No one expected Lil Dee to be so blunt as to bring up Kaze’s touchy subject. The clamoring pub fell silent. Lil Dee’s team, Taz, and his sidekicks looked at Kaze curiously. Most of them held Kaze in contempt. Not wanting to put Kaze in the spot, Nancy said angrily, “Please show Mr. Lee some respect. He’s our owner, Lil Dee.” “Ha!” Lil Dee snorted and sneered. “So what? Can’t I be honest with the owner? It’s no secret that Mr. Lee took his wife’s family name. Was I wrong?” While Lil Dee was right, he did not have to lay bare Kaze’s privacy. Nancy was disgusted with Lil Dee. The influencer, who was famed for his charity work and humility in public, acted high and mighty behind closed doors. “Lil Dee, Mr. Lee represents Sky Ocean Corporation.” Nancy stressed to remind Lil Dee that they were equal partners. Given Kaze’s position as a Sky Ocean Corporation representative, any personal attacks would be considered inappropriate.However, Nancy’s words insulted Li
“Mr. Lee, you’re the man.” Lil Dee clapped his hands with a smile. While his words praised Kaze, his eyes betrayed a glint of disdain.When Kaze stepped forward, Lil Dee thought the loser was going to confront him. Instead, Kaze wimped out and told everybody to carry on drinking. Chuckles filled the pub. Lil Dee’s team, Taz, and his sidekicks snickered contemptuously. Taz joined Lil Dee in the applause and taunted, “Tsk, tsk. Rose, wasn’t Kaze acting tough earlier? Why is he a coward now?“He gulped down the whole bottle like it’s water.” The way Taz saw it, Kaze was brutal to attack him because he was the owner of Mountain Dew Estate. However, Kaze’s wife gave him that role. Kaze backed down when he came across Lil Dee, an important partner to his wife. “Shut up, Taz. Mind your own business!” Rose teared up, feeling angry with Taz and sorry for Kaze. She yanked him. “Stop drinking, Kaze. You can’t handle that much alcohol.” Bronya, Mei, Welt, and the others pe
“Don’t just stand there, Mr. Lee. Hurry up and pick the good ones for us.” As Kaze stood still, Lil Dee urged him annoyedly, treating Kaze as a pimp. It was more than just a verbal insult. If Kaze were to grant Lil Dee’s wish, the public would tear into him and label him as a hustler. Nancy stood up for Kaze. “I’m sorry, Lil Dee, but we don’t provide that kind of service—” “Hmph!” A scoff interrupted Nancy from finishing her sentence. One of Taz’s minions, a local, sneered. “Who are you bluffing, Ms. Braus? It’s widely known that Mountain Dew Estate is a brothel. “Most people traveling outside the city head to Mountain Dew Estate. It’s said that the resort even hired foreigners to cater to guests. You’re withholding on Lil Dee by not giving him the full five-star service.” The sidekick was telling the truth. Guests who could afford a stay at Mountain Dew Estate had access to money. Some wealthy men would bring along their female companions to the resort. It was cl
Nancy turned pale. Lil Dee could drop out of the deal with Sky Ocean Corporation if Nancy would not sleep with him. Revamping the image of Mountain Dew Estate was Sky Ocean Corporation’s key objective following its acquisition.Nancy was grateful to Darcy for giving her an opportunity to run the resort. She did not want to be the reason the partnership was in ruins. However, she was unwilling to sleep with Lil Dee. Nancy looked at Kaze in dread, eager to know where he stood. Lil Dee inched closer to Kaze. “Have you made up your mind, Mr. Lee? I don’t like to repeat myself.” “I’ve made myself clear, Lil Dee. Go back and take a cold shower to calm yourself down. You’re playing with fire.” Kaze’s gaze was aloof. “Hmph!” Lil Dee scoffed in disdain. “Don’t hog the good stuff, Lil Dee. Don’t forget about me.” Taz stepped forward, tempted to give Lil Dee a standing ovation for the brilliant idea. Once Kaze’s wife realized Kaze had pimped out his employee, she would g
Fortunately, the wall was covered with a soft cushion for noise isolation, which saved Taz from several broken bones, but he was not in a good shape either. “Ughh!” Lil Dee landed on the couch with his body crouched. His stomach rumbled which caused him to throw up as much as he had drunk earlier. What suffered more than his body was his pride. He did not expect Kaze would hit him. If the news got out, he would lose face. “Get him! Get him!” He shouted as he curled on the couch. He disregarded anything else and simply wanted Kaze dead to vent his anger. “Aaarh!” The bodyguards that jumped on Kaze were all knocked down to the floor, twisting and twirling in pain. The tough-looking bodyguards were like children in front of Kaze. “Kaze! How dare you hit Lil Dee?! Do you know how many followers he had?!” Taz shouted. He was not angry but excited. He knew that once Kaze hit Lil Dee, Kaze would have to face the wrath of Lil Dee’s fans, so he continued to fan the flames.
