Kiefer could not hide the resentment in his tone. If it was not for Naix, Kiefer would not have lost both arms and pleaded for mercy on his knees in public. He and his mother would never live this down. Kiefer wanted to tear Naix apart if he could. Miya stared at Naix vilely, her tone brash as she said, “Mr. Lee, my little shit has admitted to his fault, but don’t spare this man.” Naix grew pale, his hands shaking. Buffy turned ashen, caught off guard by the turn of events. Naix offered Kiefer a night with her in exchange for the agency contract. He could not be more vile Jude scowled and said coldly, “Please back that statement with evidence, Mrs. Heartano. Slandering the executives of Gwake Corporation without any proof is unacceptable, even if we’re on the verge of a partnership with St. Mary’s.” Kaze raised his brow at Jude’s righteous speech. Buffy’s heart sank. Based on Naix’s behavior before and after the incident, anyone would have guessed that Kiefer was
“Don’t play the video. I don’t want to hear your disgusting conversation!” Buffy shouted angrily, her face grimacing and her body shaking. She was relieved that Kaze went with her to Kiefer’s drinking party today. Otherwise, she would not have the will to live if Kiefer got away with it.Buffy looked at Naix with an ashen face and hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re a monster, Naix!” The senior executives of Gwake Corporation were stunned. Some were outraged by Naix’s behavior. The audacity of Naix shocked others. As the vice president, Naix proposed to trade a night with his boss in exchange for the agency rights and claimed all the credit for himself. It was absurd of him to come up with the idea, to begin with. “Do you even have a heart, Naix? How could you do such a thing for your personal gain?” “You’re a monster!” “You claimed to work toward the benefit of the company, but you were only doing it for yourself. I can’t believe you tried to ruin Ms. Gwake t
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone harm you.“I promise that it won’t happen again.” As Jude apologized profusely, Buffy shuddered. Kaze looked at Jude with a pretentious smile. He knew right from the start that Naix acted on orders to single him and Buffy out. The orders either came from Jude or Faith. Since Jude silenced Naix, the answer was clear. Jude chuckled dryly at Buffy’s indifference before turning to Kaze. He said emotionally, “You always surprise me, Kaze. “I have always known that you were amazing. I see why my daughter, despite her high standards, is into you.“I didn’t expect you to be the owner of St. Mary’s. That’s a shocker.“Since you’ve acquired the agency right for Gwake Corporation, rest assured that the board and I appreciate your hard work—” “Hold it right there.” Kaze interrupted Jude’s long speech and glanced at Miya. “Miya, are the agency rights signed to Gwake Corporation?” “No, Mr. Lee.” Miya said respectfully, “The signing party for th
“What are you trying to say?” Jude’s heart sank as he had a bad feeling. “Let me refresh your memory, Mr. Chairman.” Kaze said indifferently, “You and I made a wager in the meeting room. “If Kiefer showed up outside Gwake Corporation on his knees and presented the agency right, you’d step down and pass the torch to Buffy. “It’s time to honor the bet, Mr. Chairman. I should correct myself. Buffy should be the chairwoman now. “You are competing to become the Viper’s Den South River State Branch chief anyway. “I trust you will see the bet through, right? “You can’t get anyone to trust you if you break the promise. How are we supposed to trust you to run the South River State Branch?“Am I right, Mr. Gwake?” Kaze smiled pretentiously while putting Jude in the spot. Furrowing her brows, Buffy understood that Kaze planned to strip Jude of his glory and titles. Jude would be left with nothing. Even if Jude were to hand over the chairman position, Kaze would not let hi
No one came forward. Faced with Jude’s grim eyes, the board either looked away or put their heads down. Most of them shied away from Jude’s gaze. It was clear that Jude had lost his influence in the company. The fact was written in ink the moment Buffy secured the exclusive agency rights. A handful of directors felt uneasy about the situation as Jude had been in power for too long. They needed time to adapt to change. Jude grimaced hard. Kaze chuckled. “Seeing that nobody stepped forward, everybody must be in support of Buffy becoming the chairwoman. So that’s decided then. “I expect the minutes to be documented right away. The assistant should get everybody to sign as proof of today’s decision at the next board meeting,” Kaze said while waving his arm. Soon, the assistant of the president’s office drafted the minutes, and the board bit the bullet to put their names on the document. The board even bowed to Buffy. After the board, the senior executives followed suit.
