“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
“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
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,
“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
“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
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
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
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
Clemont was born with a silver spoon and raised like a prince as he was the youngest in the family. He knew his father’s current situation, which explained why he behaved arrogantly. He thought his actions could help his father but little did he know, they were causing a huge trouble. Kaze made it verbal but the spoiled brat did not appreciate the warning and simply felt annoyed. “What do I mean? I guess you have to ask your father about it.” Kaze looked at Clemont coldly. There was no way a useless trust-fund baby could achieve anything great under the protection of his family. Every action that Clemont took was causing damage to his family. Kaze initially intended to use the Siegfrieds to his advantage, which explained why he did not act immediately. Now that Clemont had come under his radar, Kaze ought to use the chance. He managed to showcase his strength to Rosie earlier and what he said to Clemont would surely raise more suspicion in her. Kaze must come up wit
Rosie was shocked. She almost got kicked by some spoiled brat. She was not happy about it. She revered Clemont’s background and had been tolerant with the brat but he stepped over the line when he decided to be physical. Rosie looked up to Kaze who was hugging her. He was just outside the crowd and decided to step in when he heard the commotion. She did not expect him to save her. It was a surprise but it allowed her to see his capabilities. The man from Butterworth had been hiding his abilities from everyone all along. Rosie smiled at him before getting back up on her feet. “Thank you for your help,” she said softly. “It’s nothing. It’s the right thing to do,” Kaze said. Kaze was the type of person who could never stand seeing the weak being bullied. “Who the hell are you? What do you think you are doing?” Clemont bellowed. He was outraged and needed to vent his emotions. Since Kaze had intervened, it gave Clemont a chance to lash out at him. “Stop causing a
“I told you this is my club! They have to listen to me! Now open the damn door!” Clemont was furious after being questioned. He started to kick the door like a madman. The waiters were worried but they dared not do anything. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside! VIP guests!” the waiter added. He dared not reveal the identity of the guest inside. Zidane informed all employees earlier that no one shall reveal the VIP guest’s identity or even mention that the suite was booked by Edmund. It was to keep things low. Therefore, the waiter dared not speak any of it even to Clemont. Unfortunately, Clemont stubbornly believed the waiter was lying to him. “What guests?! You’re lying to me! You said there were guests inside but even after I kicked the door, there was no answer! Open it up. Don’t be stupid!” he shouted. He cared not about the others when he shouted. He was impulsive at nature. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside. You can’t do this,” the
“Then what should we do?” “What else? Give him a VIP room and try to hold him down.” Rosie was displeased but she had to handle the matter herself. Clemont was a proud man. If he felt embarrassed in any way, he would certainly cause more problems. Rosie was afraid that he would do something rash once provoked. He was a man with a background. Even if he made a mistake, his father could cover up for him. However, if the club’s business was affected, Edmund would hold her responsible. That was why Rosie saw Clemont as a problem. “But they are heading to the suite already,” the bouncer said, looking worried. He had a premonition of something bad happening. “What are you guys doing?!” Rosie glared at the bouncer. They were usually smart and quick-witted so she did not have to worry about many things. Yet they let Clemont through?! “There are too many customers today. All the rooms are booked, so we have to make new arrangements.” “The other bouncer at the entranc
To many youngsters, Absolute Zero was a mysterious place. Young men and women from a better background were forbidden to set foot into the club. It was not because of the environment, but because of the human relationship within the establishment. The club was a gateway to the underworld and once exposed, the youngsters might thread onto the wrong path. Clemont was not allowed to go to Absolute Zero. However, he knew the club belonged to the Wittersons, which was his father’s rival. Therefore, he had been planning to help his father. He often used his father’s name to spend money at the club to annoy them. He brought his friends here today to show off his wealth and power. He wanted to let his friends know that he, too, was capable. “Young Master Siegfried! You’re awesome!” While surrounded by flattery, Clemont walked down the stairs to the entrance with his friends. The bouncers knew Clemont, so when he arrived, they quickly informed the management. They dared no
Kaze finally got some surprising news: Edmund had booked a room at Absolute Zero tomorrow for a business talk. In addition, Morris’ son was a regular at the club. Edmund and Morris were rivals but they looked peaceful in the open. No one knew how fierce the competition was under the table. Morris wanted to put his son in charge of the Viper’s Den but was unsure if his son could handle the matter. According to Zeeny, Morris’ son was a trust fund baby. His only ability was to make friends over alcohol. Maybe the young man liked being surrounded and flattered by people. Due to his father’s position, he was always flooded with friends and people interested in his resources. His so-called friends were just drinking buddies. None of them were any help to his career. It was the reason why Edmund did not take the son seriously. Kaze had a feeling that tomorrow would bring something interesting. They left later than usual tonight and he tipped the girls as usual. Even Dw
Kaze took a glass of beer from the girl and had a sip. “It’s okay that you still haven’t decided on your future.” He suddenly felt like a joke. He came to the club yet he tried to convince them to leave the environment without bothering to know their difficulties. “Let’s play dice!” The girl, Zeeny, smiled brightly and took the dice on the table. She was trained on how to make customers happy. Kaze did not ask the difficult questions anymore. Everyone enjoyed themselves with the games. Those who lost must drink. There were a few who sang while the others played, filling the room with joyous melody. Kaze enjoyed himself as well and slowly got to know each other better. At the same time, he learned more about the girls’ backgrounds, even though most of them were made up. To let customers tip them more, they would fabricate a pitiful background. Kaze’s goal was to fool Rosie, so he just had to enjoy himself now and nothing else. Dwight was overwhelmed by the beer
When Kaze entered the club, he saw that the place was clean and the lights were on. It was indeed not open for business yet. There were no customers inside. He could have a clear look over the entire establishment. “You guys are too early, so we had nothing prepared for you. I’ll bring you guys to the VIP room. When the music starts later, you guys can come out and have some fun, or you can call in some girls to accompany you,” Leeny said. She then pointed at a few girls walking toward her. All of them were in heels and sexy outfits. Their smiles rivaled the brightest sun and each of them had their unique charisma. All the employees of Absolute Zero were carefully handpicked. The way they dressed emphasized their personal charms. One would definitely ask for more after a glance. “Can we ask the girls to come to our room?” Dwight asked. His eyes were gleaming with interest. “Of course. This is your room. The girls will drink with you. We do provide some special service,
“I didn’t get anything from them. They just said Rosie is a dangerous woman.” “I told you to go back to see your colleagues and befriend them. Having no news is actually a good thing,” Kaze said. He might be slightly disappointed but it was expected, so he was not bothered. “Really? I thought I was quite useless.” Dwight thought he could finally get the recognition that he was waiting for but he was turned away by his boss. He was never taken seriously at the Viper’s Den, which was the reason why he disliked his colleagues and his superiors. However, he had to stay with the organization for the sake of staying alive. Ever since he met Kaze, his life changed. He thought he could improve himself but the others still did not take him seriously. Dwight was still willing to trust Kaze. “Don’t be affected by their opinions. You know better than anyone what you can do. Just focus on what you need to do and things will be alright,” Kaze said with a hint of encouragement. “Y