Arrogance. It was pure arrogance. Darcy never imagined that Dave would tear the stamped receipt right before everybody’s eyes. “Do you think you can destroy the evidence by ripping the receipt in half, Mr. Pamela?” Darcy heaved her chest and pursed her lips. Click! Dave took out a brass lighter and set the receipt on fire while saying, “Don’t be mad, Ms. Quint. I can tell the stamp is fake on the receipt. I’m afraid someone has impersonated one of my employees and scammed you out of two million dollars.“You should demand your money back from the person. My company is not involved in this.” All that was left of the receipt was ashes. Dave would not even return the deposit to them. His message was loud and clear. Darcy could bite her tongue and sign the unfair contract or get nothing at all. “We’ll see about this, Mr. Pamela. See you in court.” Darcy turned around to leave. Riley and the others stormed off. “See you in court then. I’m not the one needing an offi
Was it Darcy’s lucky day? She held the phone, and her mouth dropped wide open. She could not believe that Master Quint would do something nice for her. “If I run my company in Quintessential Group’s office building, what about Quintessential’s business, Grandpa?” she asked skeptically. “Quintessential Group is becoming a shell of its former self. What’s the use of such a big office building? I can’t think of a better idea than to support your career. “Come over to the house now. Your uncle and the others will have a talk with you.” With her phone in her grasp, Darcy fell into a daze. In the end, she decided to take a trip to her family home. She could sense the sincerity in Master Quint’s tone. “I need to head home for a bit. You guys should get back to the office. We’ll figure something out once I get back.” Darcy told the employees before driving off to the Quints’ family residence. The employees got ready to leave dejectedly. “Come on, Riley. Stop blaming yourse
“Shut up!” Buckling his belt back on, Dave cocked his head back and yelled. Riley shuddered with a pale face. It just dawned on her that Kaze was on his own. Dave, on the other hand, had burly men around him. Not only would Kaze have trouble saving her, but he might be dragged into this with her too. “Run, Kaze. Call the cops and tell Ms. Quint and the others!” It occurred to Riley that Kaze had just been out of a mental institution, so he probably did not have a handle on things. Riley quickly told him what to do. “Are you deaf, bitch? I told you to shut up!” Dave looked at her menacingly and raised his hand to slap Riley. Furrowing his brows, Kaze extended his leg to clip a chair. He pushed the chair with the tip of his foot. The chair swiveled in the air and crashed onto Dave’s shoulder. Smash! “Argh!” With the chair splitting into pieces, Dave coughed out blood. His heavy body tumbled to the right, slamming onto the desk. The pain was excruciating. Ril
Sizzle! The cigar scorched Dave’s tongue, and smoke permeated from his mouth. “Ugh!” Dave shook his head violently. As Kaze covered his mouth, Dave could only whimper in pain. The endless agony drained the color off Dave’s face. His eyes turned bloodshot as he gave Kaze a pleading and fearful look. Kaze was unfazed. Apart from Jackal and his team, the rest in the office stared at the scene with their jaws dropped. The situation made their hair stand and sent shivers down their spine. Even Riley was horrified by Kaze’s ruthlessness. Kaze only released Dave once the cigar was put out completely in his mouth. Dave sank to the ground and held his throbbing neck, gasping for air. Kaze paid him no attention. Instead, he took out his buzzing phone for a look. Snow was calling. “Mr. Chairman, Clover Center is one of Mr. Forrester’s invested real estate.“In other words, you own Clover Center. Most of the commercial spaces Skyline Estates manage belong to you.” Kaze
Dave had such thoughts? “Are you even worthy?” Kaze’s words pushed Dave over the cliff to the abyss of despair. “How about I recommend a place for you to go? As for whether you can make it out alive, it depends on how well-connected the top three families are.” Kaze called Don. Soon, a police siren sounded downstairs. Kaze handed over the video he had taken of Dave and his men, which recorded the evidence of his crimes. Dave and his men were taken away. “Watch them. If the top three families got into the police department and silenced them permanently, then we can add another charge on them,” Kaze said to Don. Don nodded. Soon, Clover Center’s management was handed over to a company named Vista Management. Vista Management was a department under Vista Group and its chairman was Haste Vista, also a well-known figure in Lilyrose. Haste went to meet Kaze himself and thanked him for what he did. “Mr. Vista, it’s you. You don’t need to thank me, it’s nothing.” Kaze
