“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
Kaze briefly told them what happened last night. Darcy was disgusted after learning the truth. Lil Dee might be an influencer who spread positive energy but he was privately a pervert and a jerk. One of the executives, Dayton Shoemaker, was unhappy with Kaze’s explanation. “Mr. Lee, if Lil Dee is looking to have fun, why not just satisfy him? Isn’t this what business meetings are all about? “Yet you raised your punch at him. Do you know how much your punches cost us? Lil Dee has terminated the contract and he’s suing us!” The other executives nodded in agreement. Kaze glared at Dayton coldly. “If he wants to terminate the contract, just let him be. Lil Dee is a rotten person. Making him the ambassador of Mountain Dew Estate is going to ruin Sky Ocean Corporation’s reputation.” He did not want to make Lil Dee the ambassador of Mountain Dew Estate. Lil Dee might be famous with a strong fanbase but if some scandals happened to him in the future, Mountain Dew Estate might b
Ash might be a manager from the Queens but she had no idea about Mathias serving Kaze. She thought Mathias made Darcy chairwoman because of her capabilities. Therefore, Ash only had basic respect for Kaze because he was Darcy’s husband. Now that Kaze had caused problems for the company, it irritated her as well. Kaze scoffed. He did not expect Ash to side with the executives. Before he could say a word, Darcy slammed the table. “Enough! Kaze, stop this nonsense right now!” She glared at Kaze and then said to Ash, “Ash, contact Lil Dee and his team and find out what we can do to solve this problem.” She then left the meeting room and dragged Kaze to her office. “Leave Lilyrose tonight. I’m afraid that they will call the police on you. Lil Dee will surely make a big deal out of you hitting him. He’s already threatening us with lawsuits,” Darcy said after she closed the door. Kaze thought Darcy would scold him but she wanted him to run instead. He smiled and said, “Whe
Alyssa scoffed. “You can go back and tell Ms. Quint to turn her husband in. This is your fault. Shouldn’t you be aware of that already by now?” Ash kept quiet. She could tell Darcy would rather risk losing the company than send her husband to jail. “You can leave now, Ms. Lester. Before Kaze Lee kneels in front of us, we will not be having any conversation with you.” Alyssa gestured for Ash to leave the place. Ash returned to the office with a bitter look. Darcy and the executives were still in the meeting room, waiting for her to come back. “Lil Dee is firm on this. Unless Kaze kneels and apologizes, they aren’t going to continue the cooperation.” Ash told them about her meeting with Alyssa. Dayton then said, “Ms. Quint, we must make Kaze apologize to Lil Dee, we still can turn this around. If this snowballs out of hand, our company is going to lose even more.” “Dayton is right. Kaze hit Lil Dee yet Lil Did didn’t call the police on him. He’s trying to save our faces
Kaze thought only the executives wanted him to apologize and he was not concerned at all. Now that Ash had joined them. Ash was the acting CEO who ran the company when Darcy was not around. She was practically the brain of the company. If this continued, Darcy’s position would surely be challenged or worse, abdicated. Whether Ash was intentional or not, Kaze could not allow it to continue. He made a call to Mathias immediately. “Brother, what is it?” Mathias’ humble voice came from the phone. Kaze said coldly, “Come here and take care of your manager. If not, I’ll do it for you.” Mathias was shaking when he heard Kaze. Before he could even figure out what happened, he nodded and said, “Right away! I’ll be there!” Only after the call, Mathias got a second to wrap his head around the situation. Manager? Did Kaze mean Ash? Ash was acting against Kaze? Mathias was irritated. He left the hotel room that he was in and went to Sky Ocean Corporation. Meanwhile at
Ash did not overthink about it. She simply thought Mathias was angry because he found out about Lil Dee terminating the contract with Sky Ocean Corporation. She put the phone down and then looked at Dayton and the others. “Mathias is coming. Let’s go down and welcome him.” Dayton and the others exchanged a delightful gaze. They did not expect Mathias to come so soon. They quickly followed Ash downstairs to wait for Mathias. At the lobby, Mathias strode in with a stern look. “Mathias.” “Young Master Mathias!” Ash and the others bowed and welcomed him. Mathias nodded at them and asked, “I heard that something happened to the company?” “Yes. Ms. Quint’s husband hit Lil Dee, the ambassador we hired for Mountain Dew Estate. He terminated the contract and threatened to sue us. I tried to negotiate with them but they wanted Kaze to apologize to them…” Ash briefly told Mathias what happened. “He must be having a death wish!” Mathias’ expression turned grim. He was a
