Chapter 8: The Deal
1112 Words
There was a knock at the office door, but no one inside responded. The person outside, growing impatient, raised their hand to knock again. Finally, there was movement from behind the tall leather chair in the office.
Chloe Gao stood up, not bothering to adjust her own dress first. Instead, she extended her slender hands to button the shirt of the man sitting in the chair, fastening his tie.
"Enough. I can do it myself. You fix your clothes and go answer the door," Ryan Long pushed her hands away, standing up from his chair and walking to the window to light a cigarette.
Watching his back, Chloe Gao paused for a moment before pouting in disappointment.
It had been three years since she started working as Ryan Long's assistant, and from the beginning, their relationship had gone beyond that of boss and employee. Of course, it had all been initiated by her. Ryan had made it clear from the start that their relationship was purely physical, devoid of any emotional attachment, and that he would never make any promises.
Chloe straightened her clothes, ran a hand through her hair, and went to open the door. Upon seeing the person outside, she glared at him before stomping out of the room.
Elliot frowned as he watched her leave, sighing deeply before stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
"Looks like I came at a bad time?" he said, quickly spotting Ryan Long smoking by the window.
Ryan turned around and shrugged indifferently.
"You really should change your habits," Elliot began, ready to lecture like an elder.
"Let’s talk about the proposal first, personal matters later," Ryan raised an eyebrow, taking control of the conversation.
The Long family had been exceptional for generations, with interests in finance, transportation, hospitality, technology, and biomedicine—all flourishing. Under Ryan's leadership, the Long Group had grown even larger. He nurtured political connections, rewarded innovation, and supported academia, giving the group influence in both legitimate and underground sectors, adding to its air of mystery.
"The proposal… Oh, right." Elliot looked down at the folder in his hand. "The landowner said selling the land isn’t a problem, but he attached a rather indecent condition."
The Long Group was planning to build a massive resort in the central region. Given the scale, the area would cover hundreds of hectares, making land acquisition a top priority. Everything had gone smoothly except for one landowner, a man surnamed Shang, who held the largest piece of land. At first, he had refused to sell, but once he learned it was the Long Group seeking the land, his attitude shifted dramatically, agreeing to sell—with one condition.
"What’s the condition?" Ryan asked, lightly stroking his chin.
"It’s outrageous!" Elliot hesitated, wondering if he should even say it. Knowing his cousin Ryan, there was no way he’d agree to such terms, so it felt pointless to mention it.
"How outrageous?" Ryan looked at him. It was always a bit jarring to hear fluent Mandarin coming from someone who appeared to be a 100% blue-eyed foreigner.
"Shang said... if you agree to marry his daughter, not only will he sell the land, but he’ll also invest an additional hundred or two million without hesitation."
"Oh?" Ryan's thin lips curved into a smile, and he laughed.
Elliot had expected him to get angry, but instead, Ryan laughed.
"Is his daughter as ugly as a dinosaur?" Ryan walked back to his desk, stubbing out his cigarette.
"Uh… no." Elliot shook his head, recalling the photo Shang had provided. The young woman was fresh-faced, not overly made-up, and while she wasn’t stunning, she was pleasant enough to look at.
"I suppose he just wants to attach himself to the Long family. Hasn’t he heard the rumors about me?" Ryan placed a hand on Elliot’s shoulder.
Rumors said Ryan Long was cold, ruthless, arrogant, and heartless, with a revolving door of women in his life. Yet, there were still people willing to throw their daughters into his arms?
Elliot spread his hands and shrugged. "Who knows!"
The two shared a laugh, and Ryan handed Elliot a cigarette.
"Maybe he doesn’t care. Marrying his daughter to you would give even a nouveau riche family the prestige of the Long name," Elliot said frankly.
Ryan remained silent, lighting Elliot’s cigarette for him.
"Have you calculated how long it will take to complete the land acquisition if we ignore Shang? When can we start construction?" Ryan paced a few steps, deep in thought.
Elliot exhaled his first puff of smoke. "It could delay the project by about six months."
Of course, they would eventually acquire the land, but it would require some underhanded tactics.
"Hmm…" Ryan pondered, his hands behind his back. "Make the arrangements."
"Arrangements?" Elliot was so surprised he choked on his cigarette, coughing a few times before regaining his composure. "You’re seriously considering accepting Shang’s condition?"
"Unless you can figure out a way to avoid wasting six months," Ryan, ever the efficiency-driven leader, could not tolerate delays—not even by half a month, let alone six.
"Ryan…" Elliot began to say more, but Ryan raised a hand, stopping him.
"We’re just going to take a look. No one said looking means committing to anything," Ryan smiled again, but it was a smile that sent chills down Elliot’s spine.
"Isn’t that playing with fire?" Elliot glanced at his cigarette, losing interest in smoking and moving to extinguish it.
"Playing with fire?" Ryan chuckled darkly. "I have no interest in playing with fire. Swallowing fire, on the other hand, I might consider."
"Swallowing the fiery beauties around you, perhaps?" Elliot hinted, referring to Chloe Gao.
Although he didn’t particularly like her, Elliot hadn’t dared to criticize her too much because of Ryan.
Ryan shot him a glance and returned to his desk. "I know you mean Chloe Gao."
Elliot didn’t deny it, smiling as he followed him back to the desk.
"You didn’t choose her just for convenience, did you? I know your standards are high—you wouldn’t settle for just any woman," Elliot pressed.
"I can’t deny her figure is impressive."
"I’m really worried one day, your personality will be the death of you." Hearing this, Elliot felt more certain than ever that Ryan had chosen Chloe purely out of convenience.
Ryan shrugged, smiling nonchalantly. "That day will never come."
He knew Elliot was referring to love. But for someone who didn’t believe in losing themselves to love, that day would indeed never come.
"Go notify Shang. As for the date and time, let him decide." Ryan’s smile had vanished as he raised his head again.
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