Charlotte’s arrival boosted Corax’s confidence. Even though he had never met her and only heard of her through Jorge because they were in different circles, knowing that Charlotte served Astral still boosted his confidence immensely. He felt even more confident than having his cousin around. No matter how strong the Geranium Four were, Geranium City was just an island south of the mainland. The strongest families in that city had yet to expand their influence in the mainland, where Lilyrose was located. Maybe it was the reason why Kaze, the fool, had the confidence to challenge Sieg. Charlotte, however, was different. Astral, as the eldest son of the Glitters, was probably one of the strongest persons in the entire South River State. He could easily crush a nameless idiot with a thumb. Since Charlotte was his personal assistant, she was able to represent him to a certain extent. With her around, no matter the background or support, anyone could be crushed easily, let al
Charlotte never thought it would be Kaze. A sudden realization struck her the moment she laid eyes on Kaze. Lilyrose Commerce Guild’s headquarters was located in Dynasty Hotel and Kaze’s wife was the president of the guild. She should have known better! Charlotte’s face turned pale. Her anger and confidence disappeared into nothing and were replaced by fear. Her legs started to shake. She could never forget what happened at Landor Residential Area. Astral, the man whom she served and who was like a god to her, knelt on the floor and begged Kaze to spare his life. After Kaze left, Astral fell sick. He was troubled by nightmares and had a constant fever. He would scream Kaze’s name in fear while he was asleep. He only started getting better last night. The eldest son of the Glitters was frightened by Kaze’s violent and brutal methods, which should make the headlines if the news got out. “K-K-K…” Charlotte’s shaking lips failed to speak Kaze’s name. Her mind
“Kaze Lee, if this gets to Young Master Astral, you will be dead!” “You ignorant fool! Young Master Astral did not need to deal with you himself. Looking at you is simply a waste of time. Charlotte here is more than enough to crush you!” “Yeah. Charlotte is Young Master Astral’s personal assistant. What makes you think she will go easy on you?” “Kaze Lee, your destruction is caused not only by your ignorance but also by your arrogance!” Everyone criticized Kaze for being overconfident. Even the female partners who were just there for a show mocked and laughed at Kaze. Astral was the eldest son of the Glitters and the founder of Astral Wealth Management. His titles alone made the women side with him naturally. Their authoritarian personalities made Astral their ideal male partner. Among all the women at the scene, Wanda reacted the fiercest. She came out from the crowd, looking angry and excited, and moved her left face closer to Kaze. She bellowed angrily, “Kaze L
Kaze chuckled and said, “Jorge, what is in your brain? Shit? Didn’t you notice? I’ve been talking for so long and your sister doesn’t even make a sound.” “What the fuck did you call me? I’ll fucking kill you!” Jorge was upset and he still could not understand what Kaze meant. Kaze was speechless. “Fine. My bad.” Just when Jorge thought he won the little argument, Kaze explained, “It’s not shit in your brain, it’s your brain is made of shit!” “FUCK! I’ll fuck you up!” Jorge was fuming. He rolled his sleeves up and wanted to challenge Kaze physically again. “Jorge!” Charlotte finally spoke. She screamed her brother’s name to stop him from courting death. Her expression turned grim. Slap! She swung a slap at Jorge’s face. The slap stunned Jorge, and the others behind him. Kaze provoked them, insulted them, and slapped Wanda twice, yet Charlotte did not say a word. Just when Jorge wanted to beat up Kaze, his sister slapped him. What happened? Jorge regained hi
“Don’t just stand there, you know my rules.” Kaze stopped Charlotte before she finished. “Charlotte, what does he mean by rules?” Jorge asked curiously. The others were similarly curious as well. Charlotte froze. She knew what Kaze meant by his rules. Leigh wanted to take nude pictures of Darcy and scatter them across the city, but he was the one who got punished in the same way. Astral wanted to strip Kaze naked, tie him under the helicopter, and fly around the city, but he, too, became the one who got punished. Charlotte looked at Kaze in fear. Her eyes were teary as she begged, “K-Kaze, I…” However, when she saw the cold look on Kaze’s face, she knew words would no longer work. Kaze would become the most stubborn man in the world when it involved his wife and he would take revenge no matter what. “Fine!” Charlotte bit the bullet and moved her hands to her shirt, unbuttoning the first button. Jorge was stunned for a moment before he realized what Charlotte was
