A place for retired folks to exercise. A bottle of water would be provided every day at no cost. It sounded too good to be true. The elderly men and women on the basketball court were intrigued and excited. They grabbed their things and went over to the square instantly. “We’ll help to carry the water!” The regular players of the court were thrilled as well as they finally got their court back. “Shangrila Group! Apologize!” “Terrible company! Apologize to Taylor!” More than a hundred protesters with banners and signage were shouting in front of the office’s entrance. Then, a bunch of elderly folks came over. The crowd thought the elderly folks were here to join them, which somehow fueled their passion. “Move out of the way! Move! We are going to exercise here!” However, the elderly folks started to push the protesters away to seize the place for themselves. They did not care about the protestors as they had already gotten permission from Shangrila Group. The s
After Winnie packed her things, she and Kaze left together with the employees from the finance and legal departments. “Mr. Chairman, this is the factory that we found. The production line is already operational. If we buy this place, we can start production immediately,” Winnie explained to Kaze when they arrived at the factory. The rebuilding of Shangrila Group had to start from scratch. The company focused on biomedical and planned to seize the market share from the top three families. In order to support the company’s development, Kaze even invested a lot via Perfect World Company, and in return, he got quite a share of the company. Perfect World Group was one of the biggest shareholders of Shangrila Group. Winnie originally did not want to complicate it since both companies belonged to Kaze and he was the chairman of both companies. Kaze disagreed. “Shangrila Group belongs to you and James, and Brenda’s in the future. I have nothing to do with it. I am just helping
“Mr. Dalong, this is our chairman. I have to go through him about this purchase.” Winnie would not allow others to diminish Kaze. “Your chairman?” Dale sized up Kaze carefully and scoffed, “The CEO is young and the chairman is also young. What a lively and youthful company!” It was not praise. The contempt on his face showed that he did not take Kaze seriously. “Fine. Let’s sign the contract.” Dale tapped the table with his leather shoe. Winnie frowned. “Mr. Dalong, please show some respect to our chairman!” Dale’s expression turned grim. Right before he could shout, Kaze waved his hand and smiled. “It’s okay. We are here to talk business. I see Mr. Dalong is a straightforward person, so let’s just skip the formality.” “Hear that, Ms. Souffle? Your chairman is much more easygoing. I like talking to people like him, unlike the women who are always obsessed with manners.” Dale cackled and spat a cloud of smoke at Winnie’s face. Winnie covered her nose and took a s
Kaze then slammed the contract on the table. It was so loud that it sounded like a slap on Dale’s face. “Mr. Dalong, you are forcing us to agree with your terms!” Winnie was furious and frightened. That explained why Dale had that many men in the room even though it was just a contract signing process. Without Kaze, she might be coerced into signing the unfair contract. Dale glared at Kaze. He thought Kaze was just a weakling based on his smiley face but the words he said had weight to them. However, no matter how threatening Kaze was, they were just verbal threats. Dale scoffed, “Five hundred million was yesterday’s price. Two billion is today’s price. What’s wrong with it? I can’t change the price? This is a legitimate business deal.” “Five hundred million is already overpriced and you are asking for two billion? Mr. Dalong, you are being ridiculous!” Winnie argued coldly. Dale grunted and leaned back on his chair. “If it’s too expensive for you, then don’t buy it
“Hey, I’m not the one who got your money. Go find that guy who has it.” Dale crossed his legs on his table again, showing no signs of compromising. “Dale Dalong, you are just a shameless prick! You really think we can’t do anything? We’ll sue you!” Winnie was so agitated that she teared up. “Whatever,” Dale scoffed. He was not afraid of taking the legal route. The case would stretch out for more than a year or two and he was not the one in a hurry. “Show them the way out.” Dale signaled his men impatiently. He added, “Hmph. You should have done your homework before coming to me.” His men then surrounded Kaze and Winnie, trying to scare them off. “You heard the boss, piss off!” “Get out now or we’ll break your legs!” Kaze’s gaze turned cold. “Dale Dalong, you are not giving us back the deposit?” “What the fuck is wrong with you, punk?” Dale bellowed. He signaled one of his men and said, “Our little chairman here is trying to be a hero. Bring all our men out and
“What’s up with your perverted look? Never seen a woman before?” Miru shook her hand as she grunted coldly. Dale covered his plump but reddish face and his expression quickly turned grim. “You bitch! You slapped me?!” Infuriated, he shouted, “Do you have any idea who…” Slap! Miru slapped him again and said with a grin, “Do you have any idea who I am?” “Patrick, tell him.” Miru signaled her man without turning around. Miru’s man stepped up and said, “This is the chairwoman of Lefteria Group, Miru Scarlet.” “Chairwoman of Lefteria Group?” Dale’s eyes widened in fear. “You are Miru Scarlet, Alan Cummingham’s goddaughter?” His men were frightened as well. Miru was the goddaughter of the ex-underworld kingpin! Alan just recently got rid of his long-time rival who was a fellow underworld kingpin, Cronus. No one else in Lilyrose dared to mess with Lefteria Group. Miru scoffed. She strutted over to the couch and sat down. She lifted her chin at Kaze and said, “Wel
