Chapter 11: The Lingerie Design Department, and Xander Zorn's Mom

"Beep, beep, beep-" In an upscale residential complex, Xander Zorn listened to the busy tone in his ear, fury boiling over. He called back immediately, only to find he'd been blocked. Blocked? That bitch. Even if you gave her ten times the guts, she still wouldn't dare block him! It had to be that pretty-boy's doing! "Fuck!" He hurled his phone at the wall with all his strength. It exploded into pieces on impact. "Christian Yale!" "Yasmin Yonwin!" "You two filthy dogs. Just you wait!!!" … Early the next morning, before sunrise. Christian Yale was still asleep in the guest bed at Yasmin's place when his ringtone dragged him out of a dream. He fumbled for the phone. The moment he saw the caller ID-"Margot"-he sobered up fast. He took a steadying breath and answered. "Hello, Margot." A sultry, teasing voice flowed through the speaker at once. "Well, well. Our little hero's awake?" "Yesterday at the hospital, you kicked my godson, then you used cash to beat a gay guy to death. That whole 'saving the damsel' act… feel good, my dear little cousin?" Christian fell silent. He'd expected Elliot Casson to run back and verify everything. There was no hiding it. "What? Done playing hero and you've gone mute?" Margot Good laughed, light and crisp as a bell. "Come to Yerlington Manor tonight. Wilder wants to see you." Christian's grip tightened until his knuckles paled. What was coming had finally arrived. The calm before the storm was over. "I understand, Margot," he said, voice low. "I'll be there on time." "Heeheehee…" Margot giggled again, sweet as honey and sharp as a blade. "Relax. I'll put in a good word for you with Wilder. I might even pay out of my own pocket and wipe all your debts clean." "But today, with Bernice… you'd better perform." Her tone cooled. "If you keep getting blinded by money…" "Don't blame me when I don't cover for you, my little driver." The call ended. Christian lowered the phone, a heavy irritation settling in his chest. That dangerous, captivating Margot had been scheming against Bernice from the start… What was she really trying to do? Knock, knock, knock. A soft rapping at the door cut off his thoughts. Christian opened it to find Yasmin standing there with her legs pressed together, embarrassment written all over her face. "Christian… I think I fell asleep last night." She'd woken not long ago to find herself safely tucked into the master bedroom, clothes still neat and untouched. More importantly, it had been the soundest sleep she'd had since her father's accident… "You were exhausted. It was normal." Christian smiled. Yasmin seemed to remember something, and a blush rose on her cheeks. "And… my period came today. But it's weird. This time it didn't hurt at all." "No pain means your meridians opened up and your blood flow smoothed out." Christian nodded, satisfied. "Get a massage and conditioning treatment once a month from here on out, and the cramps basically won't come back." "Christian, thank you. Really." Yasmin's eyes shone with gratitude, then she asked, "By the way… when are you moving in?" "Today." Christian checked the time. "I'll help you!" "No need. I barely have anything. I can handle it." Christian returned to his rental alone, packed up quickly, and moved into Yasmin's place. Just like he'd said, it was barely anything. One plastic washbasin. He used it to wash his hair, wash his face, and even soak his feet. Four sets of clothes. Two for summer, two for winter. Valia didn't really have spring or autumn anyway. Before long, he'd settled into the guest room at Yasmin's. Close to eleven, Christian let Yasmin know he was heading out. Following the address on Bernice's business card, he drove to the Delpine Group Headquarters. The tower speared into the sky. Sunlight flashed off the glass curtain walls like polished money. A massive corporate logo dominated the facade, proclaiming Delpine Group's status in the domestic women's consumer market with imposing confidence. The moment Christian stepped into the bright, spacious lobby, a familiar figure hurried over. It was the chestnut-haired girl from the poolside yesterday. "Oh! Cousin, you actually came!" She beamed and held out her hand. "Proper introduction. I'm Taylor Looske, Bernice's assistant!" "She got pulled into an important meeting, so she told me to come down first and receive you." "Hello, Ms. Taylor." Christian shook her hand lightly. "Don't be so formal. Just call me Taylor!" Taylor's personality was brisk and open. She led Christian straight toward a private elevator off to the side. "Come on. I'll take you to the Design Department and the showroom on the twelfth floor first. That's the heart of our company. I promise it'll blow your mind." The elevator went directly to the twelfth floor. As soon as the doors slid open, Christian's vision swam, like he'd stepped into another world. This was one of Delpine Group's core zones-the lingerie Design Department and the new product exhibition area. Everywhere he looked were display