Many were speechless but not as shocked as before. Kaze was able to order Charlotte to strip herself down to her underwear, so ordering her to slap her own brother was not too surprising. However, the crowd was still confused. Kaze was a useless guy who married into his wife’s family. His wife might be the president of Lilyrose Commerce Guild but she was not that powerful. Why would Charlotte be so afraid of him? They could not wrap their heads around it. Jorge was stunned. Outraged, he shouted, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you so afraid of him? He’s just a useless wife moocher!” He wanted to kill Kaze, why would he kneel? Charlotte was upset by her brother’s stubbornness. Her stupid brother did not know she was trying to save him. If Astral had to kneel before the useless guy, so would he! “Are you kneeling or not?!” Charlotte went up to slap Jorge again. Slap! “You don’t need to know who he is! You made a mistake by trying to get his sister-
The reason behind the unity of the families in Geranium City was closely related to the city’s history. It was a sensitive topic and not many knew about it. Charlotte was close with Astral, so she had a chance to get bits and pieces of the news. “It’s like internal competition that kills, right?” Kaze casually commented on the topic. The so-called secret was not very surprising to him. He waved his hand and said, “If Astral is that useless, I don’t need him here. I just want to meet Sieg and see how powerful one of the Geranium Four is.” Kaze had a feeling that he would eventually cross paths with all the Geranium Four. “Yes, sir!” Charlotte stepped behind Kaze and sided with him. The others reacted with a complicated look. Jorge called his sister here to deal with Kaze but now she disregarded her own brother and helped Kaze to teach her brother a lesson. Even though no one really heard what Charlotte said to Kaze, everyone saw their interaction and the way she re
The moment Kaze’s words subsided, the entire parking lot went silent. Everyone looked at Kaze strangely. Corax wanted to end the conflict but Kaze refused to let them go. Corax froze. He turned around, breathed heavily, and said, “Kaze Lee, you think I’m afraid of you?” He was upset. He was already embarrassed when Jorge scolded him and called him a coward. However, Charlotte’s unusual reaction told him that something was not right and his gut told him not to tangle with Kaze anymore. He planned to leave and do some homework on Kaze’s background. Surprisingly, Kaze continued to provoke him and wanted him to stay. Kaze said, “Corax, you said you will deal with me later. Why not now? I don’t like dragging out things, I like to take my revenge as soon as possible. I want to beat you up now.” Everyone looked at Kaze in disbelief, shocked by his arrogance and confidence. He thought he was invincible just because Charlotte surrendered to him. He insisted on beating up C
Dwight gave some suggestions. “But I’m worried about being a nuisance to your family.” Kaze remained hesitant, torn between decisions. “No, you won’t. I usually live alone. They stay somewhere else. They barely visit. I’ll just let them know not to visit for now,” Dwight replied. Dwight figured out what was in it for him. He could not let Kaze leave. “I don’t want to put your family in an awkward position.”Kaze was still considering the matter. “Relax. They don’t live with me anyway. The room I have for you is tidy. No one has stayed there before.“I’ll hire some help to freshen up the place. I can guarantee you an experience no less than at the hotel.” Dwight spoke with great confidence. “We should finish our food and doggie-bag the rest. I’ll take you to my place.” Dwight was ready to get things going. Kaze took the offer and nodded. “I’ll be in your care then.” Kaze was glad that his plan went through. Dwight had no idea that he got played. Nevertheless,
