<b>Chapter </b><b>100 </b>
Stanley was being watched by Stephen’s secretary at the moment.
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When he saw Jeffrey’s name shing 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 <i>a </ipromise? I won’t touch my phone, you pick up for me and 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 Reba.
“I just came downstairs, and Stephen’s secretary plus two bodyguards pretty much dragged me over 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, I can pull it off.”
“Mr. Jeffrey Hanson?” Bernard suddenly spoke up.
Stanley nced 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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watch, too,” Bernard said, figuring they were probably scheming. “Making ns won’t help you now.”
Stanley’s eyes darkened.
‘He even nned for this,‘ Stanley thought. ‘Could Stephen really be thinking about using Reba 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 tell me what Mr. Hanson’s up to?” Stanley asked, trying to sound casual. “What’s his game?”
“Would your secretary just spill the beans on your ns?” 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 name your price.”
Bernard didn’t miss a beat. “Your shares in the Garcia Group.”
Stanley chuckled.
‘Wow, the nerve on this guy, Stanley thought. ‘Honestly, I 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 <i>door</i>; 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 n 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.
Reba 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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:
After that initial weird tension, everyone just kept their heads down, silently eating.
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Even Jason and the Primey Technologies board had never experienced a scene like this before.
But with Stephen taking his sweet time with his meal,pletely unfazed, nobody dared to break the silence.
“Once the party wraps up, you got fifteen minutes to spare?” Stephen asked Reba.
Reba 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, Reba didn’t want to t–out refuse. “Sure.”
Stephen nodded.
Twenty minutester, Reba leaned back, feelingfortably full.
She nced up at Jason and the board from Primey Technologies, all still bent over their tes 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?”
Reba nodded. “Yes.”
Stephen put his utensils down.
Reba paused, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
Reba opened her mouth to speak, but Stephen beat her to it.
With that signature chill confidence<b>, </b>he got to his feet and addressed the room, “You all go ahead and enjoy your meal. Reba and I 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. “Let me walk you out.”
“No need, thank you,” Stephen replied, politely declining.
He shot Reba a look, and they slipped out of the room together.
As soon as Stephen and Reba disappeared through the door, everyone in the suite finally breathed out in relief. Bary and a few others just melted into their chairs, all pretense ofposure gone.
Alexander shivered, thankful he hadn’t pissed off Reba too much. “Man, that was nuts.
“Weren’t <b>Jeffrey </b>and Stephen supposed to hate each other? So why’s Stephen <b>acting </b>all protective of Reba
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and treating her so kindly?”
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<b>“</b>Who knows,” Yannie agreed, shrugging. “Maybe those two are actually tight when no one’s looking.”
Bary and Sterling exchanged nces, 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 nce at Reba, noticing she looked a bit distracted. Strolling along beside her, he asked, “Not used to having dinner with me?”
“A little,” Reba admitted honestly, not bothering to hide it.
“So you think I’m kinda intimidating, huh?” Stephen joked, keeping the mood light.
“Not exactly,” Reba replied, only half–serious, not about to spill everything she really thought. “<b>It’s </b>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.”
Reba nced 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 feltpletely different, polished and soft–spoken, more like a gentleman one would instantly feelfortable around.
“Earlier, I treated you well to show everyone we’re close,” Stephen said, his tone rxed.
Reba didn’t press the issue. “It’s fine. I 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 some photos.
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