest of the guests joined in. Vanessa only laughed weakly. She was still feeling disturbed as though she had lost something really precious
But she refused to believe that the precious something was Zaire
His poverty was stinking. She wanted better in life.
After her family went bankrupt, she refused to forgive her father for making them go poor.
She hated being poor and resulted to getting money from men in order to support the lifestyle she was used to. Zaire and Kace were not the only men she was dating but Zaire made her feel ashamed.
Thank goodness, she had gotten rid of him
She smiled at Kace and decided to enjoy the evening wholeheartedly
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Zaire walked on in anger, taking long strides , every inch of his face etched with anger and pain
How could Vanessa do that to him? He could also not believe he allowed himself to be used by her for so long
But he had genuinely loved her and held on to her desperately because he felt she was the only thing of value he had in his life
Having grown up an orphan, he did not grow up with love but Zaire had always been the one to radiate love and kindness
But he knew that was a mistake now. Never again would he let himself be fooled by the likes of Vanessa. Never again would he let himself be vulnerable as he was now
Zaire's fist was clenched and his eyes flashed with anger at the world.
It was already dark out and the evening air was cool. Zaire stopped walking. It seems as though the cool air had made all his anger disappear
He just lost a job that was very much important to him. How was he able to pay his students loan now.
He had also left abruptly without receiving his salary, so he had absolutely nothing left now
His shoulders slumped as he managed to walk slowly to a bench in a nearby park.
He slowly inhaled and exhaled, trying to ease the ache in his heart but his eyes stung with unshed tears
Suddenly his cell phone beeped with a notification. Fishing for the phone deep within his pocket, he opened the notification
When he saw the Bank credit alert of $10,000,000,000, his eyes widened and he jumped to his feet in shock
"W...What's going on? Is this a prank?" His hands shook as he zoomed in on the message, counting the zeroes one by one.
It was real!
Ten Billion Dollars was sitting in his account!
Zaire tried to calm down but he could not sit still. This was the first time he had seen such an amount in his life. His mind was blank. He walked round in circles and tried to calm his breathing but his heart was beating very loudly
He lifted the phone to zoom in on the message again but a call came in on the phone.
Zaire was so flustered that he dropped the phone immediately, leaving a scratch on the screen
He picked it up with shaky hands and saw that it was a private number
"Hello?" Zaire's voice was low and cautious. He was very sure he was being pranked and was trying not to sound vulnerable
"Zaire Langdon" The voice that emanated from the phone exuded power and at the same time sounded very strained.
"Who are you?" Zaire spoke up, ready and on the defensive
"I am Robert Ludovic"
Zaire's mind was blank for a minute then his eyes widened in shock
Robert Ludovic! Of the Ludovic Empire?!
This was one of the biggest conglomerates in Emerald City. They literally owned everything in Emerald City. They had subsidiaries in every industry from education to fashion to technology, and Zaire could not believe he was actually speaking to the Chairman of that Empire himself, Robert Ludovic.
He swallowed hard and tried to calm his nerves as Robert continued speaking
"Zaire, I must speak with you. I'm sure you already saw the alert which landed in your phone a few minutes ago. Even though, you can not access it for now, it's all yours. That is just a tip of the iceberg of all in store for you. But I can't tell you everything over the phone, because strict measures must be taken here. You are to come to the Cosmos Building by 10pm. It is very important you're here by then. I must speak with you"
With that he ended the call.
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PENTHOUSE, COSMOS BUILDING
Robert Ludovic slowly handed the phone to his Butler, Paul, who quietly took it from him and placed it in a shelve in the huge mahogany desk in the study.
"Do you think he's the one?" Robert asked, his eyes distant, staring past Paul into the night
Paul hesitated before answering
"I believe in your decision, sir. Let us wait till he gets here. I'm sure he will not disappoint"
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The dial tone sounded and Zaire realized the call had ended. He stood, frozen in shock for a few minutes then his brain suddenly galvanized into action
10pm.
He stared at the time. It was 8:45pm. He had an hour and fifteen minutes to get to Cosmos building.
He did not know what this was about or even if it were a prank but Zaire was not ready to think twice about it.
He was one to take action and grab an opportunity whenever it presented himself
At this moment, Vanessa was forgotten. He looked down at his clothes and saw that he was still wearing the restaurant's uniform and it was soaked.
Zaire quickly took a taxi home and ran into his hostel. The way he rushed into the hostel and his room alerted a friend and coursemates of his who was also his flatmate
Ava Bryce heard Zaire running into his room and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been waiting for him so she could get some books she needed for a test that week.
Zaire and her studied the same course at the college and they most times relied on each other for help in their studies and Zaire was actually a very good student, even with the multiple jobs he kept
Ava was glad she had him as her friend
She left her room and walked into Zaire's room, opening the door which was unlocked.
She was his friend and most times entered his room uninvited but it seems like she should not have done that this time.
Her eyes widened and she blushed a bright red when she saw that Zaire had taken off his shirt, showing off his incredible body
She turned away and yelled
"What are you doing?!" Ava tried to hide her blushing cheeks from him
"You mean, what are YOU doing?" Zaire asked pointedly, not minding her and still went ahead to change his clothes "I'm literally in my room changing clothes. You're the one who barged in"
"W..well... Who takes off their clothes immediately they get into the house?!" Ava was very embarrassed but for some reason she was still rooted to the same spot. The memory of Zaire's body kept replaying in her head
"What are you talking about?" Zaire finished changing and walked towards her " My clothes were wet and...I don't have to explain to you"
She turned then and faced him and because he was so close to her, he saw that her face was as red as her hair. Her green eyes were wide, giving her a very cute look
Ava was pissed. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away
"You were just being flirtatious!" She uttered, her hands on her hips and looking quite fierce.
Zaire chuckled awkwardly.
He knew he should have been more careful since his roommate was a girl but he just had to beat the time
"I'm sorry but I was in a hurry and my clothes were wet so.." he started to explain but Ava cut him off
"Whatever. Just don't try it next time" With that, she turned and grabbed the books on his table and ran out in one swift motion
Zaire was stunned and wondered what was her problem but he did not have the time to think about that right now
He glanced at the wristwatch on his wrist and yelled in surprise
"9:25pm?! Oh my God, I'm late!"
- Writer
