Chapter 26: Are You Another Representative?
The young lady with an apron tied around her waist, tapped twice on the table to get Violet’s attention.
"What else?" she asked, squeezing a smile from between tight lips.
Violet peeled her eyes away from the envelope. "A glass of juice would do." she said.
"Alright." The girl scribbled in the notebook she held before walking away and disappearing into the kitchen.
Ding!
Violet’s heart leapt when she heard the system chime. A blue interface appeared in front of her.
[System Notification]
First Quest Unlocked.
Secure an invitation to the Jill and Jones stakeholder event from a J&J representative within the next thirty minutes.
Reward: 50 Influence Points. Unlocks System Store.
A timer countdown appeared below.
Twenty-nine minutes, fifty-five seconds.
This was the first official quest she’d received from the system. From what she remembered browsing through its features, Influence Points could be used to purchase items from the System Store, which was currently locked.
The blue panel disappeared, leaving her with her thoughts. She was determined to complete the quest, her only question was how. The system had told her whom to secure the invitation from and given her a time limit, did that mean the person was coming to her, or did she need to go find them?
Suddenly, she remembered the envelope she’d seen earlier, bearing the initials J&J.
Violet stretched her neck, peering toward the kitchen. When she confirmed she was completely out of sight, she stood up.
Ever since spotting that envelope, her curiosity about its contents had spiked, and she knew she needed to satisfy it. Besides, it might also contain information about the J&J representative.
She walked over to the table and gently pulled out a chair. She sat down and picked up one of the sheets lying on top of the table. She scanned through the thick, black-inked pages.
She heard the faint clang of cutlery and threw a quick glance over her shoulder. Empty. The waitress hadn’t returned yet. She hoped she’d take her time.
The single-page documents offered no useful information, so Violet picked up the brown envelope and opened it. The scent of paper brushed past her nostrils as she pulled the documents out.
There were about twenty pages. She flipped through them, the pages making a flapping sound. "What is this?" she asked, her eyes finally settling on the sentence at the top of the front page.
"Agreement of Transfer." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, then continued reading. At first, she didn’t understand the legal jargon or what it meant.
The smell of roasted herb chicken drifted through the air as Violet turned to the third page. It was at that point she began to understand what the document actually meant.
Jill and Jones had been trying to acquire this building, but it seemed the owner had been stubborn and refused to sell, so they kept sweetening the terms in their own favour.
She wondered if the other buildings on the site were the same. ’Would this affect my business relationship with Leo?’ she wondered, lowering her head to continue reading when she heard a sharp, high-pitched voice. "What are you doing?!" the girl asked, her voice on the verge of breaking.
Her shoes scraped sharply against the floor as she strode toward Violet, holding a tray.
Violet had been too engrossed in reading, so the interruption caught her off guard, and the documents slipped from her hands.
The girl set the food down on the table with a small thud, her throat tightening as she watched Violet bend down and slowly gather the scattered documents back into her hands.
’Why didn’t I notice her coming?’ she asked herself, chastising her own carelessness.
Her palms turned sweaty. It was rude to pry, but she kept a calm expression. She gathered all the documents on the table, adding the loose ones from earlier to the pile in her hand. She tried to straighten the stack when the waitress snatched it from her.
"You don’t go around reading other people’s things." There was a tightness in her voice. Violet didn’t regret opening it. She leaned back into her chair, taking note of the way the girl’s entire body trembled with what she labeled as anger.
She was gripping the papers too tightly, and her voice carried none of the courtesy typically used with a customer. Her eyes were dark, at first glance, one might mistake it for pure anger, but on closer look, Violet realised the anger wasn’t actually directed at her.
"I saw it on the table. I’m sorry if I—"
"Did they send you too? Are you another representative? Is this another scheme to get me to sign?" she asked. Violet’s eyes widened slightly at the word "representative."
’It must be the same person the system mentioned.’
"Please leave. This won’t work." The girl’s voice was stern, leaving no room for argument.
Violet immediately sensed something was deeply wrong, the news hadn’t told the whole truth. And she had questions only this waitress could answer.
But the girl in front of her didn’t seem willing to give them. She’d already marked Violet as one of Jill and Jones’s people, which meant nothing Violet said would change her mind.
The waitress pointed at the door. "Can you just go? Get out! I’m sick of all you pretentious people, scram!" The vein between her brows bulged as she screamed, her face turning crimson.
Violet slowly rose to her feet. She wouldn’t leave without getting answers. She closed her eyes and whispered in her mind, ’System.’
When she opened them, the panel appeared before her.
Target Detected. Does Host want to view Insight?
’Yes.’
Insight Activated.
Name: Emily Hart
Current Emotion: Fear mixed with anger.
Deepest Desire: To keep her family’s restaurant and protect her late father’s legacy.
Greatest Fear: Losing the building and failing the promise she made to her father.
Weakness: She carries every burden alone and distrusts anyone connected to Jill and Jones.
Fatal Flaw: She lets her emotions cloud her judgement when her family or restaurant is involved.
Resistance: 1/5
Mind Push Available: 2/2
After the system revealed her insight, Violet studied Emily’s face. Her lips moved, but Violet didn’t register what she was saying. Her gaze finally settled on Emily’s eyes.
A red dot appeared on Emily’s forehead, and time seemed to slow. Emily’s trembling shoulders gradually stilled, her pupils dilated.
Violet felt a familiar dull pressure behind her eyes and held Emily’s gaze without blinking. "Sit down," Violet said calmly. "And answer my questions." Her words rippled outward like something cast across still water, landing softly on Emily.
Then Emily blinked once and said, "Okay." She lowered the documents onto the table and pulled out the chair opposite Violet.
Seeing this, Violet took her own seat. She leaned forward, clasping her hands on the table. She was about to speak, but Emily beat her to it.
"What do you want to know?" she asked, pushing the plate of food she’d brought closer to Violet.