Katie proudly made the statement, convinced that she had done a lot for her daughter. It was only right for Leah to be grateful and understand her sacrifice. To Katie’s surprise, Leah chuckled. “What else have you done for me? You never showed me any attention. You don’t know what I like. You have no idea what I want.” Leah finally saw her mother as the person she was. This side of Katie was terrifying. “What more do you want? Am I not supposed to work? Should I be spending every waking minute of the day with you?” Katie understood Leah’s needs. However, there was no way she could make it happen. It was not easy for a woman to take hold in the Northborn Group, much less secure a high position there. Katie went through great pains to get where she was today. Alas, Leah could not understand where she was coming from. “I’m not asking you to be with me every day. I’ve tried my best to do everything you asked of me, but you can’t even be there for me during my birthdays.
“Everything I do, I do for you. Get this straight. The guy approached you because of what I could bring to the table.” Katie was pissed by her daughter’s defiance which was becoming worse with age. “I know the kind of person he is. Without Kaze’s help, I wouldn’t have escaped. Where were you then? You’re in no position to say that. “Even if there’s something he’s after, what would he want from me? I have nothing to offer.” Leah did not believe a word Katie said. Clearly, Katie was out to get Kaze. “He’s nothing but a poor kid. Why are you blowing this out of proportion? I’ve clearly stated what needed to be done. Why are you still being stubborn?”Katie believed she had not raised her daughter right. Leah turned out pretty naïve. “I told you. He has no ulterior motive. He doesn’t know who I am. He doesn’t have any other intentions. I approached him, not the other way around.” Leah kicked herself for pulling a reckless stunt. All she did was give Kaze more problems. Kat
Leah hated her mother being unreasonable. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I fed you, I gave you clothes, I put a roof over your head, I gave you life! The least you could do is to listen to me!” Katie did not expect her daughter to go so far as to defy her. Kaze remained silent, knowing that no matter what he said, it would be meaningless to someone unwilling to listen. “Kaze, I’m sorry. It was my fault that you are in this mess. I’m a jinx…” Leah blamed herself for getting Kaze in trouble with her mother. If not because of her, he would never encounter her mother. “Shut it! Why are you apologizing!? He approached you with purpose and you can’t even see that? He’s not worthy of your time!” Katie was livid. She felt her daughter was blinded by emotions, incapable of making the right decision. And to make matters worse, the girl even apologized to Kaze—what nonsense! A poor man without any background was no match for her daughter and her status. He approached the girl becaus
Katie suddenly chuckled. “What’s the matter? You are after my daughter and you tried to give me advice? What are you trying to do?” She looked down on a man with no future. She stubbornly believed he approached her daughter because of her. If he said as such, he must have known something else. It was no secret that Katie was preparing the birthday banquet for Leah and one could easily find out about it with a little research. Katie took his words not as a suggestion but as a challenge to her power. “Whatever. You stubbornly believe that anyone who approaches you or your daughter is after your power, does that mean there’s no emotions or love throughout your life?” Kaze suddenly looked at Katie with a pitiful gaze. She had been consumed by the thirst for power and it wiped her humanity. Katie would eventually be a sacrifice of someone else before she knew it. “Don’t look at me with those eyes. Who do you think you are? I see through you right away! I’ve seen a lot of
