Chapter 10 Met Quincy

Marcus's face was gloomy. 

Damn it, how many men does she have?

One Quincy, one Raymond, and now another pretty boy?

But she looks so innocent, is it an illusion?

Compared to Marcus's jealousy, Jessica's mind was captivated by the bar in front of her. She could never forget, eight years ago, it was here that she and him had the most absurd night of their lives.

"Mr. Marcus, why did you bring me to the bar so late?" Jessica couldn't help but ask, feeling tense. Memories of eight years ago played in her mind like a slow-motion film.

To her surprise, Jessica remembered all the details between them eight years ago.

Her recklessness, his coldness, her impudence, his arrogance...

People from two different worlds, but they sparked a flame for one night. Jessica's heart was pounding, nervously sweating in her palms, and her face growing hotter with each passing moment.

She couldn't figure out Mr. Marcus's thoughts at all.

What does he mean? Does he recognize her?

Seeing her flushed face, Mr. Marcus snorted coldly in his heart. When she was Lionel's secretary, she had been to places like bars. She was just pretending to be innocent?

"Drink!" Mr. Marcus coldly dropped the word and entered the bar.

Jessica was stunned, her suspended heart finally relaxed, and her nerves weren't as tense anymore.

Putting aside the tension of Marcus recognizing her, reason returned to Jessica's mind once again. Marcus seemed restless today, why?

He was gloomy the whole way, on the verge of losing control.

Despite his usual cold silence, Jessica could tell that he was in a very bad mood.

Jessica pursed her lips and walked into the bar she had hurriedly fled from eight years ago.

The ambiguous and intoxicating lighting filled the air with a seductive charm. On the stage, the hot and sexy dance made the men in the audience scream and cheer. The flexible waist movements of the dancers exuded a seductive allure. Screams filled the place!

This was a bar with extremely high-class decoration, noble-like furnishings, and a luxurious visual experience. Jessica noticed that almost everyone who came here to spend money was an influential figure.

This was a top-notch private bar. She couldn't help but fall silent. How did she manage to get in here eight years ago?

"Jessica? What brings you here?"

Jessica was just thinking of finding Marcus when a gentle and splendid voice floated over.

Quincy?

Jessica froze. Quincy was wearing a very formal suit, standing straight and tall, his refined features had a jade-like texture under the colorful lights.

Clean, pure, it seemed sacrilegious to even take an extra glance.

Most of the people who come here to enjoy themselves are elite individuals who have had too much pressure during the day. Once it's nighttime, they tear off their masks of social elitism and let go of their pent-up stress.

"Hi, Quincy. I came with someone to have fun, and you?" Jessica secretly prayed that Quincy wouldn't run into Marcus.

Suddenly, she realized why Quincy asked her if she knew Marcus that day. He probably noticed something.

"I have some business discussions to attend to."

A drunken man stumbled and ran towards them, almost colliding with Jessica. Quincy's perceptive reflexes kicked in, he grabbed her slender waist, swiftly turned, and avoided the collision.

"Be careful!"

Their bodies bumped into each other, tightly pressed together, softness and strength merging into a picturesque scene. Jessica's heart was still pounding, a faint scent of cologne filled the air, adding a touch of elegance to the smell of alcohol.

This was the familiar scent that Quincy always had.

This scene caught Marcus's eye. Naturally, it felt ambiguous and passionate. He raised his glass and downed a shot of wine.

His cold eyes emitted a cold gleam, and a flame ignited silently, spreading like wildfire. He was even astonished by it himself!

Damn Jessica!

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have asked her to come out.

Marcus called Jessica to accompany him for a drink purely on a whim.

"Mr. Quincy, nice to meet you!" Marcus's cold voice interjected between them.

Jessica felt a surge of electricity, a shiver ran through her whole body. She immediately broke free from Quincy's embrace, her heart pounding. This was bad, as expected, things don't always go as planned.

