A middle-aged man sat in a spacious office, his attention fixed on the computer screen before him. The desk was large and made of polished wood, its surface littered with papers and folders. A pen holder stood on one side of the desk, its contents organized with precision.
The walls were painted white and adorned with tasteful artwork, while large windows provided a sweeping view of the city outside. The sunlight filtered in, casting a warm glow over the room.
A potted plant sat in the corner of the room, its leaves reaching out towards the light. The plant was well cared for, and its greenery added a touch of life to the otherwise sterile space.
The man had a bald head, deep-set eyes, and a furrowed brow that gave him a perpetually serious expression. He wore a white dress shirt and black trousers, and a gold watch glinted on his wrist. The sound of typing filled the room as he worked on his computer.
Max sat opposite him in a small wooden chair that creaked with every movement. The room felt stuffy, and Max could smell the faint scent of coffee that lingered in the air. The man's desk was cluttered with papers, and a stack of books sat in the corner, covered in a layer of dust.
The man handed Max a square envelope with four even edges and a pleasingly symmetrical shape. It was made of heavy cardstock and felt sturdy and substantial in Max's hand. The man's face was inscrutable as he handed over the envelope, and Max could feel his anxiety building as he took the envelope with a sense of foreboding and he braced himself for the worst.
Lately, his boss had been finding fault with everything he did, even when the complaints were trivial. Today, however, he hadn't said a word to Max, which only made him more anxious.
He didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling his boss was unhappy with him in some way. So even though he hadn't seen the contents of the envelope, Max assumed it had something to do with demotion, which he hoped wasn't the case.
As Max was having these uneasy thoughts, he carefully opened the envelope to reveal a letter inside. After reading it, his hand began to shake, and he asked his boss, "What is this, sir?" His voice filled with disbelief.
"You're fired," his boss said.
Surprised by his boss's words, Max quickly stood up from his chair. But he did so too quickly, and the chair he was sitting on fell as a result.
"Why?!" Max unknowingly used a loud voice to speak due to the sudden dismissal given to him, much to the annoyance of his boss, who immediately let out a frown before grinning.
Since Max didn't recall committing any work-related crimes or breaking any rules that would have led to his termination, he knew that something was going on when he saw his boss grinning.
Max also didn't particularly enjoy his job at the lousy store he was employed by, which paid him too little while forcing him to put in a 95-hour work week, but he had no choice. Without it, his life would be completely destroyed. It was already ruined and was about to become even more so.
The manager of the store Max was working in said, "There's not much of a reason as I just don't want your services again." But before he could turn his focus back to what he was doing on his table, Max slammed his fists on the edge of the table, scattering everything on it away. Max didn't even bother to look at this as he asked the same question he had asked before, his unwillingness being audible when he spoke.
"But why?!"
The boss replied, "As I said, I don't want your services again," and a series of arguments between Max and his soon-to-be former boss ensued.
At last, Max was left with no choice but to accept his fate and leave the store. He wanted to scream, to lash out, but he knew it wouldn't accomplish anything. His boss was the one with the power, and Max was at his mercy.
As he left the office, Max could feel his rage boiling inside him. He had given his all to this job, had worked long hours, and put up with his boss's constant criticism, and now he had nothing to show for it.
While wondering what he must have done wrong to be fired or what caused him to be fired as Max had a particular thought in his head that he hoped wasn't the reason for his dismissal.
When he exited the store, he just had to run into the villain, who was the cause of the majority of his life's problems. However, from the building structure he had just left, it appeared that while the store looked average, the business should be booming.
This was one reason Max didn't want to leave the store. It still paid quite well, even though he was treated like a slave. But he was ultimately fired, so when he saw the "villain" outside the store doors resting on his car in front, Max already had his unanswered question answered.
The villain was merely a term that Max used to address the white-suited man standing in front of him.
The man shared Max's blue eyes, slightly long black hair, and even some of his facial characteristics.
The Acura NSX that the man was sitting on was grey, and even without knowing the car's brand, it was easy to tell how expensive it must be from the way it looked.
In other words, just by being there, the man exuded an aura of wealth. However, this appearance did not concern Max, as he knew right away why he had been let go and why his former boss had been grinning at the time.
"So, how much did you pay him to fire me?" Strangely, when Max spoke, there was no sign of anger on his face. Rather, his aura exuded heavy exhaustion that did not come from working hard. Max asked the young man in front of him, who appeared to be of a similar age.
The man replied, smiling, "Just $20,000."
"$20,000?" Max repeated, incredulous.
"Yeah."
Max just gave the man in front of him a weak smile after confirming the sum that had been "paid" for him to lose his job. The sum was even more than his annual salary here. Was it even worthwhile?
"Was it worth it?" he asked, and the man immediately nodded and clapped his hands.
"Yes, it was," he replied.
"Why?"
"Because I love it when you suffer," Hearing this, Max just repeated a sentence he had been saying for the past eight years.
"This is not the end," he said, and then he walked over to the spot where he had parked the second-hand car he had been driving for the past three years.
Although the conversation between both men appeared to be quite chilled and relaxed, the content of the conversation said otherwise. While Max's attitude towards everything that happened after confirming the man was the one who caused him to lose his job unfairly wasn't that he wasn't angry, he was. It was just that there was nothing he could do about it. So instead of doing something that would later bite him, Max simply left with his hands squeezed as his emotions were volatile.
Max knew there was no chance he would ever get his old job back after learning the amount paid for his ex-boss to fire him. As a result, he killed any previous thoughts he had about getting it back and instead just wanted to go home, or at the very least, somewhere far away from the person he had just spoken to.
And, as for how the man knew today was the day he'd be fired, Max surmised that it had to be something he'd discussed with his ex-boss.
Perhaps the DOD or something.
For one thing, though, Max believed that his appearance was too much of a coincidence.
The majority of Max's pain and suffering over the past eight years had been caused by that man and his family, which was not what should have happened, given that they all shared a surname.
Max's full name is Max Weller, and he is 26 years old. The man he just spoke with is Chris Weller, who is a year younger than him, and yes, they are step-brothers.
Max's mother had gotten pregnant by an ungrateful bastard with an uncaring family who only cared about money, status, and their 'pure bloodline'. He and his mother were never accepted into the family, and if that wasn't enough, these people made it a point to make his life miserable no matter how much money they had to spend to do so whenever he and their paths crossed, and most of the time, it was the younger members of the family who came to him like what had just happened.
He didn't know how wealthy his father's family was, but he was aware of their wealth and power, which allowed them to have some influence over government affairs. However, none of these people had been his concern until his mother's death and departure that year when she was already ill and on the verge of passing away. She had accumulated significant debts, in addition to the ones he already had.
Although Max didn't show it, he was in a very unstable mood because at least he had a source of income to gradually pay off the debt, but that source of income had also been taken away.
It would have been better for him if he could have gone home to rest with his car, but sadly, it too had to break down on the highway just a few minutes after he started it.
"Damn", Max muttered while slamming his head lightly on the car wheel.