Hayden stood still as she turned her head to look at the handsome face that was right next to hers, and met Kevin’s smiling eyes. She thought for a moment that Kevin knew that she was a woman.On second thought, it seemed impossible.No one in Jensburg knew that she was a woman. She had disguised herself as a man for more than twenty years, and she was very experienced in doing so. No one could know her true identity unless she took off her pants.Kevin had been to Jensburg several times and had interacted with her many times, but they did not spend much time together, so it was impossible for him to know that she was a woman.“Mr. York, are you interested in men? Will your elders accept it if you bring a man home?”Kevin was leaning in so closely to Hayden yet she remained calm.He praised her for her composure and thought that she deserved to be the young owner of Queen Enterprise.“I’m not interested in men. If I bring a man home, my elders might not accept it for a while, bu
Donald had overdrunk. Kevin, who had good alcohol tolerance, indulged in drinking.Mrs. Queen scolded her husband, “Kevin is a generation younger than you. He could be our son, yet you called him ‘bro’. This form of address isn’t right. There’s an issue with seniority.” At first, it did not concern Kevin. At the thought that his nana wanted him to marry Hayden, Kevin felt there was indeed an issue with seniority if his future father-in-law called him “bro”.He laughed without saying a word. He left Mrs. Queen to scold her husband.Donald burst into laughter and said, “Kevin and I regret not having met earlier. Kevin, I treat you as my friend. We’re good friends despite the great difference in age. You can come over for a meal or drink whenever you’re available.”“Alright. No matter how busy I am, I’ll put my work aside and come over to drink with you as long as it’s your treat, Donnie.”Hayden’s mouth twitched.“Dad, Mr. Kevin is busy with work, unlike you who takes a hands-off
Hayden turned a blind eye to her parents’ act.She initially wanted her bodyguard to disguise himself as Kevin’s chauffeur to send Kevin back to the hotel.Donald said, “Hay, send Kevin home since he drank quite a lot. I’m worried that he’ll feel sick and have no one to look after him during the journey.”Hayden replied, “I got it.”She must be adopted. Her parents were not even this thoughtful and concerned about her and her brother.Under her parents’ request, Hayden had no choice but to let Kevin get into her exclusive car. One of the Queens’ bodyguards drove Kevin’s Maybach back to the Yorks’ hotel.After the car drove out of Queen Manor, Hayden tilted her head and looked at Kevin, who was resting with his eyes closed while leaning against the seat.“Are you drunk, Mr. Kevin?”“I’m not, but the after-effects of the wine are strong. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Even so, I’m still able to think clearly.”After keeping quiet for a moment, Hayden said, “My parents are very fond of
“Look at what industry Kevin is in charge of. F&B isn’t York Corporation’s main business. Ever since Kevin started to manage the business, it has emerged as a leader in the industry.“How wonderful it would be if this outstanding kid becomes our son-in-law.”Donald sighed. “Hay is already twenty-eight, yet she refuses to revert to her female identity and isn’t interested in anyone. She’s planning to be a man forever and, worse still, a single man.”Sophia said, “As I said, she has always enjoyed disguising herself as a man since she was young. I let her be when she chose to be a brother to Hugh. When they were young, they looked cute and so much alike. It was hard to distinguish their gender.“Now that she’s all grown up, I can’t leave her to continue disguising herself as a man, but you said it was up to her. You even said she has an aura of an elder brother, so it’s okay for her to act so. Look. She has been a man for over twenty years now and is reluctant to switch back to her r
When they were close to the hotel, Hayden woke Kevin up and said to him, “Mr. York, we’re almost reaching your hotel.” Kevin sat up and glanced outside the window. It was a familiar sight.He said apologetically to Hayden, “I’m sorry for sleeping throughout the journey.”“No worries.”Hayden thought it was good enough that he did not pass out completely. Otherwise, she would have had to look after him the entire journey.“Mr. Hayden, where do you usually stay?”Hayden kept quiet for a moment before she answered, “I bought a villa in Lake Edge, and I usually stay there since it’s close to the office. It’s about a ten-minute drive.”If she had stayed with her parents in the manor, it would have taken her one hour of drive to return to the office. She would not be able to sleep longer.Hayden had a disciplined lifestyle. She would never be late to work. By half-past eight in the morning, she would have arrived at the office, which was considered early among the senior management.
