As the assistants were still frozen from fear and embarrassment, Jamie continued to joyfully walk to her brother's office.

Door opens

"Huh? Oh, Jamie, come on in."

Sighs "Tell me, what stupid thing did you do again, brother?"

"What thing?" James asked.

"I heard you fired Michael."

"Oh, that? Don't mind it, he deserved it."

"Deserved? What do you mean? He's one of the key members of the board!"

"I know what I'm doing here. Now leave, I need to prepare for the interview with applicants."

"Applicants?" Jamie questioned.

"Yes, applicants for my secretary. It's been vacant for a long time, and you said not to dump my paperwork on John. Now leave."

"I'm not leaving without an explanation! And why do you want me to leave? It's just an interview."

"Fine then, John, tell her."

"Yes, sir. Miss Jamie, with all due respect, Sir James did it for the better," John replied.

"Explain, what do you mean 'for the better'?"

"Well, you see, Michael was caught laundering money through the company. He was diverting funds into personal accounts and shell companies. That's why Sir James, being the CEO, had to fire him on the spot."

"What? He did that? How much?" Jamie replied, concerned and surprised, knowing that Michael was considered trustworthy and loyal to their parents according to their butler.

"Approximately over 50 million dollars, ma'am," John replied.

"That much, huh?" Jamie whispered with a hint of disappointment.

"If you think it's about the money, you're wrong. That's mere change for this company. It's his dishonesty. If he had asked, I would've given that sum to him, no questions asked, as we've known him our whole lives," James replied.

"If you say so, but like you said, we've known him since we were young. Doesn't it feel wrong to do him just like that?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"TSK! You're too soft," James replied.

"JERK!" Jamie shouted out loud as she stormed out of the room.

"Ah, Miss Jamie, please wait!"

"Let her leave."

"But sir..."

"It's alright, I'll make it up to her later. She needs to learn that in this world, not every day is sunshine and rainbows. There are snakes all around this seemingly beautiful meadow."

"Yes, even at my age, being given the position as the CEO of this company, I've already dealt with snakes," James thought to himself.

"If you say so, sir, but have you forgotten what she does when she's upset?"

"Hm? What do you mea— ... crap, tell the maids what happened before she does something stupid," James replied in a frustrated manner.

"Understood, sir."

"You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir, I'll take my leave."

He sat there pondering, thinking if upsetting his sister was the right move as he waited for the time of the interview.

Meanwhile, Jamie, annoyed, continued to complain about her brother.

"Ahh! That jerk! How can he be so harsh?! Doesn't he have a heart? Is he even human?!" Jamie shouted inside the car as she kept punching the seat.

"Uhm, Miss Jamie, if I may, you do know that you're talking about your brother. It seems you're forgetting something..." her maid commented.

"Of course I'm talking about my brothe— ... oh yeah, I'm talking about my cold, heartless, possessive, manipulative, self-centered older brother..." Jamie sighed at the realization that hit her.

Phone Ringing

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Boss, it's me, Michael."

"Yes, I know it's you. How did it go?"

"I was kicked out of the company, sir."

"That's alright. Staying for long would also raise suspicion. Keep the surveillance on James Strider... continue your weekly reports," the voice on the other end of the line replied.

"Understood sir"

SIGHS... "Michael, Michael, Michael,"

"John? what are u doing here aren't u supposed to be by James's side as guard?"

"He dismissed me early, may i ask who you're talking to?" James asked with a hint of bloodlust.

"Do you think you can take me down?" Michael arrogantly replied.

John stared at Michael with his eyes full of bloodlust.

"Yes, i can"

The two started fighting , Michael took the lead by swiftly drawing the concealed gun under is suit firing shots at John, John dodged all of the bullets by sliding side to side, John jumped on the walls of the ally side to side and attacked Michael from below using his legs to hit him from above, Michael reacted quickly as he dodged Johns attack and countered by swiftly drawing out is blade and striking John, John didn't get hit though is tie was cut in half, he quickly recovers , draws his pistols and fired at Michael landing one hit on Michaels arm, John charged in on Michael as he saw an opening, he strikes Michael with his concealed blades and proceeded to relentlessly attack Michael, unleashing a flurry of strikes with his blades, both of them used up a considerable amount of their energy but did not land a hit on the opponent.

"Your still pretty fast for an man on his late 50's master" John commented

"Oh, you call me master yet your trying to kill me?" replied Michael

"Your the one who taught me the basics of fighting as an assassin , but you're not who i serve!"

John began to attack once more, striking Michael from all directions leaving no room for rest, after a while John successfully landed a hit on Michael slashing strait in the stomach.

"Oh my, i might actually die here, you've grown stronger my student, this may be the last time se meet, farewell."

Michael started his escape avoiding all of Johns attacks, the chase lasted for half an hour, but Michael being more experienced managed to escape and leave Johns sight.

"TSK, damm old man you got me good" John commented.