Dahlia couldn't help but frown when she stared at the unbothered faces of the people around her as they chatted away merrily. She made sure to arrive earlier for the board meeting, so Hank's accusation of tardiness was absolutely baseless. From the moment she entered the room, the attendees remained seated. No one stood up to greet her—not even saving a seat for her. Clearly, they did not take her seriously."Hank, what's this supposed to mean?" She whispered while keeping her composure. She knew that Hank was laying down the law from day one."What do you mean?" Hank lit himself a cigar and crossed his legs on the table, seemingly treating the meeting room as his own office."I am sure you have received the news from the family's patriarch. I'm the new chairman of Nicholson Corp. as of today." Her voice was laced with warning."And?" He gave her a mocking smirk."You are in my seat. You've crossed a line here." She rapped her knuckles on the table."Your seat? Do you have eviden
"You may resign if you wish, but that doesn't mean you won't be held accountable for your dishonest practices in the past." Dahlia proceeded coldly. "Mr. Levin, if I recall correctly, you dipped your hands into 20 million worth of company funds, and you have not paid it back yet. For this, you will need to serve out a long sentence in prison."Hearing that, a man with a bald spot who stood as the head of the group leaving instantly froze and sweated profusely. He wondered how Dahlia learned about his action when he made sure he carried out the crime seamlessly.She ignored his question and continued, "Ms. Wagner, as the Director of Finance, you are in the greatest trouble. The company makes profits annually, but after you took charge, the books showed that we were making losses. Not only that, you have been asking the headquarters for money for your personal use. Your greed knows no bounds!""Y—you! That's nonsense!" A woman dressed luxuriously suddenly screamed at Dahlia, resembl
"Oh? Mr. Hoffman, what brilliant ideas do you have now?" Dahlia asked. She had collected evidence against most of the senior executives except for him. That did not mean Hank Hoffman was innocent. Instead, he covered his tracks very well, to the point that his misdeeds couldn't be traced back to him."On the topic of brilliant ideas, I do have some advice for you." With a cigar in his mouth, he went on, "To be our chairman, you need to build your reputation and capability. In short, you'll need to make profits. That way, we will approve of you."The executives all nodded upon hearing that. Money makes the world go round. Their ultimate goal was to profit more."I have enough confidence in myself to take up the role of the chairman," she answered nonchalantly. "I can't promise you much, but now that I'm the chairman, all the senior executives here will see a salary increase of 50% and a 20% increase in their annual bonuses. How does that sound?"The people started murmuring among th
When they took a better look, they realized that it was Julie Amberson. "Dustin, why are you here?" Julie was surprised when she spotted him."Why can't I be here? I'm the Chief Security Officer." Dustin grabbed an apple and munched on it."Chief Security Officer? Dahlia, are you serious? I'm just a secretary, but you appointed him as chief officer. Why?" Julie was aghast."I don't need to explain my decisions to you," Dahlia snapped at her with a stern look. "By the way, I'm surprised that you can still call yourself a secretary. You were 32 minutes late on your first day at the job. How unprofessional of you!" She gave Julie a chance to grow and improve her skills after being pestered by Florence and her aunt on the matter, but she was disappointed by Julie's attitude."I was stuck in traffic just now. I had no choice! Anyway, I was only late for half an hour. That's not a big deal, is it?" Julie did not take it seriously."Did I not ask you to wait in the meeting room with
Julie was taken aback before she collected herself and stared at Dustin like he was an idiot. "Are you, now? Dustin, can you stop bluffing? Who do you think you are? The audacity to claim that you're the leader of the gang!""Dustin quit it. You need to behave." Dahlia glared at him. She didn't look convinced either. After all, Dustin had only arrived in Millsburg a few days ago. It was impossible to claim the leadership position within that time frame."Why would I lie to you about this? If you don't trust me, just go with me to the Flame Dragon Gang. I'll get your money back for you," Dustin swore."Hmph! Do you take us as fools? We'll die if we ask the gang for our money back!" Julie told him off."Whatever. How about I go to the Flame Dragon Gang headquarters alone without the two of you?" He couldn't be bothered to argue with the ladies, and he thought they were overreacting to a small issue."Wait! I'll go with you." Dahlia sprang up when she noticed that Dustin was leaving.
Dahlia might have the backing of Regulus Nicholson, but the patriarch in Glenstead was too far away from Balerno to pose any threat."Oh, it shouldn't be a problem if she's nothing special." Nelson chuckled. "She'd better not show up! If she ever does, I'll make it tough on her!" It was simply ridiculous for a person who wasn't rich or powerful to demand money from him."Lord Horst, I'll have to trouble you for this. When it's done, I'll send you a gift." Hank bowed to Nelson."Haha! Not a problem. We're brothers. Take it easy." A wide smile appeared on Nelson's face. Based on his past experiences, the mention of a "gift" would imply at least a million dollars in monetary reward."Lord Horst …" One of Nelson's men knocked on the door during the conversation. Nelson raised his brows unhappily. "What? Can't you see that I'm in a business meeting with my client?""A few visitors demanded to see you. They would like you to pay your debts," the man reported the situation."Oh, they su
"What?" The man was in a state of confusion after being slapped. He held his cheek, looking lost. The other men exchanged looks of shock. No one had expected that outburst from Nelson, who one second ago was screaming about slashing the visitors. And the next second, Nelson appeared frightened, as though he saw ghosts. What was going on?"What are you doing there? Hurry up and get me the check!" Nelson gave the frozen man a nervous kick."Okay …" The man hurriedly stumbled his way back to the office. He had no clue about the situation, but one thing was for sure—Lord Horst was fearful.During the wait, Nelson went up to Dustin and squeezed an apologetic smile. "Sir Rhys, when did you arrive? You should have informed me earlier, so I could send someone to pick you up.""Sir Rhys?" Dahlia and Julie were stunned by Nelson's obsequious behavior. They looked at each other in disbelief. Why would the cruel Lord Horst of the Flame Dragon Gang act in such a humble manner after meeting Dust
"Have a good day, Sir Rhys!" Nelson bowed deeply to the trio as they left."Have a good day, Sir Rhys!" The members of the Flame Dragon Gang mimicked Nelson and chanted loudly. Hank had run down to the first floor from his viewing point when he figured that something was off. He confronted Nelson. "Lord Horst, what's wrong? Why did you pay her back?"Nelson had promised to teach Dahlia a lesson, but upon the meeting, Nelson obediently paid the debts without a word of protest. Since when were the Flame Dragon Gang such losers?"Oh, 'why' you fucking ask?" Nelson turned around and glowered as he hissed, "Did you know who's the guy beside that lady just now?""Wasn't he just a bodyguard? What's so special about that?" Hank frowned, confused by Nelson's reaction."Just a bodyguard?!" After the initial shock, Nelson smacked Hank hard on the back of his head and rebuked, "You blind fuckwit! That's our new gang leader!""What? Your new gang leader?" Hank was stunned."Son of a bitch!