Kevin giggled and said, “I don’t mind if the house is expensive. I want it as long as it’s nice and suitable. Mr. Hayden, when are you free to take me to view the house?”“Since it’s quite late now, it’s not convenient to do so. Let me leave a number for you. When you’re free tomorrow, you can contact this number. Someone will take you there to look at the house.”“Alright. Thank you so much, Mr. Hayden.”Kevin thanked Hayden.Hayden gave Kevin her housekeeper’s number. “Mr. York, this is my housekeeper’s number. You can contact her, and she’ll help you contact the villa’s owner to take you on a house tour.“The house owner said that she wants to sell the house. She purposely left her contact number to her neighbors, saying that anyone who’s interested in buying the house can contact her.”“Alright. I’ll contact your housekeeper tomorrow. Thanks for your help, Mr. Hayden.”Hayden replied nonchalantly, “It’s no trouble at all. You’re most welcome, Mr. York.”He might not buy tha
After Kevin entered the hotel, he was not in a rush to head upstairs. Instead, he walked to the lounge on the ground floor. He then took out his phone to call his nana.Grandma May picked up his call and said, “Kevin, you still remember me, b*stard. I only told you off, and you ran away from home.”“Nana, I didn’t run away from home. I just came to Jensburg on a business trip. Now, I’m at Fortress Hotel.”Grandma May snorted. “Since you’ve gone to Jensburg, you should spend quality time with Hayden. That’s how you build relationships. Trust my taste. Both of you are suitable for each other.”One of them was talkative, whereas the other was silent. They could complement each other.Kevin looked around and saw no one. Only then did he whisper, “Nana, how did you find out that Hayden is a woman? From what I observed, she doesn’t portray feminine beauty and acts manlier than I do. Whenever I walk with her, it gives me the false impression that we’re buddies.”Grandma May giggled and
The York men would not commit such preposterous acts.“I believe I’ve raised you guys well. All of you are nice, capable, and responsible young men. You won’t do those things. It’s been a while since I practiced self-defense. I might not be as agile as before, but I can still summon my strength to deal with you if you ever do those things.Kevin said, “Nana… Can you at least wait for me to finish my sentence?”“Well, you didn’t say it all in one shot. How dare you blame me. It’s only because I’m your nana that I tolerate you.”“Nana, I’m going to take a look at a house tomorrow, and I need a psychicdiviner. He doesn’t need to be competent. Most importantly, he’s able to lie and twist things around.”Bewildered, Grandma May said, “I understand that you need a psychicdiviner to look at the house, given that buying a house is a big matter. If you buy a house with bad energy, your life will be negatively affected. The most dreadful thing is buying a house with the worst energy because
“I’m sorry. I have a business appointment tonight.”Tati rejected Manny’s invitation without hesitation. Manny had been pursuing her relentlessly. If she were to have a meal with him, the paparazzi stalking them would take pictures and she would be on the local entertainment headlines the next day. She would not give Manny any chances to advertise false information about their relationship. Manny looked disappointed. “Another day then.“By the way, you’ll be attending a banquet two days later, right? Can I be your escort?”Tati and Isabella would not attend just any banquet. Families who could invite them were wealthy and close to the O’Connors. Ordinary banquets could never have Tati and Isabella as guests. Manny had gathered information for two days. He heard that one of the wealthy families in Satbury would be holding a banquet to celebrate their old missus’s eightieth birthday, and many guests were invited to liven up the celebration. A missus of that family was clos
“My family isn’t inferior to yours, sweet Tati. The Longbottoms even surpass the O’Connors. As a young master of the Longbottoms, why will I go after your family’s money?“Money has never been a problem for the Longbottom family. In fact, you and I are the best match for each other. Our families are equally rich. If we get together, it’ll be a joining of two strong forces.”Tati wanted to say that while the Longbottom family surpassed the O’Connors, Manny was not the true person in power within his family. Even his father was not the legitimate head. The power and wealth of the Longbottom family belonged to the true head of the family. Tony and Manny Longbottom were simply managing the family in the interim. Did they think the family had become theirs?If the son of the previous Longbottom family head grew up and returned to take charge of the family, Tony and Manny would no longer have any influence. They would only receive some compensation for their hard work. Without the L
Tati looked toward Manny and said in a serious tone, “If you love someone, you’d be considerate of her and do what’s best for her.“Meanwhile, you’re disregarding any inconvenience this might cause me just to appear romantic. You know I’m busy, yet you put flowers here and blocked my way, wasting my time.“Do your actions truly reflect your love for me? Are you being considerate of me?”Tati would not have said a word if Manny had asked his people to place the flowers in an empty spot. However, he just had to do it at the entrance of the company, attracting many people. Her company security team could not even chase them away. They knew Manny’s identity and that he was pursuing her. If the security chased him away, the Longbottom and O’Connor families could end up enemies. Secondly, they were worried about getting fired if Tati were to accept Manny’s feelings one day and decide to punish them. Tati would not blame the security for failing to execute their duty. After Manny s
