CHAPTER 110

Natalie took Nate from his arms without a word and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Brian in

solitude.

After a brief retreat to freshen up and slip into her comfy pajamas, Natalie emerged from the bathroom

to find Nate already sprawled out on the pillow, deep in slumber.

She tiptoed to his side and gently wiped his face with a damp cloth, the faint hum of conversation from

the adjacent study trickling into her ears.

*…if BrightPeak Energy launches before our international merger goes public, they’ll snatch up a

whopping 8 percent of the market share. That’s a real punch in the gut for us. You’d better jet off to the

headquarters overseas instantly,” Quinton’s worried voice filtered through the computer’s speakers.

“When’s their grand opening?” Brian asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Word has it that it’ll be just before Halloween, prime time for foot traffic, with all six branches swinging

their doors open globally! They’ve ripped off our boutique hotel concept. If they beat us to the punch,

it’s gonna be a huge blow to our soft launch next year!”

“Do they have a concrete marketing strategy ready?” Brian queried, his eyes glued to the calendar

displayed on his computer screen, as he quietly crunched dates in his mind.

“Nope. But my guy tells me their advertisement blitz is ready to hit next month. We need a ringer like

FireWing on our side!”

Brian’s right index finger began to tap a rhythm on the desktop as he weighed his options, lost in

thought.

Quinton, knowing better than to interrupt, held his peace.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve got a plan B,” Brian finally murmured.

Quinton had always had faith in Brian’s savvy because he hadn’t fumbled a marketing play yet. But the

stakes felt higher this time.

“Boss, we’ve sunk billions into this mid–range hotel venture over the years: It’s your main target and

you can’t afford a single slip–up!” Quinton was creased with concern.

He feared a repeat of the debacle from four years back. If there was any misstep, both Brian and the

WL Group could face ruin.

The hotel venture was a juggernaut, gobbling up nearly half of WL’s investments. A collapse would

mean financial disaster for Brian, all over again.

In the next room, Natalie heard Quinton’s words crystal clear.

In fact, while infiltrating the WL Group’s internal systems for BrightPeak Energy, she’d uncovered some

inflated figures related to the hotel investments.

To put it simply, Brian’s financial stake might not just be in acquiring international chains and

developing resorts.

But Natalie hadn’t had time to dig the details deep. It possibly tied into the so–called plan B.

Lying in bed, Natalie tossed and turned, wrestling with her thoughts. Finally, she logged onto

“DealDynamics” and hit up her FireWing account to contact her liaison at BrightPeak Energy.

Made up your mind?] The message from BrightPeak Energy popped up the moment she appeared

online.

BrightPeak Energy had been circling Natalie for a while, aiming to keep her on the hook for pilfering WL

Group’s secrets.

She knew their game was dirty, but their offer was irresistible, a hundred million dollars. It was an

unprecedented sum in the industry. And Natalie, strapped for cash, found it hard to turn down.

She had yet to give them a straight answer. This is property © .

Her gaze lingered on the chat box. After a long moment, she typed her response, [Sorry, your ask is

out of my league.]

With that, she deleted the contact of BrightPeak Energy.

A second later, regret nipped at her. The potential half–year bonus from Global Entertainment Group

wouldn’t even crest eighty million.

Had she gone mad, passing up this deal?

But once words are out, they can’t be unsaid.