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 rage left Darcy as Kaze lost himself while embracing her. Now, that was more like it. She was still attractive to him. Kaze said, “But I feel like something is missing. We can do it tomorrow. I have a surprise for you tomorrow.” “What is it?” Darcy asked curiously. Her eyes were hazy by then. “You’ll know tomorrow. Get some sleep now.” Kaze patted her shoulder and turned off the bedroom light. “Okay.” Darcy faintly nodded and snuggled up in his arms before closing her eyes. The drug was taking effect on her. She soon fell into a deep sleep. It would not be uneventful for long. “Thump, thump, thump…” There was a knock on the door. Despite multiple attempts at knocking, no one came to the door. The beep of a digital sensor ensued. Someone had opened the door with a key card. The bedroom door was opened. The three thugs waltzed their way into the place. Click! One hooligan turned on the lights and found Darcy sleeping in Kaze’s arms. His breath
Narian would never marry Deborah. He was just looking for some fun. It would be silly of him to refuse a woman who had thrown herself at him. Besides, Deborah was average-looking, but she was Darcy’s cousin. At least, Deborah could scratch his itch for a little while. “Mr. Narian, this is where Ms. Quint is staying—” The intense noise from the chalet interrupted the attendant. The young, female attendant blushed embarrassedly. That was pretty rude and inconsiderate. As the chalet was built with a wood structure, it lacked the soundproofing capabilities of hotel rooms.The attendant glanced at Narian. His face was sour. Narian wondered if Deborah called him over to hear the awful noise. “Mr. Lee, should I call Ms. Quint out?” the female attendant asked with unrest. Narian grimaced and walked away without a peep. The animalistic noise continued in the chalet into the night. That night, the guests in the nearby chalets could not sleep a wink. Deborah woke up i
The three thugs’ target was supposed to be Darcy. However, she was unharmed. The three thugs somehow showed up in Deborah’s room instead. Deborah suspected it had something to do with Kaze. “Duh. There was quite a lot of banging happening at your chalet last night.” Confused, Darcy had no idea what Kaze was talking about. She was too deep in her sleep to notice anything. “So it was you, bastard! You ruined me! I want to kill you!” Deborah shrieked and jumped on Kaze. Kaze held Darcy and dodged the assault while uttering with glee, “Don’t frame the innocent. I’m not the only one aware of last night. Everybody in Mountain Dew Estate knows about it.” Deborah’s eyes widened. She then realized the passing senior executives of various companies were giving her funny looks. “You could’ve been a little civil, Deborah. The noise from your chalet went on all night long, and we couldn’t sleep at all.” “Yeah. You can have your fun, but just pay attention to the sound pollution
“A thief?” Wendell was very loud. The senior executives having breakfast in the restaurant heard his accusation. Kaze was getting looks of contempt. Wham! Darcy slammed her cutlery down on the table and jolted to her feet. As her eyes narrowed in rage, she said, “Please do not make false claims, Mr. Delaney. My husband will never do something like that.” Nancy happened to be there. Seeing that her old friend was in trouble, she came over to ease the tension. “It could just be a misunderstanding, Mr. Delaney. Why don’t we go somewhere more private to sort things out?” Nancy was concerned that Darcy might not be able to attend the auction if things got out of hand. Wendell glared at the woman. “Sort things out? Fine. We’ll talk in the control room.”He smirked. The security personnel gave Kaze hostile looks. Darcy furrowed her brows. She was not a dummy. She knew that Wendell was stirring trouble. Darcy and Kaze were potentially putting themselves in dange
Deborah’s words stirred a commotion in the restaurant. A few company representatives were having breakfast there. They approached with spite. “That’s crossing the line. Quartet Group’s despicable approach is an insult to the city’s commerce.” “I’m sure the one billion dollars granted to Quartet Group wasn’t acquired legitimately either.” These representatives were up in arms. “I suggest boycotting Quartet Group. The organizer should bar the company from entering the auction,” Cameron from North River Corporation proposed. He carried a manipulative smirk. “I concur! Boycott Quartet Group!” “That’s right!” It took some level of shrewdness to be able to represent their companies at an auction. They expressed their support in kicking Quartet Group out. The company had one billion dollars in funding, so it was a major competition. All would end well for the other companies if Quartet Group was out of the running. Darcy felt chills down her spine. She could tell wha
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