Suddenly, I Am Rich

”Mayor!” Steven jolted to his feet so fast as he heard the loud and angry voice from the other side of the phone. He quickly pushed his chair back and looked around.

”I apologize, Mayor. I’m coming back right now,” he said hurriedly into the phone. ”I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Gray watched as Steven bowed his head slightly, even if Alistair couldn’t see it. He grabbed his folders on the table with trembling hands. He nearly dropped them on the ground.

”I’m really sorry, Sir Gray,” Steven said breathlessly. He already turned his body to face the exit’s direction. ”But thank you for the lunch.”

Before Gray could even respond, Steven was already nowhere to be seen. He didn’t even wait for Gray to say something. He just walked away. His steps were all quick and rushed. He would even bump into waiters, as if he wasn’t on his right mind.

While that was happening, Gray was left stunned at the table. His lips were parted as he looked at the empty space in front of him. In there, Steven’s barely touched plate lay. The man didn’t even get to enjoy his meal before getting called.

”It must be a tough life he’s living,” he muttered before letting out a deep sigh.

He just couldn’t imagine the life he was living if one call from Alistair, and he was already acting that way. Oh well, Alistair sounded so mad too. A thing that he might have an idea about the reason.

’I guess it’s up,’ A silent chuckle slipped from Gray’s lips as he leaned back slightly in his chair. He slowly reached for his phone instead. The screen lit up immediately after he opened it. He went to his social media account, and in there lies a big surprise.

[Mystery emerges behind a popular politician who has ties to a welfare foundation as rumors of abuse circulate online.]

[Anonymous figure allow the abuse of kids on his welfare foundation?]

In there, articles followed one another. They were from different pages, but they all had almost the same keyword. A political figure, a spotless public image, A welfare foundation, and abuse. Everywhere, you would see that the person remained unnamed as if left on purpose.

’Pft’ Gray fought the urge to laugh. He just shook his head and settled on a smile.

”Well,” he muttered softly, ”Looks like someone’s been busy.”

While saying that, a familiar face surfaced in his mind. He already knew where this came from.

’Good job on this one, Mara.’ He thought before locking his phone and turning it off.

It was their first attack.

Gray let out a quiet breath and leaned back against the chair.

”I guess I should enjoy my meal first,” he murmured to himself, the corner of his lips lifting slightly. ”Before joining the fun later on.”

He reached for his utensils again, this time without hesitation. Right now, the food even become more tasty in his sight. He took a bite and chewed slowly as if it were just any other normal day.

- - -

On the other hand, Alistair’s office was a disaster.

Phones rang endlessly on the marketing and communications team. Overlapping voices from the employees sounded. Everyone was trying to explain the situation to donors, aides, and media contacts. They were denying the articles and saying it wasn’t the Mayor. They were trying so hard to do damage control.

”Oh no, it’s spreading fast,” someone whispered urgently to his friend, who was on a call.

Meanwhile, the others don’t even have the luxury of speaking to their friends.

”No, we still don’t know who released it, Sir. It’s obviously not our beloved Mayor.”

”Haha, you know all these rumors. It’s not true.”

”It’s just someone trying to bring down our Mayor by trying to post something that would point him out.”

”Of course, it’s not the Mayor.”

Even though no name was mentioned in any of the articles, everyone in the room knew exactly who the target was.

There was only one welfare foundation in the city that focused solely on child protection and had a connection with a politician. That’s why even without a dropped name, it spread to everyone.

At his office, Alistair was barely having it.

”Damn it!” he cursed out loud, his chest moving up and down frantically.

With a violent sweep of his arm, everything on his desk went flying everywhere. His papers were scattered across the floor. There was even a framed photo of him that flew on the wall before crashing on the ground, broken.

”Damn it! Damn it! Those motherfuckers! I’m sure my enemies are the ones behind this!”

He shouted out loud that made everyone in his office silent.

Even Steven, who had just arrived from running, stood frozen. He had arrived only moments ago. He had not even had time to sit before witnessing the outburst from his boss.

”These fools...” Alistair’s fist clenched on his side. He firmly opened his eyes, and when he opened them, a dangerous look was already there.

”All of you, find out who started this from my enemies,” he said, his voice low and shaking as he restrained his overflowing anger. ”I don’t care how. I want answers. Immediately.”

”Yes, Mayor,” Everyone replied immediately. They were silent and clearly afraid of their own boss. With one look from Alistair, they all turned back and ran towards their own cubicle to work. They were scrambling to move, afraid that if Alistiar found them slacking, they would be fired immediately.

Alistair remained standing behind his desk for a few more seconds. After a while, he looked around and finally sat down. He let out a harsh laugh and shook his head in disbelief.

”So this is how you want to play it,” he muttered under his breath.

His jaw clenched, his teeth grinding together as his thoughts spiraled into circles.

’How dare they...’

’How dare someone drag my name through the mud like this?’

His fingers twitched beneath the table.

’I swear,’ he thought darkly, his eyes narrowing. ’If I find the person behind this...’

His lips pressed into a thin line as a dangerous smile appeared on his face.

’I’ll kill them.’