“Hi, Kaze.” Rose’s friends greeted him, with a casual attitude, somewhat perfunctory, and even sized him up curiously. Before Rose came to Lilyrose, her friends heard about her complaining about Kaze. Even though Rose had completely changed her mind about Kaze after spending some time with him, her friends remained prejudiced. They even looked down on Kaze. Mei said with a smile, “Kaze, you must be here to drive us around. Appreciate it.” “Yeah, we’ll pay you for the service,” Welt added. They knew Kaze married Darcy and he was never taken seriously. They also knew that his mother-in-law always scolded and beat him. There was once when they video-called Rose and they heard Agnes scolding Kaze in the back and threatening to throw him out of the house. Bronya spread the news in her circle and it sparked a heated discussion. Having no position in the family was terrible. Welt offered to pay Kaze for his service out of goodwill. He felt bad and pitied Kaze, and so did
Welt sounded courteous but the contempt underneath was obvious. He even asked Kaze to bring Nelson packs of cigarettes but did not offer Kaze anything. “Welt, what are you doing? You think you are at home? If you are thirsty, go get something to drink yourself.” Rose stepped in and defended Kaze. Welt came from a wealthy family and Rose simply thought he was acting like a spoiled young master. Welt’s expression turned gloomy. He had always liked Rose and he was the one who suggested the trip. However, Rose talked back to him because of Kaze, which further lowered his impression of Kaze. As the atmosphere grew tense, Bronya intervened, “Rose, come on. Welt is just trying to be nice and he blurted out without much thought. Don’t mind him.” “Yeah. We are all inside the car already except Kaze, so Welt is just asking out of convenience.” Bronya and Gepard defended Welt. Rose pursed her lips and stared at Welt quietly. “It’s okay. I can go get a pack of cigarettes and
“Alright, since Welt prepared everything, I don’t need to worry. You guys have fun and stay safe. I’ll be going then. “Kaze, you better keep them safe as well.” Nelson shot a warning gaze at Kaze before he drove off. He had decided to use every connection he had to inform the discipline department to stop answering Kaze’s requests. The sky had turned dark, so Welt said, “Let’s go check in first. We’ll put our luggage in the room before we have dinner.” When they entered the lobby, another group of youngsters came over. “Hey, isn’t that Rose? You guys are here as well?” They strutted in with a proud demeanor and their luggage was being carried by the bellboy. The leader of the group was the one who called out to Rose and he was staring at her eagerly. “Taz?” Rose’s expression shifted. She instinctively turned around to look for Kaze but she just remembered that he excused himself to the washroom. Taz was the son of Samson Hobbs. He was her senior when they studied
Welt sounded stern and he called Taz a fool in front of Rose. Taz was a proud person. The moment Welt stepped in, his smiley face was replaced by a gloomy look. “You little punk, who do you think you are talking to?” Slap! Taz slapped Welt on the face. Welt did not expect the sudden slap. The force of the slap sent him to the floor. “Welt!” “Taz! Why did you hit him?!” Rose and her friends were shocked and quickly went over to Welt. “Let go of me!” Welt was equally prideful. He pushed his friends away and shouted at Taz, “You hit me?!” “Talk shit, get hit.” Taz raised his hands and prepared to throw a punch. Welt was frightened and quickly moved away. “Haha! Stupid punk! Taz can hit anyone he wants. Stop bullshitting in front of us!” “Yeah! I think this punk likes Rose as well. The last one who tried to snatch Taz’s date was hospitalized with a broken leg.” The youngsters around Taz scoffed and sneered at Welt. Welt was embarrassed and angry at the sam
“Rose, if you are not having dinner with me tonight, then you and your friends won’t be checking in to Mountain Dew Estate!” Since Rose had openly rejected him, Taz revealed his true nature and threatened her. Rose and her friends were agitated. Taz was being a jerk. His fondness for Rose was merely his wishful thinking and now that Rose had rejected him, he tried to coerce her into submission. Rose shouted angrily, “Taz, you are a jerk! I won’t go to dinner with you!” Taz’s expression turned heavier. He grunted and said, “It’s dark now and Mountain Dew Estate is the only resort here. I’d like to see where you guys are going to spend the night.” “Why don’t you come to stay in our room?” Taz’s friends continued to tease her. “Yeah. Good idea, we can make a lot of love and maybe a baby or two.” “Rose is still a student. What if she has to bring her baby to class in the future?” They harassed her openly. Rose was flushed with anger. Her friends felt bad either but th
