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On the fourth week of January, Morgan from KMH (Kline and Morgan Holdings) promised that he would finish his deal with Gael when he got back from his two-week holiday.

Lies.

Morgan didn\'t come back to New York until February 20. Gael had to hunt him down again, but this time, Morgan finally relented. 

Of course, not until he demanded something else on top of the amount they first agreed upon. The financial mogul asked for some shares in SVR Corp. The dickhead.

Gael gave it a thought for a few moments as if he was carefully considering it. But honestly? He didn\'t give a fuck about his shares from the family business anymore. That was one of the things tethering him to the clandestine business—apart from other scattered small companies here and there that he was still in charge of—obviously, that and the inescapable fact that De Luca blood ran in his veins. 

Technically, Gael only held 5% of the SVR Corp to his name: a small portion of shares and earnings that was legally on papers. But under the table, the percentage of shares didn\'t matter. Each family member earned way, way more than what could actually be seen ON the table.

Aside from that, Alessandro being the major shareholder with 40% to his name—which he held until he "retires"—he would be distributing his shares among his three children when the time would come that he would be ready to step down. This was already a known fact to Gael as his father didn\'t fail to remind the three of them how they would handle such division of shares—if he suddenly died, considering the nature of their underground business.

Even if he gave away some shares to Morgan, he wouldn\'t truly be left with nothing. After negotiating with the older man so that Gael would pay lesser than agreed, plus throwing in an agreeable share percentage from SVR Corp, they made the deal. All Gael asked after signing the contract was that they keep the turnover silent for a few days. At least until they were sure they got Perry by the balls.

Monday — February 25th

It was as if a storm hit KMH building when Gael and Giovanni De Luca came strutting down the lobby with Morgan where a "last-minute" press conference was waiting. It was all in the plan, of course. The look on Keith Perry\'s face upon learning the news was priceless. The man, who always dressed impeccably and whose appearance seemed pristine every minute, was practically sweating the balls he wore on his giant head. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

The same could be said to Malia Rose. Her jaw dropped when she met Giovanni\'s malicious smirk. If looks could talk, his smirk said: "Got ya."

On the other hand, Gael appeared stoic in front of the cameras, seemingly unbothered by the clicks and flashes in front of him as they asked generic questions, which he answered flawlessly. 

"Mr. De Luca, what pushed you to acquire KMH? Have you gone tired working for your father at SVR Corp?" asked one of the male reporters, looking eager to get some scoop from the De Luca family.

A small smile hinted at Gael\'s lips before he answered. "It has always been a plan of mine to own a financial company. In fact, before I decided to purchase Mr. Morgan\'s shares, I was already building my own." He tilted his head and nonchalantly laughed. "However, things changed. And I couldn\'t be happier after making the decision. I am very honored to be able to continue Mr. Morgan\'s legacy. It\'s going to be tough for me to live up to their eminence. But I love a challenge, and I\'m certainly ready."

Morgan, who sat beside him on the stage, grinned so wide and clapped. The man ate up compliments like cookies. He liked being buttered up, and when the cameras pointed at him, his smile went wider while he muttered a few words as if trying to tone down Gael\'s praise. Just a few weeks ago, Morgan was hell-bent on making them wait, holding onto his company as long as he could. But this morning, Gael found out, Morgan had already invested in a couple of new and promising ventures. The older man even invited Gael to be partners with him.

The sudden announcement of Morgan\'s leaving from KMH not long after Kline did ignited a hurricane of assumptions and juicy articles. But any publicity is good publicity. And Gael took advantage of that. The next day, Gael would secretly release a document showing SVR Corp\'s increase in market share the same week he had officially joined the company years ago. The growth kept going up, taking over several companies\' place in its path until it soared so high to what it was now. He was confident that this move would jumpstart his plans for KMH, allowing the company to increase its already high market share to an even staggering height.

When the press conference ended, Angela kissed Gael\'s cheek, congratulating him again on his achievement, and then excused herself to the restroom with Trigger trailing behind.

While Trigger waited outside the ladies\' room, Angela relieved herself and then washed her hands in the sink. She wore a navy blue dress with a gold belt and a pair of gold heels, looking sophisticated.

