"Shut up!" Damon snapped.He couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Brandon's phone to call Valarie.When the call connected, he reported the bar and private room before hanging up and leaving. He couldn't stay any longer—Brandon was driving him crazy.…On the other end, Valarie hadn't even had a chance to speak before the call ended. She tried calling back several times, but no one picked up.Biting her lip, she contemplated whether to go over.Finally, after five minutes, she changed her clothes and headed out.Just as she opened the door, she spotted Phoebe, who was about to knock while holding a glass of acai smoothie.Seeing that Valarie wasn't in her pajamas, Phoebe looked puzzled. "Valarie, it's so late. Are you going out?""Yeah," Valarie replied, her expression slightly unnatural. "Nyla said she needed to see me about something."Phoebe frowned and asked, "What's so urgent that you have to go out at this hour? Can't it wait until tomorrow?""I don't know, Mom. Stop a
Thanks to that little interruption, Valarie snapped back to reality. She pushed Brandon away and got to her feet, her cheeks flushed."Brandon, I'm warning you! If you pull something like that again, I won't care about you anymore!" she barked.Brandon stared at her in confusion, seemingly unable to recall what had just happened."Who are you?" he asked.Valarie was exasperated. He had just kissed her, and now he didn't recognize her?Nonetheless, this wasn't the time to dwell on that. She needed to find a way to get him home.After thinking for a moment, Valarie called a driver to help her get Brandon to the car.Fortunately, after what had happened, he seemed tired and fell asleep without a fuss.Once she helped him into the back seat and buckled him in, she told the driver the address."He has someone at home. Just ring the doorbell, and they'll come to get him," she instructed.The driver nodded. "Okay."As Valarie watched the driver pull away, she turned and headed back
"You said it was boring when the date was set at the restaurant yesterday. No matter how it's done, you'll find something to criticize. Do you just not want to go on a blind date?" Phoebe asked.Valarie pursed her lips. "I don't want to. If it weren't for you guys pushing me, I wouldn't even consider it."For her, not getting married wasn't a big deal. She'd rather stay single than wake up every day to a face she didn't like, pretending to be happy for the rest of her life."You're driving me crazy! You're in your 30s now, and if you don't get married soon, no one will want you by the time you're 40! Your dad and I are getting older, and after we're gone, how will you manage on your own?!" Phoebe exclaimed.Facing her mother's serious expression, Valarie shrugged. "I'll manage just fine. There are plenty of people who choose not to marry or have kids, and none of them seem to be struggling."Phoebe gritted her teeth. "I don't care! When you get to our age, you'll understand I'm on
Zayn nodded in understanding and sat across from Valarie, explaining why he had chosen this place."I apologize for meeting here, Ms. Weir. I usually don't have time, but I have a horse racing today, so I asked you to meet me here. I hope you don't mind," he said.Valarie looked straight at Zayn. He was tall and casually dressed, sitting in front of her with a commanding presence. While he wasn't conventionally handsome, he had a pleasant and gentle disposition, which made a good first impression."I understand, Mr. Updike. I don't mind. Let's get started with the date," Valarie said.As soon as she finished speaking, Zayn couldn't help but laugh.Noticing the puzzled look on Valarie's face, he quickly waved his hand."Sorry, Ms. Weir. It's just that the way you said, 'let's get started with the date', was so serious that it struck me as amusing," he clarified.Valarie pressed her lips together and replied, "Mr. Updike, I think we should get straight to the point since this is a
"Is it because I arranged our blind date at the racetrack?" Zayn asked.Valarie smiled, but her eyes carried a hint of coldness. "Since you're aware of that, why ask? I have something to attend to, so I won't interrupt your race. Goodbye."With that, she stood up and walked out.Just as she reached the door, Zayn's voice called out from behind her, "Ms. Weir, I admit I haven't thought this through today. Would you give me a chance to make it up to you with dinner?"Valarie halted her steps but didn't turn around. "No, thank you. I seem to recall that you're good friends with Mr. Sumner, right?"Zayn smiled, about to respond when the door to the private room swung open again.Brandon spotted the two of them and froze for a moment, his brows furrowing.What was Valarie doing there?He glanced at Zayn, his eyes questioning."Brandon, you know Ms. Weir, so I don't need to introduce you, right?" Zayn said."Aren't you the one who invited me to watch the race? Why is she here?" Bra
Seeing Jonathan's troubled expression, Phoebe set down her teacup and asked, "What's wrong? Why the long face?"Jonathan sank onto the sofa, his voice weak. "The company lost another big partnership today. If this keeps up, we'll be in serious financial trouble."Phoebe frowned. "What can we do? Is there any way to hold on a bit longer? Valarie's blind date hasn't settled yet!"They were pushing Valarie into blind dates primarily because the Weir Group was declining and desperately needed a strong partner to help them through this crisis.At first, Valarie had refused. However, after learning about the company's situation, she reluctantly agreed to go on dates.Jonathan remained silent for a moment before speaking seriously. "How about we stop forcing Valarie into blind dates? I've thought a lot about this, and compared to the company, her happiness for the rest of her life is more important. We can't ruin her life just for the sake of the company.""Ruin her life? I'm only intro
