“I understand, Mr. Lee. I will make sure that your office is spotless, so that you can have a comfortable working environment.” Jennifer held the urge to slap Kaze and bowed before she walked away. Kaze smiled. Jennifer was like Miru, both proud women. She might have complied verbally, but deep down she continued to resist the idea of bowing at Kaze. It was the reason why she set the little verbal trap for Kaze earlier. Though Kaze was confident enough to make her submit wholeheartedly. If he could not even control a subordinate, then he would have wasted his entire life up until now. “Darcy, I’m going to take a shower.” Later that night, Kaze brought Darcy to the bedroom to have some fun. “No, you are sleeping next door!” Darcy was still mad at Kaze’s little joke earlier and pushed him outside, slamming the door on him. “What the…” Kaze stood in front of the closed door, annoyed and depressed. Ever since Darcy received the treatment of love, even though she
“No.” Jennifer shook her head. “We requested to meet Hart Lyfe but the receptionist said he doesn’t want to see us. Mr. Lee, is it because we refused to invest in Rove the other day, that’s why he’s mad at us?” “I don’t think so. Hart isn’t like that.” Kaze took his phone out. “I’ll call him and ask him what happened.” Unfortunately, Hart’s phone was turned off and so was Daphne’s. Finally, Kaze contacted an executive at Rove named Eddie Fork. The man sided with Hart during the hardest time and whenever Kaze met Hart, the man was beside Hart, showing respect to his boss. When the call got through, Kaze asked, “Eddie, I sent my team from Hudson Investment Firm to Rove to talk about the investment but they were rejected. Your receptionist did not even let them in, what happened?” “Mr. Lee? My, my, isn’t this Rove’s greatest savior!” Eddie answered in a rather unusual tone. Kaze frowned. He sensed the change in tone as well and it sounded like a mockery. “Eddie, what i
Lyfe family’s mansion. “Syed! What is the meaning of this? Rove finally came out from the slump and you are turning your back on our benefactor? What if Rove goes down the hill again?!” Hart shouted at Syed, his elder brother, and the other family members who were against him. Behind Hart was Daphne and her family, all staring at Syed. Rove had always been a family business, so it inherited the common malpractices of other family businesses. Hart was the one who founded the company but Syed and his family had never stopped causing problems. Hart was able to hold onto his position until now because he was respected in the company and was also a pioneer in the business. Back in the day, all the manufacturers, distributors, and other affiliated companies respected him and viewed him as the leader. Ten years ago, the hierarchy of power within Rove was shaken. Syed teamed up with another major investor to seize majority shares during the shareholders meeting and was able t
Back in the day, even Syed would be afraid of his brother’s powerful aura. Now, however, he was able to face Hart with a lifted chest and a casual demeanor. “Hart, stop accusing me. I didn’t team up with anyone this time. You are the one who got fooled by a useless guy who married into his wife’s family. You let him decide the general direction of the company. “You are the one who betrayed the company and our family’s profit. As your brother, I must stand up and stop you, or else you will sell off the entire company, and our family!” Syed yelled. Hart realized the situation was much more serious than he thought when he saw Syed’s confidence. He narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, “Syed, who is supporting you this time?” “You want to know who? Fine. I’ll bring him in.” Syed then went to open the door. He said respectfully, “Uncle Sieg, please come in.” Uncle? Confused, Hart looked toward the door. A handsome man with fair skin and pronounced facial features appeared
Sieg’s frosty glare instilled fear into Hart’s heart. For a moment there, he thought he was being stared at by a beast. Behind Sieg, a man who was obviously his bodyguard, stepped forward. He too stared at Hart, sending chills down his spine. Hart used to serve in the military when he was young. Based on the man’s presence, he could tell that the man was a killer. Syed bellowed, “Hart, watch your mouth! How dare you defy Uncle Sieg! He’s our senior!” “I…I…will do what you say, Uncle Sieg…” Hart was forced to lower his head. For the sake of his family’s safety, he dared not oppose Sieg or Syed anymore. Sieg smiled. He then shot a gaze at Daphne and his eyes lit up. Daphne had instant goosebumps. She stiffly nodded. “G-Granduncle Sieg, I’m Daphne.” “How come I didn’t know there’s such a beautiful girl in our family?” Sieg sounded amused. He added, “Daphne? Have you ever considered moving to the main family?” “What?!” Syed bolted up instantly and said, “Uncle Sie
Sieg’s casual words sent Hart and Daphne down to the depths of the abyss. Minnie, Glory, and the others who were jealous of Daphne earlier instantly gloated at her. They thought Daphne would be accepted into the main family and rise in status, but it turned out differently. It was somehow expected of a family like the Lyfes or the Hacks. The top four families of Geranium all shared the same customs and thoughts. The marriage was not a celebrated one. An illegitimate child of the Hacks family, 40 years old, had a divorce, and was not a valued member of the family. When all the criteria added up, Daphne was not marrying a man with power but a man with a terrible fate. Everyone could tell the arranged marriage was just a way to turn Daphne into leverage for the Lyfe family so that they could negotiate for more benefits. “Kingston Hacks? The name does ring a bell. If I remember correctly, he’s the person in charge of Paladia Moose and he teamed up with Desmond Litman to o
“Yes, Uncle Sieg!” Syed said excitedly. In other words, Sieg wanted to keep Hart and Daphne in the house so they would not cause any trouble. Hart would lose all chances of fighting back with all the connections cut off. From today onward, Rove would belong to Syed and his supporters. However, the excitement did not last. Syed calmed down and glanced at Sieg before he nervously moved his gaze away. His young uncle from Geranium had just arrived in Lilyrose yet the whole company had already gone through a power shift with Hart and his family ousted. Syed was actually scared of Sieg. He knew that he and his family’s life and death were nothing but a word for Sieg. Sieg said, “Syed, I won’t spend too much time on Rove, so you’ll have to take care of the rest. Try to minimize the effect of the power shift and keep it running. “I will stay in Lilyrose for a while. I got reliable news that the mayor of Lilyrose is planning to renew the entire Old District. I came here to pl
Kaze did not know Hart and Daphne were already imprisoned at home with no contact with the outside world. Otherwise, he would certainly do something about it. “Keep an eye out and update me as things develop,” he said as he got up from his chair. He went to the city council and saw the flood relief efforts were progressing in an orderly manner. Caleb and Lou were skilled and experienced. After they updated Kaze about the progress, Caleb said, “Mr. Lee, there are some comments about you popping online recently and I wonder if you have seen them. “A number of people questioned your ability. Due to the flash flood, a series of problems were exposed and put under the microscope. Lilyrose’s governance is in chaos and they all blame you for being too inexperienced and incompetent…” Caleb expressed his disapproval through his upset tone. It was his true feelings because he saw with his own eyes what Kaze had done. If Kaze had not solved some of the problems, the situation woul