Chapter 4

I sneered and tossed my phone onto the table.

According to how the system worked, the more of a doormat I acted like, the more they despised me.

Derek had already blown it twice tonight. He was getting desperate.

However, I had no intention of giving him what he wanted.

While I was still working out my next move, my phone kept buzzing. One glance at the message from my people, and my stomach dropped. I told them to keep digging, then booked myself a flight and headed straight to the coast for a vacation that same night.

The second I landed, I changed outfits and took dozens of pictures in different scenic spots. Then, I posted them to social media every chance I got. The whole time, I didn't contact anyone. I also cut off the shared account and the black card I'd set up for the twins.

Watching me enjoy my carefree little vacation, Derek and the twins flooded my phone with messages.

[Julian! We're still furious with you, and you just went off on vacation by yourself? Do you even think about us at all?]

[Derek's just an intern, and even he knows to stay behind and take care of us. You're supposed to be the heir to the whole company, and you can't even remember how to protect your own women?]

[Mr. Sterling, I've been doing everything I can to keep them happy for you. Be the bigger man here. Why stoop to their level? Raine and Skye said buying them houses this time isn't enough to make up for it. When you get back, you need to buy each of them a yacht. Don't you forget it.]

I rolled my eyes and ignored all three of them.

Apparently, being generous with them all this time just made these three think I was their personal ATM.

I counted the days and flew back to the office. It happened to be a good day for it. Every employee was in, except for Derek and the twins, who had spent the whole time harassing me nonstop.

I called an impromptu meeting. I told everyone to drop what they were doing and led the entire staff on a unannounced inspection of one of our family's hotels. The employees assumed it was a spot check and practically glowed with excitement.

Working from memory, I led everyone straight to the room where I'd caught them in the act in my last life.

Raine and Skye were both familiar faces at that hotel, so the staff there always gave them special treatment. Derek was worried about leaving evidence, so he took advantage of their privileges and didn't register the room at all.

Which meant that on paper, this was an empty room that could be inspected anytime.

I swiped the master key card and pushed the door open. On the hotel's king bed, the three of them were tangled together. They all screamed when they saw me.

"Julian, did you follow us here?"

I smiled faintly and stepped aside so everyone behind me could see clearly into the room.

"Don't stop on my account. This is just a routine inspection."

The three of them had been so lost in each other they hadn't had a clue what was happening around them. But the second they heard my voice, they scrambled to get dressed.

However, their little display had already been seen by everyone in perfect detail.

Once he'd thrown his clothes back on, Derek recovered fast and immediately started slandering the twins.

"This isn't my fault! They cornered me together and said they were lonely and wanted a man!"

If this had happened before, the twins would adore Derek the more he insulted and demeaned them. But this time, whether it was because of the crowd of witnesses or because the system had finally failed, Raine and Skye only froze for a second before jumping up and slapping him across the face.

"Liar! You're the one who got us drunk and dragged us here!"

Derek's face went white in front of everyone.

"You two showed up at my place in short skirts asking me to drink with you! Once you were drunk, you're the ones who dragged me to the hotel and told me I should get a taste of both sisters. You're the ones who threw yourselves at me! Just admit it!"

Then he turned to me, his face filled with panic.

"Mr. Sterling, I think they're just upset with you. You should hurry up and buy them something nice to smooth things over!"

I was honestly curious whether the system had actually broken, so I pulled out my phone and transferred a hundred thousand to each of their accounts.

"I've been in a bad mood lately, and I ignored your feelings. Take this, buy yourselves something you like."

Once I was done, I watched the twins nervously, waiting to see how they'd react.