The next morning, Valarie woke up and began her morning routine. She spent over two hours in front of the vanity perfecting her makeup.After applying her lipstick, she looked at the stunning woman in the mirror and couldn't help but smirk self-deprecatingly.She never thought she would find herself needing to use her looks to attract someone.Suppressing her swirling thoughts, she headed downstairs.In the living room, Phoebe was watching TV when she heard footsteps and looked up, momentarily taken aback.Today, Valarie wore a new light green, figure-hugging dress. The first two buttons at the front were designed like water droplets, exposing a portion of her flawless skin—so exquisite it was hard to look away.Her long hair was pinned up with a light green hairpin, and her makeup was delicate, reminiscent of early spring buds swaying in a gentle breeze."Valarie, I didn't arrange any blind dates for you today. Why are you all dressed up? Going out?" Phoebe asked.Valarie repl
Memories of their time together crashed over her like waves in a tumultuous sea, creating a whirlwind of emotions that felt impossible to quell.Despite the storm beneath, the surface remained calm and undisturbed.…When Valarie entered the restaurant, Zayn was already there.As he caught sight of her in the fitted dress that emphasized her slender waist, amazement flickered in his eyes."Ms. Weir, please have a seat," he said, standing to pull out a chair for her with a gentle smile."Thank you," she replied.Once Valarie was seated, Zayn returned to his own chair, handed her the menu, and said with a smile, "I'm not sure what you like to eat, so I've ordered a couple of the restaurant's specialties. Take a look and let me know if you want to add anything else."Valarie nodded. "Sounds good."As she began browsing the menu, Zayn couldn't help but admire her smooth forehead, delicate nose, and rosy lips.She was beautiful—it was no wonder Brandon had fallen for her so deeply
"Why are you here so early?" Damon asked.Upon seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Nyla's heart ached. "Spencer told me about your schedule this morning. Buddy and I missed you, so we came by."Damon walked over. "Yeah, I have to head to a meeting soon and won't have much time to spend with you two.""We understand," Nyla said softly.Damon gave her a brief hug before crouching to embrace Mason. "If all goes well, I might finish early tonight and be home for dinner.""Okay. I brought you breakfast. Eat something before your meeting," Nyla said with a gentle smile.As Damon ate, Mason and Nyla watched him."You've gotten thinner. Are you not eating properly?" Nyla asked, concern evident in her voice.Damon sipped his coffee and reassured her, "It's fine. Things will calm down soon."Just as they were finishing, Spencer entered to remind Damon about the meeting."Bring the materials to the conference room. I'll be right there," Damon instructed.Once Spencer left, he turne
After Gabriel stormed out, Tim couldn't hold back his laughter. "Haha, Gabriel's expression just now was priceless. I was going to leave him hanging, but he insisted on throwing money at me. He really set himself up for failure."Damon didn't comment.Tim finally stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "You've got an evening flight to catch, right? Let's handle the contract now."Damon walked over and sat across from him, pulling out the contract. "I've already marked the sections that need revisions."Tim took the document, reviewed the highlighted parts, and immediately called his assistant to revise them. Once corrected, the updated version was printed, signed, and stamped.By the time everything was finalized, over an hour had passed.Satisfied, Damon tucked one copy into his bag and stood up. "If any issues come up, let me know."Tim nodded. "Sure."As Damon reached the door, he paused and turned to Tim. "By the way, Gabriel doesn't let things slide. You outmaneuvered him
After a brief moment of anger, Gabriel regained his composure, his gaze turning cold. "Damon, Mr. Westcott assured me he wouldn't partner with Prospectus Technology. Otherwise, he wouldn't have signed this contract with me. Stop lying."Damon remained unfazed and spoke calmly. "Believe me or not, it makes no difference to me."With that, he turned and continued into Tim's office with Spencer following close behind.Gabriel stared at Damon's retreating back and instructed his secretary, "We're going back inside. I need to see for myself whether Damon or Tim is lying to me."Trailing Damon, Gabriel stormed into Tim's office.Seeing both men enter together, Tim raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Mr. Sumner, Mr. Hackett, what brings the two of you here together? Is there an issue with your contract as well, Mr. Hackett?"The subtle emphasis on "as well" struck Gabriel like a ton of bricks. His expression darkened."Mr. Westcott, you assured me at the restaurant that you wouldn't c