“The senior members of the Gwake family will make things right for Mom and me.“So… Maybe you shouldn’t go, Kaze.“It’s a bad idea to air dirty laundry anyway.” Buffy looked away, avoiding eye contact with Kaze. Kaze was taken aback at first, but he quickly understood. Buffy had a good idea about the truth behind her mother’s coma. She may not know the specifics, but she had her suspicions. Hence, Buffy did not want Kaze to know the truth. It was all that was left of her dignity. She could not bear the thought of being exposed to Kaze. With that in mind, Kaze nodded. “Alright. You can head on to your family home. Dayton will go with you. You can call me if you need me for anything.” “Sure.” Buffy nodded and said, “I need to ask you of one thing, Kaze. Dad has lost power over Gwake Corporation. As you said, he won’t become the South River State Branch chief. He will lose everything. “He will be devastated if Faith can’t be saved. “I hope you can help Faith to the
“So you’re in?” Rose asked excitedly, her tone relieved. She did not get along with many of the young family members because she could not stand their behaviors. They were too pretentious. These family members lacked substance. All they cared about was showing off. Since Bella had urged the younger members to stand as one, Nelson and Agatha called to make sure Rose would go. Given Hanses’ rising influence within the family and invite, Rose felt compelled to attend too. She hoped Kaze would go with her. Having Kaze around would put her at ease. “Okay.” Kaze gave a nod. Understanding Rose’s reservations, Kaze patted her head with a smile and asked, “When and where?” “It’s at Buckridge Lounge at eight tonight,” Rose said happily. Thrilled, she went to get dressed and doll up.The Otter girls loved to dress for the occasion. Rose did not want to be outshined. Kaze simply smiled. He did not mind stuff like that. All he would do for the gathering was take a shower and sl
Rose and Kaze walked over and saw a huge group sitting in the booth. Of the group, Kaze only recognized Maxine and Patrick. The rest were unfamiliar faces. The men and women of the group were dressed to the nines, their clothes suggesting their wealth and power.As the group walked on eggshells around Patrick and Maxine, the couple must hold a higher position of authority. “Maxine, Patrick.” Rose said hello and asked curiously, “Where is Hanses? I have not seen him.” She was closest to Hanses among the young family members. “Oh, Hanses has a night drill with the Flying Dragons. He was called away when he just arrived. Max went to drop him off.” Maxine explained before glancing at Kaze. She said with a frown, “Where’s Darcy, Rose? Why isn’t she here?”“Are you talking about the chairwoman of Sky Ocean Corporation who has just been accepted back to your family, Maxine? She’s the head of the Ridgesouth Quints in the South River State.” Those sitting in the booth and all
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.