"Mr. Marcus, I've heard a lot about you!" Quincy reached out his hand, a glimmer of surprise flickered in his gentle eyes, but he skillfully hid it. He gracefully greeted Marcus.

Two pairs of eyes engaged in a battle, the noisy background music faded away, and the air was filled with tension that belonged to the fiery clash between men.

The sharp edges were revealed!

It was the most primitive wildness between male animals.

Jessica's heart pounded, vaguely uneasy.

The Smith, Lee, Moore, and Brown families divided the city of W into four powerful forces, each dominating a different direction. The four families had always kept their distance from one another, even though they were renowned across the city and had made a significant impact.

Just like Marcus Smith and Quincy Lee, the two of them had been engaged in intense rivalry for the past years. Although they had met before, this was the first time they shook hands so formally and truly got to know each other.

Quincy, the CEO of Gootal Group, was a humble and gentle gentleman, a dream lover for the social elites. He and Marcus, though belonging to different types, were equally capable, ambitious, and charismatic. They were evenly matched.

There was a saying in high society:

"Ladies all want to marry their daughters to Quincy while dealing with Mr. Marcus themselves."

"The internal rumors have long circulated. Mr. Quincy has a 90% chance of winning the bid for the infrastructure project in the northern ore mill. Noblefull Group had no choice but to admit defeat," Marcus said with a faint smile.

"Mr. Marcus, you exaggerate. You abandoned the northern ore mill just because you set your sights on that real estate in Stanley Bay. It happened to be a bargain for me. We owe our success to your generosity," Quincy replied.

"Mr. Quincy, you're too humble."

"Mutual compliments!"

...

The two men smiled at each other, brushing off the intense competition in W City that had caused stock market crashes and bankruptcies of many companies in the past three months.

Successful men always had a certain charm, the ability to conceal their deepest thoughts and reveal the most elegant smile.

Like Quincy.

Like Marcus.

From the beginning, these two major projects were battled over by Noblefull Group and Gootal Group. Both sides spared no expense, sabotaged each other, manipulated stock market transactions, and disrupted the equilibrium prices of the entire market, creating chaos. In the end, they both profited from it.

Even Jessica could feel the intensity and strong rivalry behind it all.

In the end, it all dispersed calmly in the smiles of the two men.

That was what they called being a true powerhouse!

"Mr. Marcus, I heard you have a versatile female secretary by your side. Who is she? It turns out to be Jessica. Congratulations, I have been trying to recruit her for so long without success," Quincy said, his gaze lightly sweeping over Jessica with his unique doting expression.

Jessica's throat tightened, feeling somewhat guilty. To be honest, it was indeed a misunderstanding, something she didn't expect.

Marcus smirked, "Oh, Mr. Quincy, you didn't know?"

Quincy smiled warmly, a jade-like purity shining in his eyebrows as if he had the most selfless tolerance between lovers.

"Yes, Jessica had been avoiding suspicion and refused to come to my Gootal Group. So, I lost a great talent."

This statement was ambiguous, but it sounded particularly grating to Marcus's ears. It was obvious that Quincy was telling him that Jessica didn't want to mix work and love, which was why she chose to go to Noblefull Group instead. It was he, Marcus who benefitted from it.

"Miss Jessica is indeed a great secretary. She provides top-quality service for both personal and business matters, right? Miss Jessica?" Marcus's elegant smile turned slightly twisted. Under the enchanting light, his deep gaze was filled with a wicked charm.

He emphasized the words "personal" and "service."

You know how to provoke me, but I might just know how to disgust you!

Quincy's warm gaze remained unchanged as before as if Marcus had casually mentioned the weather today. Only the slightly tightened grip of his hand revealed his hidden endurance at the moment.

Marcus sneered inwardly, noticing that Jessica's expression remained the same with her poker-faced smile, yet her flickering eyes betrayed the fire in her heart.

Damn it! Marcus, can you be any more twisted?

