Justin sat at his desk, completely unmoved, his elbow resting on the armrest, chin balanced on his knuckles. His gaze was somewhere distant, somewhere beyond the two very angry women currently pacing in front of him, their voices a mix of frustration, disbelief, and something bordering on parental disappointment.
"Do you even think before you open your mouth?" Selena demanded, her arms crossed so tightly she might as well have been holding herself back from throwing something at him. "That speech—you went completely off-script! Do you know how long Adams and I worked on that?"
Adams, pacing like an overworked babysitter on the verge of quitting, threw her hands up. "You just had to go full ’I’m a god, kneel before me’ mode on your first fucking day, huh? Jesus, Justin!"
"Are you even listening to me?!" Selena snapped, pacing in front of his desk like she was about to throw something at his head.
Adams, standing beside her, looked one step away from pulling his own hair out. "You do whatever the hell you want, and now the media is eating you alive. Do you even care?"
Justin sat in his chair, elbow propped on the armrest, finger resting against his chin. Completely unbothered. Unmoved. Detached from reality. As if he had wasn’t even listening.
Selena let out a sharp exhale, clearly fighting the urge to strangle him. "Justin. Justin! Look at me when I’m talking to you!"
He did not, in fact, look at her.
"Your speech—" she pointed an accusing finger at him, "—was not what we agreed on. Do you understand what you just did?"
"The entire business world is laughing at you," Adams added, arms crossed like a pissed-off father. "The media’s calling you everything under the sun—arrogant, unqualified, a rich kid playing CEO. Some of them are even saying you’re a delusional megalomaniac. And the worst one? The teenage Lex Luthor."
Justin almost smirked at that one. Teenage Lex Luthor? Not bad.
"Calling you arrogant." Selena shot him a sharp look.
"Reckless," Adams added.
"A spoiled brat who was handed a company he’s completely unqualified to run."
"A narcissist with a god complex."
"A corporate menace with the emotional maturity of a teenage supervillain."
"A trust fund whore who thinks money makes him untouchable—"
Justin let out a slow breath, eyes still fixed on the empty space beyond them. What did they know?
[Trust: 90]
[Fear: 45]
[Lust: 72]
The numbers were still climbing.
Even after Deity’s Pride had been lost, its effects were still rippling through the company. Now that... was interesting. He’d lost the ability, sure, but its aftershocks were still at play. If anything, this confirmed what he already knew—he didn’t need the system to command loyalty. He did!
Selena was still ranting. Adams was pacing.
Justin?
Justin was thinking.
’What a nice ability to have. If only I didn’t lose it after one use,’ he mused, absently watching the numbers rise. His aunt’s voice became background noise. ’Now that I think about it... this system is kinda evil. No—questionably evil. Like, its morals are straight-up sketchy.’
Not in the murdering puppies kind ofway, but in the manipulative, morally-gray, probably-shouldn’t-be-legal kind of way.
Actually, no.
A system with no real morals at all.
He exhaled sharply, fingers drumming lazily against his desk.
:But then again... so are my morals.’ A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. ’A perfect match, huh? A system with zero ethical integrity, and me, a guy who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.’
Justin sucked in a slow breath, completely ignoring the two raging adults in front of him.
"Justin!"
"Justin."
They called his name, but he was in his own little world, mentally grinning at his earlier thought.
That pair...
Equal to domination.
BAM! "Justin!"
Two fists slammed against his desk, jolting him straight out of his daydream.
His eyes widened. "Y-yeah! Something wrong?" Adams and Selena glared at him, exasperation radiating off them in waves.
"Were you even listening?" Selena demanded, arms crossed, tapping her foot like a disappointed teacher about to hand out detention.
Damn. They really couldn’t wait five more minutes?
"Yeah, yeah," Justin waved a lazy hand. "It’s about my speech. It’s actually good.".Adams scoffed. Selena looked like she might explode.
Before they could rip into him, Justin leaned forward, smirking. "If it worries you that much I’ll bet you both $50,000. Anonymously ask the employees—like a secret survey—what they really thought about their new CEO."
The room went quiet for a beat.
Adams raised a brow. "...What?"
Justin shrugged. "Simple. If at least 90% of them think positively of me, I win. If it’s lower than the 90% positivity, you both get 50K each."
Adams narrowed her eyes. "And if you win?"
Justin leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Then you each owe me 50K."
Adams whistled. "Damn. High stakes."
Selena pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly questioning her life choices. "Are you seriously playing games right now?"
Justin grinned. "Oh, I’m dead serious."
Adams considered for half a second before shrugging. "I’m in. I could use a new car."
Selena, on the other hand, was still analyzing him like she was trying to crack his brain open. To her, this bet was ridiculous. But also... smart.
If the results were even 70% positive, it would be a win. She could spin it. Use it against the media trashing Justin’s name. If it worked, it would be an actual weapon against Black Veil’s growing bad press. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. But I’m only polling the top employees."
Justin smirked. "Deal." Of course, he hadn’t suggested this on a whim. He knew exactly how his aunt operated. This wasn’t just about proving a point—it was about control. Giving her peace of mind so she wouldn’t nag him to death. Letting her see that he wasn’t just some reckless kid talking out of his ass. That he knew what he was doing.
Giving her the confidence to stand behind him without hesitation.
And, more importantly?
Handing her a fully loaded gun.
Because once those results came back in his favor, she wouldn’t just defend him. She’d weaponize it. Turn the media backlash into a joke, make every executive who doubted him look like an idiot—although none of them doubted him anymore but Selena didn’t know.
And when the dust settled?
There’d be no question about who really ran Black Veil.