Charlie ordered her to keep an eye on Loreen after she started working and to always report to him if there were any abnormalities.After talking to Doris, Charlie took a taxi to the airport to pick Loreen up.When he was at the airport, Charlie disembarked the taxi and was about to go to the arrival hall when a Mercedes-Benz G-Class braked abruptly and stopped in front of him.Harold, Claire’s cousin, stretched his head out of the car window and frowned when he saw Charlie. “Why are you here?”“I’m here to pick Claire’s friend up. Why are you here?”Charlie frowned too when he saw the familiar faces sitting in the car—besides Harold, there were Gerald and Wendy.Harold sneered. “Do you mean Miss Thomas? We’re here to entertain her, you’re nothing but redundant, get lost!”Charlie snorted indifferently and said, “You get lost.”Thus, Charlie ignored them and walked directly into the airport’s arrival hall.Harold’s face turned into an ugly shade of red and he was about to swea
Charlie was a little surprised when he heard that Harold had also booked a suite at Heaven Springs.What a coincidence. Didn’t Albert say that he owned Heaven Springs? He had prepared a suite for him in the restaurant as well, hadn’t he?Meanwhile, Gerald gaped in shock. “Wow, Harold, did you actually manage to make a reservation for the Golden Suite in Heaven Springs? Not everyone can do it!”Harold laughed triumphantly. “Honestly speaking, apart from the Diamond Suite that’s really out of my reach, other suites are a piece of cake.”Despite his pompous statement, it was nothing but Harold’s bragging. Truth be told, in order to make a reservation for the Golden Suite, Lady Wilson herself had requested for a lot of favors from many people to book it.Loreen had heard about Heaven Springs even in Eastcliff. She hurriedly said, “We’re all friends, you don’t have to make such extravagant arrangements just for me.”Harold uttered coyly, “Oh no, you are our distinguished guest, how
Wendy asked with a coy smile, “Charlie, didn’t you also make a reservation here? Which suite? Bring us to check it out!”Charlie said flatly, “I didn’t think about which suite to reserve, to be frank. I just sent a text message to their boss and asked him to arrange it for me. I’ll check the message now, give me a minute.”Harold sneered disdainfully, “Shut your mouth! Do you know who the boss here is? It’s the famous Don Albert Rhodes! How dare you talk such bullsh*t here? Careful, if he hears you, he will squeeze you to death with his fingertips.”Charlie ignored their heinous remarks and proceeded to check his message on the phone. “He said he reserved the Diamond Suite for me.”Harold laughed instantly. “Hahaha…Diamond Suite? Charlie, don’t make me laugh, will you? Do you know who can enter the Diamond Suite? No more than ten people in the whole Aurous Hill! You’re nothing but a fart!”Loreen stayed silent in the midst of the commotion, although a thought was slowly brewing in
Loreen was taken aback in astonishment and bewilderment. She didn’t expect Harold to be so well-connected in Aurous Hill. He was so much more reliable as compared to Charlie. She contemplated that it would be more convenient for her to get close to Harold for her daily routine.The man in a black suit escorted the group respectful to the door of the Diamond Suite. He took out a bill, handed it to Charlie directly, and said softly, “Sir, please sign here.”The Diamond Suite was specially reserved for Charlie and his signature was needed for confirmation.Charlie smiled and took the pen and paper, but before he could sign his name, Harold’s loud shriek echoed.“D*mn it! Put the pen down!”Harold marched forward with a gloomy face. He snatched the pen and paper from Charlie’s hands, signed his name quickly, and yelled at Charlie, “You shameless rat! Do you really have no f*cking idea who reserved the room? Who do you think you are to sign your name here!”The man in black was take
On the other hand, he was scared because there was only one set of the extravagant banquet menu ready in the Diamond Suite and it had already been served to these people. What should he do when the real honorable guests were here?Harold raised to his feet and shouted in dismay, “What are you doing? I reserved this suite, who do you think you are to create trouble here?”Bill pointed at Harold and asked, “You’re Harold Wilson?”Harold nodded and said proudly, “Yes, I am!”Bill commanded coldly, “Bring him to me!”Two sturdy men immediately pulled Harold out of his seat and dragged him away.“What do you think you’re doing? Let me go!”“F*ck, shut up!”One man kicked Harold’s knee and he knelt directly in front of Bill as he shrieked in pain.Bill eyed Harold from head to toe with his cold and dagger-like glare, making him shiver like a scaredy-cat.Slap!The signature bill was thrown directly at Harold’s head.Bill shouted loudly, “Who gave you the right to use this room?”
