Weeks past ..Working as the CEO hasn't been easy for Brian. Most times, he has to sign contracts, go for meetings and check through a lot of files. Sometimes, he wouldn't even remember to take lunch. Today, Brian has decided to treat himself. Since it was a weekend, Brian decided to go to a bar to have some wine. Picking up some casual clothes and a black facecap, he looked dashing as usual. Brian wasn't used to using facecaps, but due to his new identity as the CEO of Duke's empire, he doesn't want to attract too much attention as he has not been comfortable with it in the past weeks.Upon reaching the bar, Brian calmly walked in, his movement exuding confidence and charm. Everyone turned their heads, wondering who came in with such imposing Aura. Brian wasn't used to the way people ogle at him because of his good looks but he waved it aside. Today was his day off, and he was going to make good use of it. When the bartender noticed Brian was approaching him, he got up on his feet
Arden laughed out loud, his shoulders trembling slightly as he tapped “Brian, will you tell your friend you hired to stop joking? Who would use the Duke's empire to have fun?! Don't you know how prestigious they are?” Brian smiled, his eyes fixed on Arden, “I'm the new CEO of the Duke's empire. Didn't you hear the news?” He asked as he leaned close, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “Arden, even if you're outside the country, the Duke's empire is now international. Even if you don't know who the particular person is, you must have heard that a new CEO was just appointed.” Arden frowned, “Brian, stop with the jokes!” He snapped as he picked up his phone to check the trending news. Picking the catch topic “The Handsome CEO of the Duke's empire.” His eyes Widened in surprise as his legs suddenly felt weak. Arden zoomed the picture several times, his heart not willing to accept the news. “This person….” His voice trailed off as he looked at the picture on the Internet and Brian's f
Brian searched through the files quickly, looking for important information. Just then, Albert came in, looking worried, his once calm face etched with concern. "Master, I think I know why the stock market is dropping rapidly against us. It's because of a rumor," Albert said. "People are saying mean things about you. It's all over the Internet. They're saying you're not smart enough to be the CEO. Plus, they even called you uneducated.They’re really taking things too far."Brian sighed, frustrated. "So now people think I'm not smart enough? How far will they go to make me quit my position as the CEO, my right as the successor to my father. Haven't they done enough?"Brian shook his head, thinking about who might be spreading the rumors. "This is just a mean trick to make me look bad. But I won't let them get away with it."he said, his fists clenched by his sides. Albert nodded. "I'm already working on a statement to fix the rumor. Master, We'll find out who's behind this and clear y
Brian turned the directors and smiled, “Yes, I promise not to let you all down. Now we need to find a solution to this matter.If this issue started with a rumor, how can we tackle it?” A director then said, “Mr Duke, since it's because of a certification. I'm certain you went to college. Let's upload your certificates online and silence them completely.” But Brian shook his head. "Even if I show them my certificate, people will still doubt me. They'll say I'm not good enough to be in charge. We need to find out who's spreading these rumors and make them tell the truth in a meeting."Brian noticed the young man who had a conversation with Brandon moments ago. He was acting nervous, fidgeting with his hands and looking around the room. Brian thought something was suspicious. Brian turned to Silas, his voice cold and threatening. "Why are you trembling, Silas?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.Silas stuttered, trying to defend himself, but no words came out. He was scared and didn't know
Back at the Duke's Empire, Brian informed Reed to plan a press conference immediately. Not wanting to waste a second as the Duke empire fate was depending greatly on the press conference. …In a large room, reporters were seated calmly, a disturbed expression etched on their face. If the CEO of the Duke's empire had an explanation for the trending news on the Internet, then they were eager to hear it. The rate at which their stock was dropping was alarming, instilling fear in even the hearts of the workers. Sighting Brian and Silas walk into the hall, they hurriedly dashed forward and pushed through the crowd, trying to get a statement from Brian. However, they were blocked by the well built bodyguards guards who had a stern expression on their face. Brian calmly walked over to the front seat and sat down. The only thing left for him to do was watch how Silas was going to handle the matter. The stock was dropping rapidly, and the thought of this weighed heavily on Brian's shoulders
Few weeks later, Lady Elizabeth was seated calmly in her office, gently tapping her fingers on the desk. Turning to her assistant, “Call me Tyla.” She ordered, opening the cabinet to get a file from it. Moments later, Tyla strode in, swaying her hips as she walked. “Grandma, you sent for me?” She asked softly, pulling the chair to have a seat. “Is anything the matter?” Lady Elizabeth exhaled slowly, “Tyla, there's something I need you to do.” She began, “You and your husband, Martin should go to Brian's company and settle scores with him. If you are required to beg, then do it. We need to have the Duke's Empire on our side.” Tyla scoffed, glaring at Lady Elizabeth with contempt, “Grandma, you want me to beg Brian? Just because he's rich now?” Lady Elizabeth said, "Tyla, you really need to beg him, alongside Martin. Begging him would favor us greatly. Lyra had refused to beg him, and now it's left to us."Tyla's expression suddenly changed, her face squeezing in anger. "Grandma, h
