"Byran, you lucky dog!" Julius stood up, rummaging for the bet agreement in his pocket and crumpling it with a disgruntled expression before tossing it to Byran.
Byran caught the ball of paper, unfolded it to double-check, then promptly ripped it up.
"Julius, if you guys didn't cheat, you'd have lost fair and square. Still can't swallow your defeat? How about another round? If you lose, you'll have to call me 'grandpa'. Dare to take it on?"
"I don't have time for your games!" Julius was clearly not up for another round; with a gloomy face, he turned and left with his gang, with tails between their legs.
Byran could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Ellinor was lazing about on the couch, quitting the game, and opening up a pinned group chat on WhatsApp. She shot a message to the group, "You guys did good; I'll give you a cash bonus later."
Chase Larios' avatar popped up, "You roped us into your game, and now you just want to buy us off with some cash?"
Ellinor replied, "What do you want then?"
Chase sent a goofy emoji, "I want you!"
Another avatar, named Ida Gipson, appeared, "Boss, I haven't seen you at the company in a hot minute."
Chase chimed in, "Exactly!"
Ellinor responded, "I'll make time to drop by in the next few days. Behave yourselves!"
After placating her underlings, Ellinor pocketed her phone and got up to leave.
"Ellinor, wait!"
Byran called out to her.
Ellinor halted, "What is it, Mr. Howard?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Kiss that Sparked it All