Nicholas hadn’t expected this kind of opportunity to present itself so early on in his life.He thought he would have to wait until he could get back at Emerson Yu for what he had done, but Stephen was lucky. As soon as he left Mr. Ong’s office he took out his phone and gave Edward Hao a call.“Are you bored?” Stephen asked Edward as he waited for the elevator.“Depends what you had in mind.” Edward said in a flat tone, seemingly uninterested.“Come with me to Lowe City, have some fun.” Stephen told Edward as the elevator arrived.“Text me the details.” Edward said as he dropped the call.Stephen smiled, satisfied as his plan was slowly coming together.When he returned to his office, his team members were waiting for him, he could see the worry in their faces.“What’s wrong?” Stephen asked as he opened his office and let them inside.“Vice president Cho was just here.” Natalia Wu told Stephen as she frowned.“Isn’t a visit from the Vice President a good thing?” Stephen asked, preten
Stephen waited outside Vanessa’s building for her to come out from work.He smiled when he saw her step out of the building, she was smiling and glowing as she waved at him.“I thought you wouldn’t be happy to see me.” Stephen confessed as he lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips.“I just needed to process the errr. . . things I learned on Friday.” Vanessa said with a blush. “Let’s get out of here.” Stephen grinned as he took her hand and led her to the car his grandfather had provided for them.When they were inside, Vanessa was able to marvel at the luxury of the vehicle for the first time.“It’s custom.” Stephen told her as he noticed her looking around. “Huh?” Vanessa asked.“You can’t get this car like this off the line.” Stephen explained. “Grandfather had it bulletproofed and even added some of my prefered features in it. I’m just glad he didn’t send a flashier car.” “So your grandfather. . .” Vanessa didn’t know where to start. She had a whole script in her head
“So, what was your childhood really like?” Vanessa asked as she finally looked away from the dazzling ring on her finger. “I was privileged and happy.” Stephen told Vanessa as he noticed her looking at the ring again. “I grew up in a home where my mother loved me, my grandfather taught me everything, and my grandmother spoiled me.” “I heard about the late madam Cho.” Vanessa frowned as she recalled news from the distant past. “When she died, grandfather was heartbroken. Unlike my father and mother, my aunt and uncle, their marriage was a love match that lasted decades.” Stephen said with a sigh. “That ring on your finger, it belonged to her.” “You don’t need to talk about the past if you aren’t ready.” Vanessa noticed that there was a distant ache in Stephen’s expression. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” Stephen said as he smiled at his fiance. “There is something I need to confess.” Vanessa told Stephen as she looked down, embarrassed that she hadn’t told him earlier. “What is it?”
“Grandfather arranged for Mr. Kai to help you choose from his staff. He wants us to get a minimum of one chef and one maid to clean up.” Stephen told Vanessa as one of his bodyguards carried his bag out of the house.“Do we really need staff?” Vanessa asked. “Don’t worry, these people can be trusted. They brought me up and they would never betray me or my grandfather.” Stephen said as he kissed Vanessa on the lips. “I’ll miss you.”“It’s just one night.” Vanessa said with a smile. “We just made up and you just moved back in last night.” Stephen sighed as he pulled his fiance into a hug. “When I get back we need to make wedding arrangements. We have three weeks.”“I don’t even have a gown yet, maybe we should delay?” Vanessa suggested.“You’ll have a gown, trust me.” Stephen told her as he kissed her one last time before finally walking out of the house.He had left his old car for one of the body guards to drive Vanessa. “You done saying goodbye?” Edward Hao asked as he leaned agai
Emerson glared at Stephen as the latter sat at his seat at the head of the table. “Manager Mason, you didn’t inform us that you would be bringing such a big group.” David Lao grumbled as Emerson continued to glare at Stephen, while Stephen seemed unbothered. “Oh well, we got a call from the head office, directly from the Chairman’s assistant, Mr. Kai.” Manager Mason was flustered as he tried his best to explain the situation without offending either party. “Mr. Lao, I was sent by the head office to discuss with Mr. Yu the unlawful blockade of our trucks from entering and passing through Lowe City.” Stephen said as he spoke in Manager Mason’s place. “We have not been unlawfully blocking your trucks.” Emerson Yu spoke up for the first time during the meeting. “Then tell me, Mr. Yu, what reason do you have for blocking the trucks of Cho Industries?” Stephen questioned. “Your trucks damage our roads, Cho Industries should pay more so that our roads are maintained.” Emerson Yu said
“I’m actually at a meeting right now. Chairman Cho sent me.” Stephen calmly said as Emerson Yu’s eyes burned with anger and embarrassment.“I hope you aren’t too busy to have dinner with an old friend.” Edward Hao told Stephen. Edward was no fool, he was in fact quite smart and knew from the start the Stephen was probably with Emerson Yu. The head of the Yu family had invited him for dinner the night before, while Emerson had offered to show him the local nightlife. “Of course not.” Stephen told Edward Hao.“So what do you need?” Edward asked as Stephen looked at Emerson Yu and raised an eyebrow.He could see the look of defeat on Emeron’s face as he realized the grave mistake he had made. “I am in a meeting now with Mr. Emerson Yu, do you know him?” Stephen asked, pretending not to know the implications of his question.Next to Stephen the employees of Cho Industries were shocked by both how capable and how well connected Stephen was. It also puzzled them how humble this employe
Stephen chuckled when he realized that he had arrived a little bit too early. He and Edward had planned to meet at seven in the evening to have dinner and drinks. Stephen knew that the Yu family had dinner in this particular restaurant every Wednesday night. He was planning on making them cave as soon as they realized that Stephen and Edward were really friends.“Do you have a reservation?” The woman at the entrance asked as she carefully eyed Stephen. It was clear she was trying to see if she should ignore him or entertain him.“Under Cho Industries.” Stephen said, making the woman’s demeanor quickly change. “Mr. Sy, this way.” The woman said as she guided him to the best seat in the restaurant. He may just be an assistant manager from the head office, but he was still an employee if Cho Industries meeting with someone important. “We normally offer this table to our more regular guests, but my manager said to prioritize you tonight.” The woman told Stephen as she gestured toward
“Mr. Hao, please, we didn’t mean to offend you or the Cho family.” Harry Yu begged as he tried his best to save his family from what was to come.“Really? But I just heard both you and your son telling Mr. Sy that you would continue imposing a fee for Cho Industries, how is that not an attack on the Cho family?” Edward asked as he glared at Harry Yu.“Sir, the trucks that pass-” Harry Yu started to reason using the same lines that his son had said to Stephen in the past, but Stephen cut him off midsentence.“The roads are not owned by the Yu family. The roads are paid for by taxes that both the citizens of Lowe City and the companies within Lowe City pay. Are you claiming to own Lowe City now, Mr. Yu?” Stephen asked, his demeanor and attitude doing a complete 180 degree change.Something about him made Harry Yu flinch as he spoke. Edward looked at Stephen and smiled.“I’ll handle the repercussions.” Edward cryptically said to Stephen as he sat down to watch the show.“Why else did yo