Martin turned to Tyla, “Let's just do as she says.” he said and Tyla left angrily, her heels making a clicky sound on the ground. Bowing slightly to Lady Elizabeth, Martin then said, “Grandma, I'll proceed to his company now and do as you have said.” Delighted by Martin's response, Lady Elizabeth smiled brightly, “Good. By doing this, you're indirectly helping yourself.” Martin nodded and turned around to leave. Immediately he left Lady Elizabeth's office, his expression changed slightly. Clenching his fists by his sides, “I would rather die than beg Brian!” he mumbled in a barely audible voice. Few hours later, Tyla and Martin drove over to the Duke's Empire headquarters which was in Ashton Hills. Getting down from the car, Tyla was completely astonished by the magnificent building which stood tall and unique, but each time she remembers how lucky her sister was, it always seemed to get on her nerves. While Tyla was still admiring the structure of the building, Martin was already
Then, a young staff member approached Martin with a tab in his hands. Placing it In front of him, “Mr, do you know you can be sued for doing this?!” He said, his voice cold and threatening. Martin's eyes Widened in surprise, his body trembling tremendously, “W…h..” he stuttered. His eyes darted around Brian and the staff. Brian grinned, “Martin, you think you can just execute this and leave? Or do you think you can easily beat the security camera in an establishment as big as this? No! Not in the Duke's Empire!” He yelled. If he was the one Martin targeted, perhaps he wouldn't have been this angry, but targeting the Duke's Empire was the height of it. “Martin, why on earth would you try to duplicate all our important files?! Don't you know the value of each of the files you were trying to duplicate?!” Martin hung his head low. Surprised by how Brian figured it out. However, Tyla was beyond being surprised. Her husband had another motive for coming to the company, and she just found
The warmth of the sun caressed Brian's skin with half his body inside a pool. His hair, damp with water clung to his neck like a second skin while the sound of laughter filled the air. Right next to the pool was a garden filled with so many flowers, It looked unreal. The air was peaceful, calm and serene. He turned to his wife who basked in the sunlight, her skin glowing with youthfulness. In her arms were Ginny and George as she sat next to the garden. She stared at her kids with so much love, her heart filled with content. These past few months had been the best time of her life. Since Tyla was serving her time in prison, she got her company back. Now, Lyra was the chairwoman of Brooks Empire. That's right, she changed the name back to the initial name, and the crumbing company became better under her supervision. “Lyra, are the kids asleep? Don't you want to have fun in the pool?” Brian raised his voice, calling Lyra’s attention as he floated in the pool. Rather than settling do
Tyla tried to resist, but she was still dragged away harshly in the presence of all her employees. They all mocked her, glad that her end was finally here. Tyla cried and begged, but all her cries fell on deaf ears. A few days later after the chaos in Ashton Hills, Lawrence foyer, emerged as the winner of the presidential election, all thanks to Brian and his hard work as well. To thank Brian for everything, he decided to hold a banquet in Brian's name. Lyra strode into the hall with a wide smile on her lips. Her raven-dark hair cascaded down her waist in wavy curls, and the emerald gown she was putting on accentuated her hourglass figure. Her nanny walked right behind her with her kids, Ginny and Georgia, and Lyra couldn't ask for more. She turned to her husband, Brian who walked right beside her, his blue boraldo suit bringing out his striking features. His hair was styled like he should be on the cover of a magazine. His steps were slow, but powerful. Merely by walking, he comma
Dracula was able to escape Duncan's wrath, but Duncan couldn't care less. He was only concerned about the election and the success of it. The presidential election was taking place in Ashton Hills and several other cities across the country. Duncan was nervous and so was Austin, but since they had already bribed, threatened and forced several people, they relaxed a little. A few days ago, Duncan had asked one of his men to check if Brian was really in a critical condition and yes, It was true.Brian was presently in the hospital, bound to several machines because his life was on the line. Duncan couldn't be more excited. Immediately after winning the election, he would instruct his men to finish him up. Right now, the election could proceed with Brian out of the way. Austin walked out of his building, shoulders raised, head held high. He was nervous, but deep down he knew he was going to emerge as the winner. While the election was taking place across all states and cities in the co
