Chapter 2

The moment Daniel realized I was actually going to call the police, he completely lost it.

"You seriously think you can call the cops on me? I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

In a fit of rage, he snatched up a can of Starlight Chameleon Paint from a nearby table. It had just been delivered and hadn't yet been put away. Before anyone could stop him, he twisted off the lid and dumped the entire thing over my head. The thick automotive paint splattered across my face, soaked through my white shirt, and dripped from the hem onto the floor.

I wiped the paint from my face with one hand, then calmly picked up the POS terminal from the nearby counter.

"This is Starlight Chameleon Paint, a specialty finish that headquarters just had flown in from overseas. It costs 1,000 dollars per gram. Each can contains 600 grams, bringing the total to exactly 600,000 dollars."

I held out the payment terminal and gave him a cool look.

"Add that to the cost of all the free meals you've been eating here, and tell me, how do you plan to pay for the damage you've caused?"

Daniel froze for a moment before exploding in outrage.

"Quit trying to scam me! 600,000 dollars for a can of crappy paint? What is this, a robbery? Why don't you just hold up a bank while you're at it?"

He threw his head back and shouted toward the offices on the second floor. "Lily! Hey, Lily! Get down here! Your employee is bullying me!"

Moments later, Lily Collins, the dealership's sales director, came striding down the stairs in her high heels. The instant Daniel spotted her, he hurried over and pointed an accusing finger at me, eager to tell his side of the story first.

"Lily, this guy's been giving me attitude, and now he's trying to scam me out of 600,000 dollars for a can of cheap paint!"

Lily didn't even bother asking what had happened. She marched straight up to me and slapped me across the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Is this how you treat our customers? Who taught you to behave like this?"

I touched my stinging cheek and pointed to the paint still dripping from my clothes, giving her one last chance to do the right thing.

"Ms. Collins, he's the one who attacked me first. He dumped an entire can of Starlight Chameleon Paint over my head."

"Excuse me? Starlight Chameleon Paint?" Lily interrupted, her tone dripping with disbelief.

She glanced at the empty can on the floor, then looked back at me with open contempt.

"That's nothing but cheap leftover stock from the warehouse that nobody wanted! And now you're trying to extort a customer over that garbage? Are you so desperate for money that you've completely lost your mind?"

She refused to hear another word. Grabbing me by the collar, she dragged me over to Daniel, then pressed both hands against the back of my head and forced me to bow to him.

"Enough with the excuses! Apologize to my cousin right now! Your behavior has seriously frightened him, and you owe him and his family 50,000 dollars in emotional distress compensation."

Then she drew back her foot as if she were about to kick me in the knee. "If you don't apologize and pay up, you're fired! Get out of this dealership today."

I pretended to be terrified and stumbled backward a few steps, putting on my most pitiful expression.

"Please don't fire me! I know I was wrong. I'm sorry! Please, don't make me leave. I'll pay the 50,000 dollars you asked for. Could you just deduct it from my monthly salary a little at a time?"

Still playing the part of a frightened employee, I crouched down and quietly took off my jacket.

Seeing me finally back down, Daniel burst into triumphant laughter. "Haha! Lily, look at this guy! He was acting all high and mighty a minute ago, and now he's begging like a beggar."

He swaggered over and viciously kicked me in the shin. "Why didn't you do that from the start? You had to get slapped around before you learned your place, huh? Weren't you going to call the cops just now? Go ahead! Make the damn call!"

His mother, who had been watching from the sidelines, immediately chimed in, "Exactly! You're nothing but a lousy service worker, and you think you can order my son around? Lily, people like him need to be taught a lesson! He needs to learn his place."

Lily let out a cold snort and looked down at me with undisguised contempt. "Since you've admitted you were wrong, you'll just have to accept the consequences."