Gerald was so frightened that he shivered uncontrollably and almost pissed himself. His stuttering voice sounded, “Big Boss Bill, I’m the White family’s…”“The White family?” Bill grinned sinisterly. “What the heck? Don’t make me laugh, okay!”Bill spat disdainfully. He kicked Gerald to the ground and snarled, “The don just finished teaching an idiot from the White family a lesson yesterday, that fool was slapped by one of our guys ten thousand times in the face! You still have the nerve to mention the White family to me, huh!”“Huh?” Gerald recoiled in extreme shock.He thought that Kevin had been beaten while being robbed, but it turned out that it was actually Don Albert who had beaten him up!Just as he was still in the midst of extreme shock and terror, Bill raised the bat and slammed it down against his head!Bang!Gerald felt the world spinning around him. A buzzing voice kept humming inside his head, blood flowed from his mouth and nose, his vision was getting blurry and
Don Albert was here!Mr. Wade? Who was Mr. Wade?Albert marched into the room and pounded Bill to the floor. “You f*cking idiot, how could you not recognize Mr. Wade! I’ll f*cking kill you!”Albert cursed while kicking Bill frantically.Bill, who was so invincible and pompous earlier, was crouching on the floor yelping like a dog being beaten.Loreen was genuinely bewildered. What was going on?All the men were also panicking. Was the young man actually Mr. Wade? They had almost laid their hands on him too. They were literally digging their own graves!Albert growled at the rest of the gang, “And you fools too! What are you standing there like stupid logs? Apologize to Mr. Wade now!”“Mr. Wade, we’re so so sorry. We were a bunch of fools to not have recognized you! Please forgive us!”All the men knelt down simultaneously and apologized profusely.Bill was equally terrified. He slapped himself in the face while begging for mercy. “Mr. Wade, I’m terribly sorry, please forgive
Loreen had agreed with Doris Young of Emgrand Group to start working tomorrow.After leaving Heaven Springs, Charlie sent her back to the hotel where she was staying and then left.Loreen was still in shock from what happened at the restaurant earlier while pondering about her future prospects.She was assigned an important mission for her trip to Aurous Hill this time. From the obvious perspective, she was here for her new job at Emgrand Group, but she had a much larger hidden agenda from her family.Her father had told her that according to top secret information, the Wade family, the most prominent family in Eastcliff, had found their young master who had been missing for many years. They had even bought the entire Emgrand Group as a gift to the young master to practice and sharpen his entrepreneurship skills.In other words, the young master of the Wade family was in Aurous Hill now and he was the new chairman of Emgrand Group.In Eastcliff, which was filled with mysterious a
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s
Zachary chuckled and continued, "Well, I went to Antique Street and asked around. Turns out our mutual friend only brought a few hundred thousand grand with him. If he messes up and loses all his money, won't it be over for him?""He won't just be broke either—he'd be humiliated and forced to fuck off from Antique Street. You'd get even then!"Jacob was at once excited.Just yesterday, Claire and Charlie were warning him that assault meant doing time.As the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and the next presidential-hopeful, he would lose his place if he was charged with assault or being an accessory to a case.However, Zachary's plan was much better. Jacob wouldn't have to take responsibility, and the damage on Raymond would be even worse!In comparison, slapping Raymond meant nothing. Watching him go broke and get humiliated would really ease his heart!With that in mind, he promptly pressed Zachary, "Are you sure that prick will mess up?""I can't a
