“Buffy, do you think this company, with its multimillion-dollar daily operation and thousands of employees on the payroll, is a playground for your little plaything? “You better tell the boy to leave now. “If the business declines because of you, don’t expect the shareholders or the rest of us to support you.” Naix slammed the table, his voice booming through the meeting room. He was blatantly cocky, having no regard for the newly appointed president. Unfazed by Naix’s outburst, Kaze simply reviewed the files on Gwake Corporation’s senior executives. Naix was too arrogant to take Buffy seriously because of his high position and powerful connections. From his last name, Naix must be linked to Faith. Soon, Kaze came across Naix’s file. Sure enough, Naix was Faith’s nephew, albeit he was just a distant relative of the Krads. It was clear that Naix was one of Faith’s inside people to seize control of Gwake Corporation. Most importantly, he was the most senior vice pre
“Please watch your manners, Naix. We are in a meeting, not some private get-together.“You are free to leave if you don’t want to be here. I won’t stop you even if you want to resign from the company.” Buffy had anticipated the confrontation before assuming her position at Gwake Corporation. She knew that she needed to show aggression in such situations. It was important not to yield to Naix’s intimidation. Otherwise, she would suffer a humiliating defeat on her first day as the president. It would be extremely difficult for her to consolidate her power and carry out her plans for the business. “Are you telling me to pack my things, Buffy?” With a smirk, Naix rose to his feet and leaned forward against the table before puffing a cloud of smoke at Buffy. “Do you think I just sit around and do nothing in this place? “What’s wrong with a bit of socializing and networking? “I negotiated a deal with St. Mary’s over drinks just a few days ago, securing the procurement righ
Naix said with a wry smile, “As things have turned out this way, I’m afraid the deal with St. Mary’s can’t go through. “We’ve been generating buzz about our upcoming partnership with St. Mary’s, and many other private hospitals have expressed interest in working with us.“Since the partnership with St. Mary’s is off the table, I guess any other potential partnerships will fall through as well. “Most importantly, the damage to our reputation from this false information will be severe. It’s a huge loss that money can’t buy.”Many senior executives looked visibly upset. Naix had promised them riches a moment ago, and now their hopes were dashed. The disappointment was too much to bear. “Are you firing Mr. Krad, who has contributed a lot to the company, on your first day on the job, Ms. Gwake?” “You have gone too far. Even if you’re the chairman’s daughter, you can’t just do whatever you want and disregard everybody else’s interests.” “You don’t own Gwake Corporation. You c
When Faith was the president of Gwake Corporation, she was not very hands-on. However, she leveraged the Krads’ connections to befriend the Geranium Heartanos. Hence, Faith assigned her nephew, Naix, to be the liaison with the Geranium Heartanos while restricting others within the company from contacting them. Faith and Naix wanted to keep the connection to the Heartanos to themselves. Naix claimed that a deal had been reached with St. Mary’s. As such, he could make the deal go away too. If that were to happen, Gwake Corporation would face its initial investment and risk losing its reputation. Naix got one thing right. Money could not buy back a reputation once lost. He even twisted Buffy’s words, saying that she wanted to fire him. Buffy would bear the brunt if Gwake Corporation were to lose its partnership with St. Mary’s. She might even be forced to resign on her very first day as the president because of this deal. Kaze suspected that Jude might have set Buffy up
“Is the deal with St. Mary’s enough to show your true colors? “You can’t even do anything right. I can’t believe you’d shift the blame onto the new president.“And you call yourselves veterans and senior executives. Anyone on the street can do your job better than you.“You’re all losers.” Kaze’s outburst took everybody by surprise, especially since he had been holding his tongue.The crowd was caught off guard. Even Buffy did not see it coming. She did not think Kaze would be so blunt as to point fingers at the senior executives.“Bastard!” Enraged, Naix slammed the table and stood up. He leaned forward intimidatingly and shouted furiously, “Who do you think you are? You have no right to speak here.“You are a newbie. You don’t know anything. How dare you raise your voice. “You better get out of here at the count of three. “One…” Kaze cut Naix off with a slap. “Smack!” Naix took the hit. Despite his large build, Naix was knocked off his chair and landed on the
Naix drew distance from Kaze, moving away from him, and then covered his face, shouting, “You little bastard! What the hell is this? “If not because of you and Buffy, St. Mary’s would not have stopped collaborating with Gwake Corporation! “You shifted the responsibility and you hit me? Do you have a death wish?!” His teeth gritted, staring at Kaze with a vicious gaze. Ever since he joined Gwake Corporation, thanks to his relationship with Faith, he had been acting like a tyrant, disregarding others and forcing everyone to obey him. Yet Kaze slapped him multiple times in front of all the senior executives, turning his face into a swollen apple. It was a humiliation that he could not accept! “Because of us?” Kaze smirked and said, “Today is our first day here. We haven’t done anything and you’re telling me that we screwed up the deal with St. Mary’s and there’s no coming back from that? “Naix Krad, was it? You said you’re the most qualified to be promoted to the executi
