“What do you have in mind?” Jack curiously asked. The hesitation that he felt earlier was gone. It was as if Lily’s words had strike a chord inside him. How long was he going to live like this? Always hiding and looking over his shoulders. In fact, besides being born into this world, he had done nothing wrong. Why should he continue to pay for his mother’s mistakes? He was not the villain but he was treated like one.
Lily was right, wasn’t it time for him to have his own happy ending? So why should he be afraid of the Arison family which he was also a part of?
“Liam and Sofia will go down soon,” Lily said confidently. “That is all that you need to know.”
“But…” Jack paused, his eyes never leaving Lily. “What have they done to you? Why do you want to destroy them? Are you planning to take over the Arison Holdings?”
“Liam is giving me a hard time in Hong Kong. While Sofia… well she hasn’t done anything, yet. But she will… soon. Plus I just find her a nuisance. And I tend to get rid of people whom I find a nuisance as early as possible. As for the Arison Holdings… it doesn’t interest me. I don’t see any bright future with your father’s company to be honest, and I am too lazy to help the company stand back up on its feet.”
“Then why help me? How does it benefit you? With me as the CEO, I am sure that Arison Holdings will be able to get back on its feet again. What will you do then?” he asked. Jack wasn’t sure if Lily would strike at Arison Holdings again the moment it got back up on its feet. Jack might be smart but he knew that he couldn’t outsmart Lily as she was in a totally different league. Would he be able to fight and win against her if she chooses to attack?
“You are asking the right questions,” she smirked, “And I like it. As I said, I don’t have an interest in Arison Holdings. Firstly, my focus right now is to branch out in the Far East. I wouldn’t have the time to manage your subsidiaries that are in Europe and South America. As you know, I have already taken over three of your companies in Asia. Secondly, I will be moving the head office of Facci Group to Hong Kong.” Lily almost wanted to add that she also needed to spend more time with her husband, so she wouldn’t have the time to manage another company for now. She had her priorities too alright?
Jack nodded with understanding. He had long heard that Lily was planning to move the head office of Facci Group to Hong Kong. Her words sounded reasonable. She already had such a big business to run already. Wouldn’t it be too much work for her if she were to acquire another conglomerate?
“But…this doesn’t mean that I won’t be taking any payment from you.” Lily had a smile on but her tone was full of undisguised wickedness. It made Jack feel uncomfortable and he shivered involuntarily. He wondered how a beautiful woman who was almost a foot shorter than him could make him feel such intense pressure.
“What do you want?” he asked cautiously.
“You are making it sound as if I am an evil person.” She gave a small laugh. “My sources told me that Liam invested in some companies in Hong Kong? I want ownership of those investments.” According to Zhuo Jingren, Liam had invested in Xuan Films and some other entertainment companies in Hong Kong.
“That’s all?”
“Of course. I will help you to bring down Sofia and Liam while you give me Liam’s investments in Hong Kong. Do we have a deal?”
“Deal.” Jack nodded with a smile. It was a very fair deal for him. Though he was curious as to why Lily wanted those investments, he did not have the courage to ask any more questions. He was afraid that the latter would divulge her evil plans to him and that his conscience would not be able to take it.
“Don’t be such a weakling Jack. If you continue being such a coward, you won’t be able to survive long in the industry,” Lily said as she roamed her eyes inside the coffee shop.
“Are we waiting for someone else?” Jack asked, not wanting to acknowledge Lily’s words. Lily was right, he was indeed a coward. But that was because he knew that his mother was murdered by Sofia and he grew up fearing that any day could be his last. Jack did not see anything wrong with his strong desire for self-preservation.
“Hmmm… we are.” Lily nodded before she slowly massaged her cheeks. “We are waiting for a great show.” As if right on cue, a blond petite woman strode inside the coffee shop. Her gaze instantly locked onto Lily and Jack.
“You sl*t!” she said in a shrill tone as she approached Lily. “It’s you, isn’t it? It was you who released Liam’s photos!” The blond woman placed one hand on her hip and with the other hand, she pointed a finger at Lily. “Answer me!”
But instead of giving an answer, Lily only smiled at the blond woman who was none other than Monique, Liam’s cousin, who had just recently debuted as an actress. “It’s good to see you too Monique.” Because of Monique’s shrill voice, everyone inside the coffee shop was now staring at them.
“You b*tch! How dare you ruin Liam’s name? Was it because he dumped you?” Monique then crossed her arms on her chest. “So this is it huh… Your ego can’t take that Liam dumped you!” Monique held her head high and eyed some of the people who were already starting to take a video of the commotion.
“Is that what he told you?” Lily raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk was on her face.
“What? Are you going to say that you are the one who cancelled the engagement? Tsk. Why else would Uncle and Aunt gave you the companies in Asia? Isn’t it to compensate a lonely woman like you? Liam dumped you and now you are taking revenge by destroying his reputation!”
She then looked at Jack who had lowered his head, obviously embarrassed. “You! Why am I not surprised to see you here with Lily? So you two are in cahoots! You want to make Liam leave the company and then you can take over right? Let me tell you! That will never happen!”
…
Editor: Swaning