“What is it, Grandpa?” Darcy was still carried away by the kindness of her family and did not expect much. Master Quint sighed and said, “Darcy, we helped you when you are at your lowest because we are family. We all have the same blood flowing in our veins. Am I right?” “It’s great that you view me as a part of the family, Grandpa.” Darcy was gratified. She thought after the incident with the Hansers, Master Quint and her uncle had finally awakened and cherished each other more. As long as they could reflect on their mistakes and treat her parents better, she would forgive them. As Master Quint said, they were family after all. Master Quint was delighted with her answer. He added, “Now that you are leading Quartet Group, we are worried about you and we don’t want others to laugh at you. That’s why I hope you can merge Quartet Group with Quintessential Group.” The other family members looked at Darcy eagerly. Darcy frowned but she nodded. “It can be arranged but it’
Darcy clenched her fists as tears rolled down her cheeks. She did not turn around or cry loudly. The Quints scolded and cursed her because they wanted to see her fail. She refused to show them her weakest side! Then, the chairman of Vista Group, Haste, strode into the house. “Ms. Darcy Quint! Vista Group has taken over the management of Skyline Estates and I am here to tell you that we are renting Clover Center’s office unit to Quartet Group. Please come with me to sign the contract…” The house that was filled with gloating and criticism was silenced instantly. They knew Haste Vista. He invested in Quintessential Group before. The man came all the way here just to offer Darcy a rental contract for the office. Was she that influential? Even Darcy could not believe what she heard. “Chairman Vista, are you joking with me? Clover Center is being managed by Skyline Estates and Dave Pamela just blacklisted me and my company. All the other property companies refused to rent
With Rudy in the lead, the Quints went up to Darcy, trying to flatter her. “Hold it right there!” Darcy stopped them and waved the contract in their faces. “You guys have nothing to do with me renting Clover Center. It’s all because of my husband, Kaze, the one you guys looked down on! He got me this contract!” She looked at everyone proudly and then left the house without pause. Rudy and the others were stunned on the spot. “That idiot again? Why is he ruining our plan every time?” “I wish I could strangle him!” They vent their anger on Kaze as he ruined their plans. All of them cursed Kaze without holding back. Darcy ignored them. She decided to visit Riley to check on her. Riley was fine and was not terribly traumatized by the attempted rape. Darcy breathed a sigh of relief and promised to compensate her two million. “Ms. Quint, I made the company lose two million, how can I ask for compensation now? Besides, Mr. Lee saved me…” Riley praised Kaze for his hero
As they arrived, they saw a dozen expensive cars parked outside. The customer base was relatively stable as the establishment was targeted at the upper class. The people lining up at the club were young men and women of ordinary background. All were allowed inside Absolute Zero with an entrance fee. Since this would be a chance for ordinary people to meet and interact with the upper-class elites, they cherished it and tried their best to look good. Even movie producers and scriptwriters came to the club, seeking investments or a role in movie production. It was a shortcut to reach out to the upper crust after all. Yet they were just a bunch of fresh graduates with no resources and connections, so the club was their only chance at achieving something great. Dwight would never understand how rare the opportunity was, as he was narrow-sighted. He had never experienced power and wealth before, so he lacked the understanding of how things worked in society. “I never thought
