Kaze’s words sounded so funny that some of the attendees could not hold back their laughter. Mommy? The man was old enough to be Darcy’s father, yet Kaze asked him to call Darcy Mommy. Darcy rolled her eyes at Kaze but her frustration faded instantly and she felt warm. Kaze glanced at the man. His expression turned cold and then said, “If you want to wash people’s legs, go back to your mommy. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of me.” The so-called elite investor in the business was nothing but a pervert. He grinned and laughed when he harassed Darcy but when he was insulted, he got mad and embarrassed. Kaze did not want to waste his time on a pervert. “You!” The man was fuming. He wished he could strangle Kaze alive. “Tim…” Dakota tapped on the man’s shoulder to calm him down. He then looked at Kaze coldly and said, “Punk, you have quite the sharp tongue but what are you doing here? Hudson Investment Firm is out of the game. What is your business here?” Kaze smi
“Eddie Fork, what right do you have to ask me to leave?” Kaze looked at the man with furrowed brows. Eddie said coldly, “Of course I have the right. I also have the power because Rove is having an auction here and you are not invited. As the COO of Rove, that gives me every right to ask you to leave!” “You shameless bastard! Leave! You are not welcome here!” “Why waste everyone’s time?” Dakota’s men started to mock and gloat at Kaze. Darcy tugged Kaze’s arm and whispered, “Kaze, should we?” She was not afraid of them but she could not see the purpose of staying and enduring the insults from Dakota and his men. “Why us? We might not be the ones leaving.” Kaze smiled and tapped Darcy’s hand. He then made a call with his phone. “I am at the exhibition center and someone is trying to throw me out of the venue.” The man on the other side of the call was Caleb, the deputy mayor. Caleb was nervous when he received the call. He quickly said, “Mr. Mayor, I will ask the
Then, Wes turned around to the security captain and his guards and bellowed, “You, and you! You not only failed to escort or welcome Mr. Lee, but you even tried to throw him out? Who gave you the nerve to do that? “Do you know that one word from Mr. Lee and you guys will lose your jobs? Remember, he is and will always be the most honorable guest of the exhibition center!” Wes scolded the security guards fiercely. “Mr. Lee, we are sorry for what happened.” The captain and security guards were shocked and immediately bowed to apologize to Kaze. Wes turned to Kaze with an apologetic smile and said, “Mr. Lee, I will make sure they reflect on their mistakes. Do you need a tour around the exhibition center? “It’s our honor to have you here with us and maybe you can give us some advice on our work so that we can improve even more!” Eddie, Dakota, and his men were all shocked by what Wes said. Why would the person in charge of the exhibition center bow to Kaze as if he were the
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Before we begin the auction today, let me go over the rules first.” Eddie went up to the stage and started to act as the auctioneer. The auction was not really legitimate. It was organized by Rove themselves and they did not seek the professional service of an auction house, so Eddie took the role of auctioneer. “The rule is simple. Rove will be auctioning 20% of our shares and the highest bidder wins!” 20% of the company shares were considered high. Lee Investment only had 5% of shares and they were already the biggest shareholder with the power to hold a shareholder meeting or dismiss the chairman. Rove was a family business, so the Lyfe family held the majority of the shares, which allowed them to still be in power. 20% of shares allowed one to have power in the shareholder meeting and could also make strategic decisions to determine the future of the company. The management of Rove must have been desperate. To acquire large funding,
Then, Dakota shot his frosty gaze at the few individual investors who were not part of his alliance. The individual investors were startled and instantly alarmed. They were reminded that they were just here to fill in the numbers. They struggled internally for a moment but ultimately decided to stomach their grievance when they sensed the dangerous glares from Dakota and his alliance. They sat quietly and decided not to call against South Hill Holdings anymore. Some even got up and left the venue. “With Tulip Corporation behind my back and an alliance of more than ten powerful investors, nothing can stop me today!” Dakota was happy with the result. He had the entire auction under control after he eliminated all the competition. After the little incident, no one dared to call against him anymore. The auctioneer, Eddie, said, “810 million once.” “810 million twice.” “Last call.” Eddie smiled as he raised the mallet high in the air. “810 million thrice…” “Hold
Both Eddie and Dakota were surprised for a moment before their expressions turned heavy. Rove clearly stated that Hudson Investment Firm was not allowed to invest but then Kaze attended and participated in the auction in his own name, as an individual investor. Looking at Eddie’s grim look and pursed lip, Kaze smiled. “Mr. Fork, don’t tell me Rove is not big enough to house another investor in the auction. If you can’t afford that, you can tell your big boss to set up another rule for me alone, and hold an emergency shareholder meeting if you have to. You can ban me from attending or participating in the auction in any form. “But do be careful this time because I am good at exploiting loopholes.” Kaze’s smirk was a punch in their guts. Even Darcy had the urge to slap him for his snarky remarks, let alone the others. They were all frustrated. “Kaze Lee, are you sure you want to oppose us? Do you know what the consequences are?” Dakota bellowed coldly as he glared at Kaze