“Of course!” Miru’s men thought Kaze doubted their capabilities. They wore a proud look and said, “I am the most ferocious interrogator serving Master Cummingham!” “I have more than fifty ways to torture a person without killing them.” “Yeah! Me too!” Kaze then smiled at Dale. “You heard them. Why don’t you give them a chance?” “Mr. Lee! Wait, let’s just talk about this! I’ll speak! I’ll tell you everything!” Dale knelt on the ground, prostrating as he cried. He was already horrified. Kaze was like the devil to him. “It’s Frank! Frank Golding! He said that Shangrila Group is trying to take their market share, so he has to do something to stop it! He wanted to crush Shangrila and prevent Ms. Souffle from purchasing any factory so that your company would end up as a joke!” Dale collapsed under the pressure and blurted out everything Frank instructed him to do. “Frank Golding! That hypocrite! He’s always playing dirty, trying to stop us from getting back on track!” W
The moment the contract was signed, the factory belonged to Shangrila Group. Dale and his men were thrown out of the office. Winnie was delighted that the deal finally went through. She called the office and told her employees to send someone over to inspect the factory before starting production. “Kaze, you’ve done it this time. Now that I have your back, you're acting like a bully,” Miru teased Kaze out of habit as she went over to him. “What do you mean you have my back?” Kaze showed no mercy to the woman. He argued, “I called Alan and he called you. You are just someone that your godfather sends to run errands and take care of things.” And she fit the role well. She came, revealed her identity, beat up Dale, and solved the problem. Quick and simple. “What do you mean by running errands? I’ll rip your mouth off your face if you don’t know how to choose your words!” Miru argued. On second thought, she realized what she did was exactly what Kaze said. She literally
“What do you want?” The call quickly connected, and Everett’s annoyed voice came on. Everett never had the patience for his airhead of a son. Due to Duncan’s recent involvement with Kaze, Everett was humiliated, and he still had not let things go. Duncan looked at Kaze, and the latter took the phone and said indifferently, “How are you, Mr. Techman?” “Who are you? Wait, Kaze?” On the other end of the line, Everett was flustered. However, his experience dealing with challenges anchored him down, and he said curtly, “Why do you have Duncan’s phone, Kaze?” “You should ask your son what he did.” Kaze took the phone away from his ear and gestured for Duncan to talk. “Dad, this is on me…” Duncan sobbingly recounted the whole thing. “Bastard!” Everett blew up. “Why did you get involved? Didn’t you learn your lesson?” Everett came down hard on Duncan. However, Kaze frustratedly interrupted them. “That’s enough, Mr. Techman. Don’t play dumb.“I don’t care if you kne
“What are you doing?” Marilyn rose to her feet and shouted in a panic. “Are you trying to get yourself killed, boy?” Duncan’s security team charged ahead. They were newly hired, so they had not met Kaze before. Kaze had crippled the prior security team. “Stay away!” Duncan shouted to stop his bodyguards. Lying on the floor, he looked at Kaze and said with a sad face, “What are you doing, Kaze? I didn’t upset you today.” “Thud!” Kaze kicked him. “Did you not? Is that why you set Sasha up? “You have some nerve.” Darcy witnessed Kaze’s violence without a word. She believed Duncan deserved it after what he did. Duncan shivered. He knew that Kaze had seen through his plans, and there was nothing he could do or say to get himself out of the mess. Kaze drew close and put his foot on Duncan’s chest. He asked curtly, “Am I doubting your integrity?”“N-No.” Duncan stammered, “I have no integrity. I’m a scumbag. I’m a nobody in your presence.” “Can I call Marlboro
Despite Duncan’s sad state, no one dared to look down on him. Duncan’s family owned Marlboro after all. However, the crowd was curious as to how Duncan got himself all beat up. Who would lay a finger on Duncan in all of Riverbank anyway? “How are you feeling, Mr. Techman?” Marilyn greeted Duncan with a smile and sucked up to him. “Cut the crap!” Duncan waved his hand annoyedly. “Where’s Sasha?” “She’s there.” Following the direction of Marilyn’s pointed finger, Duncan quickly saw Darcy standing with Sasha. Darcy’s beauty took Duncan’s breath away. However, the only thing on his mind was revenge now. Duncan immediately turned to Sasha. “Do you still remember me, Ms. Spoon?” Sasha looked at Duncan in surprise. “Oh, it’s you, Mr. Techman.” “Heh. That’s right.”Sasha was all Duncan focused on. He laughed cryptically. “I’m only in this state because of you, Ms. Spoon. “Who’s the guy who has your back? Get his ass here!” Duncan was eager to ruin Sasha and get
