CH 38

Matthew looked on as the people around him turned to see his face. The boss was calling him out, so he didn't dare to dilly dally and walked right in front of him. The boss was handsome, tall and fit, someone who looks like he was born rich.

'Must be a model or something.'

Matthew wasn't listening to the men from before, he was looking out for Billy who still hadn't come and he was just a small push away from leaving the party and look for him personally. The call from the boss put a stop on that plan though.

"Hello, you must be Matthew Pierce. I'm Zel Huertazuela." The boss put a hand in front of Matthew which he took and gave it a shake.

The man's grip was pretty strong which made Matthew wonder whether there was something hidden in that man's gentle smile. But since he felt no hostility, he let the thought slide.

"Hmmm... Is Billy not here?"

"Billy's downstairs, I think?" Matthew was not really all that invested with this work, so he didn't mind being relaxed in front of the boss. It's not like he's looking to get promoted or anything.

"Downstairs? But the work's over for the day isn't it?" Zel looked at Max who was forehead was covered in sweat.

'Shit!'

"Ehem. Billy has been doing overtime for a few times now, said he needed money for his daughter or something like that." Max gave the boss a smile while he patted himself in the back mentally for coming up with a reason just in time.

"Really? How much was the overtime pay again?" Zel placed his arms over his chest while watching Max with an unfocused gaze. His gentle smile looked terrifying to the tense foreman who didn't want to mess up his story.

"An normal work hour would get him $15 and overtime pays one and a half times that so he gets $22.5 an hour." Max expertly showed off his mathematical skills that would make no one turn their heads. He was happy to have memorized the pay he gets every time he makes Billy work overtime for him.

"Is that so? So he'd rather miss the party for $22.5 an hour? What a dedicated man, must be tight on cash if he did that. Still, I can't help but wonder what his financial situation is that he had to do overtime 36 times in 82 days. Since it's written here that he does an average of 2 hours of overtime then that would make it $1620 in 4 months. That's on top of the usual $9,960 he gets for the usual 8-hour work load."

"He doesn't get a single cent from over time." Max was about to say something when Matthew talked before him.

"Heck, I don't get a single cent too!" Matthew looked towards the panicking Max who was thinking of a solution when he looked at Zel that gave Matthew a look of anger. He had a smile on his head when he thought of a possibility.

"Not a single cent? I paid you two personally every time! What do you mean you didn't get payed? Are you saying that the boss was making you do unpaid labor?" Max took the blame and passed it onto Matthew who was now fuming as he held back the thought of just killing the man right here, right now. It was about to get dicey until a stern voice made everyone stop breathing for a second.

"Good! Very good! It seems someone has been making my men get unfair treatment!" The boss now faced Max whose shirt had already been soaking wet from the aura of dread emitting from the boss. He was slowly walking backwards to alleviate himself from that aura but the more he stepped backwards, the more pressure he felt.

"I-I.. It's not me sir! That brat is a liar! Yeah, and that Billy bastard had been wasting my time asking for overtime every other day! I swear!"

Max used everything he had to speak as he felt that the more he talked, the greater the increase in pressure he felt. It was like he was being slowly lowered over a boiling pot of water and he felt that the water was now just above his feet.

"You! Call Billy up here!" The boss pointed at Tucker who pointed at himself. He was about to ask if it was him that he was talking to when he saw that the boss' eyes were firmly locked on his and he just gulped audibly and ran down the stairs.

It took a few minutes for him to get up here again but now a man was with him. Billy was stretching his sore shoulders as he asked Tucker why he was being called. As Tucker wanted no part of this mess, he just ran ahead without turning his head back. This made Billy feel like he was being ignored so he stopped bothering to ask.

When he reached the rooftop, Billy saw that everyone was looking at him while he only looked at the red faced kid in the middle that stood face to face with a handsome young man.

"So you're Billy? You look like you could do overtime everyday!"

Billy's mood was sour already from the very start of the day so the man commenting on him like that made him more bitter than glad. If it was any other day then he would have taken it as a compliment but today was just not one of those days.

"Tell me Billy, have you been paid for your overtime work?"

The man looked at him with a gentle smile on his face. His voice sounded like a normal question so he was about to answer truthfully when he suddenly saw Max behind the man wave at him strongly. His face was that of a guilty pig while sweat covered his face as if he had just washed his face and there was no towel to wipe the excess water off.

"I was-"

"Tell the truth, I only want the truth." The boss looked at him directly in the eyes while Max's hands dropped down like a flash when the voice sounded out. Billy wondered if this was the time to finally let things go and thoughts of his daughter filled his mind.

'What am I thinking so long for?'

He already had the answer dangling over his face this whole time. He lifted his bowing head and looked at Matthew who was looking at him like he would push him down the stairs if he dared to lie. Good thing he had no intention to do so.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, well, well. It seems we have two contradicting statements from you two. Thing is, I already know the answer." The boss stood up from his seat and wiped the dust that gathered on his lap. He took out a phone while the woman by his side also stood up slightly after he did. The man who came with them had given out a sigh as he took out his phone and called someone.

"Ring. Ring." The normally non-attention seeking ringing sound had turned to something everyone could hear due to the fact that everyone was silent. The boss had looked up from the phone and put it back in his pockets.

"Half an hour? It's a little more than what I promised you. What should my punishment be then, Emilia?" The boss took the hand of the woman beside him as he gave her a tender look. She just responded with a giggle that brought the men in here to tears as they wondered how to get a woman like that.

"You have to wash the dishes tonight, then."

"Oh my, such a harsh punishment!"

"Haha." The two were idly chatting when the boss looked towards the man who was now talking over the phone.

"Yeah, send them in. No, the suspect is still here. Got it." It was then that a couple police cars sounded off in the near distance. Four cops came out of the vehicles and headed straight up the building using the stairs.

Max was now hesitating over staying here or running down. He had an idea of why the cops were here and he couldn't just surrender without a fight. The panicking man stood close to the boss and his woman and was thinking about using the woman as a hostage.

He took a few steps closer without making an obvious movement and suddenly pounced on her like a cat catching a mouse.

"Urgh. Thud."

That was when a kick landed on his right knee, forcing him to kneel. Max looked up only to see Matthew look down on him with a mocking smile. He didn't say anything but that smile made Max so mad that he started to flush. He stood back up only to fall right down. He looked at his right leg and saw that it was looking fine but when he tried to move it, he felt nothing.

This was when the cops finally arrived, the man with the boss pointed at the Max on the ground and one of them nodded their head and proceeded to arrest Max.

"No! I did nothing wrong! Ahhhh!"

It was only now, a few seconds later, that he felt the pain on his right knee. He looked at it again and found that it was swelling as a purple hue took a place on his once brown colored knee. Everyone was still watching as the former foreman was taken away when a voice called out to the boys in the middle of the rooftop.

"Well that takes care of that trash, you boys hungry?"