Hot Springs Garden Spa.
Yeah… the name wasn't bad. Sounded just like one of those "wellness massage" places.
As expected—pervs are truly international.
After searching for a bit, Dexter found the place. Sitting in his car, staring at the sign, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
And then—
Well damn. Talk about timing.
Comrade Kermit just happened to walk out of the spa, looking relaxed as hell. Clearly, he'd had a very enjoyable experience.
Dexter saw him and grinned, immediately rolling down the window.
"Kermit."
Hearing his name, Kermit—who, from a certain angle, resembled a human-sized mouse—jerked in surprise. He whipped his head around in panic, trying to see who had called him.
A moment later, he spotted Dexter. He instantly relaxed and hurried over.
"Boss Ding, y-you… what are you doing here?"
"Got a little errand to run," Dexter said with a smile. "Mind helping me with something small?"
Honestly, Dexter had zero desire to step into that spa.
The place was kinda nasty.
So as he spoke, he pulled a fifty-dollar bill from his pocket and held it out.
Kermit blinked when he saw the cash but didn't take it right away.
"What kind of favor?"
"I saw you coming out of that spa. Can you go in and find a woman named Svetlana? Just tell her I have something good to talk to her about," Dexter said casually.
Easy enough. Kermit finally took the money.
"Sure. Thanks, Boss Ding."
Dexter smiled.
Without wasting words, Kermit turned around and went back inside.
Not long after—
Svetlana appeared at the spa entrance. Her eyes scanned quickly, then locked onto Dexter's Ferrari. Without hesitation, she walked straight toward him, expression firm and confident.
Watching her, Dexter smiled.
This woman is really something, he thought.
"You were looking for me?" Svetlana asked calmly when she reached the car, neither submissive nor arrogant.
"Yeah," Dexter replied with a smile. "Ever thought about changing jobs?"
Svetlana didn't recognize Dexter—but she definitely recognized a Ferrari. She knew he had money. She nodded immediately.
"Of course. Are you offering me a job? Just so you know, I'm not a prostitute. I do manual work here."
"I know. Get in—we'll talk," Dexter said, inviting her.
Svetlana wasn't scared in the slightest. She walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in.
"So what kind of job are you offering?"
Svetlana was genuinely smart.
Honestly, she might've been smarter than Lip at this point.
She'd already hit rock bottom in life. Things like pride? Long gone. She understood reality, grabbed every opportunity that came her way, and—most importantly—didn't self-destruct. She knew how to value a chance.
"More accurately, I'll be giving you a series of jobs," Dexter said with a smile. "Enough to let you live better than most people on the South Side."
Svetlana's brow twitched slightly. She went quiet for a moment.
"What's the price I have to pay?"
"I'll be your boss. Occasionally, I'll tell you to do things. You can't refuse—until I decide I'm no longer your boss," Dexter replied calmly.
"That's it?" Svetlana looked surprised.
And for good reason.
Those terms were barely anything.
"That's it," Dexter nodded.
"Will you ever ask me to do something illegal?" she asked again.
"Not necessarily. Even if it is illegal, it won't be anything serious," Dexter paused, then added, "I won't make you rob anyone or kill anyone."
Svetlana laughed.
"If the money's good enough, I'd kill someone."
Wow.
See? Interesting as hell.
"Excellent," Dexter said, liking her even more. "By the way, my name's Dexter."
At that, realization hit her.
"You're the owner of Dex Restaurant?"
"Yep."
"I've heard of it. Your business is doing great—you're making a lot of money," Svetlana said, impressed.
"That's true," Dexter said bluntly, then got straight to the point.
"I'm about to open a fruit shop on the same street as my restaurant."
"The first job I'm giving you is this: you'll be the manager of that fruit shop."
"Once I handle the paperwork, everything else—renovation, sourcing, daily operations—is on you. If the shop makes money, you get fifty percent of the profit. If it loses money and shuts down, that's on me."
"How much you earn depends on your ability. If you do well, I can invest more and let you run other businesses."
"And in the future, once you sort out your immigration status and get legal residency, if you want to own your own business, I can support that too."
"So—what do you think?"
—
"????????"
At that moment, it felt like a thousand question marks popped up over Svetlana's head.
She honestly felt like she was dreaming. And the dream was way too good to be real.
"Why?" she asked instinctively. "Why me?"
"You're special. And capable," Dexter replied.
"You know me?" Svetlana asked again. "I'm sure we've never met."
"I know you. How I know you isn't important," Dexter said, then asked again, "So? If you're not interested, I can find someone else."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Svetlana panicked.
There was no way she'd miss this chance to change her life. Even if there was something shady about it—so what?
Worst case, she'd just come back and do manual labor again.
"I'm willing," she said firmly.
"Good. Are you free right now? I'll take you to the street and let you pick a storefront yourself," Dexter asked.
"I'm free!" she answered instantly, then hopped out of the car. "Let me tell the shop real quick."
A few minutes later—
Dexter drove Svetlana back to Dex Restaurant.
"Veronica, Vivian," he said as soon as he walked in, introducing her. "This is Svetlana. She used to do manual work. She's my employee now."
"Svetlana, this is Veronica. This is Vivian."
Vivian didn't react much—still cheerful as ever—and greeted Svetlana normally.
Veronica, on the other hand…
Her brain completely crashed.
She seriously wondered if she'd misheard.
What just happened?
Dexter went out for a bit and came back with a Russian hooker… as an employee?
What kind of move was this?
Objectively speaking, Veronica did look down on Svetlana.
So the words slipped out almost automatically.
"Boss… this… isn't it kind of inappropriate for her to work here?"
Hearing that, Dexter couldn't help but think of how badly Kevin and Veronica got screwed over by Svetlana in the original storyline. His smile instantly grew brighter.
"Sorry. That's on me—I didn't explain clearly."
"Svetlana won't be working here."
"I'm opening a fruit shop nearby. Svetlana will be the manager of that shop."
Veronica:
"??????????"
Brain. Fully. Fried.
Someone please explain to her—
What the hell just happened?