Chapter 6 Problem Of Casual Outfits

Damien's car screeched to a halt in front of the police station. He slammed the door shut and stormed inside, his face red with anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" he shouted at the officers behind the front desk. "You let that bastard Ferdinand go after he beat the crap out of me!"

The officers looked up at Damien, their expressions calm and professional. "Sir, we can't discuss ongoing investigations with members of the public," one of them said.

"I don't give a damn about your investigations!" Damien yelled. "I want justice! That guy needs to be locked up!"

"Sir, please calm down," another officer said. "We understand that you're upset, but we can't have you causing a disturbance in the station."

Damien glared at the officers, his fists clenched at his sides. "Fine," he spat. "I'll take matters into my own hands."

He turned on his heel and stormed out of the station, his expensive shoes clicking on the floor. As he got back into his car, he fumed with rage. He couldn't believe that the police were letting Ferdinand get away with what he had done.

"I'll show them," he muttered to himself as he started the engine. "I'll make sure that bastard pays for what he did to me."

....

Ferdinand took a cab and headed straight to one of his companies. He chose to head first to the phone company as he wanted to save clothes and shoes shopping for the last.

When the cab driver was almost at the destination, Ferdinand asked the driver to stop. He stepped out of the cab and decided that he would trek to the company.

That is because he wanted to get a better look at the giant company he now owned. As he walked towards the towering sky scrapper, the air felt different and his body felt lighter.

He couldn't believe how his life had turned around for the good. As he approached the door of the company, the security looked at him in confusion, wandering what a loser like him was doing at such an expensive phone company.

This was because Ferdinand hadn't gotten himself a change of clothes. The security man was ready to kick Ferdinand out at any moment if he turned out to be a bugler, so he kept a special eye on Ferdinand.

Ferdinand got in and immediately, his eyes started darting around, looking at all then different categories of phones.

Some looked very good and he would have loved to get them, but they were too expensive. Not that he couldn't pay for them, but because he just wanted a simple phone.

As he was browsing through the phones, he heard a loud crash and turned to see a girl standing next to a shattered phone. From the looks of it, it wasn't an ordinary phone, it was one of the most expensive brands. The girl looked terrified and the employee next to her looked furious.

"What the hell did you do?" the employee shouted at the girl.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," the girl stammered.

The employee didn't seem to care and gave the girl two hot slaps. Ferdinand was shocked and appalled by the employee's behavior. He watched as the girl hurriedly reached into her purse and pulled out all the money she had, offering it to the employee. She held her jaw as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It's not enough," the employee sneered, grabbing the girl by her hair and pulling her closer. "Do you know what you have gotten yourself into? What were you doing beside a phone which you can barely afford half the price? You were planning to steal it, weren't you?" The man asked, his rage evident in his tone.

Ferdinand had seen enough. He stepped in between the two and told the employee to back off. The employee looked at Ferdinand from head to toe like he was nobody, "and who are you?" he asked. "From your dressing, I will assume that you could be a thief too. What is a looser like you doing in an expensive phone shop?"

But Ferdinand stood his ground. "Between the both of us, you are the real loser. Raising your hands on a woman? Is that how you treat your mom?"

"Well, it seems like you have a big mouth Mr. hero. Are you ready to go all the way? Can you pay for the phone she destroyed?" the employee asked, taking slow angry steps towards Ferdinand, trying to intimidate him by looking at him straight in the eyes.

Ferdinand never took a step back from his position. "As a matter of fact, yes I do." He said, catching the employee off-guard. The employee furrowed his eyebrows, both puzzled and shocked as he never expected such a reply.

As the two stood opposite each other, looking straight into each other's eyes, the girl decided to intervene. She never wanted Ferdinand to get dragged into her mess, for it could be bigger than him.

"Sir, please don't take this upon yourself, I appreciate your efforts, but please this is my fault, let me take the blame for it." The girl pleaded to Ferdinand.

Before Ferdinand could reply the girl, a voice interrupted. "What's going on here?"

Ferdinand turned to see the manager of the store walking towards them. The employee quickly explained his side of the story, stating that the girl had destroyed an expensive phone, and when he tried to talk to the girl, Ferdinand stepped in and rudely interrupted.

"Your story is incomplete, you skipped the part where you slapped the girl and pulled her hair." Ferdinand pointed out.

The manager sighed, "I admit that his actions were wrong, but we can't overlook the fact that this girl has caused us damage, can we?" he asked.

"And that, I am willing to pay for," Ferdinand replied firmly.

The manager looked at Ferdinand from head to toe, "do you know the cost of this phone?" the manager asked. He was ready to kick out Ferdinand if it tuned out that he was bluffing.

Ferdinand pulled out his golden card with the letter 'H' carved on it and gave the manger. "Deduct the cost of the pone, and I'll be taking a phone for myself too."

The manager and everyone around immediately recognized the card and knew that it was from the Hawthorne family.

The manager wondered how someone like Ferdinand got the card, but his instincts were telling him that Ferdinand could be present there in disguise, secretly rating the behavior and performance of employees.

He never wanted to disrespect anyone from that family as it could cost him his job which he had worked so hard to get.

He swiped the card in credit machine and it signaled a green light, indicating that payment had been accepted. Everyone who was watching was totally shocked.

The security guard who had been keeping an eye on Ferdinand, began thanking his stars that he didn't touch Ferdinand.

The manager immediately became humble and quickly apologized on behalf of the employee. "We are very sorry for all the inconveniences we have cost you, sir. We will have this employee face disciplinary actions."

Ferdinand wasn't satisfied with just an apology. He wanted the employee sacked for his behavior.

However, the employee knelt down and begged for forgiveness, explaining that he had a sick mother who needed treatment. If he lost his job, she might not make it.

Ferdinand looked at him, "just moments ago, you were on a high horse, but now you are on your knees begging. You see how ego works? I believe I am not the one you should apologize to." Ferdinand said, shifting his gaze towards the girl, then back to the employee."

The employee slowly crept towards the girl, and he bowed his head. "Please forgive me, miss, I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

With that, the girl smiled. "I forgive you."

Ferdinand turned to the girl and asked her name. She said it was Harriet and that her boss had sent her to get a phone for him before she entered that mess. Ferdinand took her money from the employee and gave it back to her.

Then he bought the phone which her boss had sent her to, with his own money. He handed the phone to Harriet and told her to be more careful in the future.

Harriet collected the phone, with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, sir. I don't know how I'll ever repay you. "She said, before heading out.

As Ferdinand walked out of the store, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself for standing up for what was right. With his new phone in hand, he headed straight to get himself some casual outfits and shoes.