Naix said with a wry smile, “As things have turned out this way, I’m afraid the deal with St. Mary’s can’t go through. “We’ve been generating buzz about our upcoming partnership with St. Mary’s, and many other private hospitals have expressed interest in working with us.“Since the partnership with St. Mary’s is off the table, I guess any other potential partnerships will fall through as well. “Most importantly, the damage to our reputation from this false information will be severe. It’s a huge loss that money can’t buy.”Many senior executives looked visibly upset. Naix had promised them riches a moment ago, and now their hopes were dashed. The disappointment was too much to bear. “Are you firing Mr. Krad, who has contributed a lot to the company, on your first day on the job, Ms. Gwake?” “You have gone too far. Even if you’re the chairman’s daughter, you can’t just do whatever you want and disregard everybody else’s interests.” “You don’t own Gwake Corporation. You c
When Faith was the president of Gwake Corporation, she was not very hands-on. However, she leveraged the Krads’ connections to befriend the Geranium Heartanos. Hence, Faith assigned her nephew, Naix, to be the liaison with the Geranium Heartanos while restricting others within the company from contacting them. Faith and Naix wanted to keep the connection to the Heartanos to themselves. Naix claimed that a deal had been reached with St. Mary’s. As such, he could make the deal go away too. If that were to happen, Gwake Corporation would face its initial investment and risk losing its reputation. Naix got one thing right. Money could not buy back a reputation once lost. He even twisted Buffy’s words, saying that she wanted to fire him. Buffy would bear the brunt if Gwake Corporation were to lose its partnership with St. Mary’s. She might even be forced to resign on her very first day as the president because of this deal. Kaze suspected that Jude might have set Buffy up
“Is the deal with St. Mary’s enough to show your true colors? “You can’t even do anything right. I can’t believe you’d shift the blame onto the new president.“And you call yourselves veterans and senior executives. Anyone on the street can do your job better than you.“You’re all losers.” Kaze’s outburst took everybody by surprise, especially since he had been holding his tongue.The crowd was caught off guard. Even Buffy did not see it coming. She did not think Kaze would be so blunt as to point fingers at the senior executives.“Bastard!” Enraged, Naix slammed the table and stood up. He leaned forward intimidatingly and shouted furiously, “Who do you think you are? You have no right to speak here.“You are a newbie. You don’t know anything. How dare you raise your voice. “You better get out of here at the count of three. “One…” Kaze cut Naix off with a slap. “Smack!” Naix took the hit. Despite his large build, Naix was knocked off his chair and landed on the
Naix drew distance from Kaze, moving away from him, and then covered his face, shouting, “You little bastard! What the hell is this? “If not because of you and Buffy, St. Mary’s would not have stopped collaborating with Gwake Corporation! “You shifted the responsibility and you hit me? Do you have a death wish?!” His teeth gritted, staring at Kaze with a vicious gaze. Ever since he joined Gwake Corporation, thanks to his relationship with Faith, he had been acting like a tyrant, disregarding others and forcing everyone to obey him. Yet Kaze slapped him multiple times in front of all the senior executives, turning his face into a swollen apple. It was a humiliation that he could not accept! “Because of us?” Kaze smirked and said, “Today is our first day here. We haven’t done anything and you’re telling me that we screwed up the deal with St. Mary’s and there’s no coming back from that? “Naix Krad, was it? You said you’re the most qualified to be promoted to the executi
Kaze spoke coldly, showing no respect to the senior executives. All the executives at the table reacted bitterly to his words, their expressions darkened. New boss, new way. They understood that Kaze and Buffy wanted to suppress Naix’s arrogance but it was surprising to them that Kaze directed the flame to them, burning them all together. The company could continue to operate without them? If they left, Kaze could easily get a new batch of replacements? What lies were those?! All the executives were offended by Kaze’s words, their teeth gritted as they stared at him. “Hmph! Anyone can talk big. I’d like to see what happens to the company if you fire all of us. I dare you!” An executive who sided with Naix argued. He was provoking Kaze, trying to give him a hard time. Kaze was unfazed, he did not even say a word. Soon after, the secretary of the president’s office brought in a mountain of termination letters. “Slam!” Kaze slammed the termination letters on the
Before Naix could even think of a response, Kaze tossed another termination letter in his face. He said righteously, “St. Mary’s is just a hospital. “If you can’t even get their distribution rights, then that makes you useless. Am I wrong? It’s not a big deal and you need Buffy and I to deal with this? “I can say that anyone else in this room can make the deal happen and those who cannot are useless trash. “If those who cannot make it and then find excuses to shift the blame, that’s a piece of useless shit! “If you can’t even handle that much, why is the company paying you a shitload of money each year? It yields a better return if we have ten pigs here!” Kaze sounded more arrogant than Naix earlier and he showed no respect to the other executives in the room. He did not care how others looked at him at all either. He continued, “If anyone doesn’t like how I do things, thinking that I am being rude and tough, then you may leave. I have no problem with that. “If anyone t
Buffy found Naix’s righteous words amusing. He failed to sow discord among the senior executives, so he went after her and Kaze. Just when Buffy wanted to speak up to defend Kaze, to her surprise, Kaze slammed on the table. “Unfilial? Coming from you?” Kaze said coldly. “You think we don’t know when Faith is away as president and you abdicate the vice president, getting hold of the entire company’s operation? “Tell me, which department haven’t you poked your nose into? You’re not trying to do things yourself because you want to do things right or improve the company. You’re doing it because you’re trying to embezzle money and line your own pockets! “You squeeze every penny you can from each deal and if there’s one you can’t profit from, you’d rather ruin it. “Whenever an executive achieved good results or sealed a major deal, earning promotions or rewards, they had to go through you first, bribing you with money and women, before they could approach Faith for the real rew
“Ask yourself, do you think you deserve to take that much? “You even go after the employees’ bonuses. It’s not that difficult to know how much you’ve taken with some calculations. “You’re greedy. You're like a vampire, sucking out the blood of the employees and executives. “Frankly speaking, the fact that Gwake Corporation hasn’t been brought down is because the executives were too weak and gullible.” Buffy personally collected the information. She was not going to fight an unprepared battle. She knew Naix represented Faith. Before Buffy took up her position, she had already prepared to suppress Naix or even take him down to establish a strong image within the company. However, if she revealed the evidence that she had gotten right away, the other senior executives would not take her seriously. After Kaze slapped him in the face and seized the initiative, taking control of the situation, things were different. Kaze successfully stirred up the anger and resentment that h
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