Marcus seemed to imply that she had a fling with him. Oh well, no matter how desperate she was for love, she would never choose him.

Jessica clearly forgot that she willingly chose Marcus eight years ago.

The competition between successful men was always invisible to the naked eye, every move hidden behind an elegant smile.

Marcus successfully counterattacked, feeling surprisingly good. His lip curled slightly, "Mr. Quincy, care for a drink?"

"Sure!"

Both their hands reached for Jessica's shoulders simultaneously, possessing the same tall and upright figure, along with the same determined and profound gaze, exerting an equal amount of pressure.

Cold and intimidating!

Even the gentle Quincy, at this moment, was declaring his possessiveness with his actions. When Marcus looked at him, he changed the direction of his hand, wrapping his arm around Jessica's waist and leading her toward the bar.

Marcus's gaze darkened as he watched their intimate backs.

Jessica felt a shiver down her spine, wondering what exactly Quincy was up to.

This was the most nerve-wracking gathering for Jessica in the past few months.

As the chief secretary for both Lionel and Marcus, Jessica was already comfortable and adept in social events. But this time, she felt that the air beneath her nose was too thin.

Quincy and Marcus seemed to be competing with each other, and it wasn't her imagination. Jessica carefully filtered through the information in her mind, but she couldn't find any grudge between them.

In the business world, even if they fought tooth and nail, it was all consensual, a willing gamble with winners and losers.

The atmosphere between these two men was so eerie that she wanted to scream. If it weren't for maintaining a perfect smile, Jessica would have liked to turn and walk away.

She had no idea why Marcus called her out.

To accompany him?

Only these two could treat expensive brandy that cost over ten thousand as plain water.

"Mr. Quincy, Miss Jessica, you seem to have a good relationship," Marcus said playfully, his delicate features showing no expression, but his deep and smirking gaze passed over Jessica.

Jessica pursed her lips, wondering when the hell Marcus started to care about her relationship with anyone.

Quincy responded with his trademark indulgent smile for Jessica, "Yes, it's been eight years!"

Another vague response.

Marcus silently took a sip of his drink, maintaining an elegant gentlemanly demeanor. His noble and handsome looks made girls scream.

Eight years, enough of showing off!

The bar was exclusive, and the expensive prices made it out of reach for ordinary people. The attendees here were mostly high-profile individuals, naturally including Marcus and Quincy.

The drinking competition between these two friends-who-maybe-enemies added a layer of mystery to the business battle they had built up in the past few months.

"They're so treacherous..." Wealthy individual A said. "Are they conspiring against us?"

"No doubt, look at their demeanor, probably!" Wealthy individual B said. "They're cunning and sly. I knew Mr. Marcus, but I didn't expect Quincy to be this cunning, a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Jessica, silent!

Come on! Men! Even if Quincy doesn't look pure, it's your bad judgment.

It was amazing that she could make a sarcastic remark in such a tense atmosphere.

Jessica took a trip to the restroom and this time, the two men who had been wearing polite masks all night finally tore off their disguises.

Quincy's usually gentle gaze turned sharp and cold like a knife, his indifference chilling, "Marcus, if you dare touch Jessica, I will make you regret it!"

Those words, as ruthless as the god of the underworld, sounded even more astonishing coming from this gentleman.

The surrounding air suddenly dropped.

Cold and sharp, it pressed against them.

Marcus's seductive eyes flashed with a hint of cruelty, as he coldly laughed, "You still want to challenge me? Quincy, I could crush you with a single finger. If you've got what it takes, then bring it on."

"Such big talk!" Quincy's coldness glanced at him. "I doubt you can afford to play this game!"

"I doubt you can handle losing!"

Two powerful gazes clashed, instantly producing sparks of intense battle, with the smell of combat boiling in the air. Without Jessica present, the plunder and ferocity between men were unabated.

When Jessica came out, the two men were already toasting again, smiling as they lifted their glasses and downed their drinks!