Kaze shook his hand and asked, “How does it feel? Am I a man now?” Vilma was stunned for quite a while before she screamed, “You bastard! You slapped me!? I’ll kill you!” She was furious. She did not expect Kaze to actually slap her in front of Kingston, and he did not hold back at all. She was embarrassed, not only before Kingston but also the crowd. Kingston’s expression turned grim as well. He bellowed, “Young man, you have the nerve, I’ll give you that.” Kaze smiled. “Mr. Hacks, am I right? If you continue to be a pretentious prick, I can let you have a taste of my slap as well.” His expression turned grim and he continued, “Cut the crap. You either take your brand out of Golden Edge, or call for whatever help you have. I’ll give you time, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. “No matter what you do today, Paladia Moose will be evicted!” Everyone was surprised by Kaze’s fierce words. He was prepared to stand against Paladia Moose until the very end. “Young man, I hav
“I’m telling you, Paladia Moose might be new here in South River State and has no foundation or whatever, but we have allies. We worked closely with Four Ocean Guild. “Once again, are you sure you want to oppose us?” Compared to Vilma, Kingston was much smarter. He admitted that Paladia Moose had no solid foundation in South River State but he was able to secure connections with the guild.He was honest with his weakness but also confident that his connections with the guild would aid him. Darcy wore a serious look. “I have nothing to do with Four Ocean Guild. Please don’t use them against me. Besides, as a consumer, we just want justice. “If that’s what you want to think of us, then please just assume we are against Paladia Moose!” Kaze wanted to applaud Darcy’s courage for standing up against Kingston. Her words also surprised many others at the scene. She showed her tough side, which was rare. Kingston brought Four Ocean Guild to the table yet Darcy refused to back
“What’s wrong, scared?” Kingston saw Darcy’s change of expression. He scoffed, “You shouldn’t have opposed us from the start. “I’ll give you a chance. Before Zel sends his men over, just tell your husband to kneel and apologize, compensate us a hundred million, and give us total control of this entire floor, then we’ll call it a day. What say you? “If you don’t agree to my terms, then there will be no terms when Zel’s men are here. Because, when they’re here, it won’t be just an apology and compensation.” Kingston spoke arrogantly to Darcy and ignored Kaze completely. To him, Darcy was the real boss and Kaze was just a clown. If not for Darcy, Kaze would not have the nerve to challenge him. Darcy understood Kingston’s meaning. Zel said he would send someone over. Once that happened, it would mean going against the entire Glitter family, plus Paladia Moose. Like Kingston said, an apology and compensation would not be enough then. Even celebrities must get paid to a
“Hahaha! Zel’s representative is already here. Kaze Lee, you just lost your one chance to negotiate with me. You wasted it yourself, so don’t blame me.” Kingston then signaled his subordinate and said, “Tell the shoppers to move, I have to welcome a Glitter myself.” His men immediately moved the crowd to clear a path. “Mr. Hacks, the representative is here,” said one of Kingston’s men. Kingston nodded. He tidied his jacket and brought his men over to the elevator, waiting for the person to come up. The man wore professional attire but looked timid with a reddish mark on his face. Had his men not confirmed it beforehand, Kingston would not have believed that the man was someone from the Glitter family. Kingston went up to him and said, “I’m Kingston Hacks from Geranium City. Thank you for coming. How may I address you?” “I’m Max Kang.” The man was none other than Max from Four Ocean Guild. He said confidently, “Mr. Glitter has told me what happened. Don’t worry, King
It was Kaze. The familiar voice shook Max. His eyes widened in disbelief as if he saw a ghost. “K-Ka…” “Kaze Lee! You bastard!” Kingston suddenly shouted. “Who allowed you to speak to Max like that? Don’t you know he’s Zel Glitter’s representative?!” Kingston had no idea what was happening. He assumed Max knew Darcy and was surprised by her presence, which felt normal. Even for him, a playboy who had slept with many women, he was astonished by Darcy’s beauty when he first saw her, let alone Max. “Kaze Lee, you useless shit! You don’t even have the right to be around Max! Who allowed you to speak to him like that? If you don’t want to die, slap yourself!” Vilma seized the chance to win Max’s favor. Kaze ignored the woman. His eyes were on Max. He said, “Max, we’ve met for three consecutive days. Is the world too small, or are we fated?” “Hehe…” Max awkwardly laughed. If he could reverse time, he would never want to meet Kaze. He hated the bane of his life. “Maste
Kaze’s words silenced the entire crowd. Max represented Zel, so Kaze wanted to strike him harder. He was not afraid of Zel! Both Kingston and Vilma looked at him as if he was a vengeful spirit. They failed to understand what fueled the useless guy’s confidence to have the gall to challenge Zel. Was he not afraid of the Glitter family’s retaliation? Then, Kaze looked at Kingston coldly and said, “Mr. Hacks, the guy you brought isn’t that useful.” Kingston’s face turned red. He looked at Max and asked, “Max, call Mr. Glitter. Tell him that this useless guy wants to slap his face! I believe he will be furious! There’s no way he would let someone who relied on his wife challenge his pride! “You as his representative cannot just let that useless guy humiliate you! Are you just going to let him do this to you, and to Zel?” No matter what Kingston said, Max lay on the floor without any response. He was playing dead. He represented Zel yet he was unable to complete the as