"Mr. Westcott, I'll return the money to him right away," Crystal said quickly.Tim waved dismissively. "No need. Tomorrow, go to the finance department and collect 8,000,000 dollars. After that, you don't need to come to the company."Crystal's face turned pale. She knew all too well that this sum of money was a breakup fee."Mr. Westcott, I truly realize my mistake. Please, give me another chance..." she pleaded, reaching out to grab his sleeve.The moment she saw the cold look in his eyes, her hand froze mid-air, and she dared not move any closer.Tim stood tall, looking down at her with an icy expression. He spoke slowly. "You should be grateful to Mr. Hackett. If he'd only given you a few hundred thousand, that's all you'd be getting from me as well. But 15,000,000 dollars in total for three years? I'd say that's more than enough."He added, his tone final, "I don't want to make this uglier than it has to be. Let's part on good terms."Crystal's face went ashen. She wanted t
"Would you happen to have a moment later? I'd love to discuss something," Gabriel asked.Tim smiled. "What a coincidence. I suppose I can spare a few minutes for a chat.""Excellent," Gabriel replied.Standing, Crystal smoothed her dress. "I'll freshen up."She knew better than to linger during Tim's business discussions."Your lipstick needs touching up. Take your time," Tim said mildly."Of course," Crystal answered.She found a quiet spot and sat for over half an hour, waiting until she received a bank notification confirming a deposit of 7,000,000 dollars.Satisfied, she returned to the table, only to find Tim dining alone."Tim, when did Mr. Hackett leave?" she asked, quickening her pace to sit across from him.Tim continued cutting his steak with deliberate precision. "No talking while eating."Although his tone was calm, Crystal had been with him long enough to sense his simmering anger.She pressed her lips together, instinctively explaining, "Tim, I'm sorry. Mr. Ha
By midday, Tim still refused to see Gabriel.Gabriel, considering taking a break and returning later, received a call from his secretary."Mr. Hackett, I found out Mr. Westcott has a girlfriend. Perhaps she could help arrange a meeting," his secretary said.A spark lit in Gabriel's eyes. "Send me her details right away."The secretary quickly forwarded the information.Tim's girlfriend, Crystal Glasco, came from an average family and worked as his assistant.Her background was straightforward—a bachelor's degree and a job at the Westcott Group right after graduation, where she became Tim's assistant.Their relationship, however, was more about Tim keeping her than about them being equals. That said, their three years together suggested Tim held some level of affection for her.After reviewing the details, Gabriel immediately called his secretary back. "Find a way to contact Crystal. I need to meet her today."…At around 8:00 p.m., Crystal entered an upscale restaurant in Cap
Under Tim's leadership, the Westcott Group maintained its position as one of the top four families in Capitarnia, leaving the other three far behind.After reading the file, Gabriel closed it and asked coldly, "I asked you to arrange a meeting with Mr. Westcott. What's their response?"The secretary hesitated. "Mr. Hackett, Mr. Westcott's secretary hasn't responded. It seems they aren't interested in meeting with you."Gabriel wasn't fazed. The document made it clear that Tim was proud and highly selective in his dealings. Such a person wasn't easily approached.For Damon to even gain the Westcott Group's consideration, he must have put in significant effort.Still, there was an opportunity as long as the contract wasn't signed."No need to wait for a reply. I'll go to the Westcott Group myself tomorrow morning," Gabriel said."Understood, Mr. Hackett," the secretary replied.…At 7:00 a.m. the next day, Gabriel was already standing outside the Westcott Group. The sun hadn't f
Damon nodded. "Got it. Have the PR department continue contacting major media outlets to remove any negative commentary about Prospectus Technology. We can't let this situation escalate further."In the business world, public opinion could be lethal. Most people were naturally inclined to follow the crowd. Without knowing the full picture, they could easily be misled.If the narrative that Prospectus Technology's chips were faulty spread too far, restoring their reputation later would require monumental resources. It was critical to stop this from snowballing now."Understood, Mr. Sumner. By the way, how's the deal in Capitarnia coming along?" someone asked.Upon hearing that, Damon's previously tense expression relaxed slightly. "Progress is decent. Barring any unforeseen issues, we should be able to sign the contract in a couple of days."The group on the call let out a collective sigh of relief.Once the deal was signed, Prospectus Technology would recover some of its losses
"We can sign an agreement if you're still worried. I promise never to challenge your custody of Wilhelm in my lifetime," Jane assured.Seeing her determination, Gabriel remained silent.Noticing his hesitation, Jane gripped the armrests of her wheelchair tightly. "Gabriel, you're already hesitating, even though you haven't remarried yet. How can I believe you'll treat Wilhelm fairly in the future?"Gabriel's gaze turned cold. "No matter what, Wilhelm will be better off with me than with you. When and how much of the shares I give him is my decision, not yours."With that, he turned to leave.As he reached the doorway, Jane's voice echoed behind him. "If you don't transfer half your shares to Wilhelm, I won't leave the country!"Gabriel paused, then glanced back at her mockingly. "Whether you leave or stay means nothing to me. And why would you think your refusal to leave is a threat to me?""Gabriel, you're a bastard!" Jane shouted.Gabriel smirked and left without another word