Bruno grinned. "Yeah, walk away, little man. You clearly don't know how things work around here," he said mockingly.
Augustus stayed calm and pulled out his phone to call. "Michelle, it's Augustus. I've got a situation here. Can you come downstairs?"
He could've flashed his membership card earlier and ended it, but he wanted to see just how far these entitled rich brats could go.
Minutes later, Michelle arrived and demanded with a frown, "Why isn't the footage pulled yet?"
The guards straightened. "We're retrieving it now, sir—"
"Stop," Bruno voiced, stepping forward. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Just because he knows a 1-Star trainer." He smirked. "I know a 2-Star member. You think you're the only one with friends?"
Damn, is he going to call his brother who will call his brother? Augustus shook his head with a sigh and pulled out a blue, gleaming WhaleFit 3-Star Card.
"Security, please check the footage. With this, I have the privilege, right?" he said and flashed the blue card in front of everybody.
Bruno's and security's eyes widened. The security personnel immediately went to check the footage and returned a few minutes later with the first-floor receptionist, who also acted as a manager.
She looked at Augustus. "Sir, we've seen the footage. How would you like to proceed?" she asked in a polite tone.
"I want you to ban him from WhaleFit," he said with a steady gaze.
She nodded and turned toward Bruno. "Alright, we have seen the footage, Bruno, and it's clear that you assaulted him. Out of respect for your father, we're banning you from WhaleFit for three months. Effective immediately."
Bruno's eyes widened. "You're kidding. Adeline, you know who my father is, right?" Bruno asked with a hidden meaning.
"Further resistance will make it permanent," she added sternly.
"Tch, I'll remember this, you pip-squeak. You better find a hole to hide in," he grumbled with a sharp glare and walked away.
"Apologies for the inconvenience, sir. Rest assured, you won't see him inside the WhaleFit building again. Also, your trainer, Madam Ambrosia, is waiting for you."
The reason banning someone from WhaleFit was considered a serious punishment was because the gym wasn't just an average workout space; it was a high-profile social hub where many wealthy and influential people gathered.
Being banned meant more than losing gym access; it damaged one's reputation. Word would spread quickly, and others might distance themselves to avoid offending the person you had crossed.
Augustus gave a curt nod and walked toward the gym doors, calm and focused, while Michelle followed behind.
"Sorry for calling you, Michelle, but I didn't call you here just for that," he began, walking side by side. "Can you help me find a professional lawyer? I'm buying a small startup and an office, just wanted to make sure the paperwork is done properly."
"No worries, I'm always here. About the lawyer, it's better to ask your trainer. They would have better connections than me. Also, you can just flash your card, you know, and most of the problems will be solved around here," he said with a light smile.
"Haha, you're right. Anyways, see you later," Augustus said and went to the 3rd floor. However, he was again stopped by the same receptionist.
"Hello, sir. Your trainer is waiting for you inside, but before you begin, let me give you a brief introduction to her background.
She is a 39-year-old former Olympic gymnast who competed in the Olympics until her 30s. Left the sport due to personal reasons, then transitioned into elite-level personal training, sir," she said, adding,
"You can download our app to learn more about the trainers or services. You can also order food, so I recommend checking the app once. Thank you."
"That's impressive," he muttered, and with a nod, walked into a large room with many advanced equipment. There, Augustus saw his trainer warming up on her own.
She wore a white longline sports bra that hugged her torso down to her stomach, paired with high-waisted white leggings that sculpted every muscle in her legs. Her sleek training shoes and low-cut athletic socks completed the look — efficient, powerful, and… hot.
Augustus let her be and changed into his own gym wear, a white t-shirt paired with black shorts, along with shoes and socks.
After stepping out of the changing room, he walked toward her and sat down silently, waiting for her to complete her warm-up. Though he couldn't help but steal a few glances at her—not with lustful eyes but appreciating her beauty.
Trying to distract himself, he opened WhaleFit's app and, checked her profile, scrolled down a little where all her wins were listed and also… "What? She is not married?" he muttered in shock and instinctively looked at her.
But this time she also looked at him. As their eyes locked, she stopped her exercise and began approaching him steadily.
Shit, did she think I was looking at her with bad intentions? he cried inwardly. Then, as she got closer, he frantically stood up.
"Hi, Augustus, right?" she began. "Nice to meet you. I'm your trainer, Ambrosia," she introduced gently with a soft smile, then raised her hand.
"Ah, y-yes, I'm Augustus. Nice to meet you too, trainer," he greeted back. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, he gulped nervously while looking at her up close. And shook her hands with a wry smile.
Ding…
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Mission #2:
[×] – Ask Ambrosia to go on a coffee/dinner date.
| Reward: Luxury restaurant booked based on response.
[×] – Take Ambrosia to the date.
| Augustus's Reward: $200,000.
| Ambrosia's Reward: Maserati MC20 Night Interaction.
Connections are made, not given. Step out of your comfort zone and start building real, loyal bonds.
| Penalty: Your calendar hijacks every reminder with "Ambrosia?" pestering you nonstop + Lose $50,000 for every week the date is delayed; money drains until task is done.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
His brows shot up, eyes widening with shock at the system's new task.
System, what kind of task is this? he mused and asked. What the hell? I thought you were a self-development type of system and focused on me.
[The system's purpose is to help the host live life to the fullest. So stop acting like a baby who's seeing a toy for the first time, it's embarrassing. You need some experience with the opposite gender.]
"Huh?" he mumbled with a stunned expression.
"Earth to Augustus... You okay?" Ambrosia asked, tilting her head cutely.
Augustus's focus snapped back. "Haha, yes, yes, I'm okay," he said with an awkward laugh and focused back on the system panel. Wait, she gets a car? System, give me a car too, he mused, looking at the reward.
[Maybe when you can confidently meet beauties like her without needing a motivational task just to say hello — but hey, at this rate, you'll need a whole self-help seminar first... pip-squeak.]
His eyes twitched at the system's snarky remark. It hadn't spoken much during his lowest, most depressed moments, but now that he was beginning to gain some confidence, it had begun mocking him, trying to push him to do even better.
"Alright, according to what you said, you just want to be fit like a good athlete, right?" she asked after Augustus had spoken to an in-house consultant for 20 minutes to know what his aims with the gym were.
"First, we're fixing your foundation, mobility, core, and control," she said, tying her hair back.
"Then, we'll build strength with light weights and resistance circuits. By the end, you'll be moving like an athlete—agile, strong, and balanced," she concluded with a light smile.
"Follow me. We will begin this in a private room. Also, I'll not be going easy on you—in fact, I'll push you to your limits," she said and began walking toward the room where they could exercise without any disturbances.