Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The two of them joked with each other as they went upstairs, walking side by side towards the door.
On the way, they bumped into some other employees. They acknowledged Tina with a nod as they walked past.
Li Du tried to sound her out by feigning surprise. “The manners of your company’s employees are really outstanding. They are so polite to a mere assistant. That’s pretty decent. How did you guys create this company culture? I’ve got to learn that. The staff relations at Harry Winston are a mess.”
Tina laughed. “Harry Winston Inc. indeed requires a change. Initially, when the company was close to bankruptcy, the employees had no trust in the company’s capability, and they wanted to quit. If it weren’t for the fact that you managed to restore some funds with the rare diamonds, I’m afraid Harry Winston would have gone down.”
“That’s why I’d like to learn from you,” Li Du said.
Tina smiled again and said, “It’s not something you can copy, I’m afraid. People greet me because they like me, and it’s mutual. It’s not because of a certain culture in place.”
Li Du tsked, and said, “That’s shameless. I think they greet you because you’re in a high position.”
Tina threw out her hands with an innocent look and said, “Then why did you tease me when you know the answer already? That’s acting, right?”
Li Du was just about to retort when a middle-aged man in a suit rushed forward and asked Tina, “Hello, are you the general manager of this place?”
Tina shook her head. “Oh, sorry, I’m not. May I know what issue you have?”
The man did not answer, but said, “You must be a leader high up the ladder. I just saw it from the way people spoke to you.”
Tina revealed a polite smile and said, “Sir, I’m just a regular employee. May I know what sort of problem you have? If I may ask?”
Li Du guessed that they were about to discuss work and hence, he gestured to show that he would move aside and wait.
Tina nodded at him. Right at that moment, the middle-aged man who had been polite until then suddenly exploded.
Once he got nearer, he reached out towards Tina. He wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her towards him. Then, he pulled out a pistol from his belt and pointed at Tina’s neck. He yelled, “F*ck you! You sl*t want to lie to me? All of you sl*ts are very good at acting, but you cannot escape me!”
The happenings had taken place too suddenly. With no warning, although Li Du was swift, he did not react in time.
He looked on in shock. The people around them had not noticed what was going on and were still serving their customers enthusiastically. The customers were still looking longingly at the jewelry like everything was normal.
Brother Wolf was the first to react. He jumped up instinctively and knocked Li Du down to protect him with his own body. Then he pulled Li Du away from the offender.
Li Du gave Brother Wolf a push and said, “Calm down, calm down, what’s happening?!”
The middle-aged man was still shouting. “You b*tch, you sl*t! Give back everything that you’ve taken from me. I’m going to teach you a lesson. Don’t think that you can do whatever you want just because you are pretty!”
Finally, the employees and customers had noticed the emergency. Some screams rang out. Some of the women employees and customers started to cry and ran towards the exit of the store.
The security officers scattered at the store entrance and hall came running over. Someone picked up his phone, shouting frantically, “Is it 911? This is 102 Lady Jazz Street. Someone is trying to commit robbery. They’re holding someone hostage…”
The attacker was very agitated. Yelling, he raised his hand and pointed his gun to the overhanging chandelier. Bang!
Some of the crystals from the chandelier fell to the ground, shattering. The people below the chandelier were scared senseless. After the gunshot rang out, people started to flee. Even those on the floors above and below were alarmed.
As the hostage, Tina turned out to be rather calm. The man had his arm around her neck, so she reached out and held onto his arm. She said softly, “Sir, listen to me. There must be some misunderstanding between us. May I ask…”
“Shut up! Shut up, you b*tch! Listen to what I say, bring out the money that your employees took from me. One hundred and twenty grand! No, I want one million and two hundred grand! And do not call the police. Whoever dares to call the police, I will kill this b*tch!” The middle-aged man yelled in an insane manner.
Tina maintained her smile and said, “Sir, we are not a bank. This is a jewelry shop. We cannot bring out one million in cash.”
The man raised his hand and gave her a slap. A tiny dot of blood appeared on Tina’s white face.
Li Du was in shock. He shouted, “Hey, buddy. First, don’t be angry. We can talk about everything. Aren’t you here for money? Don’t hurt this innocent lady!”
Brother Wolf held onto his shoulders and shielded Li Du with his body. That way, if the man fired another shot, he would still be able to protect Li Du to a large extent.
Tina gave him a look and said, “This man has not hurt me. The blood is not mine. Sir, you are injured, you need to take care of this wound.”
The man howled crazily, “Shut up, all of you! All you b*tches are good actors. It was a b*tch like you who hurt me!”
The black suit he was wearing had been covering up the bloodstains. Hence, Li Du and the rest had not noticed the man’s injured arm before.
As he held onto Tina with his hand, his suit seemed to be in the way. Hence, the man yanked it off and revealed a ten-centimeter-long wound across his arm. Most parts of it had been healed. However, as the man had pulled Tina roughly, the wound had opened up a second time and it now looked rather serious.
After throwing off his jacket, the man retreated to a corner of the hall, dragging Tina with him. He blocked his own body with Tina’s, pointed the gun at the crowd and yelled, “Move! All of you, out of the way! F*ck, get the accountant here! Bring the money to me, or I will kill this b*tch!”
He had become more agitated and exerted increasing strength. The veins on the arm that was grabbing onto Tina’s neck were showing. The impact caused Tina to heave and her face was turning pale.
Li Du felt that the situation was dangerous. He pushed Brother Wolf away and walked forward. He said, “Hey, sir, calm down. Listen to me, you want money, right? However, there is not a lot of cash here. As you know, everyone likes to swipe their cards in places like this.”
“I don’t care, I want money. If there’s no money, bring me jewelry. Diamonds! Rubies! Sapphires! F*ck you, bring them all out!” The man continued to yell crazily.
Li Du opened up his bag. The man pointed the gun at him cautiously and said, “What are you doing?”
Seeing that the man had pointed the gun at Li Du, Brother Wolf prepared to jump to his defense. It was too bad that he did not have a gun on him. He was only a bodyguard and was not allowed to carry a gun with him in a city like Los Angeles.
Otherwise, at such a close distance, he was confident of blowing off that man’s head with one shot. If only he could deal with this criminal!
