“You are a prominent businesswoman in the city, Ms. Quint. I’m sure your proposal will make the cut.” Johnson curried her favor. “Thank you, Mayor Brooks.” Darcy was overjoyed and even nodded at Johnson while walking away. Johnson broke out in a cold sweat. The nod was too much of a courtesy to accept. “Mr. Lee, um…” Kaze waved his arm, showing that he did not mind at all. Relieved, Johnson said, “I have looked into six billion dollars approved to the Quints and the Lees. The money has been wired to them. “I got my people on the case to get the money back.” “I see,” Kaze responded. Soon, Johnson got a call. His face turned horrified. “What’s wrong? The money can’t be recovered?” Kaze scowled, but it was not surprising. The Quints might cough the money back out. However, the Sunrise Lees would not honor the wishes of a mayor. “My contact mentioned that the Quints and Lees are at the auction as we speak, buying the top three families’ assets like there’s
“Pipe down, or people might think we are so full of ourselves.” Darcy pinched Kaze, but the joy was written all over her face. She said in haste, “I need to get back to the office. I can’t let the God of War down. I need to make the most out of the one billion dollars.” The support fund was transferred to the corporate account rather swiftly. Darcy was motivated and driven with ambition. She had her eyes set on the top three families’ assets and intended to put in her bids at the auction. Nevertheless, she did not go at it blindly like the Quints and Lees. She put her team in charge of evaluating the value of the businesses. Besides, Darcy did not have massive funds like the Sunrise Lees. She did not want to stretch herself thin. Kaze kept Darcy company in her office, but she did not have time for him. Hence, he left. He exited Clover Center.Snow's Maybach was waiting at the side of the road. She was not the only one waiting by the car. Mathias was there too.
“They are still in a bidding frenzy.“The Quints just asked for a loan, and they are using their newly purchased assets as collateral for a one-billion-dollar loan.“I approved the loan as you have instructed, Mr. Chairman.” Snow was still the chairman of Lilyrose Bank. She could be considered the queen of all the bank systems in Lilyrose. “Master Quint is an idiot. He’s so self-absorbed that he thinks he can play the game like the Sunrise Lees.” Kaze shook his head. He had no qualms about sharing his real opinion about Master Quint behind Darcy’s family’s back. Kaze lost all respect for the old man. “Darcy wants to join the auction. Pick a larger-scale business with good prospects for me, Snow. I want to get it for her.” Kaze added, “The one billion dollars she has isn’t enough.” Knowing Darcy, she would not borrow money blindly just to expand her business. She would not go beyond her risk tolerance. Hence, Kaze decided to buy a firm for her. After much tho
“If you’re staying at the resort tonight, what about work tomorrow?” without suspecting a thing, Darcy asked without looking up. She knew that Kaze had sought employment with Shangrila Group. Kaze replied, “It’s okay. Winnie will take care of things in Shangrila Group. It’s fine if I skip a day of work.” “That’s not the right attitude to work. Ms. Souffle is so kind to offer you a job. You should take the work seriously. The least you can do is ask for some time off.” Darcy lectured him. “Alright. I’ll take the day off.” Left with no alternatives, Kaze called Winnie to ask for leave. “My friend in junior high, Nancy, is a hotel manager at Mountain Dew Estate. I’ll sort out the reservations with her.” Darcy called to make reservations. “Book two rooms.” Agnes walked into the room. She stared at Kaze warily. Still feeling concerned, she called Sky over. “Sky, you should go with your sister to Mountain Dew Estate too.” Sky noticed Kaze glaring at him. It then da
The woman with Wendell turned out to be Deborah. She was attending the auction tomorrow on behalf of the Quints. Wendell’s flattery pleased Deborah. The Quints had put elites like the Vikroms, Logmans, and Joestars in the shade. Now, no one would call the Quints an upper-middle-class family. In fact, word had gotten out that the Quint family was now in the top 1% in Lilyrose. “That reminds me. Mr. Narian of the Lee family will be staying here too,” Wendell told Deborah. “I know.” Deborah did not seem surprised. Instead, she said beamingly, “I’m meeting him alone tonight. He’ll come to me when he gets here.” ‘The whore is already hooking up with Narian,’ Wendell thought to himself. He was jealous. Wendell went to the same college as Deborah. She was pretty wild during college. Wendell had once gotten together with the woman. Now that Deborah was banging Narian, he did not stand another chance. Worst of all, he had to facilitate the couple’s rendezvous.
Kaze knocked those who badmouthed Darcy down to the ground. “How dare you hit us, bastard! Do you know who we are?” “Where did the moron come from?” The lot yelled as blood ran down their noses and mouths. “You’re right. I am a moron. I’m Darcy’s moronic husband.” Kaze flicked his wrist and sneered. “I’ll hit you if you run your mouth again. Someone with the lack of mental capacity can’t be charged anyway.” The few people who were attacked had no tears to cry. “Come here, Kaze. Stay out of trouble.” Darcy was helpless. “Hang on. I missed one, babe.” He went to Deborah and slapped her in the face. Smack! Deborah could not dodge in time. A bright handprint emerged on her face. She put her hand over her face and shrieked angrily, “I can’t believe you’d hit me again, dummy!” Deborah and Samus had endured many beatings from Kaze. “You started it.” Kaze’s flat remark nearly drove Deborah to the edge. “Are you alright, Deborah?” Shocked, Wendell stayed f
“To think you call a two-billion-dollar transaction a tiny matter. Even the Sunrise Lees won’t brag to that extent.” Wendell smirked. “Tsk. He’s just a load of hot air.” “Man, he sure loves to brag. He should have at least found out about the final sale price before tooting his horn.” Those from other companies chattered among themselves. They looked at Kaze’s group contemptuously. The stares stung Darcy, and her cheeks burned with shame. “Well, you have just lost your general manager job with Mountain Dew Estate.” Kaze narrowed his eyes at Wendell. “Ha! Do you think you’re the owner of the place?” Wendell scoffed in disdain. Annoyed, he waved at the security guards. “Don’t just stand there. Kick that owner out, and I’ll reward you with double the wages.” His taunting amused many. Everybody saw Kaze as the clown. “Hold on.” Deborah jumped in and said with a smile, “No need to kick them out. They are my cousins, after all. Wendell, can do me this little fav
“Wendell, my family is an elite upper class. It won’t be long for us to be multibillionaires. “Know that your hard work will not go unnoticed,” Deborah said indifferently with crossed arms. “Alright. I will get to it right away.” Wendell stopped hesitating. The Orchid Chalet was furnished quaintly. It was a quiet area. The vibrant blooms and silvery moonlight set a rather romantic scene. Pleased with the place, Kaze looked forward to tonight. He pulled out his phone to call Mathias. “Fire Wendell, the general manager of Mountain Dew Estate. Put someone else on the job.” “My people will take over tomorrow, Kaze.“I got someone to look into the resort’s bank records, and Wendell made some questionable transactions during his tenure. He got off easy with just a termination.” Somehow, the insignificant guy managed to catch Kaze’s eye. Mathias believed Kaze could not stand the man and wanted him to suffer. “Alright.” Kaze hung up. He saw Darcy looking at him with
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
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a