Eli dined offhandedly as if he had taken hold of the group. His words were layered with threat. “What? Are you trying to replace us?” Knox asked in disbelief. “I don’t have that power, but the investor does. I heard that he enjoyed dinner with your superiors. I’m sure the project will get the green light in no time. “Even if you didn’t approach me today, my team and I would have invited you out for a get-together.” Eli knew when to back down, easing the tension in the air. It was another type of reconciliation. Eli needed to go through the review board to get the rights to air the films. The carrot-and-stick approach was the best way forward. Kaze was surprised by the sophistication of Eli’s tactics. Still, he believed he had come to the right place. Sure enough, Jet would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Surely, he was bound to leave loose ends. Nevertheless, he probably did not care. Arthur cocked his head back to look at Kaze. Kaze grinned, unbothered
The purpose of the visit was to inform Rising Sun that the films did not make the cut. Since Rising Sun would not make the necessary amendments, the project would come to a halt. “Please, don’t. Since we are all here, we should talk it out.” It took Eli quite some effort to get the group to the hotel. Eli had plans to please the crowd, so he could not let them leave just yet. This went beyond getting the green light for the films. Eli needed to make the group happy. “There is nothing more to talk about. We can’t proceed unless you make the changes.” There was no way around it. Since Rising Sun refused to make the right amendments, and Knox had orders about putting a hold on Rising Sun’s films, that was one less problem for Knox to deal with. Eli could not let the group walk out on him. Hence, he quickly sent people in. Several thinly clad women entered, each holding a small bag. Despite the weightlessness, the bag appeared to be carrying something of substance. “You
For that reason, Rising Sun’s film productions were not cleared to be aired. “I told you the reason. The investor supplied us with the scripts, and we were told to base our productions on the scripts. Our hands are tied.”Eli would have made the amendments if he could. He knew where the problem lay. However, the company had to take the investor’s perspective into consideration. In the end, the films were yet to be approved for release. “I guess you won’t get the permission to air them then.” Knox was surprised that Rising Sun would not budge on the matter. Nevertheless, Knox and his team were not there to give the all-clear or talk some sense into Rising Sun. Knox and his team could care less about what Eli had to say. “We’re serious about getting the approval. “I’m sorry that we aren’t a better host for your visit today. Why don’t we move to the nearby hotel for a talk?” With the review board making an appearance, Eli knew there was still hope. If Eli did not grab
Arthur chuckled, his smile carrying a touch of sleaziness. “Oh, I see.” A realization dawned on Kaze. “Are you with quality control?” Several individuals in dark blue suits approached. The men and women carried files and documents. Kaze nodded without a word. “We are just here to announce the results. We shouldn’t be long.” Arthur came forward to engage with them. The group was likely given the heads-up as they had the right number of people. They swaggered into Rising Sun’s building. The general manager straightened up his tie in a fluster and walked out. None of the film productions made the cut yet, and the delay was costing the company money by the day. At this rate, the project would go down under. Eli, the general manager, rushed to the entrance upon learning the news. The review team was there to do one final check. The films would get the green light if the board found that everything was up to par. The head office would stop putting pressure on
Given Kaze’s status, Alfonso knew better than to have him waiting under the hot sun. Of course, he would send his people to be on standby for Kaze’s arrival. Peter only came to the rescue when Kaze was pestered by some street gang. Alfonso’s omission of Kaze’s identity led to this hiccup. Kaze did not care one bit about the incident. Heck, he did not even bring it up. Arthur straightened his back nervously, becoming even more cautious behind the wheel. “You knew, but why didn’t you say anything, Mr. Lee? You didn’t even tell on us.” Arthur could not understand why. However, he had more respect for the man. “I didn’t see a point. You’ll learn what happens when you displease me, so I won’t bother telling you now.” Kaze was mild-mannered as ever. He spoke softly without a hint of anger. All the more Arthur revered him. “Mr. Lee, we didn’t do our jobs right. We didn’t know who you were.“But my duty is to protect you in the dark. “We saw you getting out of the train
“Rising Sun is a media company. Several of their films are about to be released. They are trying to get them approved to air due to some censorship issues.” Arthur took out a document. “Are there any issues with the films? Why aren’t they approved yet?” Kaze asked curiously. Kaze had no idea. “There are some issues. They aren’t fit to be aired. “Typically, there aren’t a lot of restrictions for film productions so long as the themes aren’t sensitive topics. “But these films featured altered history. The company has been asked multiple times to make revisions, but the films still don’t make the cut.” The Viper’s Den’s members were not privy to the information. The Frosts were insignificant. Kaze was after the Frosts. Otherwise, the Viper’s Den would not waste its resources on a mere film production company. Jet’s investment of nearly ten million bucks in Rising Sun caught the Viper’s Den’s attention. The delayed approval of the films would be catastrophic to the in