“Who are you, who let you in?” Liben glared at the uninvited guest and bellowed. “Get the hell out!” Kaze? Darcy was surprised to see him at the door. “Mr. Director, this is my husband, Kaze Lee. I asked him to come get me since we are drinking.” She quickly came up with an excuse to justify his entry. Kaze said, “Mr. Director, Darcy is at her limit. I’ll take her place.” Liben’s eyes gleamed coldly. He almost got Darcy drunk but then her husband came out of nowhere and ruined his plan. He could not just ask him to leave or else it would expose his ulterior motive. Then, one of his men whispered in his ear, “Sir, just drink with him. There are a few of us with the medicine so we are not afraid of him. Once he is drunk, we can continue with our plan. No one will know what we have done!” A great idea indeed! Liben nodded. “Kaze, is it? Let’s drink then. Let me be straight: if you can’t beat us, we won’t approve the loan.” “Sure.” Kaze smiled and picked up two bo
Darcy and Joy glared at Liben after the revelation. They did not expect he was such a vile and filthy person, especially Darcy when she realized she was toyed. She slammed the table, bolted up and shouted, “Mr. Director, what is the meaning of this?” “Aren’t I clear enough? Lilyrose Bank isn’t going to approve the loan to Quintessential Group. Your company previously received a loan from us and hasn’t repaid it!” Liben decided to be honest since he was completely drunk. He sized up Darcy from top to bottom pervertedly and grinned. “If you let me fuck you today, I can extend your loan period.” Darcy got so frustrated that she teared up. First Henry, then Eliot, now Liben. All these filthy men tried to get her body by using filthy methods. “Keep on dreaming!” she said, clenching her teeth. She grabbed her jacket and wanted to leave the filthy place. Liben got angry. He shouted, “You’re leaving? I know your company funds are hitting bottom low. If you can’t meet the de
“Mr. Lee!” Richard had been waiting outside the VIP room and he came over to Kaze as soon as the door opened. “There’s a girl called Joy Soothe in room No. 888. Arrange someone to send her home,” Kaze said before he went downstairs. Sky and his friends were still playing. Since the boy was having fun, Kaze decided to leave him be and send Darcy home first. After he left, the irritating noise of sirens echoed across the street. Multiple ambulances stopped in front of Lily Garden Hotel. When Liben and his men were carried into the ambulance, they were panting heavily and barely conscious. Darcy went home and slept for the entire day before regaining consciousness. As soon as she thought about what happened at the hotel, she felt scared. “Kaze, what have you done to the bank director and his men? They are powerful and influential, they’ll come after you!” She knew Kaze did it because of her, so she did not blame him for his actions. Kaze remained casual. “If they wan
The news devastated the entire family. Darcy called the director of the Industrial and Commercial Bank, Yusoff Lewis. They had been working together for a long time and were always on good terms. “Hello, Director Lewis?” Before she stated the intention of the call, Yusoff said, “Ms. Quint, I know what you want to say but we can’t do anything either. Our hands are tied. Maurice Taon, the chairman of Lilyrose Bank, has made it clear. We will be opposing him if we release a loan to Quintessential Group.” As mentioned before, Maurice was the son-in-law of the Everias. Due to his status and position, he was able to rise to prominence in the banking field rapidly. His words represented the Everias and the entirety of the top three families to a certain extent. Darcy suppressed her fear and said, “But the Industrial and Commercial Bank is the top four banks of the country, why are you afraid of the top three families?” “The bank is not afraid of them, but my colleagues and I
Darcy refused to believe that Joy would betray her! They used to be good friends in university. Although not as close as her with Miru, they were still friends. If not for Kaze, Joy would be drunk raped by the executives. She was furious. How could Joy testify against Kaze? Darcy called her immediately. “Joy, there's a lawyer at my office saying that you are testifying against me and my husband for intentional harm, is that true?” “Yeah, what’s the problem?” Joy sounded lazy as if she had just woken up. The confirmation stunned Darcy like a bolt of lightning. “Joy, how could you do this? Don’t you remember what happened yesterday? They forced you to drink!” Darcy suppressed her anger and tried to clarify the matter with her friend. She still refused to believe Joy would betray her. She must be forced or coerced to do so. “Darcy, I agreed to testify because it’s the right thing to do. Please don’t make assumptions.” Joy raised her voice and added, “You wanted t
Kaze was loud when he made the announcement and it stopped the employees on their tracks. They turned around and looked at Kaze with a frosty grin. Dean, the HR director who was the first to resign, scoffed. “You messed with the top three families, there is no future in this company anymore! We’ll have to find our next job, or else it will be too late. Guys, am I right?” “Yeah!” The executives and employees who already made up their minds adhered loudly. “Ms. Quint, don’t forget to pay us what is due, or else we will take the necessary actions as well.” Dean then led the group of employees away. The executives and employees heartlessly left the company at a time of crisis and even threatened to take legal action if they were not duly compensated. Kaze ignored them and turned to the other employees who stayed. They were also worried and concerned but they did not leave immediately. Kaze said loudly, “To those who stay, your salary will be raised three times and bonus dou
Darcy widened her eyes in disbelief. She was shocked by how shameless her grandfather was. Before this, the man thought of every possible way to stop her from taking control of the company. He would rather leave the CEO’s seat empty than give it to her. Now that the company was on the brink of collapse, he shoved it into her hands just to make her take full responsibility. Even Kaze became the legal representative of multiple subsidiaries. A penniless, jobless man became the boss of a multimillion company in just a few hours. How ridiculous was that? “Grandfather, when did you get your hands on Kaze’s identification? Have you gotten his permission?” Darcy bellowed. Displeased, Master Quint grunted and said, “Don’t forget that we are feeding the idiot for free! If not for us, he is dead already! We do not need his permission to do things with his identification!” Darcy took a deep breath to keep herself sane. She knew her grandfather had planned this for a while and it
The men Toffle brought from the court were knocked down to the ground as well. As a matter of fact, they did not go through any legal procedures to claim the house. They were simply dragged here by Toffle to bluff Darcy and her family, trying to force them to move out immediately. Therefore, they were not able to voice their grievances. “Take them away!” the captain said. Toffle was dragged away like a ragdoll. While he was being dragged away, he bellowed, “Darcy Quint, don’t think this is over! My brother, Maurice, has the support of the top three families! He is more connected than you thought! Your company is completely locked out, the bank cutting you off is only the start! If you can’t settle the debt, Horizon Mirror will be mine soon! Not even the chief commander can disobey the law… Ouch!” Toffle got another hit in his stomach before he could finish his sentence and finally silenced him. “The man is right. If we cannot settle the debt, we might have to move out of
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