“It’s okay if you don’t want my bouquets. Can you feel my sincere love for you through these letters?“I fell in love with you at first sight, and I fell even harder the second time I saw you.”Manny’s gaze was affectionate as if he truly loved Tati. To be honest, Tati was outstanding in various aspects. She was good enough for him, a young master of the Longbottoms. They were also close in age and definitely had common topics to talk about. However, Tati refused to give him a chance and rejected his confession. That did not matter. After all, it had not been long since he started pursuing Tati. As the O’Connors had more daughters than sons, he could understand that their daughters would be especially cautious regarding romantic relationships. They did not want men dating them solely for the O’Connor family’s money. Although that had been Manny’s initial intention, he was satisfied with Tati after meeting her in person. He was willing to marry her. Besides, Tati was com
Meanwhile, in Satbury, Tati returned to the company but was forced to stop her car at the entrance. Some people were decorating the entrance with flowers. Security tried to chase them away, but they did not even budge. The security guards seemed wary of something and did not force those people to leave. A few cars were parked nearby, including a truck that still carried fresh flowers.Tati did not honk. There were people and flowers on the road before her and honking was useless anyway, or she could simply drive past without a care. She got out of the car to have a look. “Sweet Tati.”An unfamiliar voice rang. Tati looked toward the person who called her and frowned. She recognized that person. He was Manny Longbottom, the eldest son of the interim head of the family.Mr. Longbottom had come over several times for business negotiations. However, it was not yet his scheduled timing. Even if he were the Longbottom family’s interim head, there would be no special treatmen
First, Adrian poured himself a glass of water. He then sat down at his desk, pulled out his phone, and made a call to Jacob while sipping his water.When the call connected, he spoke in a low voice, “We’re going ahead with the plan. Caroline will be heading to Fortress Hotel later to meet with a client. After the meeting, she’ll have dinner there.“The discussion and dinner will take a long time. By the time she leaves the hotel, it’ll already be nighttime. She probably won’t go anywhere else after that.“Wait for her on the route she usually takes home. Her license plate is CA 201. Got it?”Adrian made sure Jacob remembered Caroline’s license plate number. He had also sent the information via text, so unless the person had an exceptionally bad memory, they should be able to recall it.Jacob replied, “Got it. We’ll have to start preparing, then. Try to get Caroline to drink some alcohol. If she’s drunk, it’ll be easier to handle her.”After all, they could not guarantee that the
Adrian snapped, “Are you saying that I don’t do real work? Caroline, I was working at Fisher Enterprise long before we even knew you existed.”Caroline said neutrally, “Yes, yes, Adrian, you’ve been at Fisher Enterprise for a long time, but what achievements have you made? I mean, achievements that you accomplished on your own.“The results credited to you in the past weren’t actually your doing. You know better than anyone how they came about, so I won’t spell it out. I may have joined Fisher Enterprise only recently, but look at the position I’m in now.“Adrian, I’ve made it very clear. If you want to keep your job, do it well and take it seriously. Stop trying to take credit for other people’s work.”Adrian’s expression darkened. “I only said a couple of things, and you fired back with dozens. Can’t you give me some grace? I have pride, too.”“Adrian, go back to work. I need to get ready to head out soon.” Caroline was done talking to her brother.Adrian fell silent for a mo
Adrian was sullenly quiet. Was he really that incompetent? He thought he had done a pretty good job.Back when their mother was still around, he had not even needed to lift a finger. He just had to vaguely outline the requirements, and the elite team under him would come up with a proposal that satisfied everyone upstairs.All he had to do was wait for the praise and the compliments about how capable he was.After doing this for so long, Adrian had started to believe that he truly was talented.Then, he found out that Celine was not his biological sister and that Caroline was, but the latter had grown up in the countryside, appearing weak and timid, and seemed useless to the company—a good-for-nothing. Thus, Adrian began to harbor ambitions. He wanted to replace his sister and become the successor of the Fisher family.He had repeatedly expressed to his mother his desire to take over, to become the first male successor in the Fisher family’s history. He even said he was willing
Adrian tried several times to interrupt his sister, but Caroline’s barrage came at him like a machine gun, rapid and relentless. All he could do was glare at her, his face flush with anger. If looks could kill, Caroline would have been torn to pieces long ago.After finishing her lecture, Caroline picked up her cup and took a few sips of her coffee. She then said, “Adrian, look at me, I’m parched from all this talking. I’ve really gone out of my way to persuade you for your own good, just like how you tried to persuade me not to hand over control of the Fisher family. “To be honest, even if I didn’t give it back to Audrey and the rest, do you think I could hold onto the position of the matriarch?“The rest of the family doesn’t support us. They might not necessarily side with the Wiltspoonians either, but they definitely won’t side with us. They’ve long been dissatisfied with Mom and us.“Without their support and unable to win against Audrey, the Fisher legacy would eventually be