Golden Eye Tycoon: Rise of the Billionaire Trader-Chapter 67: Weird Behaviour

Jake held the phone to his ear, the breeze from the rocky plains tugging at his hair as Aliya’s voice came through, crisp and commanding as usual.

"I’ve been thinking about Mom’s birthday," she said, skipping any sort of greeting. "A dinner is fine, but I think a vacation would be better. Somewhere quiet, away from the city. She’s been stressed lately."

"I’m on board," Jake replied, leaning back in his chair and watching the horizon. "Find a place that fits—somewhere with a spa and good scenery. Don’t worry about the cost; just send me the details and I’ll handle the payments."

"Spoken like a man who actually has a balance in his bank account for once," Aliya teased, though her voice softened. "I’ll look into some resorts in the delta. Oh, are you home? I need to swing by and pick up that book I left on your coffee table."

"Not yet. I’m actually out having lunch with Alex right now."

The line went dead silent. For several seconds, Jake thought the signal had dropped in the uneven terrain. He pulled the phone away to check the screen, but the call was still active. The silence felt heavy, almost deliberate.

"Aliya? You still there?"

"Yes," she finally said, her voice sounding small, guarded in a way that was entirely unlike her. "I’m still here. Just... let me know when you get back to your apartment. I’ll come by then."

Before Jake could ask if something was wrong, she hung up. He stared at the screen for a moment, wondering why the mention of Alex had sucked the air out of the conversation. He shook it off, attributing it to Aliya’s usual mercurial nature, and walked back to the table.

Alex was still staring at his water glass, the weight of his earlier confession about Lisa and the forced abortion still hanging over him like a shroud. Jake sat down quietly, allowing the silence to settle before trying to pull his friend back from the brink.

They spent the next hour carefully navigating away from the darkness, reminiscing about college—laughing about the time they tried to fix Alex’s radiator with duct tape in a thunderstorm, only for the car to break down three blocks later.

As their food arrived—a perfectly grilled Ribeye with garlic herb butter for Alex and a Pan-seared Sea Bass with lemon risotto for Jake—the atmosphere grew more grounded.

"Listen, Alex," Jake said between bites, his tone shifting to something more serious. "You don’t have to be a pawn in your family’s game forever. Maybe it’s time you tried to be a standalone—build your own success outside their shadow."

Alex stopped, his fork hovering over his steak. He looked skeptical, his eyes reflecting a deep-seated doubt. "And do what? My resume is basically ’Son of a Wealthy Man.’ Without their capital, I’m just another guy in a nice suit."

"You could join me," Jake said firmly, his gaze unwavering. "I’m building something. Something massive. Join me, and we can start something together where your name doesn’t matter—only your results. Think about it."

Alex didn’t give an answer, but the way he looked at Jake suggested the idea was finally competing with the dread of his family’s demands.

After lunch, Jake handled the bill with a swipe of his card, dismissing Alex’s half-hearted protest. They walked out to the parking lot where the sun was beginning its slow descent.

Alex stopped next to Jake’s Audi A4, a look of mock disappointment crossing his face. "Jake, man, you just won a mansion and cleared a million marks in an hour. You have the money. Stop being stingy. This car is a crime against your tax bracket. It looks like you’re an intern trying to look like a manager."

Jake laughed, waving him off as Alex climbed into his frozen-blue M4. "It gets me where I need to go, Alex. But don’t worry—the upgrade is coming. Drive safe."

The roar of the M4 faded into the distance, leaving Jake alone in the quiet lot. His phone buzzed—a series of "view-once" photos from Catharine. He opened them one by one: Catharine in a sharp, charcoal-grey power suit that made her look like she owned the city, followed by a navy ensemble that was both professional and elegant.

He felt a surge of warmth and typed back: ’They’re all perfect, Cath. But they don’t make you look like a Queen—you make the suits look good. Buy them all.’

He tucked the phone away, but Alex’s comment about the Audi lingered. He was heading into boardrooms now; he was rubbing shoulders with men like Adrian and Noah. Presence mattered. He decided to make one more stop before heading home, pulling into the sleek, glass-fronted offices of Vantage Point Realty.

As he walked through the double doors, he was acutely aware of his appearance. He was still in his weekend casual—t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The receptionist, a woman with perfectly polished hair and a practiced, plastic smile, looked him up and down with a clinical coldness.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her tone flat.

"I’m looking for a new home," Jake said. "Something central, high-end."

"Of course. Please take a seat. Someone will be with you in just a minute."

Jake sat in a plush leather chair, waiting patiently. Across the room, three sales agents—two men in silk ties and a woman in a designer blazer—were huddled around a glass table, sipping espresso and laughing. Their eyes flickered toward Jake, then quickly away, accompanied by whispered comments.