“I hope you can keep your word.” Kaze then deleted the recording before Lil Dee. He did not care if Lil Dee was lying. If the man wanted to get back at him, even without the recording, he could easily squash Lil Dee regardless of how many fans or followers he got online. The recording was merely a tool to discourage him. Lil Dee breathed a sigh of relief when the recording was deleted. He relied on his fans to make a living and cherished his reputation more than his life. He would do anything to stop the recording from being leaked. “Lil Dee, I hope this little misunderstanding won’t affect our collaboration. We should continue drinking and talk about how to work together, am I right?” Kaze dragged Lil Dee to the couch and poured him a glass of wine with a smile. “Here, a toast.” Lil Dee felt extremely aggrieved. He was just beaten up by the man before his eyes and now he was forced to drink with him. He dared not reject Kaze either. If he did, he would not be drinkin
Ash worked for the Butterworth Queens. She was a capable woman and even without Darcy, she was able to single-handedly run the company perfectly. She was experienced and smart and rarely lost her composure like this. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat. “What happened, Ash?” “Lil Dee’s team just emailed us to terminate the contract. They will be ceasing all forms of cooperation with Sky Ocean Corporation.” Ash’s words shocked everyone in the meeting room, causing an uproar among the executives. Sky Ocean Corporation signed a five-year contract with Lil Dee. He had to promote Mountain Dew Estate for five years and the company would pay him two hundred million. Lil Dee was one of the most famous influencers in the country and Sky Ocean Corporation was just a slightly bigger company in Lilyrose. To show their sincerity, the company already gave Lil Dee tens of millions as a sign-up bonus. Now that Lil Dee wanted to terminate the contract, aside from losing money, it would disru
Darcy was forced to side with reasons this time. She said, “Alyssa, I’m sorry for what happened. I’ll talk to Kaze to find out what happened and I will call you back.” Alyssa scoffed. “You can take all the time you want. Lil Dee has decided to terminate the contract. You will be receiving our lawyer’s letter soon.” The call ended on an abrupt note. “Ms. Quint, what happened?” Ash and the other executives looked at Darcy eagerly, hoping to learn the truth as well. After a slight hesitation, Darcy decided to be honest with the executives. Even if she tried to cover for Kaze, it would soon reach the public’s ears. The executives were baffled after learning what happened. The chairwoman devoted her effort and time to rebrand Mountain Dew Estate, yet her husband beat up the ambassador the company hired. Now that the ambassador had terminated the contract, the company would also be sued. Kaze caused more trouble for the company with his recklessness. All the executive
With the secret out in the open, the housekeeper dropped his attitude. He pointed at the basement not too far away. “My employer is in there.” The housekeeper grimaced and kept his head down. Kaze laughed. Unaware of his impending doom, Perry was still living it up. It was absurd. Perry was playing with fire by hurting Leah. “About time you wise up.” Arthur smiled and patted the housekeeper’s face. He opened the door to the basement. Kaze walked to the bar counter and picked up the best bottle of champagne there. He fiddled with the bottle before carrying it to the basement. The other Viper’s Den members followed him. Kaze took a stride down the steps, to the basement. The noisy music was blasting before they reached the entry. Kaze was filled with a mix of emotions. Nevertheless, he said nothing. He opened the door and walked in. The light in the basement was bright, making everything perfectly clear. However, the people inside were not bothered by the
“You know him. It’s Perry Duncan, Leah’s ex-boyfriend.” Snow did not see the point of hiding the truth, so she laid everything out. “Leah must be feeling foul because she was unaware that she was being stalked. By the time she realized what was going on, she was taken into a vehicle. “We spotted the vehicle they departed in from the surveillance footage. They headed to the mountain up north.” Snow had a general idea of the location. “I got Arthur on the job. He’s putting up a team from the Viper’s Den.” Snow was uncertain of Kaze’s stance toward Leah, but now that she was made aware of the situation, the least she could do was help. Katie belonged to the Viper’s Den, so Snow was lending a hand to a friend in business. “Thank you. Please save my daughter.” Katie was nervous. The Viper’s Den was the people she could count on. “Arthur is good, but he’s slow. I’ll do it,” Kaze said. The whole thing was unrelated to him. Kaze was well within his right to stand on the si