Jacob Wilson was in his office at the Calligraphy and Painting Association, planning his itinerary in Dubai.Still, he was immediately thrilled when Zachary told him that there was progress, and he quickly said, "Come see me at the Calligraphy and Painting Association. We'll talk in my office!""Alright!" Zachary agreed to it happily. "Just wait, Mr. Wilson. I'll be right there!"Jacob then quickly told him, "By the way, remember to address me as the vice president when you're here. Got it?"Zachary was naturally sharp enough to understand why, especially around other members of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, chief. You can always be at ease when I'm on the job!"Once he hung up, he drove to the Calligraphy and Painting Association at top speed.There were just a dozen people around the dozens of work cubicles although Zachary was curious about the personal effects or office tools in the cubicles.After asking around, a staff member le
Then, Mick continued, "I won't lie—Moore Group's bean counters have been eager to get rid of Vintage Deluxe for a while now. It's only Miss Moore's insistence that keeps them at bay, even occasionally coming to check on how business is going. That means she holds sentiment for this place, but if she knows that Raymond is back and doing well, she might hire him again!"Zachary could laugh right then. After all, Mick was terrible at gathering information—he could worry about anyone taking his palace, but not Raymond. The man was fired because he had insulted Master Wade's father in-law, and Miss Moore was endlessly respectful—even obedient to Master Wade. There was no chance that she would hire Raymond back after what he had done, and Mick was just being paranoid.However, Zachary did not tell Mick that.As Mick was begging him to intervene and thus owing him big time, he would also be helping Jacob Wilson get even.Two birds with one stone, so why not?With that in mind, Zachar
Zachary then said, "By the way, I have some friends who have a lot of stock. How much capital do you have, Mr. Cole? I'll check if they have stuff that suits you, and you can partner with them."When Zachary asked how much capital, he was basically asking Raymond how much he would invest in his own business and how much he could spend on taking new stock as he was buying.As such, Raymond replied modestly, "I've been chasing my tail for a while, so I didn't earn more than a few hundred thousand. I definitely would have no issue taking items with rebates, but I'm afraid I can't afford premiums.""Alright!" Zachary nodded, having discerned the scale of Zachary's capital."I'll check on what's available and see if we can get a few personal deals."Raymond nodded. "Thank you, Zachary!"Zachary smiled, shaking his head. "Mr. Crane, please buy another fruit basket for Mr. Cole—I'll pay you later."Mick quickly said, "Oh, you don't have to, Mr. Evans! It's my pleasure, no worries!"Zach
With the last stroke, Raymond got on a ladder to reach the old signboard, pasting the banner over the old shop sign.Then, he added a notice by the entrance: We buy all antiques and measure all treasures.As soon as the makeshift sign and notice were up, Mick was the first to arrive with a fruit basket to celebrate the occasion.The instant they met, he greeted Raymond warmly, "Ah, Mr. Cole! You sure are efficient—you just came back yesterday evening, and you're already setting up shop today at noon!"Raymond smiled, "Doing a small business by myself is naturally much quicker."Mick shook his head disapprovingly as he put the fruit basket by the door, "Now, now. Don't be a stranger, Mr. Cole—almost everyone in Antique Street is a friend, but you didn't tell the gang when you opened the shop! It'd hype things up when everyone comes bringing you gifts!"Raymond quickly shook his head. "Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't know if this humble trade will last. It's better to keep m
To not lose three months' worth of rent on top of that, Donald called over the owner at top speed while getting some of the friends in the antique trade to appraise what merchandise he had left.Taking losses had always been the hardest pill to swallow, but once the decision was made, there really was nothing that couldn't be given up.The owner was plenty pleased as well since that meant someone was picking up on his rental. He promptly had Donald sign the agreement transferring the last three months for the rental to Raymond while signing a new rental contract with Raymond.Raymond didn't have to pay up immediately either—he just had to start paying rent to the owner once Donald's three-month rent was up.Once the agreement was signed, every stall owner as well as owners of businesses resembling the Pearl House swarmed the premises.After all, they loved to take stock from people in the same line of business. Once a business owner decided to close shop, they wouldn't be bothered