Kefier’s face fell as Welt would not take the hint. “You might want to think before you speak.” Kefier said curtly, “The owner’s two-billion-dollar purchase of Mountain Dew Estate has demonstrated his abundant finances.“The honorable guest is an influencer with millions of followers, not someone you can mess with. You’re just students, so don’t even try.“Know when to quit and cancel the reservation. Otherwise, I have other ways to blacklist you from Mountain Dew Estate.” Exasperated, Kefier adopted a harsh approach toward the students.“That’s outrageous. That’s bullying. We will expose you for what you are.” Rose and the others could burst into tears in rage. They could not tolerate being kicked out in the middle of the night. “Expose me?” Kefier smirked fearlessly. “I doubt you have clout. Once the influencer gets here, he could make a post to promote the resort. Your so-called expose won’t get many views.” Rose and the others were at a loss for what to do. The
Julius grimaced. Given Taz’s age, Julius did not expect a threat from him. Taz needed to be taught a lesson. However, Julius was not in the position to do so. It was no secret that Samson adored his son. Samson silenced and covered up Taz’s misconduct with a female student in college.It was known within Sunrise’s investment community that Samson was ruthless and cold-blooded. Samson once ruined the life of a close partner. Besides, Samson had the support of the Sunrise Lees. Julius, despite holding a high position at Green Lantern Corporation, would think twice before crossing Samson. He forced a laugh and said, “My nephew doesn’t know any better, Taz. I apologize on his behalf.” Welt’s eyes widened. He could not believe Julius would surrender to Taz. Welt shouted peevishly, “He slapped me for no reason, Julius. Why should you apologize to him?” Taz made a dirty look. Julius turned around and gave Welt a slap. Smack!Welt put his hand over his cheek absentl
“Argh! That hurts!” Taz cried in agony with his hand over his face. The turn of events caught everybody off guard. What was going on? What happened to Taz? They looked at Taz in confusion, assuming he was just having a manic episode. Taz looked down and found a dying ember on the ground. He grimaced. “W-Who fucking burned me with a cigarette?” Taz’s outraged voice ripped through the crowd as he sought the culprit. It dawned on the people that Taz was burnt in the face with a cigarette. It explained his earlier agony. They looked up, eager to find the audacious individual who charred Taz’s face. Narrowly escaping Taz's kiss attempt, Rose fled to a safe distance and lifted her head to find a familiar face. “Kaze!” she exclaimed. Rose pouted and said tearfully, “Taz tried to take advantage of me, Kaze!” Approaching the center of the crowd, Kaze shuffled her hair and said in a calm voice, “I saw everything. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Kaze
Aloysius looked at the business venture at hand with a mix of emotions. Jet was supposed to make a comeback with the project, but the defeat was a huge slap to his face. “Can I ask whether Kaze was behind this?” Aloysius braced himself to ask the question. Even though Aloysius had an inkling, he feared receiving confirmation of his suspicion. “Chairman Lee helped me. If Jet hadn’t hurt my mother, I wouldn’t have rushed back to take his place. “He did this to himself,” Snow said blatantly. “How did you know about the island project? We have been discreet about it.” Aloysius was eager to find out. The question would burn on his mind unless he got some answers. “You can’t keep anything from the Viper’s Den, but this is the end of the matter. If you’re interested in the project, I can put you in charge of it.” Snow could not be bothered to explain herself. Aloysius played it smart. He had been carrying out Snow’s orders without a hitch. Snow was happy to honor her prom
“Tell them that the company is expecting funding, and all the projects will be launched in a few days. Everything will be back on track. It’s a good thing that the higher management is gone. We will be opening the positions for internal employees to apply.” Snow got the right solution to handle the situation. She had to give these employees hope to gain their dedication in return. Aloysius was surprised. “Who would pour money in when our finances are in a mess?” Having worked with Jet, Aloysius had a good understanding of the company’s ins and outs. Several business ventures were up in the air, and the company was bleeding money. Even with a relaunch, these projects would not bring in much of a profit. Most importantly, the relaunch had to be backed up by some funding. The business got a loan from the Viper’s Den. If payment was not made in time, the company’s shares would be used to make up for the loss. The whole thing spelled trouble. Snow just joined the company.
