Chapter 4: First Steps into Officialdom

Words : 1454 Updated : Sep 11th, 2025

Alex Hayde had already made up his mind. If that Ding fellow really wanted to make trouble, so be it. The tougher you are, the more you flinch at someone crazier-and no one messes with a man who's got nothing to lose. When push came to shove, to hell with it-he'd go down swinging. He had a plan for Mr. Ding. What really gave him a bigger headache was the mess with Ms. Yoppe. Last night, he'd let his hormones do the thinking. How could he have been so reckless? It felt good in the moment, but now, just remembering it sent a chill down his spine. How things ended with Kimberly Yoppe would depend on her next move. If she threw caution to the wind and accused him of rape, he was done for. No amount of explaining would ever untangle that mess. Knowing her temper, the longer he thought about it, the more convinced he became that she wouldn't let it go. He felt doomed. As fate would have it, the thing he dreaded came straight to his door. While he was still weighing his options, a voice called from outside, "Alex Hayde? Is this Alex Hayde's place? Is he here?" He stepped out and saw two young men in white shirts carrying briefcases. They didn't look like ordinary townsfolk. Everything about them screamed government worker. A bad feeling tightened in his chest. One of them asked, "Alex Hayde?" Alex nodded, uneasy. "So you're Alex. Come with us to the township office." Seemed they were bringing him to the township police station to report. Once it came to that, he stopped fretting and steadied himself. What had to come would come. People at the township usually handled things with a human touch. At least they hadn't made a scene hauling him off. They'd left him a shred of dignity. Putting on a calm face, he said a quick word to his family and followed them out. The Hasson Township Government sat in the northwest corner of Anton County, tucked in hilly country. Alex had been there before to handle his household registration. This time, his mood couldn't have been more different. The jeep rolled to a stop at the gates of Hasson Township Government. On either side hung plaques for Hasson Township Party Committee and Hasson Township Government. After he got out, they led him into an empty room with two wooden benches. "Wait here," the two clerks told him, then left. Left to cool his heels, Alex understood someone would come for him later-and they probably wouldn't be this polite. Right then he just felt numb, dead inside. After settling Alex, the two clerks went to the township head's office, knocked, and reported. "Ms. Yoppe, Alex is in place." Kimberly Yoppe looked up and gave them a small smile. "Good. Get back to your work. Thank you." Her expression was composed, as if last night had been nothing out of the ordinary. That morning, though, she'd woken on the verge of falling apart. She came to and realized she'd slept with a stranger. There were signs all over the room, and the air still smelled of sex, and her own body was so mortifyingly sticky and sore she wanted to crawl into a hole. It nearly killed her with shame. For a split second she even thought about strangling Alex in his sleep. But she wasn't going to cross that line, and when she got a good look at his face-which wasn't half bad-and pieced together the thread of the night, the urge faded. Before he woke, she climbed out of bed and rushed to clean herself up, not wanting him to see her like that and embarrass her. Once she'd put herself back together, she slapped him awake, let him have it, and swept out. Having slapped and scolded him, she returned to the Township Government feeling much lighter. Still, how could something so intense just fade away? Scenes from the night, mortifying as they were, kept flickering through her mind, along with how unbelievably good it had felt. To her surprise, she caught herself smiling to herself. On a whim, she took Alex's ID card-which she'd pocketed that morning-to the household registration office and asked them to check his file. Turns out he was a standout from the University of Political Science and Law-a top school. A plan formed in her mind as naturally as breathing. That was why two clerks had fetched Alex to the Township Government. Kimberly picked up the phone and called the head of the Township Administration Office, Deborah Norrell. "Ms. Yoppe, did you need me?" "Here's the situation, Deborah. We've got a standout who graduated from the University of Political Science and Law. He's already at the Township Government. Go talk to him, encourage him to join us. Hasson is relatively poor and backward. Plenty of top college grads-what people like to call 'golden phoenixes,' the star students-don't want to settle here. This is a rare chance. Make it happen-that's an order." "Understood, Ms. Yoppe. I'll do my best." Kimberly hung up and waited for results. She'd worded it that way on purpose for Deborah to hear. She'd chosen Deborah for this because Deborah was known as the social butterfly of the Hasson Township Government. Her technical skills were average, but she had a silver tongue and a sharp eye for people. Whenever leaders from Anton County came down, she arranged everything to a tee. Kimberly hoped she'd pull it off. That Alex kid was no simpleton-a sly little fox if ever there was one. At the thought, Kimberly's lips curled without her noticing. She had no idea how alluring she looked in that moment.

Chapter 4: First Steps into Officialdom

Comments (0)