"Is he still there?" one of the men muttered, checking his gold watch.

"Probably just here for the air conditioning," the woman replied, her voice laced with boredom. "Look at the shoes. He’s a ’looky-loo.’ I’m not wasting an hour showing him listings just for him to ask about a studio apartment. I’m waiting for the Henderson call."

"Agreed," the third agent whispered. "Let him sit. He’ll get bored and leave soon enough."

Jake sat there for ten minutes, watching them. He could hear the arrogance in their voices, the way they dismissed him without a second thought. He stood up and walked back to the receptionist’s desk.

"I’ve been waiting for ten minutes," Jake said, his voice calm but possessing a new, icy edge.

The receptionist didn’t even look up from her monitor. "I’m so sorry, sir. As I mentioned, all our agents are currently occupied with high-priority clients or scheduled meetings. It might be better if you call to make an appointment later in the week."

Jake looked past her at the three agents, who were now pointedly ignoring him, one of them pretending to be very interested in a blank legal pad. He knew it was a lie; he could see they were doing nothing but judging him. Without a word, he turned and walked toward the exit. He had twenty-three million marks in the bank, and Vantage Point Realty had just decided he wasn’t worth their time.

Jake reached for the heavy glass handle of the front door, his mind already calculating which other firms in the city were worth his time. He didn’t care about the ego trip of the agents behind him, but he did care about his time—and Vantage Point had just wasted ten minutes of it.

"Sir! Wait! Please, don’t leave just yet!"

A woman hurried from a back door that seemed to lead to the private consulting rooms. She was smoothing out her blazer, looking a bit breathless as if she had just finished a marathon session with a difficult client. As she rushed toward him, Jake paused and turned around, his expression guarded.

His eyes immediately fell on the silver name tag pinned to her lapel: Alice. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The name triggered a sudden, sharp memory. Jake squinted, looking past her professional real estate attire and back to a crowded, brightly lit tech floor months ago. He remembered her standing behind a sleek wooden table, surrounded by iPads and MacBooks. Back then, he had been just as casually dressed, and just like today, most of the staff had overlooked him.

Alice, however, had been different. She hadn’t bothered with a long-winded sales pitch; she had simply listened to his requirements, told him exactly which high-spec machine was worth the investment and which ones were just overpriced hardware, and processed the sale without a single judgmental glance. As Jake had been leaving the store that day, he had caught her staring at the receipt with a small, triumphant grin—clearly calculating the healthy commission she’d just earned. He had stopped at the door, looked back, and told her, "You have a nice smile."

"Alice?" Jake asked, the tension in his shoulders relaxing slightly.

She stopped a few feet away, her eyes widening as the recognition finally clicked. "I knew it! The laptop guy! I saw you from the back office and thought that you looked familiar.’"

"You work here now?" Jake said as he looked around the office.

She laughed, a genuine sound that stood in stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere of the lobby. "I moved into luxury real estate a month ago. It’s a bit different from selling laptops, but the people are just as predictable."

Behind them, the three sales agents at the glass table had gone dead silent. The woman who had been pretending to study her legal pad was now staring at Alice with a look of pure confusion.

"Alice," the rude agent called out, her voice sharp and laced with annoyance. "We already told this gentleman that we are at capacity for the afternoon. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself."

Alice didn’t even turn to look at her. She kept her focus entirely on Jake, a knowing, professional glint in her eyes. "Oh, it’s no trouble at all. I think I know this ’gentleman’s’ tastes a bit better than you do. He doesn’t come in to browse; he comes in to buy."

She turned back to Jake, gesturing toward the hallway she had just emerged from. "I’m sorry about the wait. Some people in this office can’t see past a pair of sneakers. But I remember that day at the Apple Store—you knew exactly what you wanted. So, what are we looking for? A penthouse with a view, or are we looking for something even bigger?"

Jake felt a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He shot a single, lingering glance at the three agents. The two were now looking at their watches with sudden, nervous intensity, and the woman had turned a pale shade of grey as she realized she had just let a high-value lead walk right past her.

"I think we’re looking for something bigger, Alice," Jake said, his voice carrying clearly across the silent lobby. "And I’d prefer to talk about it in an office where the service matches the price tag."

"Wait, for real? Right this way," Alice said, her smile widening—the same one that had earned her a compliment months ago.

As they walked toward the back, leaving the stunned silence of the lobby behind, Jake felt a sense of cosmic balance. He had twenty-three million marks in the bank, and he was glad the commission was going to the one person who had seen his value before he even had a mansion to his name.

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