Frustrated, Leah tried to shake her mother’s hand off, but Katie tightened the grip and did not let it happen. The more the girl resisted, the more Katie felt challenged. She felt that her authority was being shaken by her daughter’s defiance. “Stop it! I told you before that if you don’t listen to me, I will make you regret it! And, don’t let me catch you with this bastard anymore, or he won’t have a future here in Butterworth!” Katie shouted at the girl to silence her. Leah could resist her mother and defy her, but not at the expense of her friend’s well-being. She knew her mother always meant what she said, and once those words were spoken, she would certainly take action against Kaze. Therefore, she quickly fell silent and let her mother take control of the situation. Katie glared at Kaze resentfully. “Stay away from my daughter or I will make you pay!” she bellowed. She then dragged Leah to her car and told the girl to get in. Right after she closed the door, s
Without further ado, Katie stormed out of the car and dashed over to them. “Leah!” she shouted, startling her daughter. When Leah saw her mother, she knew doomsday was upon her. She was frightened and stunned on the spot. Kaze was surprised by the coincidence as well. He was not afraid of the woman but she was charging at them like a ferocious monster. “I told you not to be with this guy! Why didn’t you listen to me?!” Katie could not tolerate her daughter’s defiance. She saw it as a direct challenge to her authority and bottom line. She stepped up and dragged her daughter away. “I told you not to see this poor bastard. Why didn’t you listen to me?” She was consumed by rage and paid no attention to her choice of words. All she cared about was the fear that her daughter had nearly fallen into a stranger’s hands. Leah disliked her mother being unreasonable. She had no idea what changed her mother into an unreasonable wretched hag. “Mom, what are you talking about?” “W
“Katie’s daughter dined at my restaurant and she met the man Katie intended to match her with, yet Katie knew nothing and even threw a tantrum at the door. Why do you think that happened?” Master Fuller shook his head helplessly and poured himself a glass of beer. The last guest of the day had left and he could enjoy his rest peacefully. However, the last guest of the day was a rather interesting pair. “Isn’t it a little contradicting? She’s trying to get Mr. Lee to marry her daughter but she’s asking for trouble at the same time.” The woman was surprised but also found it interesting. “Do I have to deliver the meals to Mr. Lee?” “Let my disciple do it. Don’t you get involved in this, it’s better to stay away from trouble.” Master Fuller wanted to get back at Katie, yet he did not need to do anything because the woman was actively bringing trouble upon herself. The woman did not say anything and simply gazed into the distance. The wooden door at the entrance was ope
“It’s getting late. Let’s get you back.” Kaze knew that Leah had snuck out of the hotel, so it would not be good to let her stay out too late. Katie was a tough mother to deal with. If she found out her daughter snuck out without her permission and spent dinner with him, she would lose her mind. Kaze was not afraid but Leah would have to suffer her mother’s wrath. “It’s getting late. We have to go back.” Leah liked the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant. She felt free of restraints while on the premises, but time flew by quickly, leaving her with little time to savor the experience. She wished she could enjoy more moments of peace and quiet while indulging in good food. “Do visit if you have time. We usually open at night only,” Master Fuller said when he noticed the heavy look on the girl’s face. “Great. I’m definitely coming again!” Leah then got up and headed out. Kaze then pulled his wallet out and wanted to pay for the meal. “Mr. Lee, what are you doing here?
Passersby would spare an extra glance at the expensive car but dared not pause to inspect further. The woman in the car looked anxious as she relentlessly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Katie was still waiting, hoping to find out who Master Fuller’s guests were. Her patience was thinning by the second. Since she picked up her daughter, everything had gradually slipped out of her control, and she hated the feeling. Back at the restaurant, Master Fuller and his guests were still chatting over delicious dessert. Kaze had a bite and was amazed by the taste. As expected of a national-level chef, his culinary skills could turn the simplest ingredients into the most amazing delicacy. “I thought this was just a normal sweet potato but there’s something else added inside.” After an enjoyable dinner, Leah finally had the chance to taste the final dish—the dessert, which appeared to be an ordinary sweet potato. When she peeled the skin and took a bite, she realized