With that in mind, Dwight checked his outfit. His black leather jacket brought out his height and wild side. He then observed Kaze. The latter was dressed casually. Dwight was worried that they would not be allowed into Absolute Zero because of their attire. Nevertheless, he could not let slip that he had never been to Absolute Zero. Without a word, Dwight led Kaze down the apartment building. Kaze could pick up on Dwight’s nerves. While in the elevator, Dwight could not stop straightening out his clothes. It was clear that he was nervous. Even so, Kaze said nothing and pretended not to notice. They got into the car and drove to an alley. The area was not huge, but there were stands selling street food. “The food is great here. Since it’s early, we can grab a bite.” Dwight was not being tight with money. As their destination was a bar, there was no need to get a proper meal. “I’ll get a skewer then.” Kaze did not have much of an appetite anyway. “Okay. I’ll or
“You’re the guest. I should be hosting you, but I don’t seem to be doing a good job.” Dwight knew he had to do better. “It’s okay. I don’t have much to do. It’s just a delivery anyway.” Kaze bought a lot of stuff online. All they had to do was wait for the delivery. Once the items arrived, they could head out. Dwight talked about taking him to a bar under the Viper’s Den’s umbrella. It was a great opportunity for Kaze to check out the scene. He had heard that the Wittersons were tied to all the Viper’s Den’s business operations.Kaze would not meet Edmund and Morris in person, but he would grasp all information related to them. Then, Kaze would stir things up between them and sit back while reaping the benefits. Kaze had it all planned out. He simply had to take his time in playing the long game. Nevertheless, it was important for him to remain discreet. At the very least, he should not show them what he was made of. It was easy to execute his plan when everybody
Kaze rose to his feet and took something out of his bag. Putting on his jacket, he was on his way out. Dwight was out of his room, too. He left his room for a glass of water and waited for Kaze to get out of the room after his nap. Dwight had a drink in the kitchen. He took an apple and chomped on it. Looking at the fruit on the table, Dwight grabbed a plate to arrange it neatly.He took out his phone to pass the time while waiting for Kaze. Kaze emerged from the room and saw Dwight. “You’re up at last. You’ve slept half the day away. Are you still tired? I can wait if you need to catch some sleep.” Dwight kept Herman’s memo to look after Kaze. “A little. I didn’t get any sleep last night. I was waiting to get on the plane.” Kaze took the red-eye flight yesterday. Dwight allowed time for Kaze to rest, knowing his travel schedule. “I know. Did you manage to get some good sleep? If you haven’t, you can go back to bed. I can grab some food for you.” Dwight’s plan
“Your main responsibility is to entertain Kaze. You will be rewarded for good work,” Herman said. Dwight nodded incessantly. “Thank you for thinking of me, Herman. I won’t forget this.” “I’d be grateful so long as you stay out of trouble. “Just focus on what you should do and take good care of Kaze.” Herman worried that Dwight might get ahead of himself and forget his primary duties. Dwight’s priority was Kaze’s well-being. The whole thing would be over if Dwight kept to himself and served Kaze until he was gone. There would be a problem if something were to happen. Without Edmund’s instructions, Herman would never have assigned a job to Dwight. It could be a good thing, though. At least, a job might keep him on the straight and narrow. “Relax. You can count on me,” Dwight said with glee.That was a nice surprise. Dwight did not see it coming. It was just incredible. Herman still could not shake off his worry. However, he had said his piece. It was pointless t
Herman’s smile vanished. His red, irritated skin was playing up. Due to alcohol in his system, Herman could not see straight. He had to grit his teeth to hold back the urge to retch. Herman was not one to drink. Yet, he would have to go through Edmund’s loyalty test every time, and he was reaching a boiling point. However, he understood that he needed to suck it up to gain Edmund’s trust. “You must be Herman. Mr. Witterson. Should I take the things to your car, or should I deliver them to your home?” asked a uniformed server who approached. “Put them in the car and get me a designated driver,” Herman replied. He headed to the lobby while propping himself against the wall. “Okay. There will be a driver out front, ready for your service.” The server tried to help Herman up, but was declined. Herman saw the cartons of alcohol and cigarettes in the lobby. Edmund had always been generous in giving out stuff like this. “These are from Mr. Witterson. You’re lucky to work for
“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