Even so, Elsie was out to get Leah. Elsie could pick up on Perry’s delight when she took a swing at Leah. Poor Elsie was just trying to survive by catering to others. People like her learned to pick up social cues and read body language to please customers for money in return. Their income would double if their customers were happy. Leah was the obstacle. If the women could not get rid of her, they would lose their profit. They had no hard feelings for Leah, but they stood on opposing ends. “You should be fawning over Mr. Duncan, not begging me,” Elsie said while grabbing Leah’s hair to pull her up. Leah snatched Elsie’s wrist to try and break free. “Let me go. I never did anything to you.” Leah was no doormat. She did not want to cross these people or get involved with them. She still hoped that by waiting here, her prince would arrive to save her. However, all she got was a cruel beating, and she had enough. “This isn’t my fault. Blame Mr. Duncan for your cir
Leah had not had it easy these recent days. However, she had learned to be submissive and give in. It never occurred to her that Perry would do this to her. After repeated beatings, she quickly wised up. “Mr. Duncan, why is this disgusting person here? She’s an eyesore.” Dressed in a red number, a woman with wavy hair sat next to Perry. She clung to Perry intimately. She spoke in a sultry and mesmerizing voice. “Oh, she’s just a bitch. “She got on my nerves, so I punished her. I’ll dump her once I’m bored with her.” Perry had the time of his life getting back at Leah. He got a kick out of it. However, he did not feel that it was enough. Every time he looked at his injured hand, his resentment toward Leah grew. “How did she upset you, Mr. Duncan?” Another lady extended her arms to knead Perry’s shoulders while gently murmuring into his ear. With women gathering and fussing over him, Perry felt his ego thoroughly stroked. He was thrilled. “Well, she doesn’t kno
Katie thought about everybody. Kaze was the odd one out, so he had to be the suspect. It made sense that Leah would elope with Kaze. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. We can talk it out. Don’t do anything reckless.” Snow stopped Katie from doing anything extreme. “How could there be a misunderstanding? There can be no one else but him.” Katie was stubborn. “We can help with your daughter’s disappearance. You won’t get anywhere by picking on him.” Snow tried her best to defend Kaze. She would not let Kaze be hurt on her watch. Eager to find her daughter, Katie believed her suspicion to be the truth, and Kaze must have stashed her daughter somewhere. “I don’t have time to waste, but no one could’ve taken Leah away.” Katie was naїvely convinced that Kaze was behind it. Kaze had only just learned about Leah’s disappearance. It was quite late for Katie to finally look into the matter. “I didn’t take your daughter, but we can dig deeper into this.” Leah w
The blue gem necklace around Snow’s neck brought out her elegance and class. Snow was educated well. She carried herself with ease at the social event. She exchanged pleasantries with business partners and greeted them all. Snow shared a few drinks with several prominent families. Aloysius and her secretary stayed with her and drank on her behalf.The party was a success. Kaze held a glass of wine to sip in a corner. Snow’s brilliance was the assurance he needed. He did not have to worry about her leading the Frosts now. “I guess I was worried about nothing. I didn’t even have to be here. She has gotten everything covered.” Kaze was concerned about Snow because she had always been his assistant. He was apprehensive that Snow would have no control over her staff after her promotion. He even asked the Viper’s Den to lend a hand. Nevertheless, Snow did not let him down. She had done a great job. Kaze drank wine and enjoyed the music. Soon, men and women entered the
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