“I’m new to the place, so I don’t know much. Can you show me around when you’re available?” “No problem, but I usually have some stuff to take care of. I can’t be there 24/7. “Why don’t you propose to the branch that you want me to be your guide and attendant?” Dwight suggested. There was no telling whether Kaze would accept his proposal, but it was an opportunity to prove himself. He was never involved in the core operation. Often enough, he was the branch members’ punching bag. Though Dwight was aware that he was not good enough for the big stuff, he still wanted to succeed. Kaze was the trusted aide of the Butterworth Branch chief. He was in Westeros for a reason. By joining Kaze, Dwight would come across the major players. Kaze saw through Dwight’s plans. “Sure. I’ll do that.” Kaze did not mind the request. “Great. I’ll let them know on your behalf. I’ll be responsible for your needs while in the city.” Dwight was overjoyed at the opportunity. “So you live
“You must be rich. I often see rich people picking tabs for everybody. Talk about extravagance.” The tension in the air was lifted when Kaze offered to pay for everything. “I’m not. Consider it an apology,” Kaze explained, not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. He did not see the point of continuing the conversation. Dwight’s angry screams came from outside. “What the hell is this? I only ordered a bunch of stuff. Why am I being charged an exorbitant amount?“What do you mean my friend is paying for everybody? That’s throwing money away,” Dwight said while storming his way over. “I know you have money, but you shouldn’t do this, Mr. Lee.” Dwight did not approve of this type of generosity. “You rubbed them the wrong way. It was only right to apologize. Besides, it’s not a lot of money.” Kaze looked at the bill and handed a bank card to Dwight. “It’s my treat.” The consumption was barely a dent in Kaze’s savings. The meal did not cost more than his us
Kaze observed as the jeep took off further off course, past the towering buildings to a run-down neighborhood. “This is where I usually reside. My home is not too far away, but I think you might have trouble adapting to this place.” Dwight did not forget to book Kaze a hotel. Kaze could not possibly stay with him. The hotel was around the area anyway. “Didn’t you say that you haven’t tried the local cuisine? I’ll take you out for a bite. “The barbecue ribs here are to die for. We’ve got the dry-rubbed and saucy kind.” Dwight parked the car and hopped out right away. Opposite the parking lot was not the cleanest food joint. Looking in from the outside, Kaze realized that the place was packed. Kaze understood that the restaurant must be known for some kind of dish. The customers were from all walks of life, so the food must be great. “There’s not much to see here, but the food is tasty. If you don’t mind, we can order something inside.” Kaze was not particularly con
Dwight was surprised and curious as to who Kaze really was. From what he gathered, Kaze was a confidante of the Butterworth Branch chief. The purpose of Kaze’s visit was to learn and share. Dwight worked on the fringes, so his access to information was limited. Nevertheless, he got the feeling that Kaze was just an ordinary guy just like him. The only difference was that Kaze was lucky to rub shoulders with important people. Dwight did not get chances like that. “Who are the most influential people in the Viper’s Den Westeros Branch?” Kaze asked in the car. Dwight was taken aback by the question. Still, he had an answer to that. “So you don’t know much about the situation?” Dwight suddenly felt important. “Well, I’m new to the city. I will be running into them soon, so I need to make sure I get my facts right,” Kaze said humbly. This was Dwight’s shot, and he needed to present his best. “Relax, Kaze. I’ll tell you everything I know.” Dwight would reveal some info
Kaze glanced at the flowers. There was a card for well-wishes too.Curious, Kaze reached out to read the card. It was written, “To my eternal lover and sweetheart.” Dwight grabbed Kaze’s bag. Since the sign in his hand was getting in the way, Dwight tossed the placard in the trash can. As Dwight turned his head back, he saw Kaze reading the card that came with the flowers. He tried to stop Kaze, but it was too late. Dwight had not attended to a guest of high importance before. The task was assigned to him at the last minute. In the past, Dwight was usually on the sidelines, never getting close to major matters. He would always get the small, insignificant jobs. Dwight often bought drinks for his superiors to build connections. However, he had always been kept out of the loop. Now that an opportunity had fallen onto his lap, Dwight was not about to let it slip. He wanted to show what he could do. When Dwight arrived at the airport for the pick-up, most people car
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