Chapter 8: Who Is the New Owner?

Jude leaned against the counter, a smile touching his lips. "Word travels fast in this city. Who gave you my number?"

"In my line of work, Mr. Lawson, information is the most valuable currency," Victoria said. "When the General Manager of the Obsidian Grand personally clears the Presidential Suite for a new resident who subsequently drops half a million dollars at a local boutique, flags are raised on every major financial radar. I represent clients who specialize in aggressive corporate takeovers. If you are looking to invest your new capital, I can facilitate the acquisition of virtually any asset in the district."

"Any asset?" Jude asked, his eyes drifting toward the skyline outside his window.

"Name it."

"Zenith Motors," Jude said flatly. "The flagship dealership downtown. I want a controlling stake, and I want it expedited."

There was a brief pause on the line, followed by the sound of rapid typing.

"Zenith Motors," Victoria mused. "Their parent company has been severely over-leveraged for the past two quarters. The current owner is bleeding cash trying to keep their inventory afloat. It won’t be cheap, but a hostile buyout is entirely feasible if you have the liquid capital. I can have a preliminary dossier and transfer contracts drawn up by tomorrow morning."

"Have them ready," Jude said. "Meet me in the lobby of the Obsidian Grand at nine."

He hung up the phone, a sense of satisfaction settling in his chest.

Needing a change of scenery from his massive suite, Jude decided to head down to the hotel’s exclusive VIP lounge for a drink.

He slipped on his new Audemars Piguet watch and took the private elevator down to the ground floor.

The lounge was dimly lit, reeking of old money, expensive cigars, and aged scotch.

Jude took a seat at the bar.

The bartender, a sharply dressed man in his thirties, immediately walked over.

He poured a glass of premium whiskey on the rocks and slid it toward Jude, looking incredibly nervous.

"On the house, Mr. Lawson," the bartender said. "Though, if I may be so bold... are you aware that you’ve broken the internet tonight?"

Jude paused, the glass halfway to his mouth. "Excuse me?"

The bartender pulled a tablet from beneath the counter and turned the screen around.

Jude stared at the display.

It was a live feed of the city’s top trending topics across three different social media platforms.

*#WaterBottleBillionaire*

*#ZenithDistrictFlex*

*#AureliusBuyout*

*#RichestManInACheapSuit*

Every single top trend was accompanied by crystal-clear video clips.

There was footage of Jude catching the streamer Lexi, depositing her on the bench, and handing her a two-dollar water bottle.

Below that, there was a viral clip of the transport truck outside the boutique, with Caldwell screaming about a $500,000 transaction.

The comments were a unified wall of awe.

"Bro dropped half a mil on clothes and rejected an influencer with a plastic bottle. Legendary."

"Who is this guy?!"

"The way the flashy guy ran away was hilarious! The WaterBottleBillionaire is him!"

Jude let out a long sigh. He had never asked for the spotlight, let alone internet fame.

He rubbed his temples. "I’d appreciate it if hotel security kept any vloggers or paparazzi off the premises."

"Already taken care of, sir. We’ve doubled the perimeter guard," the bartender assured him.

Jude took a sip of his whiskey, glancing away from the screen.

As he looked into the reflection of the mirror behind the bar, a familiar face caught his attention.

Sitting in a secluded booth in the darkest corner of the lounge was Trent Belmont.

However, Trent didn’t look like the arrogant heir who had strutted through the car dealership yesterday. He looked pale, sickly, and terrified.

Sitting across from him was an older, fiercely intimidating man with silver hair... Arthur Belmont, the head of the Belmont real estate empire.

Jude subtly adjusted his position to listen.

"You absolute idiot," Arthur hissed, slamming his fist quietly onto the table. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The Obsidian conglomerate is reviewing our contract for the new commercial district tomorrow. And I just get a call from a boutique manager telling me my son publicly humiliated their top VIP?"

Trent flinched, shrinking into the booth.

"Dad, I swear, I didn’t know! He was wearing garbage! I thought he was a nobody!"

"You don’t think!" Arthur snarled. "We are hanging by a thread with this deal. If this VIP decides to mention your little stunt to the conglomerate’s board, we are finished. What is his name? I need to send an apology gift immediately."

Trent swallowed hard. He was entirely too cowardly to admit to his father that the ’ultra-VIP’ was the exact same dealership employee that Trent had bragged about getting fired yesterday.

"I... I didn’t catch his name," Trent lied.

Jude smirked into his glass. He snapped a quick mental picture of Trent’s miserable state.

Pulling out his phone, Jude navigated to his contacts and found the name of the only person at Zenith Motors who had ever treated him with basic human decency: Maya, the inventory manager.

Jude quickly typed out a message.

*Maya. Make sure you are on the showroom floor tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Don’t take an early lunch.*

A few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a reply.

*Jude? What are you talking about? You got fired! Sterling said he’d call the cops if you ever set foot on the property again. Please don’t do anything crazy!*

Jude chuckled, typing his response.

*Just trust me. Tomorrow, everything changes.*

He locked his phone and finished his drink, thoroughly looking forward to the morning.

***

Meanwhile, across the city, the lights were still blazing inside the managerial office of Zenith Motors. General Manager Sterling was pacing back and forth behind his desk.

He had just received a phone call from the regional owner of the dealership.

"A total buyout," Sterling muttered to himself, rubbing his palms together. "A mysterious billionaire is coming to evaluate the dealership for a total buyout tomorrow morning."

Sterling couldn’t believe his luck...

The dealership had been struggling, and Sterling had been terrified of losing his job if they filed for bankruptcy.

But if a billionaire was swooping in to buy the place? This was his golden ticket.

If he rolled out the red carpet and impressed this mysterious tycoon, the new owner would undoubtedly promote him to a regional Vice President position!

"This is it," Sterling whispered. "My big break."

He stormed out of his office, stepping out onto the showroom floor where the night crew was finishing their inventory checks.

Maya was standing near the front desk, looking at her phone with a confused expression.

"Listen up, everyone!" Sterling barked, clapping his hands together. "Tomorrow morning is the most important day in the history of this dealership! We have a VIP buyer arriving. I want this floor immaculate! I want the cars polished until they blind me! If anyone messes this up, I will fire you on the spot, just like I did to that worthless trash Jude yesterday!"

Maya frowned, looking from the manager back down to the cryptic text message on her screen.

"Do you hear me?" Sterling yelled, pointing a finger at the staff. "The new owner is coming!"