bChapter /bb278 /b

    Lisa narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

    As the two were talking, Scott had already approached them. Having only passed the basic Vastelian proficiency test in college, he stammered nervously, “Hello, I’m Scott Manwaring. You… you look really fit. Can I get your contact info? I’d like to… hang out with you.”

    After he finished speaking, Scott, worried that Lisa might not have understood him, nudged Jessica with his elbow, hoping she could trante his words:

    To Scott’s surprise, Lisa responded cheerfully, “Sure!”

    Scott froze for a moment, then eagerly pulled out his phone. “Let me add you on WhatsApp, wait, maybe you don’t use it? No worries! Just give me your Instagram handle, and I’ll follow youter!”

    Lisa might be a foreigner, but her figure was impressively well–proportioned, years of boxing and simr sports had sculpted her body without an ounce of extra fat.

    She was simply built for martial arts.

    Even though Scott had little interest in taking over his family’s martial arts school, seeing a natural–born talent like Lisa still made his pulse race.

    Lisa pulled out her phone and brought up her handle. “Here,” she said.

    After adding each other as contacts, Lisa asked, “So, what sports do you usually do? For fun, I mean.”

    Worried that Scott might not understand, Lisa deliberately added a simpler word,

    Scott thought for a moment and said, “Well… running, ying ball. My family runs a martial arts ce.”

    Lisa’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Hathndian martial arts?”

    Scott nodded. “You like it? I can take you to my family’s ce to check it out.”

    Seeing how well they were hitting it off, Jessica gently tugged at Lisa’s sleeve and reminded her, “Don’t forget, we still have to go to the museum today.”

    “Oh! That’s right!” Lisa eximed.

    She walked over to the couch, picked up her purse, and said cheerfully, “Alright, let’s go!”

    Maxine called Urban from the car. “I’m almost there. What exactly should I do?”

    Urban had messaged her yesterday. His stalled business negotiations overseas were causing unrest, with some in thepany already plotting behind

    his back.

    Yesterday, Urban’s secretary messaged him, warning that several shareholders were plotting to call an emergency board meeting about the bidding project while he was away.

    By protocol, when Urban was away, such meetings should involve remote discussion with him. But they didn’t even inform him. Clearly, they were trying ito /isideline him and undermine his authority.

    However, due to bad weather along the flight route, Urban was unable to return anytime soon.

    Maxine was the one Urban trusted most back in Hathnd. With no other choice, he had to turn to her for help.

    Maxine walked through the main entrance of the corporate building and called Urban’s secretary using the contact information he bhad /bbprovided/b. bA /bwoman in a sharp business suit came downstairs and, spotting Maxine, hurried over to greet her.

    “Hello, you must be Ms. Hudson,” the woman said with a smile, “My name is Dawn Harrison, and I’m Mr. Soto’s executive assistant.”

    b1516 /bbTh? /bb10 /bJu

    Dawn nced at her watch and whispered, “I’ve been under surveince these past few daysb, /bbarely managed to get bthe /bbmessage /bto Mr. Roto, We hi run into some trouble upstairs, bso /bplease bear with me, Ms. Hudson.”

    The two of them stepped into the elevator. Maxine nced at the panel and asked, “To the top floor?”

    She remembered Urban’s office was on the top floor.

    Dawn shook her head. “To the conference room, the meeting’s about to start.”

    “What?” Maxine stiffened. “Urban said it was tomorrow, wasn’t it?”

    Dawn’s face also turned grim. “The meeting was supposed to be tomorrow, but for some reason, it’s been brought forward. Our bjob /bbnow /bbis /bbto /bbstall /bbfor /bas much time as possible.”

    Maxine took a deep breath. “Alright,” she said, “but we’ll still need Urban’s help.”

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