“Mr. Conan?!” Max screamed in shock. When he was Leigh’s follower, he mingled in Leigh’s social circle. He recognized Conan, who was considered the outlier in the circle. Conan was from the Queen family yet he hung out with gangsters and hippies, causing trouble everywhere. He was the very definition of an outlier. “Conan? Which Conan? Detective Conan?” Kingston was surprised by Max’s reaction. “Wait, are you talking about Conan Queen!?” Vilma’s expression turned pale. The woman was ostentatious and her goal was to climb higher in the social ladder. She loved to gossip about rich young men, so she heard a lot of things about the Queen family, especially the second son. “What?!” Kingston’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief. The long-haired gangster was the second son of the Queen family!? Slap! A slap landed on his face, punching his soul out of his body. Kingston covered his face as he stared at Conan’s arrogantly handsome look. “You called me
“You’re the child of a stepmother. You sure have the audacity to act almighty in Kaze’s presence.“Get on your knees and apologize. Just do what he says. “Or I’ll ruin you.” Conan gave Kingston multiple slaps and a kick behind the knees, dropping him to his knees. “I’m sorry, Kaze.” Kingston kneeled before Kaze’s feet and shouted with all his might. A moment of hesitation could cost him his life. “Well, that wasn’t so hard. You could’ve saved yourself a lot of trouble if you did it sooner.” Kaze reached out to pat Kingston’s swollen cheeks and said with a smile, “So between us, who’s the one not learning his lesson?” “It’s me,” Kingston hissed through clenched teeth. He could not be any more humiliated. His resentment toward Kaze gnawed at him. Kingson did not hate Conan who made him kneel because Conan came from high places. It simply never occurred to him that he had to kneel before a moocher.The way Kingston saw it, he would not be in a humiliating positio
The incident did not sit well with Kaze, so he left them out to dry. After much searching, Kaze came across a café. Kaze bought a cup of coffee. Cupping the drink between his hands, Kaze sipped slowly. Many passengers swarmed the arrival hall in the airport, dragging along their luggage or pulling out their phones to get a pick-up. They all had a destination, a place they had to be in a rush. Intrigued, Kaze followed the crowd out. Kaze turned on his phone, and a text message from his airport pick-up came in. He glanced at the message, curious about who the person was. Nevertheless, Kaze trusted that the Westeros Branch members would not set him up out in the open. At most, they would pull little stunts to mess with him. Kaze was not the type to sweat the small stuff. However, he would not tolerate any extreme behavior. He had been keeping a low profile back in Butterworth, keeping the limelight off him. The purpose was to handle Jet without unnecessary complicati
“Alright. I will work hard to be the manager of the Northborn Group. You need to show me the ropes and teach me about management.” Leah looked at Katie with a smile. She believed Katie had not lost her mind. Katie simply had her memory mixed up. “You need to keep your people in line and reward those who deserve it. It all boils down to profits. “You need to work toward managing your people and working with rivals. You’ve got to keep the balance, and nobody loses out. “You need to build your own system when it comes to working together. Don’t be led around by the nose.” Hearing that Leah would start work soon, Katie imparted her knowledge. “Don’t worry too much about things. Joey is nice. You can go to her for help,” Katie said earnestly. Katie seemed to be herself at the moment. Leah wondered if Katie faked her insanity to escape the punishment. “What have become of you? Did they do something to you? “Did you really betray Kaze?” Leah whispered while leaning close
Leah kept working on her knowledge until late into the night. Just as she was about to hit the sack, she got a message from Snow. Learning was a hard enough process. The text message came out of the blue. Leah did not expect Snow to contact her at night. The message was strange as well. Leah could not understand why Snow would give her the address of a nursing home. Leah was determined to turn things around. She strived to become stronger instead of being a burden. She was grateful for Kaze’s help. At least, she had a job now. However, her gratitude was not extended to Snow. She believed Snow had gone too far. Snow left her feeling powerless. Leah did not think much about the message. She assumed that the text was not meant for her. Since Leah did not respond to the text, Snow put the matter aside and went to bed. Leah called Snow the next day. “Why did you send me an address?” Leah went straight to the question. She had been equipping herself with knowledge before
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a