Kaze spoke coldly, showing no respect to the senior executives. All the executives at the table reacted bitterly to his words, their expressions darkened. New boss, new way. They understood that Kaze and Buffy wanted to suppress Naix’s arrogance but it was surprising to them that Kaze directed the flame to them, burning them all together. The company could continue to operate without them? If they left, Kaze could easily get a new batch of replacements? What lies were those?! All the executives were offended by Kaze’s words, their teeth gritted as they stared at him. “Hmph! Anyone can talk big. I’d like to see what happens to the company if you fire all of us. I dare you!” An executive who sided with Naix argued. He was provoking Kaze, trying to give him a hard time. Kaze was unfazed, he did not even say a word. Soon after, the secretary of the president’s office brought in a mountain of termination letters. “Slam!” Kaze slammed the termination letters on the
Before Naix could even think of a response, Kaze tossed another termination letter in his face. He said righteously, “St. Mary’s is just a hospital. “If you can’t even get their distribution rights, then that makes you useless. Am I wrong? It’s not a big deal and you need Buffy and I to deal with this? “I can say that anyone else in this room can make the deal happen and those who cannot are useless trash. “If those who cannot make it and then find excuses to shift the blame, that’s a piece of useless shit! “If you can’t even handle that much, why is the company paying you a shitload of money each year? It yields a better return if we have ten pigs here!” Kaze sounded more arrogant than Naix earlier and he showed no respect to the other executives in the room. He did not care how others looked at him at all either. He continued, “If anyone doesn’t like how I do things, thinking that I am being rude and tough, then you may leave. I have no problem with that. “If anyone t
Dwight approached with a smile. He looked at Edmund earnestly. “I am Dwight McCorney. I have heard good things about you. I finally got to meet the man of the hour. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Witterson.” Dwight was starstruck. Edmund was embarrassed by Dwight’s behavior. He could not believe that Dwight was a member of the Viper’s Den. Nevertheless, Dwight seemed genuine in expressing his thrill. Edmund became curious about him. He turned around to look at Kaze, who was the polar opposite of Dwight. Kaze stood there, holding his ground. He stood up to greet Edmund and nothing else. He appeared to be refined, unlike Dwight, who was brash. Dwight had no idea that his behavior had upset Edmund. Edmund looked at Dwight in disdain. However, Dwight was a member of the Viper’s Den. It was best for Edmund to keep his comments to himself. Without a word, Edmund stared at the pair. Ryan stepped in to smooth things over. “What are you doing? We have a guest here.
Since Kaze would not change these people’s minds, he was better off doing what he wanted to do. “This vase must be valuable. I got to give it to Mr. Witterson. A display in the living room is worth so much.” Dwight had never seen so much luxury in one room. He had been to the museum, but the displays were nothing like he had ever seen before. The rich had the means to splurge. “Do you think this is pure gold?” Dwight turned to a gold statue. The design was to die for. The purity of color made it hard to doubt its authenticity. “I’m not too sure, but I guess most of the ornaments here are real.”Kaze watched as Dwight gasped in awe. Nevertheless, his behavior would clear any suspicion on Kaze. It could be a good thing. “I knew Mr. Witterson was rich. His businesses are doing well. “But I didn’t expect this sort of lifestyle. The gold must be worth a million dollars. “If I were this wealthy, I would not spend it on decoration.” Dwight rambled on, his eyes stuck t
“I’m not familiar with the area. We’ll have to look around,” Dwight said behind the wheel. He looked for restaurants while driving. It was early, and many restaurants were not open for business. They circled the block and finally uncovered a small breakfast bar. They ordered some food, filled their bellies, and got back into the car. “Mr. Witterson said that he wouldn’t meet you. Why does he want to see you now?” Dwight was curious. Something must have happened last night. Otherwise, Edmund would not suddenly grant an audience to Kaze. “I don’t know. I had some drinks last night, and now he probably made time.” Kaze felt better after breakfast. He did not think much of the situation. Things would carry on as planned regardless of what the Wittersons or the Siegfrieds had to say.This was exactly what Kaze hoped for. Dwight remained in the dark. He drove to the city’s most exclusive area for the rich. It was all greenery in this part of town. The road was wider, an
After a brief hesitation, Kaze followed Rosie. The room turned out to be Rosie’s. Though not a big room, it was crammed with all kinds of junk. The place looked cluttered. Rosie approached the vanity table and grabbed the comb to comb her hair. She turned to look at Kaze. “You said a lot of stuff last night. Do you remember any of it?” Rosie spoke like they had been friends for years. It was just small talk. “What did I say? I don’t really remember. You made a lovely drink, but man, it really kicked in.” Kaze put a cigarette to his lips, but he did not light it. Instead, he spotted a chair to sit down on. “Well, it’s pointless to talk about it if you can’t remember.” Rosie was pleased to hear that. At least, Kaze had no idea that she had gotten him drunk. “Don’t leave me hanging.” Kaze looked peeved. “Are you off the clock?” Kaze asked. “Yes. I work odd hours. It’s time for me to sleep now.” Rosie stared at Kaze. “I shouldn’t keep you from resting.”