In the dead of the night, Brian's car sped down the highway. His bodyguards were positioned in the front of his car. As the car moved smoothly, suddenly, the driver noticed the image of two vehicles from the rear mirror, chasing their vehicle with all their might. Brian's driver, Alex, tightened his grip on the steering and said “Mr Duke, we're being followed.” “What?” Brian asked, slightly confused. After a hectic day at work, he wasn't really ready to encounter such a problem. He placed his hands on his forehead and sighed, “Are you sure about this, Alex?” Alex checked the rear mirror again and confirmed his suspicion, “I'm very sure sir. They're closing in on us.” he continued, stepping on the accelerator. Brian leaned back in his chair, “Alert the other bodyguards about the situation and drive in circles. Going home now is not an option.”Alex nodded, clicked on a button and alerted the bodyguards in front of them. Brian watched as Alex stepped on the accelerator, speeding on t
North Ashton Hills, Members of the dancing 9 were seated around the table, each of their faces filled with dread. Several years of planning, training, working, went down the drain because of Brian Duke. Yes, they had planned to threaten people but Brian was still blocking their path. Duncan slammed his fists on the desk, his skin flushed from anger. He shook his head, “Brian really thinks he can get away with this.” his voice rang out, dripping with venom, “Can you believe he ordered his people to dig out our past?”“What?!” One of the members spat, a look of terror plastered on his face, “He’s digging out our past? What if he gets evidence against us? What then are we going to do?” he added, his eyes fixed on Duncan. Another member turned to Tyla, “You're the reason for this, you b*tch! You've brought this upon us. It's because of your greed, that's why that bastard is after us.” she seethed. Tyla clenched her fists, “How dare you say that to me?! If not for my company, the group
A man opened up the car for Lawrence, and as soon as he alighted from the car, about three to five men accompanied him to the coffee shop. In locations like these, Lawrence looked like the king among mere mortals with his commanding presence. His men stood on guard outside while he pushed the door and walked into the coffee shop.A few days ago, a senator contacted him and told him about Duncan's threats. At first, Lawrence couldn't believe it. He knew Duncan was bringing people to his side, but he never thought Duncan would threaten people to side with Austin. Not until Mike told him about his wife's condition. Mike explained the whole situation to Lawrence, and Lawrence was determined to rescue his wife from the claws of Duncan. Mike couldn't do any other thing than trust the president's words. Working with Duncan was like working with the devil himself. Even after doing all they want, they might still kill his wife in cold blood. He wasn't ready to experience that. Sighting Brian
Ever since the incident that happened during the campaign, Duncan had never had a moment of rest. Apart from how fast Lawrence was progressing, Brian also became stronger with each passing day. If threatening people would bring stronger people to his side, Duncan was determined to find their weakness and use it against them. Seated in a young senator's office, Duncan crossed his legs as his lips curled into a grin, “Mike Harrison, senator of Blackwoods state.” he began, leaning closer to take in his features. Mike had raven dark hair and pale green eyes. Striking features that would charm any lady. He looked like a soft man who wouldn't be able to withstand any pressure. It was exactly the kind of person Duncan was in need of. Weak and vulnerable people. Since Brian and the president were forcing his people to stop working with him, he might as well form alliances with new people. Mike was his new target. He was only a senator, but he had influence like the governor of a whole stat
As the election date moved closer, Lawrence, the president and Brian, worked hand in hand to ensure that the position didn't fall into the wrong hands. It was a sunny afternoon; the trees were green, the air clean and the sky was bright. It was the perfect time to have a campaign, and rather than holding it in Halls, Lawrence held it in a public space, where people moved around freely. There were free drinks, free food and there was no discrimination. People of different status were welcomed, each of them dressed in their best outfits. Lawrence stood on the podium with a microphone in his hands. Rather than having a robotic speech that would bore people, Lawrence conveyed his heartfelt message towards the people. He promised them a brighter future, a better world where everyone would be treated equally. Even though he was the incumbent president, there were still some mistakes he made and so, he assured the people he would keep to his word and amend his mistakes. While Lawrence co
Due to the president's words, Killian did his personal research on the dancing 9, but he realized that It was quite hard to get anything on the group. However, that only fueled his desire to know more, especially why they wanted the presidential position. Few days into the search, Killian confirmed the president's words. The dancing 9 was indeed a group who was involved in illegal activities.Killian had no idea that he had been working with desperate people. People who would kill to get a certain position. If not for the president, he would have been in the dark for ages. Few minutes later, a waiter walked towards him with a tray. He bowed towards Killian, “Good day, sir. I would like to take your order.” Slowly, Killian raised his head to meet the waiter’s eye, “I'm expecting someone soon. I'll take my order once he arrives.” His voice was soft, polite, and unconsciously, the waiter's lips curled into a smile. Killian had a meeting with Austin at this particular restaurant. Howev