Chapter 8

Barely hours into his first day in the business district; and Derek had already experienced two polar ends of what it means to be working there. He knew, after stepping out of the BDT mall, that he has long road ahead of him.

Ding!

A message notification interrupted Derek's thoughts. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and read the message.

'Young Quinton, I've sent you a pin location of the Quinton Tower. I've also forwarded Amanda's contact to you. Contact her when you arrive. See you later. Owen.'

'Well...tour time in the HNW zone is over...for today anyway. Time to get down to business.' thought Derek.

Before heading over to Quinton Tower, Derek stopped by a nearby food truck to order a steak sandwich for lunch. He wasn't going to waste time dining in a fancy restaurant even though he could. Not this day anyway; he didn't want to be late on his first day.

Derek then hailed a cab to go to Quinton Tower. Traffic was surprisingly a breeze despite peak traffic during lunch hours. Within 30 minutes, Derek had arrived at Quinton Tower.

Derek paid the taxi driver before stepping out with his bags of suits and shoes in tow. Before entering the tower, he looked up the building and absorbed the grandeur and exuberant aura that the Quinton Tower exudes. He also noticed a big QT at the top of the building. As if the Quinton Tower needed more recognition.

'So, this is it.... the Quinton Tower. My life has turned the much-needed corner. Now it's up to me to maintain this road of life. God help me.' prayed Derek in his heart and mind.

Taking a huge breath, soaking up the moment, Derek proceeded into the Quinton Tower. He approached the receptionist seated behind a luxurious black marble desk facing the main entrance.

"Good afternoon, I have an appointment with Amanda Walsh." said Derek.

"May I have your name please?" asked the receptionist politely.

"Derek Smith."

"One moment, Mr. Smith....oh yes, you have an appointment with her at 2 o'clock; She's currently in a meeting and you are really early. Please have a seat and I'll notify her of your arrival."

"That will do nicely Miss....."

"Jocelyn"

"Thank you, Jocelyn."

"Most welcome, Mr. Smith".

As Derek proceeded to take a seat to wait for Amanda, a loud commotion could be heard from outside the entrance.

Derek and Jocelyn rushed out of the building to see what was happening.

A young lady could be seen seated on the pavement shocked and almost in tears.

A man, looking in his forties was seen standing over the young lady, visibly angry.

"What's going on here?" asked Jocelyn.

The man replied, "None of your business lady. But if you must know, this dumb b**** spilled coffee all over my suit! Do you know how much this costs? 50 grand!! None of you here can afford a suit like this even if your life depends on it!"

"That still doesn't explain.... wait" Derek cut himself off mid-sentence because he noticed a mark on the lady's face.

"Did you just slap her?" Derek was getting angry himself.

"Yeah, I did. She deserves it. What? You have a problem with that? Do something about it. Otherwise, get out of my way! I have a meeting with Owen Beck and if I'm late, I'll make you pay for it!"

That statement pushed Derek way past his limit. A man putting his hands on a woman is an absolute no-no unless it was in an act of self-defense. The man's actions were anything but self-defense.

Without thinking twice, Derek balled up his fist and landed a punch square at the man's nose, sending the man tumbling backwards and onto the asphalt, holding his nose and reeling in pain.

It was at this time Owen approached the building entrance and saw what unfolded. Alongside Owen was a young lady, in her mid-twenties, with flaming red hair, sharply dressed in a body-hugging white top, blazer and pants that shows her curves in the right places.

The man stood up and was ready to retaliate. "You little bastard punk! You're so dead now! Mr. Beck, that guy punched me for no good reason! Get your security to kick him out!!"

What happened next shocked everyone. Owen instead gave the man two tight slaps across his face.

SLAP! SLAP!

"You must be insane!! You dare to demand me to do anything for you, let alone put hands on my boss's son?" shouted Owen, giving the scumbag man a death stare.

"Boss's son? This punk? What are you talking about?" The scumbag man was confused.

Owen angrily replied, " Take a good look scumbag! This is Derek Quinton, the son and heir to Peter and Lea Quinton! I answer to him! Do you get it now?"

The scumbag man could only react in shock. He just realized he had threatened and offended someone more well off than he is. In that instant, all his bravado and ego disappeared into dust.

Dropping to his knees, the scumbag begged for forgiveness; but it was too late.

Derek was not going to go easy on him, "Obviously, you are not going to get your meeting with Owen today, or any day for that matter. In fact.... Owen do me a favour. Blacklist the company this scumbag works for. Also, on behalf of the woman he slapped, I'll press charges against him for assault. Make sure this scumbag ends up in prison."

"Leave it to me, Young Quinton." replied Owen. "Oh yes, this lady beside me is Amanda Walsh, your secretary."

"Good afternoon boss" greeted Amanda, the redhead hottie.

"Pleased to meet you, Amanda. Sorry you had to witness this." Derek greeted back.

"No apologies needed Sir. Let me bring you to your office."

"Before that... Jocelyn, please ensure this lady gets the proper treatment necessary, and if she's here for a job application, consider her hired."

"Thank you, Mr. Quinton." the lady cried.

"Most welcome. By the way, what's your name?"

"Kimberly."

"Kimberly. Nice name. Welcome to the Quinton Consortium!"

After that, Derek turned to go back inside the Quinton Tower, with Amanda escorting him to his new office, leaving Jocelyn and Kimberly staring back at him in full admiration, while security held down the scumbag man until the police arrived.