“This is the financial report you submitted today. Any intern can do a better job than you.” Snow mocked Jack. She was disappointed in his performance. A finance director who could not even get his basics right should not be working in finance in the first place. “Who do you think you are, doing this to us?” The others are only out to save their own asses. They did not sympathize with Jack. “I’m sure you are well aware of what you have done.” “You’re on your phone all day at work. You put your daily expenses on the company card, and we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars a month. You only bought stuff for your personal use. “Let’s not forget about you. Your so-called business trips are to take your mistress out for expensive hotel stays and vacations.” Snow looked at each one of them while detailing their deeds. She shamed them in public, utterly humiliating them. “Why were these allowed before? Why are you stopping these practices now? If you can change
“No, Ms. Frost. I can do it,” Aloysius said right away. He did not want to miss out on a good opportunity. “I gave you a chance. It’s up to you to seize it.” Snow looked at them with a smile. “I’ll get right to it, Ms. Frost.” The HR manager nodded and took off. He had to prepare the paperwork. Those in upper management were on a higher pay grade with a cut of the shares. Following a termination, the HR manager had to calculate the final pay. There had to be a valid reason for the discharge from duties too. Though things were a little complicated, the HR manager was experienced in this aspect. The only issue was that the staff involved were not the low-ranking employees. They held high positions. Despite his unrest, Aloysius did not wear his heart on his sleeve. He had a good read of the situation. Snow was impartial in carrying out business. Those who contributed to the company would stay while the ones who bled the business dry would be sacked. Anyone would p
Sure enough, the mean would gather around the individual at their fall from grace. It was sad to grasp this reality. “I promise you to have everything in order. Don’t worry. You will get a nice promotion.” Snow knew when to give her employee encouragement. Only then would Aloysius feel motivated to work. Aloysius departed in dejection, but Snow did not mind it at all. He served the wrong person. Snow took on the leadership role the same day Jet left. Since she assumed the responsibilities without much experience, the employees did not take her seriously. The people doing the grunt work felt nothing toward the change of leadership. The upper management may experience shifts, but they were still obliged to finish their usual tasks. The only thing they hoped for was to be paid more for their overtime. Following the change of leadership, some leaders may receive a promotion or be transferred out. The employees at the bottom of the pyramid wondered if they could compet
Despite her unease, Snow trusted that Jet would not have the chance to hurt her. Hence, she put the matter aside. The dynamic shift within the Frosts caught the eye of elite families across the business world. They kicked Jet while he was down. Some even tried to get a piece of the pie. However, most of them stayed on the sidelines, observing. A fallen giant was still a giant. Even if these families were greedy, they had to assess the situation before moving in. These businesspeople were skeptical about Snow taking Jet’s place. They did not know what Snow was made of. Consequently, they tried to approach her. Snow had been kept busy in the office, dealing with the problems left behind by Jet. She worked late into the night every day. While being buried deep in paperwork, Snow refused to meet anyone. She had lived in Butterworth before, so she had peers from school and friends around. Snow’s sudden return caught many off guard. Everyone wanted to get close to he
If Jet had detected the problems early on, he could have prevented things from escalating. Yet now, everything was too late. Jet did not regret his actions, though. “Just sign this, Jet. At this rate, the shares will drop beyond the point of redemption,” Talon said. The Frosts were terrified at the stock market’s dropping numbers. They did not have time to lose. “I will sign the papers. I lost.” Jet did not want to give in just yet. However, he had to comply with the family elders’ pleas. Snow was relieved. The contract was quickly drawn up, and Jet signed the papers to give up the proprietorship. “Relax. I won’t do you wrong.” Snow made a promise. At least, Jet would still have a home to go back to. “Don’t get too cocky. I didn’t lose to you. I lost to Kaze.” Jet knew that he would face much resistance if his rival were Snow. It was a shame that he was up against Kaze, a strong and mysterious man. “Just sign the papers. I will take over the family empire, and
“Don’t project your filth on everyone else.” Snow was angry, but she knew that she had to keep her head cool. By jumping straight to defense mode, Snow would give others the wrong idea. She had been there before. Kaze sat still without a word. He furrowed his brows in annoyance when Jet painted his relationship with Snow dirty. “I’m not here for the drama.” Kaze looked at Talon. The senior members of the Frosts should back down before Kaze did something about it. “Who do you think you are? This is a family meeting. Why are you getting involved?“If you are unrelated to Snow, you shouldn’t be here in the first place.” Jet took out his anger on Kaze. Kaze was not part of the family anyway, so Jet did not have to consider his feelings. “Watch yourself, Jet. He’s a visitor.” Talon was smart enough to read the room. Despite the air of mystery shrouding Kaze, he managed to screw with most of Jet’s business ventures. The Frosts stood to lose more by crossing Kaze. Ta
Following Snow’s lead, Kaze entered a big conference room. The centerpiece of the conference room was a long, solid wood table, drawing out an air of solemnity. Various notable and valuable paintings hung on the wall. The expansive floor-to-ceiling window brought light into the room. Sunlight bounced off the window that displayed a picturesque view outside. “There you are.” Jet had been waiting. With the pair slowly making their way in, Jet could not hide the rage in his eyes. “Long time no see, Jet,” Snow greeted him and pulled a chair for Kaze. “It’ll take a bit of time, Chairman Lee. The senior members of my family are on their way.” Snow contacted the family elders while getting to the venue. Jet had not produced much results lately, and the Frosts were utterly humiliated. Since Jet would soon be replaced, the senior members of the family wanted to be kept in the loop. These family members had their own ideas. However, they would be happy to appoint the lea