“Mr. Techman’s family runs Marlboro. He’s only helping Ms. Spoon because he took pity on her. “Besides, it won’t reflect well on the business if we don’t sort things out. “Mr. Techman doesn’t mind the money, so Ms. Spoon can take her time in paying him back. “Ms. Spoon has the look and attitude to work in sales at Marlboro after she finishes school too. “Of course, we offer a good salary too.” Marilyn turned to Sasha. “Ms. Spoon, you can write the IOU now. You’re lucky that Mr. Techman took notice of the situation. “Mr. Techman doesn’t usually have time to care about these matters.” Sasha looked at Marilyn and said shyly, “I’ll only follow Kaze’s lead.” Marilyn grimaced, and her gaze fell on Kaze. “What do you want to do about this, Mr. Lee? “Normally, Mr. Techman won’t bother with these trivial matters.” Kaze looked hesitant. “Why don’t you call Mr. Techman here, so we can talk face-to-face?“I just don’t feel comfortable unless that happens.” Marilyn put on a s
“I’m sure a big man like Mr. Techman won’t expect us to cover our losses.” Marilyn took out her phone to make a call. She then said, “I’ve asked Mr. Techman. He said that though Ms. Spoon caused the vase to fall, you are partly responsible for not taking safety precautions. “The responsibility should be shared, and Ms. Spoon only has to pay a million and five hundred thousand dollars.“How does that sound?” Chloe looked reluctant. “Huh? Just a million and a half? We’re taking half the loss.” “What? Doesn’t Mr. Techman’s words mean anything to you?” Marilyn pulled a long face. Chloe shuddered and said with a nod, “Of course. A million and a half, it is. I expect cash.” Marilyn turned to Kaze. “You heard it, Mr. Lee. They have dropped the price to half because of Mr. Techman.” “Huh? It’s still a million and a half. I don’t think we can afford it.” Kaze looked distressed. “Can’t Mr. Techman be so kind and let us off the hook from paying? I’ll be eternally grateful.” D
“No.” Kaze’s reply threw Darcy for a loop. She said in shock, “So the vase is real?” “It’s a counterfeit.” Kaze murmured, “I lied about the modern markings to scare them, but it doesn’t mean that the vase is authentic. “I’m pretty sure this is a scam. “The manager of Marlboro is in on it with the couple too.” Darcy’s eyes widened. “Ms. Angus is in on it too? This can’t be right. Sasha doesn’t appear wealthy. Why would they target Sasha?” “That’s right.” Kaze fell into contemplation. “They pulled off a big one, only to pick a girl who can’t afford the money.“I’m curious about who is behind this. What is this person after? “Babe, get Pamela on the case. Who owns Marlboro?” Darcy texted Pamela right away. Marilyn approached and said, “You are friends with Ms. Spoon, right, Mr. Lee?” “That’s right.” Kaze said with a pretentious smile, “So how much do we have to pay?” “I’m sorry.” Marilyn said with a wry smile, “I’ve tried my best to persuade Chloe and Ron
“Please trust our professionalism, Mr. Lee. “Given our reputation as the biggest antiques trader in Riverbank and the South River State, we cannot allow any sort of mistake.” Kaze chuckled as Marilyn dropped the pretense. “Even if a mistake does happen in Marlboro, you will sweep it under the rug to protect the mall’s reputation.”Kaze smiled pretentiously. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”Raising a brow, Marilyn took a step forward and said solemnly, “Let me make this clear to you again, Mr. Lee. This sort of mistake will never happen in Marlboro.”“Fine. I’ll take your word for it.”Kaze grinned and said, “Even if the vase is worth three million dollars, we should check the surveillance tape. “Did Sasha really cause the vase to fall, or was this fall pinned on her? “Can we do that?” Marilyn stared at Kaze with a straight face before beaming. “You have made a reasonable request. “Go and retrieve the surveillance footage.” She waved her arm at one of her people
Marilyn looked at the clamoring crowd who suspected that the couple were scammers. She raised her voice and said, “Don’t worry. As a business, Marlboro is committed to impartiality.“We will handle the matter fairly.” The chatter faded as the crowd was curious about the approach Marilyn would take for a fair resolution. Marilyn called upon all the witnessing staff members and asked solemnly, “What happened?” The staff members recounted the event. Marilyn then turned to the plump woman and said coldly, “Your husband started the fight, and the man here simply retaliated with a slap. “Fred and his team jumped to conclusions. They deserved the beating. “You shouldn’t be hung up about your husband being slapped. The question is whether the man would like to pursue legal action.” “I…” The plump woman grimaced, reluctant to let things go. However, she appeared terrified of Marilyn. Her lips quivered in a moment of silence. Marilyn turned her attention to Kaze and grinned.
The crowd nodded in agreement. “That’s right. The couple must be scammers, picking on the girl because she doesn’t know her stuff.” “Security! Where’s security?” “Why isn’t someone from the mall taking care of this?” The crowd believed the couple were scammers. “Please give way.” Soon, several security officers arrived on the scene, and the leader glanced at the plump woman. Getting the message from the woman, the security leader approached Kaze and said menacingly, “Boy, are you up to something? Ron and his wife are long-time customers here. I have never seen you around before, though.“You’re something else to assault a customer here. Do you know who owns the place?” The security leader pointed at the door. “Get out, or I’ll make you!” Kaze asked, “Are you in on it too?” The security leader narrowed his eyes. “What did you say? I dare you to say it again.” “I said that you’re in on it too.” Kaze pointed at the middle-aged couple while eyeing the security lead