Kaze was a madman for raising the price against South Hill Holdings. South Hill Holdings could have gotten Rove’s shares with just 810 million, but after Kaze’s interruption, the price went up a billion. “Kaze Lee, are you really doing this?!” Dakota shouted angrily. His eyes were burning with anger. He wished he could skin Kaze alive. He had been in the business for decades and no one had ever embarrassed him so directly. Yet he hit a snag in a supposedly controlled situation because of Kaze and his unexpected actions. A nameless, useless man challenged him repeatedly, provoking him in front of everyone. Dakota really wished he could strangle Kaze with his own hands. Kaze scoffed. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m bidding with what I have. Don’t tell me you can’t accept it. Are you calling? If not, I will be taking the 20% shares of Rove.” He then looked at Eddie on the stage. “Why are you standing there? Start the countdown.” With a bitter look, Eddie started
Eddie sounded generous when he mentioned the rounding up. “Hahaha! Congratulations, Mr. Lee! 20% shares of Rove for 6.3 billion is quite the deal!” As soon as Eddie’s voice subsided, another loud voice came from behind, gloating at Kaze. Dakota, who looked gloomy earlier, came in with loud laughter. Behind him was his investor alliance, all gloating at Kaze. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat. “Eddie Fork! You colluded with South Hill Holdings to trick Kaze?!” She was furious when she finally knew what happened. At first, when Kaze said he wanted to participate in the auction as an individual investor, Eddie refused to accept it. However, after a brief argument, Eddie agreed and even asked Kaze to pay a hundred million deposit. It looked like Eddie and Dakota were trying to give Kaze a hard time but it was a trap to lower his guard. It was to make Kaze and Darcy think that they were cornered and were forced to accept Kaze’s participation. Then, Dakota challenged Kaze
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the
Morris suggested entertaining Kaze well. Things would not be good for the branch if Kaze got dirt on them. That was where Edmund disagreed with Morris. His idea was to send someone to sound Kaze out. Edmund was smug because Morris’ decision was wrong. “You shouldn’t do that. Kaze is here on behalf of the Butterworth branch. You don’t want tension between both branches.” Morris looked at things from a wider perspective. Edmund believed Kaze was just a doormat of little importance. “You just overthink things, and it’s not good for your age. You’re getting senile.” Edmund did not take Morris’ advice seriously. He believed he was right. “You’re not getting it. Kaze is from Butterworth. Even if he doesn’t hold a high position there, we were in the wrong. We did not keep our tracks clean either. “Now that he’s back, I’m worried that he’ll cause us harm.” Morris was only giving a heads-up because the whole branch was at stake. Edmund was young. Due to his lack of judgmen
“We should be generous to our guest from Butterworth. You can arrange as you see fit. Please don’t house him in a messy home. Hire cleaners to tidy up the place. “You can report back to me if you need more money, but it’s not a reason for you to misuse the funds.” Herman wanted to hang up. The money was now in Dwight’s bank account, so he was washing his hands off the matter. The plan was to keep Kaze happy. He was just an insignificant member of the Butterworth branch anyway. The whole thing would blow over soon enough, so long as Kaze kept to himself without taking things too far. Herman would figure out a way to get him out quickly anyway. Maybe Herman and his friends did not have to do anything to get rid of Kaze. “Got it. I’ll be a good host, Herman. I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you in the loop.” Dwight was over the moon to get the notification about the money transfer. “Just play by ear and arrange what you see best.” Herman hung up and continued playing pok
“It’s becoming a hassle now. Are you going to inform the Viper’s Den about the change of accommodation?” After much hesitation, Kaze nodded to take up the offer. Dwight was thrilled. It only hit Dwight that he had to communicate with the Viper’s Den. Kaze was booked for a hotel stay, and Dwight’s job was to take him to the destination. Yet now, Dwight took him to his home. “I’ll tell my superior and see what he has to say.” Dwight was not sure whether the change was appropriate. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up on a great opportunity. He simply grabbed the bull by the horn. If Kaze stayed at his place, the Viper’s Den members had to respect Kaze’s request even if they had a problem with it. “But when they ask, you can say that you’re getting along well with me. Living together just makes work more convenient.” Feeling unsettled, Dwight tried to get their stories straight with Kaze. Hopefully, the Viper’s Den would not come after them. “Aren’t we friends? I k
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