“Can you give me something for the pain?” Clemont had a low tolerance for pain. Standing on the stairway, Morris heard his voice and sighed. Clemont could do no good in his eyes. “Keep an eye on him. He’s not allowed to leave the house for the time being.” Morris believed the incident was more than meets the eye. Yet, Clemont was tricked into going to Absolute Zero and starting shit. There was no telling whether the Wittersons or someone else was behind it. Morris let out a sigh and returned to the study. He sent the butler to the storage room to fetch a few valuable antiques. These items were collected years ago, and they cost a fortune. Morris’ intention was to be on good terms with the Wittersons. There was no need to be at war with them. He had to do it for the interest of the Viper’s Den and his family. Morris was all about looking at the bigger picture. Otherwise, he would not have put up with all the bullshit before. Edmund would not let him off the ho
“Are you trying to kill your son?” Clara intervened. “You’re ruining him by spoiling him. If you want things to continue as they were, you can kiss him goodbye forever,” Morris said. Clara was lost for words. She knew better, but she just could not stop herself. Clemont had her heart. Clara could not stand to see him hurt. She was distressed. However, she knew that Morris would not get over the matter without beating Clemont up. She had to step in. “Hit him!” Morris was too old to do anything laborious. However, the kid would not go anywhere in life without a good beating. Despite starting trouble, he sure was arrogant to admit that he was wrong. “I see the errors of my ways.” Clemont apologized in time to avoid the punishment. He managed to escape all repercussions by doing so. Plus, his mother would plead on his behalf. The whole thing would usually get brushed aside. Though it was more serious in this instance, Clemont still believed that Morris would not hur
Morris was in his study, wiping a plaque of commandments that was covered in dust. Due to his commitment to the Viper’s Den, he had neglected his family for years and left his son in his wife’s care. Morris regretted doing so. Unaware of the impending danger, Clemont enjoyed drinks with his friends. They were having fun, playing drinking games. Losing the game, Clemont downed a glass of liquor. Things could get far and exciting in a game. It was then that the door swung open. Clemont’s driver entered the room. “Young Master Siegfried, the master is waiting for you at home,” the driver said, noting the complexity of the situation. The only thing on his mind was to take Clemont away. Tipsy from the drinks, Clemont waved his arm. “Let him wait. What’s the rush to get home?” Clemont’s friends were shocked. Nothing scared Clemont like his father. However, Clemont toughened up for once. “Young Master Siegfried, why don’t you call it a night?” “Yeah. I’m sur
“What’s that supposed to mean? When have I ever made a mistake?” Morris heard nothing of that sort. It could only mean that his people had done nothing wrong. However, Edmund could not possibly get aggressive on the phone. Something must have happened, and he simply had no idea. Morris felt unsettled like something big was about to happen. “You seem to be lax when managing your people. You don’t seem to know what goes on around your house.“Is your age getting to you? Is that why you can’t handle most of the work? If you can’t get your own house in order, how will you ever manage the Viper’s Den Westeros Branch?” Edmund called to say his piece. It was his way to make Morris step down. Though it was likely that Morris would resign, Edmund could at least make things unpleasant for him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Morris was completely in the dark, but Edmund must hold some secret to act so cocky. Despite his troubled feelings, Morris kept his cool and calmly aske
Since it was a rare opportunity, Edmund had to settle the score with them properly. He knew opportunities like this were hard to come by so he had to seize them well. “I understand. I will take care of the guest,” Rosie said. She was glad that her information was useful to her boss. After Edmund hung up the phone, Rosie then looked at the unconscious Kaze. “You are indeed more useful than I thought. Hardly anyone has ever managed to impress Edmund.” She did not feel sorry for Kaze, believing that everything happened as it was meant to. She knew that to climb higher, she had to please her superior. With the Wittersons on the rise, now was the perfect time for her to pledge her loyalty to Edmund. When the Wittersons truly took over the Westeros Branch, she would become one of the most powerful people in the city, second only to them. She was looking forward to that day. Since Kaze was fast asleep and no arrangements could be made, Rosie went out to call her men and