models with sizzling figures, wearing only the latest lingerie designs. Their skin looked like snow under the lights, their curves elegant and deliberate. Under the designers' guidance, they stood or sat, adjusting their poses with practiced grace to show off every line of the intimate fabric. Christian had never seen anything like it. The sea of pale skin in front of him made his ears turn red at a visible pace. Heat crawled up his cheeks, and his eyes didn't know where to land. He could only follow Taylor forward, stiff as a board. Taylor caught every second of his awkwardness. With a wicked grin, she nudged him with her elbow. "Cousin, why's your face so red?" "Never seen this much 'inner beauty' before?" She blinked playfully. "See anything you like? I can get you the employee discount. Or even…" Her smile widened. "Have a model put it on and give you a full 360-degree, no-dead-angle demonstration?" "T-Taylor… don't mess with me." Christian cleared his throat twice, forcing himself to ignore scenery that would've made any normal man's heart pound. They turned a corner. A large fish tank was embedded into the wall. There was no decoration inside, no plants or stones. Only four Red Arowana swam in lonely circles… Christian took one look and frowned hard. "Taylor, who designed this tank and put it here?" Seeing his serious expression, Taylor explained quickly. "It was ordered by the feng shui master Bernice hired before. He specifically told us to do it. Something about a 'Wealth Gatherer, Fortune Bringer' layout." "Is there a problem?" "A huge one." Christian's brow furrowed even deeper. "Just from this tank alone, I can tell your building's feng shui wasn't gathering wealth. It was a major bad omen." "Huh?" Taylor's eyes went wide. "You can tell that from a fish tank?" Christian didn't answer directly. He kept going. "If I'm not wrong, this floor, or the floors directly above and below it, also has a private antique display area that isn't open to the public." "And the display cases inside are arranged strictly according to an Eightfold Diagram pattern, right?" Taylor sucked in a sharp breath, her face turning pale with shock. "W-what the hell…" "Cousin, are you seriously psychic?" "You're exactly right! This floor has a 'staff only' antique treasures section, and the display cases are placed according to the Eightfold Diagram directions!" "Bernice said it was set up by an expert to stabilize the place and gather energy!" "Take me there." Christian narrowed his eyes. "That formation wasn't for stabilizing. It was for locking in malice. Combined with this trapped-dragon setup, it's the worst kind of bad omen. It'll seriously block the group's fortune, and if it goes on long enough, the backlash will hit the owner. It'll put Ms. Bernice herself in danger." Taylor's expression changed instantly. "Okay. Come with me. This way!" As she spoke, she hurried Christian around the Design Department area and into a corridor. At the end of the hallway stood a solid wooden door. A sign hung on it: "Antique Display. Staff Only." Taylor pulled out an access card and swiped the electronic lock. But the moment she pushed the door open a crack, the faint sound of a man and woman's panting drifted through the gap… "Ms. Miley… keep it down…" "What are you afraid of? No one comes here!" Christian and Taylor stopped cold and stared at each other. No way… In broad daylight, in the antique display room of the company's core area… someone was having an affair in there? Curiosity flared. Without even speaking, they leaned in and peered through the crack together… Inside the center of the display room, an older woman in her fifties wearing an executive suit was "communicating intensely" with a young man barely in his twenties. Christian studied the woman's profile. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. He lowered his voice. "Taylor, who is she?" Taylor curled her lip, disgust plain on her face. "Her? That's Miley Warth. She's the lead of one of the product design teams under our group!" "She's got a little seniority and some old connections, so she's always getting handsy with young handsome male models and male subordinates. Total creep." She looked even angrier as she added, "I just didn't think she'd be this shameless, bringing her boy toy into the company and messing around in a place like this!" "Miley Warth?" Christian's mouth twitched. "The wife of the Valia High School principal?" Taylor nodded firmly. "Yeah, that's her. You know her?" Christian's expression turned strange. Know her? This old woman was Xander Zorn's mom. Unbelievable… The son was gay and forcing his wife to pay off debts out in the world. The mother was addicted to fooling around, sneaking bites of fresh young meat at the office. And that principal wasn't any better. Back in the day, someone anonymously reported him on the school forum for grabbing female students' asses. What a family. A whole nest of freaks, every one of them a "talent." Without a word, Christian reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone…