One Man Band System

Later that night, back at his apartment, Eric lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, reflecting on the whirlwind of events that had transpired throughout the day.

"Hopefully Jason’s mess is resolved before my office opens and gets down to business. I don’t want him bothering me, let alone messing with my work," Eric thought in his head.

His mind drifted back to the events right before he headed home. A warm smile touched his lips as he remembered Ruby suddenly deciding to accompany Tania home for a bit, wanting to grab a load of belongings from her place to move into the apartment.

"Thank goodness. Ruby and Tania seem close now, which puts my mind a bit more at ease," Eric thought in his head.

Then he remembered the drive home. Jade had been unusually quiet, keeping to herself the entire ride, and the same went for Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura sitting in the back. Even after dropping Jade off and meeting Mike, they didn’t ask to cruise around like they usually did, opting to head straight back to their apartments instead. Even in the elevator, all six of them remained dead silent without uttering a word.

"Maybe they’re all still shaken up by what Jason pulled today... It makes sense, honestly. He went way too far... I never would’ve guessed the guy I looked up to like a brother would turn out to be like that," Eric thought in his head.

Ding!

A notification popped up on his smartphone. He picked it up from the nightstand and checked it. It was a message from Ruby—a photo showing the interior of her new apartment near his building, looking completely ransacked. Below the image was a short message:

"The landlord just sent a photo after spotting three guys breaking into our apartment. He already called the cops, and the police are currently chasing the three guys caught on security footage."

Eric sat upright in bed and quickly typed out a reply asking Ruby if she was okay. Her response came back almost instantly.

"I’m completely fine. I’m staying over at Tania’s house tonight. We initially just planned to pop by to grab a few things, but Tania’s mom invited us for dinner first, so now we’re just sleeping over."

"Phew... thank goodness," Eric thought in his head as he typed back a reply.

He glanced down at the ring on his finger, smiling as he realized the ring had done its job flawlessly. It had successfully kept Ruby and Tania out of harm’s way, if they had headed straight back home, they definitely would have run right into the three intruders. Ding! Another text popped up on his screen.

"I might stay at Tania’s place for a while... Tania’s parents are insisting we stay here until the break-in suspects are caught. The landlord recommended the same thing, and he’s going to step up security in the building since this is the first time anything like this has ever happened."

"Good. That works out, just stay put there for now," Eric replied via text.

"Yeah, I already let Dad know about this too. Do you think Jason’s behind this?" Ruby texted back.

Eric paused for a moment, connecting the dots in his head. The timing was far too coincidental and blatantly suspicious. He typed back a reply to Ruby:

"Let the police handle it. We’ll find out the truth soon enough."

Three typing dots appeared at the bottom of the screen before disappearing. A moment later, the three dots reappeared, lingering a bit longer than before. Once they vanished, Ruby’s reply finally came through:

"Yeah... let’s just wait to hear back from the cops."

With that, Eric placed his smartphone back on the nightstand. He sat in quiet reflection for a moment before settling back into bed.

"Ring!"

His smartphone rang. He picked it up and saw his father’s name displayed on the screen, answering the call on the fourth ring.

"Hello, Dad," Eric greeted.

"Are you alright? I already heard from Ruby about what happened," Martin said on the other end of the line.

"I’m fine, and Ruby’s fine too. Don’t worry, Dad. How are you holding up?" Eric asked.

"I’m fine... Earlier, Mr. Joe’s people came to my hotel and picked me up. Now I’m at Mr. Joe’s hotel... it’s much safer here than my previous hotel," Martin said.

"Oh... that’s good then," Eric said. "Even though I didn’t ask Uncle Joe for help with this... oh well," Eric thought in his head.

"Your mom called earlier. She told me everything, and she even admitted that Jason had a plan to accelerate my death so he could inherit it all. But when I changed the names of the heirs to you and Ruby, he lost his mind," Martin said.

"Mom... called you?" Eric asked, taken aback.

"Yeah, this afternoon. She also told me to be careful because she couldn’t get through to Jason at all," Martin answered.

"I see. Don’t worry, Dad. Let me handle Jason. Just relax at Uncle Joe’s hotel," Eric said.

Martin fell silent for a moment. All that could be heard was the sound of his breathing and key clicks on a keyboard. Eric could tell Martin was deep in thought on the other end of the line. Then,

"You’re not planning to do anything reckless, right? Not that I’m taking Jason’s side... but please, don’t lower yourself to his level," Martin said.

"No, Dad. I’m not going as far as Jason did, because I’m nothing like him," Eric replied.

"Good. Sorry I got worried just now, I should have trusted you more," Martin replied.

"It’s alright, Dad. We’re both still building trust with each other, so that’s only natural," Eric replied.

"Alright then, I’ll let you go. Get some rest. Good night," Martin said.

"Good night, Dad," Eric replied.

The call disconnected. Eric simply stared at his smartphone screen, his feelings tangled and emotions swirling inside him. He closed his eyes and set the smartphone down.

"Yeah... Dad’s right. I can’t let myself fall to Jason’s level right now. I have to stay calm and handle all of this with a clear head," Eric thought in his head.

Then he heard his bedroom door slowly open, shut, and lock. He instantly knew that either Chloe, Laura, or Heidi was sneaking into his room, just like they usually did. Rustle. He heard the sound of someone shedding their clothes, followed by the sensation of a body slipping onto his bed and wrapping around him. Eric opened his eyes, and his heart nearly leaped right out of his ribs.

"Pri... Priya?" Eric asked, stunned.

"Um... hi," Priya answered.

Eric was even more shocked when he noticed Priya wasn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing.

"Wh... why are you here, and... why are you naked?" Eric asked, stuttering.

"Um... today is my turn, so... yeah... I want to cross the line with you too," Priya said.

"Huh... but..."

Before Eric could finish his sentence, Priya kissed him passionately. Right then, a holographic screen popped open right in front of Eric’s face while he was kissing Priya.

[Control population skill activate? [Yes] [No].]

"Yes... yes... I have no idea what’s going on... but it’s definitely a yes," Eric thought in his head.

And naturally, one kiss quickly escalated into another without any restraint. After a intense 45-minute session, Priya sat up in bed, her body slick with sweat. She turned to look at Eric.

"That’s it for now. I’m gonna go take a shower and head back to my room, then we can pick this up again later. Thanks, babe," Priya said, planting a kiss on Eric’s lips.

"Ye... yeah," Eric replied, still dazed.

Priya slipped her bathrobe back on and walked to the door. She unlocked it and stepped outside, and slap, Eric heard the sound of a high five right outside the door, just like wrestlers tagging into a ring. He raised his head and his eyes widened all over again, this time it was Monica stepping inside with a seductive smile, wearing only a bathrobe that she immediately let slip off, revealing her gorgeous body.

"My turn now."

Monica slid onto Eric’s bed and immediately locked lips with Eric, who was still dripping with sweat and had literally just finished with Priya.

"What is the meaning of this? Why did Priya, and now Monica, come into my room... usually it’s only Chloe, Laura, and Heidi... what on earth is going on?" Eric thought in his head while locked in a passionate kiss with Monica.

After that, Monica popped open a bottle of energy drink and handed it to Eric. As he chugged it down, his brain replayed his conversation with Ruby outside the meeting room earlier that afternoon. He remembered Ruby telling him:

"Here’s a word of advice: start chugging energy drinks right now. Believe me, you’re gonna need them later," Ruby had teased earlier with a mischievous laugh.

"Ah... so that’s what she meant," Eric thought in his head as realization finally struck.

Once he finished drinking, the two dove right back into kissing and making out passionately, and naturally, one kiss quickly led to another as they blew past every boundary.

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