Alexander had already done his research on this fatty, Eugene Hackman. His chubby and oily fat tuxedo suit is probably the perfect manifestation of capitalism.

------

Their little alley of stores just happened to be Mr. Hackman's target for his next business endeavor.

Hackman made some preliminary investigations of the place. Its prime location to a populace of homes and steady but returning number of costumers was okay enough to make his commercial center plans viable.

With proper marketing and targeted service, steady profits should be in his hand.

Making a shopping district was his current obsession and he approached it as he usually would.

Target the prey through its weak spot, work his way from there and towards the others to expand and incapacitate.

The unappealing CREED store with abysmal profits was the perfect target to start his plans. He approached the store a month ago and had incessantly coaxed Alexander into selling the store.

Hackman was sure to win with all the conditions of high payment and burden relief. Even if the store has sentimental grandpa and grandson value to the owner, it was just a burden with all the taxes that he had to pay.

At one point, fatty Hackman was incensed with going nowhere in his persuasion and he threatened to expose the owner to the IRS.

Being just a store owner of a loss-making shop and computer freelancer surely must have employed illegal means to keep such a fine establishment.

It was only until later that he realized that the uninteresting Alexander Creed was much richer than him. The man's credit score was high and his taxes were filed on the dot.

His fat self can't help but turn sour when he thought about how this lackadaisical Alexander Creed could earn as much as him just by lounging as a store clerk by virtue of investing.

He had to work his has off to get where he is and this Alexander guy just happen to log in to his computer and make some smart betting decisions with his money to grow it.

In Hackman's eyes, the man was just splurging his profits just to keep this little shop intact.

The man's smile of triumph towards his fat self had its underlying reasons.

Hackman thought he was weak prey and he toyed with that misconception with ease.

------

"Mr. Hackman, is there any other business you need from me?" Alexander asked as he saw how the man was looking at him indignantly.

"Well, since I can't beat you, I'll let you join me." Hackman chose this proposal because he realized that the little weak point turned out to be the true boss level of the game

"I can't touch your little shop but I can still work my way through the either pet shop or flower shop lime you said." Hackman offered.

"Smart decision but I can't help you with that sort of stuff because I don't care for it." Alexander already had his attention elsewhere as he fiddled with his phone while he talked.

"I'll take care of the deal and stuff, so making my commercial district is an eventuality." Hackman confidently iterated and went straight to his point. "I know you're a smart investor, so why don't you just take a piece of the pie while simultaneously keeping the integrity of the store. Do you want in?"

"It's not that bad of an idea and I'll put it in consideration." Alexander looked at the fat man and gave his nod of commendation. It only took a while to consider the pros and cons in his head while giving his makeshift answer. "Just let me know when you'll need my money."

"Eh..." Hackman was ready to convince the heck out of the stubborn man but the quick agreement stalled him.

"Isn't this too easy?" Chubby Hackman looked at Alexander incredulously. This wasn't within his expectations once again that he can't help but babble.

"Shouldn't there be a pushback like the store owners are your grandfather's old friends? The clerk at the flower store is your crush and you don't want her to lose her job. The tool seller helped fix your damaged car and you want to help fix their threatened livelihood. The pet shop is where you bought your pet goldfish and have a sense of camaraderie when you pass by it."

Alexander could only shake his head at the man's assumptive delusions and he simply broke it with facts. "First, my grandpa left the world before these store owners moved in, so the only way they could be friends is that the owners can talk to the dead or my grandpa is even remotely existing as a ghost."

"Second, the clerk in the flower shop is a man and I am in no way associated with the rainbow people. I respect them but I am not part of them."

"Third, I don't have any encounters with those tool sellers at all. If I want to fix my car, specialized shops can do the most optimal job for it."

"Fourth, I would never keep a goldfish that I know would live within days at most after buying. So, my sense of camaraderie to an objectable pet shop doesn't make sense."

"Fifth, when I have a fixation and sense of nostalgia on one thing, doesn't mean I would have a sense of control on everything. These adjacent stores doesn't define CREED, so working my way around it to make a profit is a better alternative."

"Sixth, you'd better have a commendable project proposal so that I can assuredly work with you. Comprende, Mr. Hackman?"

Hackman could only smile speechlessly at the interesting little factoids. He was only joking around, there was no need for the explanations.

Anyways, he got his tentative agreement and there was no need to waste his time with bickering. "Mr. Creed, partnering with me won't be a disappointment, I assure you with that? If anything, all my partners become richer that they became as fat as me. Haha!"

"That last assurance just made me have second thoughts." Alexander played along as the duo parted ways amicably.

With Hackman renewing his target, the next to be troubled with his ways should be the neighbors. Alexander didn't delve much deeper into those things anyway.

Those owners would probably be jumping for joy due to the generous paycheck that the fatty would be handing to them once the deeds are transferred.

It had to be said that Chubby Hackman just chose wrongly with his target. If he wasn't too fixated on persuading a stubborn man, the store alley should have already been his by now.

-------

The rest of the day passed like usual as Alexander either enjoys his quiet time on the store counter, sleeping in the bed that destroys some business establishment regulations; playing on the computer with codes, programs, or games; fiddling with the store musical instruments, reading up on store books, admiring the handiwork on some toys and figurines; watching Youtube, movies, and shows; and figuring out what makes hardware tick.

In a way, CREED just happens to be his home disguised as a store.