Martin was out drinking with his friends in a private bar. He had a terrible day in the office, and he was trying to loosen himself up with the liquor, hoping it will be swept out all his problems away.MChan entertainment wasn"t doing well for the last two years and if things will not run smoothly for the next months, it will end in bankruptcy before the year ends. This had been Martin"s struggle for a while, especially with the fact that his ultimate rival, Manuel Lagdameo had been doing well in L Empire.
"Martin, so what"s next for you after the MChan"s?" Laundro Auclair, one of Martin"s college friend asked. He knew for a fact that the MChan"s entertainment was going down that"s why he asked.
"Laundro, unlike us, Martin need not to drown himself with business," Stephen Jung, another friend of him commented. They were all from the same basketball team from college and so they were used to teasing and joking around with each other, "Martin"s wife is a business magnate, so it doesn"t matter if he works or not, she"s totally capable of feeding him and all their future children"
"Shut up Stephen," Martin"s face darkened when he heard his words. His eyes instantly fired up, shooting a threatening glare at Stephen. The latter who had seen that he somehow irritated his friend retreated.
"I"m outta here," Stephen Jung dismissed himself and turned to the group of young women they hired on their private booth "I"ll just go and dance with these pretty women,"
Martin didn"t like Stephen"s comment as it only made him looked a total incompetent. Compared to Aviona, he was certainly nowhere near. Leigh Group of Companies was on the top and on the same level with L Empire, and that fact made things hard for him. His wife and his ultimate rival, Manuel Lagdameo made him feel so little of himself.
Aviona started from scratch but managed to reach the top even without her inheritance from the Leighs. As per his knowledge, the Leigh"s hadn"t given Aviona her inheritance yet as her grandaunt was still alive and Aviona wasn"t rus.h.i.+ng the division of Leigh estates and shares. So Aviona started off with employing herself from big companies, gaining experiences from different people and started her company from the little money she earned from her employment. And now, despite the struggle, her company managed to hit the top.
He on the other hand started off his company with the fortune he received from his father. His father had already advanced his inheritance and he used it to build the MChans. However, despite the abundance of funds and connections, MChan"s struggled to get by. This made Martin feel little when he"s being compared to Aviona specially that rumors had been running around that Martin was only leeching his wife because he had small money left. He didn"t know where this rumor come from, but he was sure it was Manuel Lagdameo who"s behind it. Wasn"t that Lagdameo heir too desperate to bring him down?
"Laundro why don"t we team up together to make another business," Martin opened with the intention of creating another company before he loses MChans. He was desperate now as he didn"t want to end up being laughed at by Manuel.
"Martin, I don"t have enough money you know that," Laundro replied. "My father is not like yours, he had no plans on advancing my inheritance and besides, you know I don"t have talent in business or so,"
"I"ll manage everything, we can start from scratch," He proposed. Knowing that he had gotten Laundro into the talking, he seated himself comfortably and finished his gla.s.s of liquor before adding, "How about we open a modeling agency or we can build a hotel, or we can start of—"
"Martin," Laundro cut him off entirely. "You know what, its obvious that you have exhausted yourself from all the stress you"ve gone through lately. You need a break my friend. Clear your mind first then we can talk about business after,"
"I just, Ah!" Martin cupped his face and exhaustedly dropped his back on his seat. "I don"t want Aviona to see me as a loser and that Manuel, that jerk, I cannot give him a chance to hit back at me,"
"Martin, relax okay?" Laundro said in his attempt to appease him. "Aren"t you and Aviona going on a vacation? Why don"t you focus on that to clear your mind. Enjoy your time with your wife that will probably help you a lot,"
"She cancelled it because something came up," Martin announced. They were supposed to leave last week but then Madam Sarah died and Aviona had to work on the funeral because Dr. Miles wasn"t on his right mind.
These things Martin intentionally did not tell his friends as he doesn"t want them to know the boy Aviona a.s.sociated herself after him was Dr. Miles" son and also didn"t want them to know that Aviona had been married previously.
The Dugmoch"s were adored by everyone, both commoners and elites alike, certainly people will compare him to Melvin even after his death and his pride cannot take that.
"Did you tell her about the MChans?" Laundro wanted to know. "I"m sure she"ll help you with it,"
"Nope. Don"t want her to intervene on the matter. Its my company," Martin declared.
"But she"s your wife,"
"I don"t want her to know Laundro okay, period." Martin"s voice came a little louder than it used to.
Laundro quieted when he saw how Martin was becoming very sensitive about their topic. For him, Martin"s pride will do him no good. The latter had been aiming high, far too much than he can achieve and his desire to be better than Manuel and his own wife was drowning him down. Laundro was afraid that a time will come that Martin"s frustration will blur all his rationality and he will end up ruining his life.
"Guys! Look at this!" Stephen came looking down on his cellphone. A news broke out tonight and he was adamant to share it with his friends.
"What is it?"
"Looks like someone had proven himself this time," Stephen Jung showed them the news on his phone"s screen with the headlines— New Lagdameo Heir, born tonight!
"Wew Martin," Stephen added as he turned to Martin"s side. "I remember you always teased Manuel Lagdameo as impotent and it turned out he was the first one who sired a son and you have none yet. Wasn"t that a big slap on your face? Tsk..If I were you—
Stephen did not anymore finish his words as Martin"s hard fist landed heavily on his face, sending him back to the dancing floor. There was chaos at that bar that night, as chaotic as how Martin felt.