Seeking confirmation, Roman asked, "So, are you really interested in a development project in our humble town?"He was exceedingly cordial toward Liam, and there was no hiding the greed in his eyes. Liam smiled vaguely and faintly in turn. "Of course. I have high hopes for a tourism project here, what with its magnificent scenery. Coupled with chain hotels, it would be a shortcut to riches for everyone."Pausing, Liam then added, "And as the mayor, you'll receive widespread accolades."That being said, what good was vanity when he could not take it with him in death? It was certainly a lot less practical than having money within his palms!Dropping all pretense, Roman asked directly, "So, how much are you investing, Mr. Luther?"Liam gave a number, deliberately keeping it lower than what any other developers offered. Naturally, he was not going to dance to Roman's tune!Naturally, Roman's bright smile stiffened, and he wondered for a moment if he heard Liam wrong.Seeing that
Liam did not actually have to do anything—Gwyneth had already persuaded the townsfolk.In fact, only she knew about Liam's personal meeting with Frank to discuss the development project, as they wanted to stay subtle to avoid rousing Roman's suspicions.And once the agreement was ready, they could now proceed with the site survey to ascertain how they should run their tourism project.Wanting everything done as soon as possible, Liam hence took up lodging in town with Gwyneth.Aubrey somehow caught wind of the news. Under the impression that Gwyneth was having too much fun and would rather spend time with Liam while forgetting her bestie, Aubrey arrived in Elderville alone, huffing, "How dare you not bring me along on your trip! How are you, my bestie?!"Aubrey's sudden appearance caught Gwyneth off guard and left her staring in disbelief. "What are you doing here, Aubrey? Does Henry know?""Who cares?!" Aubrey snorted.She turned to look through the curtains toward the balcony
Elizabeth had tried to play dumb, but Liam's words left her stiffening.At the same time, Liam tenderly took Gwyneth's hand and strode past Elizabeth, a great difference in treatment of the two women.Gwyneth actually had trouble holding back her laughter by his side, and Liam eventually had enough.Exasperated, he flicked her on the forehead. "Laugh if you want. Don't hold it in.""You know what I'm thinking?" Gwyneth raised a brow, teasing, "She's exceedingly crazy about you."Liam was speechless.He rejected that obsession!In a protest against her teasing, he held her firmly by the waist and pinned her against a tree trunk before showering her with passionate kisses.Eventually, she was tamed and quieted down, though that meant the landscape survey had to be postponed.Thus, their libidos were stoked, and while they were intent on getting back to their room and getting going, they were surprised to see a familiar figure waiting outside.Gwyneth wondered right then if that
Liam had reconsidered and decided that he was worried about Gwyneth, and he just happened to stumble on Elizabeth lecturing her!Losing all patience right then, he strode over and pulled Gwyneth into his arms protectively while snapping at Elizabeth, "You should go if you have nothing important to do here. My wife and I would like to get some rest.""What…"Elizabeth felt stung by the term 'wife'.Still, she tried to play the sympathy card again, only to see the disgust in Liam's eyes that left her feeling stung once more.At that point, she had no choice but to leave, and the world was once again peaceful once she closed the door behind her."You're really more than what you seem, Mr. Luther! You usually appear so aloof, and it's surprising that you can handle Two-Faced Elizabeth with such ease!" Aubrey flashed a huge, earnest thumb up at Liam, though she ignored his existence by the next moment and wrapped her hands around Gwyneth's arm, tugging at her. "Oh, you've really suf
After what happened last night, Liam gave up on disguises and revealed the tourism development project directly.Roman was certainly shocked that Liam was not intimidated by his subtle threat and even revealed his hand as if just to provoke Liam further.As soon as he was informed about Liam's move, he caved and called Liam right then.He was growling from across the phone, and it was easy to see that he wanted nothing less than to reach Liam and give him a beating."Mr. Luther, I remember telling you clearly that the townsfolk refused the tourism development project. How could you do this?!" Liam, however, remained unmoved, even asking in return, "Are they refusing, or is it just you?"Being exposed out of the blue left Roman's expression stiffening, but now that he thought about it, Liam had already seen through his plan.So what was there to hide? All he wanted was his cut anyway!"You shouldn't say that, Mr. Luther," Roman chuckled just then. "We're all smart people, and
Meanwhile, with the geezer working as an intermediary, Liam handily gained public approval.He did not forget to show his sincerity either and revealed every detail of the tourism development project to the townsfolk.He was the CEO of Luther Corporation, meaning that his status and influence was not to be mentioned in the same breath as others. Even so, to succeed as a businessman, one could not depend on empty words.With his earnest attitude and crystal clear proposal that stated profit distribution with no obscurity, the townsfolk were at once approving and impressed from the bottom of their hearts.Still, while the geezer watched as both sides came to an agreement, the geezer still had something weighing on his mind…After a few days of stressing about the tourism development project, he almost forgot why he had invited Gwyneth and Liam over for the first place. In the end, it would really be a waste to not develop Gwyneth as a chef. After all, she had no mentor and yet rel
Gwyneth suddenly glanced at her watch impatiently. "I have no time to waste with you. Tell me what you want, or I'm calling the cops to take you in. It would be ideal if everyone could see that shameless face of yours."Gaspard glowered, provoked by Gwyneth's jibe.However, even though he almost gritted his teeth into pieces, he forced another smile. "Gwyn, please don't misunderstand… You see, I heard that you and Liam are busy with a tourism development project. You should remember that Glen Corporation was involved with tourism before, don't you? It's a perfect coincidence, and if we could work together, Glen Corporation would go all out to pave the way for Luther Corporation… Y-You could consider it my way of making it up to you."Even Gaspard himself was perfectly aware how obvious that last part was a lie, and it took him a long while to say it.Gwnyeth simply pursed her lips and looked at him in contempt. "Why don't you talk to Liam if you want to work with Luther Corporation
Silence ensued in the meeting room, and Liam pursed his lips without saying a word.He turned nonchalantly toward Frank, leveling his dark gaze at him. The governor was already uncomfortable and started sweating from his brow when Liam turned toward him and took a while to find the right words. "Hold on, Mr. Dolton. It's only natural for Mr. Luther to be a part of this since we've already signed an MOU."If anything, he only allowed Ellery's participation due to certain circumstances—Liam was the one he was truly content with.Caught off guard that Frank would take him down a peg directly, Ellery glowered.Still, Frank completely ignored that, since he was only worried that Liam would give up on the project out of frustration, and he smiled fawningly as he turned stiffly back to Ellery. "You should go, Mr. Dolton. Don't worry—I'm a man of my word, and I'm just discussing the project in detail with Mr. Luther here."He was not lying at all, even if he was more eager to keep Liam.