Mandy sneered. She wanted Kaze to lose hope and dwell in despair. Mandy’s yelling startled the staff at the mayor’s office. Caleb rushed over upon receiving the word and grimaced at Mandy’s sarcastic remarks. He was about to say something when Kaze turned to him and asked with a fake smile, “This woman said she has met with the mayor and hit it off? Why didn’t I know about it?” “Um…” Caleb scowled at Mandy, who looked embarrassed, and said, “She left her business card, talking about South River University’s intention to build a campus in Lilyrose New City.” “Setting up a campus is a good thing.” Kaze nodded. Lilyrose needed the influx of good schools, and it was something worth considering. Mandy felt awkward to be exposed, but she quickly mocked, “Know your place, Lee. “It’s true that South River University would be good for the city’s economy, but this has nothing to do with you. “I hope you’re not thinking about getting a piece of the pie. I doubt Shangrila G
What? Hand over her task? Mandy froze with a scowl. She did not understand where Connor was coming from. He was casting her aside. “What’s going on, Mr. Lewis? Everything was fine. Why am I handing over my task?” Mandy panicked. Connor replied indifferently, “Setting up a campus in Lilyrose is important. You worked as a reporter at Sunrise News, so you don’t have the experience to carry out the task. “I’ve decided to let someone else take over. That’s all I have to say.” Connor then hung up, leaving Mandy’s blood running cold. That was not what Connor said when he sent her to Lilyrose. He said she had the charm to deal with men. Connor believed only Mandy could convince the mayor to give the green light to build the campus. Yet, Connor denied all that. “Why? How did that happen?” Mandy stood there in a daze. “Maybe because I donated 100 million dollars to South River University,” Kaze said with a fake smile. “You?” Mandy cocked her head back in disbeli
“Sure, Mr. Lee. Your participation will guarantee results,” Caleb said excitedly. There were too many eyes on Lilyrose New City. Even the four top families in Geranium City came early to set up shop.The neighboring powerful and rich families were tempted to dip their fingers. Behind these good schools lurked multiple, different entities. Caleb was afraid he could not hold the ground on his own. Even Mandy, a head of admission for South River University, turned her nose up at him. It would be a different story if Kaze were involved, though. As time had proven, anybody starting up issues would pay dearly. With Kaze in charge, no one would dare to mess around in Lilyrose. Soon, Caleb had several meetings with his team at the mayor’s office and determined a plan before making a public announcement. Lilyrose New City welcomed good schools from in and outside the state. The establishment of campuses in Lilyrose would be met with incentive policies. The well-established sc
“Just be straight with me. “I’ll help you if it means getting Kaze permanently out of the picture,” Cosmo said indifferently, brushing off Mandy’s flirting. Cosmo had been involved with too many women that he was immune to Mandy’s coyness. Cutting to the chase, Mandy said, “Kaze knows I have dirt on him, so he donated 100 million dollars to South River University to fire me. “You must help me, Mr. Cosmo. I want to make sure his wife’s cousin doesn’t get enrolled in South River University. “It’s not a big deal, but it will cause problems in the home. Heck, his wife might even divorce him.” Mandy’s voice was tainted with bitterness. Her mind was filled with nothing but getting even with Kaze. “You have a point.” Cosmo said, “You know what? Frederick Yale, a teaching faculty member at South River University is one of my people. I’ll get him to give you your job back at South River University. “Lilyrose is appealing to good schools to set up campuses there right now. My
“Oh, you’re more important to the school than the 100-million-dollar donation. “Even a billion-dollar donation doesn’t matter more than you,” Connor said uprightly while playing the whole thing off with a laugh. It did not occur to him that Mandy would seek help from the Sunrise Lees. Hence, he swallowed his pride and took the humiliation. After the call from Frederick, Connor agreed to let Mandy remain at South River University right away. The 100 million dollars was already in his bank account, and Connor had no intentions of returning the money. He had learned whatever he needed to know about Kaze. The Sunrise Lees disowned him, he took his wife’s last name, and earned a few quick bucks by chance. Connor saw no repercussions in defying him. With Connor saying good things on the other end, Mandy kept a smirk on her face. Connor no longer meant anything to her anymore. However, Mandy had no plans to cut ties with him just yet. Mandy said with a smile, “Alright. I’ll
Rose threw herself into Darcy’s arms and wailed. South River University had always been her dream school. To obtain the guaranteed admission spot at the School of Arts, Rose put in a lot of hard work. Now, she lost the right for admission. She lost it. Failed?The sudden change threw everybody off. “That’s impossible. How could you fail? I’m sure there’s some sort of mistake,” Agatha cried with an ashen look while scrolling through the name list displayed. Rose was on the list with several others, and all of them passed the observation review except for Rose. “Oh, my God. Rose is an amazing candidate. Why did they fail her?” Feeling faint, Agatha cocked her head and yelled angrily, “Are you sure everything went well, Kaze? What’s with this?” Kaze frowned and said, “South River University must have made a mistake.” Mandy was fired, so it made no sense something would go wrong. With the family getting on Kaze’s case, Darcy said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
“Admittedly, this individual isn’t the immediate family of the candidate, but they lived together under one roof. “We had to consider whether the living situation would have a bad influence on her well-being. “Hence, after careful consideration, we decided that the candidate isn’t a right fit for South River University.” Mandy spoke eloquently in the video. Standing in front of the screen, Darcy and the others had a bad feeling. Rose was the only one who did not pass the observation test, so Mandy was talking about Rose. Mandy said, “I’ll put on the interview tape with the family member, and you can be the judge.” Everybody held their breaths and stared intently at the screen. “Please introduce yourself.” “I am Kaze Lee, a family member of Rose Oceanid.” The camera angle cut to Kaze. “I heard that the Sunrise Lees disowned you because you committed an offense. That was when you married into the Quint family and took their last name.”“That’s right.” “Did you b
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Darcy uttered in contemplation, “Didn’t you notice Kaze admitting to all the slander Mandy made on the video? Do you think he’s that foolish?“The video was edited, right, Kaze?” Darcy refused to believe that her husband would be so foolish to admit something he did not do just for the heck of it. Kaze nodded with relief. “That’s right.” “Is there bad blood between you and Mandy?” Darcy asked. She had been curious. Kaze answered, “She made a biased article about Lil Dee, and when the public turned against him, she was fired. She hates me for it, but I didn’t even know her before the observation meeting.” For real? If that were the case, Mandy would be acting unreasonably. The family realized that they were simply unlucky. Agatha said in tears, “Even if this has nothing to do with Kaze, what are we going to do about this? Does Rose have to miss out on university?” Nelson said with a scowl, “She posted the video on the university’s
“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