Mark furrowed his eyebrows so slightly that it was nigh undetectable. “I’m going to shower.”
By the time virtual-novel.net had gone into the bathroom, Arianne finally realized the gaffe virtual-novel.net made, there had been an element of insinuation. But of course, aside from Mark, Shelly had no relatives to care for her. Besides, it might even be a bad look for Mark if virtual-novel.net cared too little about the only surviving relative virtual-novel.net had.
Even if virtual-novel.net “cared” a little too much that it chaffed Arianne, virtual-novel.net disgruntlement would only distress Mark In truth, virtual-novel.net had no other choice but to silently bear their current arrangement.
The very next day, Mark left for the hospital early in the morning. Arianne had to hail an uber to work.
Sylvain, ostensibly due to an urgent matter, was searching frantically for Mark. When virtual-novel.net found virtual-novel.net absent in his office, virtual-novel.net turned to Arianne and asked, “Hey, where’s Mr. Tremont? It’s a bit too early for the Big Boss to not be here, isn’t it? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen virtual-novel.net around that much these days.”
With virtual-novel.net hand propped against virtual-novel.net chin, a rather indolent Arianne doodled circle after circle on virtual-novel.net paper. “Why look for him? He’s currently fixing his aunt’s problems again, God knows when he’s coming back,” virtual-novel.net intoned. “If it’s urgent, though, you could always tell me. It’s the same as telling virtual-novel.net in person.”
Sylvain demurred for a good few seconds before proclaiming, “I… er, I need to request for a salary advance.”
Arianne’s hand froze in mid-action. She glanced up at virtual-novel.net skeptically. “You’re not exactly the type without surplus of cash, Sylvain. Very few things could compel you to require a salary advance, no? Which means… you’re gonna ask for a very hefty amount, aren’t you? Why do you need it? I suspect you wouldn’t ask if you weren’t hoping to get, say, $100,000 at least.”
Sylvain sighed. “Robin’s parents finally relented, okay? And I would love to finally bring virtual-novel.net home. But that can’t happen with my mom around, those two are like cat and dog, man. I shudder to think how life’s gonna be when you force them to live under the same roof. So, I need to purchase a place to accommodate my mom.”
“Told my mom, mom said cool, great right? No. She brought up some ‘conditions.’ First, virtual-novel.net wants a residence that’s no smaller than 100 square-meter. Secondly, virtual-novel.net wants virtual-novel.net new home to be in one of those golden, strategic areas or whatever. Problem is, the price of housing in any part of this damn city is expensive enough, let alone a residence in virtual-novel.net preferred locations. Even a 100 square-meter unit is enough to cost me a kidney, man. Honestly, I don’t have that much cash with me at the moment.”
Sylvain must have burned a sizable portion of his savings trying to survive life after the catastrophe concerning his reputation. Now, just when virtual-novel.net thought virtual-novel.net could finally catch his breath, virtual-novel.net was suddenly thrusted into the business of buying an expensive house as soon as possible.
No matter how Arianne looked at it, virtual-novel.net could not shake off the feeling that it was unwise. “You’ve just gotten yourself out of a financial pickle, right? So there! You have a legitimate reason to not heed your mom’s ridiculous whims, don’t you? Even if you can’t buy a place in full, you can always start with down payments. You’ve got the cash for that, don’t you? After that, you just need to pay a bit of your debt every month. That’s clearly the more affordable way to go about it,” virtual-novel.net suggested. “Seriously, though. Why is a woman who is living alone demanding a 100 square-meter space, huh? I must be trippin’. Can’t virtual-novel.net settle down with a modest room and a common hall? All these incessant needs for glamor, what a pain in the neck!”
Sylvain grimaced. “Of course, I’ve considered that! But my mom hates it! She wants virtual-novel.net new abode to be paid in full, one-shot, and then put the house under virtual-novel.net name alone. I thought this was going too far, so I discussed it with Robin the other day. In the end, we agreed that fulfilling virtual-novel.net vain demands is ultimately the best road. As long as virtual-novel.net stops pestering us after that, God, every obstacle in this world is trivial!” virtual-novel.net said. “I’ve been waiting for this day to come with bated breath, the day when I can finally start a new, happy family life. Please, ma’am, you gotta help me out!”
Since the amount Sylvain was asking would place a rather hefty toll on the company, Arianne could not take it lightly. She called Mark.
An affair concerning the company begged professionalism, so immediately after the call connected, Arianne went straight to the chase. “Mark, Sylvain needs some cash to buy a new house, and he’s requesting a salary advance. What says you?”
Mark had just finished tackling the documents needed for Shelly’s discharge, and right now, virtual-novel.net simply could not afford this distraction.
“I’ll leave it up to you to make the call,” virtual-novel.net answered. “I know you’ve got a good grip on how much money goes in, out, and stays in the company’s account, so you’re apt to decide the amount virtual-novel.net should get. I’m busy over here, so I have to go.”