After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Stanley was being watched by Stephen's secretary at the moment.

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When he saw Jeffrey’s nflashing on the screen, he reached for it, but two bodyguards stopped him.

The secretary, Bernard, looked at Stanley with a professional smile. “Mr. Garcia, Mr. Stephen Hanson has

instructed that you cannot touch your phone without his permission.”

“Just so you know, that’s Jeffrey calling me,” Stanley reminded him.

Bernard, dressed sharply in a suit, replied, “I know.”

Stanley said, “You know exactly what happens if you piss him off.”

“This is Stephen's order. We're just following instructions,” Bernard replied, refusing to budge. After all, he

worked directly for Stephen.

“Then go ahead and follow orders,” Stanley said, sprawling out on the sofa like he didn’t have a care in the

world. “Anyway, if Jeffrey really loses his temper, nobody's going to be able to hold him back.”

Bernard was left speechless. He knew Stanley wasn’t wrong.

“How about a compromise? | won't touch my phone, you pick up forand put it on speaker,” Stanley

suggested when he saw Bernard was hesitating. “That way, we're not breaking Mr. Stephen Hanson's rules.”

After thinking it over for a moment, Bernard picked up and answered the call.

Jeffrey’s voice cut in right away. “Where are you?”

“Second-floor lounge,” Stanley said, scanning the room. He filled Jeffrey in. “No idea what's up with Rebecca.

“I just cdownstairs, and Stephen's secretary plus two bodyguards pretty much draggedover here,

confiscated my phone, and now they're handling my calls on speaker for me.”

Jeffrey's eyes grew colder, his whole vibe turning icy.

‘Stephen’s even locked down Stanley?‘ Jeffrey thought, suspicion creeping in. ‘Just what the hell is he plotting”

I'll be there soon. Think you can break out?” Jeffrey pressed, his tone deadly serious.

Stanley caught on to his cue. “As long as the timing’s right, | can pull it off.”

“Mr. Jeffrey Hanson?” Bernard suddenly spoke up.

Stanley glanced up.

Jeffrey was still tearing down the road on his bike and ignored him.

“Mr. Stephen Hanson's got everything on lockdown here, and Mr. Garcia's bodyguards are all under our

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14:59 Mon, Sep 22

Chapter 100

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watch, too,” Bernard said, figuring they were probably scheming. “Making plans won't help you now.”

Stanley's eyes darkened.

‘He even planned for this,’ Stanley thought. ‘Could Stephen really be thinking about using Rebecca to threaten

Jeffrey into handing over the Hanson Group?”

But that kind of straightforward tactic was way too obvious. Stephen had had plenty of chances in the past to

pull something like this.

Stephen wouldn't have waited until now. Besides, that was just not how Stephen operated.

Jeffrey hung up without a second thought and gunned it on his bike.

“Since I'm stuck here anyway, why don’t you tellwhat Mr. Hanson's up to?” Stanley asked, trying to sound

casual. “What's his game?”

“Would your secretary just spill the beans on your plans?” Bernard shot back.

Stanley smirked, keeping a straight face, “Hey, if the price is right, who's to say?”

Bernard blinked, totally thrown off.

Stanley grinned, “3 million, spill the secret.”

Bernard shrugged. “3 million isn’t worth losing my gig.”

Stanley smirked. “Then you nyour price.”

Bernard didn’t miss a beat. “Your shares in the Garcia Group.”

Stanley chuckled.

‘Wow, the nerve on this guy, Stanley thought. ‘Honestly, | can’t tell if Stephen just trains his people way too well,

or if that’s just exactly the kind of crew I'd expect from him."

Stanley shot a look over at the door; it was sealed up tighter than a vault.

Whether he tried to talk his way out or muscle through, there was just no chance of escape. As for what

Stephen's real plan was, Stanley was totally in the dark.

Jeffrey wanted answers even more than Stanley did.

Having hit a dead end with Stanley, Jeffrey turned to Jane. She was caught off guard by his call, but didn’t have

any useful info for him, either.

Rebecca was whisked away to a private suite by Jason for dinner, and there was no way for any of them to get

close.

The mood in the private suite seemed perfectly peaceful, at least on the surface.

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Chapter 100

After that initial weird tension, everyone just kept their heads down, silently eating.

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Even Jason and the PrimePlay Technologies board had never experienced a scene like this before.

But with Stephen taking his sweet twith his meal, completely unfazed, nobody dared to break the silence.

“Once the party wraps up, you got fifteen minutes to spare?” Stephen asked Rebecca.

Rebecca didn’t answer right away. “What's up?”

“Just want to chat about something,” Stephen said, keeping his voice low but not bothering to hide it from the

others. “Won't take long.”

With everyone watching, Rebecca didn’t want to flat-out refuse. “Sure.”

Stephen nodded.

Twenty minutes later, Rebecca leaned back, feeling comfortably full.

She glanced up at Jason and the board from PrimePlay Technologies, all still bent over their plates in stiff silence.

About to set her utensils down, she paused; doing so first would feel a little too forward in this atmosphere.

Noticing her gesture, Stephen asked gently, “Are you full?”

Rebecca nodded. “Yes.”

Stephen put his utensils down.

Rebecca paused, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but Stephen beat her to it.

With that signature chill confidence, he got to his feet and addressed the room, “You all go ahead and enjoy your

meal. Rebecca and | need to talk about something, so we'll just slip out for a bit.”

For a second, everyone seemed to pause in unison, staring straight at him, food forgotten.

Jason stood up. “Letwalk you out.”

“No need, thank you,” Stephen replied, politely declining.

He shot Rebecca a look, and they slipped out of the room together.

As soon as Stephen and Rebecca disappeared through the door, everyone in the suite finally breathed out in

relief. Barclay and a few others just melted into their chairs, all pretense of composure gone.

Alexander shivered, thankful he hadn't pissed off Rebecca too much. “Man, that was nuts.

“Weren't Jeffrey and Stephen supposed to hate each other? So why’s Stephen acting all protective of Rebecca

14:59 Mon, Sep 22

Chapter 100

and treating her so kindly?”

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“Who knows,” Yannie agreed, shrugging. “Maybe those two are actually tight when no one’s looking.”

Barclay and Sterling exchanged glances, both looking like they'd narrowly escaped disaster. Good thing they

hadn't tried anything today. No one knew how ugly it would've gotten.

Outside the suite, Stephen shot a glance at Rebecca, noticing she looked a bit distracted. Strolling along beside

her, he asked, “Not used to having dinner with me?”

“A little,” Rebecca admitted honestly, not bothering to hide it.

“So you think I'm kinda intimidating, huh?” Stephen joked, keeping the mood light.

“Not exactly,” Rebecca replied, only half-serious, not about to spill everything she really thought. “It’s just that

we haven't really had dinner together much over the years. There's this sense of distance between us.”

Stephen gave her a gentle, apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

Rebecca glanced at him, a little puzzled.

From this angle, Stephen did look a bit like Jeffrey.

But where Jeffrey gave off that cool, hard-to-approach energy, Stephen felt completely different, polished and

soft-spoken, more like a gentleman one would instantly feel comfortable around.

“Earlier, | treated you well to show everyone we're close,” Stephen said, his tone relaxed.

Rebecca didn’t press the issue. “It’s fine. | know you were just trying to help. But maybe we should keep our

distance, alright?”

“Sure,” Stephen replied.

They kept walking, making small talk. From a distance, they looked perfectly matched; behind them, Stephen's

team discreetly snapped sphotos.

#

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