"Bhooo!" Keith jumped in from the side and yelled, taking him by surprise.
Augustus, on the other hand, suddenly flinched, almost dropping his phone from his hand.
"What the heck, man! That almost gave me a heart attack," he said, and narrowed his eyes with a fake sharp glare.
"Hahaha, look at your face!" Keith laughed.
"What are you doing here so late? It's… 11 AM now. Shouldn't you be in the office?" Augustus asked, looking at the time, then added, "Ohh, also, how did your parents' anniversary go?"
"Haha, I'm late because I stayed up till midnight enjoying the anniversary," he said with a joyous, warm smile, and continued to explain.
"It was their best anniversary to date. Guess what?
My mother surprised my dad and took him to the 'Markers' but couldn't get a table… However, some rich dude just showed up and gave them his own table, and not only that, but he also paid for their bill…
Haha, the restaurant even returned $3000 since the bill didn't add up," he explained, containing his happiness.
"I never knew there were some good rich kids amongst the entitled scum…" he mumbled and shook his head "Anyways, I'm getting late. See you soon in the office."
Augustus raised his brows and mumbled in a dazed manner, "Nice… I'm glad you enjoyed it."
While his attention shifted. Were they his parents? The world really is small, he thought, and looked at Keith's back, who was already walking away, then his gaze shifted as he noticed David walking toward him.
"How are you feeling, David?" Augustus asked after looking at the almost healed bruises on the face.
"Never felt better," David mumbled, widening his arms.
"That's good to hear. Let's go look for our new office, i don't know how to drive so Here, take the key. We'll talk on our way there," Augustus said, handing him the key.
David nodded with a smile and began walking toward the driver's seat. Augustus also slid into the front seat.
"So where are we going?" David asked while his hands rested on the steering. "Nice car, by the way."
"Haha, thanks. How about Havencrest Properties?" he asked.
Since I've got 10% stakes there, and added "After looking at their website, I think it looks good," he mumbled.
David tilted his head with a thoughtful look. "Hmmm, Havencrest Properties? They are one of the top 5 in the city, but they're very costly. You sure?"
Augustus nodded with a soft smile. "As you say, boss," he said and pressed on the accelerator.
"So what's your plan with Crunch Studios?" David asked while driving with ease.
Augustus turned his head. "The plan is simple. First, we buy a good spacious office and hire some good employees.
Then, for a smoother workflow, we'll buy high-end, latest computers, and of course, for comfort and chill, after they are tired from working, we will add snacks, games, and a TV room.
I want to make the office environment as comfortable as possible," Augustus stated.
Good thing I decided all this yesterday before sleeping, he thought and added, "And brace yourself because all this will be handled by you and Keith alone," he said softly.
David, who was driving calmly, eyed him in a dazed manner, still processing his absurd words, though one could see a steady shock gradually building on his face. Then his eyes widened as he slowed the car and looked at him.
"What the heck are you talking about, Augustus?" he asked in a shocked tone. "I was just thinking we will shift to a good office. Are you trying to change Crunch Studio like those tech giants?" he asked.
After all, Crunch Studios was his to begin with, and his small, tiny office shifting to a better one was a dream come true for him.
"Now, now, don't get too excited. We've yet to buy the office." Though even I can't help but feel excited, he thought with a cheeky smile.
"Wow, you're crazy, man. Or just too rich where people like me can't comprehend things. This is really exciting, haha," he said and pressed on the pedals, increasing the speed.
Both turned silent, but wide smiles were clearly etched onto their faces.
As Augustus was deep in thought, silently thinking about different things, his expression changed to a faint grin. System… My good system, where is the reward for getting a job?… Can you show that task once again?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Task #09:
[×] – Find a job. Rest is earned, not endless. Stand up, suit up, and step into purpose.
| Reward: +$500,000 + Black card
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Host is not officially employed. You must be hired through formal means, not word of mouth.
Please note: businesses are not run on informal agreements. Unless you're documented as an official employee, the system deems the task incomplete.]
Oh, that makes sense. Hmmm, should I ask David to hire me on paper? No, let's hire myself as CEO after purchasing the stakes. That sounds cool—and anyhow, I'm not in need of urgent money now,
He thought before David snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Here we are, Augustus," he said while looking at a giant building stretching toward the sky.
They quickly parked the car and entered Havencrest Properties, where a grand lobby greeted them.
On his right side were 3D models of many buildings and properties. Big screens hung over, showing many complete and ongoing projects.
Damn, places like this really make you feel tiny, there's so much wealth out there, he mused, hands placed in pockets, unfazed while sweeping his gaze across the lobby.
"Hello, sir," a woman greeted with a calm tone, and after scanning them, she inquired, "What are you looking for, sir?"
"Hello, we are looking to buy an office floor that can accommodate 50–100 people," Augustus said gently with a small smile.
Her impassive face soon shifted to a masked frown. "Caroline, please attend to these people here," she yelled after looking at their poor attire, and walked away, not even looking at them. The only reason she even bothered was because of Augustus's new clothes. And many people come for sightseeing.
Augustus furrowed his brows but didn't say anything. As the woman walked away, Caroline, a new staff greeted them with a polite smile. "Hello, sir. What are you looking for?" she asked gently with a practiced grace while holding a tablet.
Augustus nodded. "We are looking for a big office space that can hold around 50–100 employees."
Her eyes flickered with surprise, though she quickly suppressed it with a professional smile. "Understood, sir. Please follow me to our VIP room, where I can guide you easily on a big screen without any disturbances," she politely gestured.
Augustus smiled softly and followed behind, while David whispered, "Isn't that... a lot bigger? I thought you were talking about 30-40 extra employees?"
But before Augustus could reply, and Caroline could reach for the room's door—
The same woman's voice resounded from behind. "Stop, Caroline. I'll take that room. I have more important guests to attend to," she politely said, but for some reason, it carried arrogance.
And behind her stood just a single man in a white printed jacket paired with a black tshirt and same white pants, he looked to be around Augustus's age. A small yet confident smile evident on his lips as.