After reapplying some nude lipstick, she was ready to go back out again, but then she stopped in her tracks when she heard faint sniffling sounds coming from one of the cubicles at the far end of the restroom. Her heart raced at the thought that it could be a crying ghost—she couldn\'t help scaring herself as usual.

However, the flushing of a toilet and the swinging of a cubicle door calmed her down, realizing it was a real person who walked out. And not just any person. It was Malia. As in, Giovanni\'s Lia.

Malia Rose\'s eyes and nose were red from crying. She briefly paused as she looked up and saw Angela before quickly lowering her gaze and moving towards the sink to wash her hands.

Angela reckoned that the other didn\'t know who she was—not that she expected her to. Why was Malia crying, though? Was it because of Giovanni? Perhaps what happened today affected her a lot.

She could leave and pretend she didn\'t see anything, but witnessing Malia in her condition worried her. Moreover, she was admittedly nosey when it came to Giovanni\'s history with this woman. "Are you okay?" Angela probed cautiously.

Malia met Angela\'s eyes through the reflection in the mirror. At first, she knitted her brows as if confused by the question or why a stranger was talking to her. And then her expression softened as she forced a smile. "Yeah. Just…family stuff."

Angela curled the corner of her lips and sighed. "Mm… That I understand." She understood very well that even though they didn\'t really know each other, sometimes, people just needed someone to talk to—even if they were strangers.

Malia clicked her tongue when she tried to grab a paper towel from the dispenser, only to find it empty. Realizing what she needed, Angela immediately fished out a tissue packet from her purse and handed it over. "Here. I always carry some with me—you know, for family stuff."

The two laughed at their shared troubles despite not actually knowing the specifics. 

Malia smiled. "Thanks. I usually have some in my purse, which I left in my office. And the…drama was unexpected." She dried her hands with the tissue and then used another to clean her eye area. Then she glanced at Angela. "I don\'t normally cry in bathroom stalls…" she explained as if wanting to defend herself.

Angela scanned the rest of the room and then lowered her voice in almost a whisper, "Don\'t worry. I won\'t tell anyone."

Probably just Giovanni. Maybe. She would think about it.

Malia leaned her hip against the counter and chuckled. Then she sighed right after, looking less troubled now. "I\'m Malia." She extended her hand out to shake Angela\'s.

"Angela."

Angela could be wrong, but she had a good feeling about the woman. Something just felt light about her.

Malia drew her brows together and studied Angela\'s face. "You look a little familiar… Do you work here?"

"I—"

Angela\'s answer was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. It swung open, and a serious-looking man began striding inside as if looking for a threat. "Is everything okay here?" he asked.

"Trigger! This is the ladies\' room!" Angela scolded.

"You were in here too long. I—" His words trailed off when he did a double-take at Malia. His eyes bounced between the two women. "Oh… Uh. I\'ll just wait for you outside." Then he hurriedly left.

Surprise filled Malia\'s face as she hesitated, "You…"

"I\'m sorry. That was my…um…security. My fiancé\'s very protective of me." Angela\'s cheeks flushed as she softly laughed.

"You\'re with the…De Lucas?"

Before Angela could respond, her phone rang. She excused herself to answer Gael\'s call. He told her that he was on his way to the top floor with Morgan and that she could follow when she was done.

Not wanting to make Gael wait too long for her, she said goodbye to Malia and left the restroom.

Giovanni was casually waiting for her in the lobby when she arrived with Trigger. She had wanted to find Gael already, but the uncle was not in a hurry. Actually, he wanted to take his sweet ass time and urged her to go to the coffee shop next door with him.

Draping his arm over her shoulders, Giovanni steered her outside of the building. She couldn\'t help but glance over her shoulder where she sensed a pair of eyes watching her. And she was right. Malia looked gutted as she watched them exit the building.

It seemed as if Giovanni was unaware of their audience when he squeezed Angela\'s shoulder and tugged her closer to his side as he asked, "Do you want to know the best thing about working in offices like this?"

"Not really. But I\'m sure you\'re gonna tell me anyway," Angela muttered dryly, which earned her a deep-throated chuckle from him.

"Cute." He grinned, dragging his stare from Angela to the woman in a short skirt who just walked past them. The perv. Then he faced front again. "It\'s getting acquainted with the best restaurants and shops around the block. Trust me. When we start working here, you\'re gonna thank me.. Now let\'s go buy a fûck load of coffee and pastries for our hard-working staff."