The immediate response of his wife made his mouth distort in disbelief. Seeing no other way out, he dropped to his knees and pleaded to Jackson. “I’m very sorry, young master. I was too blind to see your brilliance. Please forg…!”

Jackson didn’t even let him finish; he snapped his fingers and snorted coldly. 

“Get lost! Loser!”

The men in black suits had no choice. They grabbed him and dragged him out of the restaurant. The beautiful woman, who was by his side, stayed back and watched the entire thing unfold in front of her. When she tried to take a step, Jackson’s icy eyes froze the blood in her veins.

Still in disbelief at what happened in front of her moments ago, words refused to leave her mouth. She looked around and everyone avoided her gaze. As Jackson walked towards her, she lost all strength to her knees.

Jackson swiftly grabbed her waist and supported her. He pulled her close and stared into her frightened eyes. His voice echoed coldly in her ears, sending shivers down her spine.

“Do you still need me to clean your toilet, Madam?”

He gently let go of her, but still kept his distance a breath away from her ears. His breath tickled her, making her flinch. “I’ll be gentle. How do you want to apologize?”

He walked past her, with his voice audible only to her. “Come find me later!”

He picked up the phone again. “One more thing. Will you get here in the next thirty minutes? I have something to discuss with you.”

“I’m really sorry, but I’m currently out of town and it’ll take longer than that, but my daughter is close. Is it acceptable if it’s her?”

Jackson pondered for a while. “Can she make business decisions?”

“I will allow it!”

Jackson’s eyes gleamed. “Very well. Thirty minutes!”

Jackson didn’t wait for long, when a young woman in her twenties walked into the restaurant a few minutes later. She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of mesmerizing emerald eyes. Jackson blushed at the sight of her, but he quickly discarded any unnecessary thoughts.

Her elegant walk seemed like a dance, as if she floated towards him. She stood in front of him and checked him from top to bottom. She clicked her tongue and sat across from him.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Walker…”

She raised her hand and interrupted him. “Call me Naomi. So…”

“Tomorrow night, I’ll be your plus one for the engagement party of Hannah Kraft!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m not going to that… Wait, how…”

Jackson smirked. “This is my condition!”

Naomi gasped. She never thought that a stranger would know about that. It was a secret meant to stay buried, since it was such a shameful experience. All along, Jackson’s ploy was to get near the daughter of the Walker family when he heard of the situation. 

Thanks to Mr Pearl’s connections, he got what he needed in only five minutes. This kind of power frightened Jackson, but then again, if that person was greedy, there was no way for him to be in that position. He felt thankful in his heart they were on the same side.

Naomi fidgeted for several seconds. She blushingly looked down, ashamed of what she had gone through. Her demeanor changed dramatically, and her emerald eyes welled up. Her soft voice, barely audible, reached Jackson’s ears.

“I’m not going…”

Jackson pulled an envelope out of his jacket and pushed it in front of her.

“As promised, these are the papers of ownership. Your restaurant will proceed as planned.”

Naomi took the envelope, opened it, and read it. “Why give me this now? This is your advantage, is it not?”

Jackson chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself. Do you actually think someone with my connections needed to go through all this trouble? I just thought you would want to witness how I wreck their engagement!”

“What do you have against them?”

Jackson scoffed. “Does it matter?”

Naomi remained silent. Indeed, someone who had the power to get to their restaurants with a single dollar had more than enough power to crush the engagement party. ‘Wrecking the engagement sounds tempting!’

“Anyway, I better get going. My number is on the back of the envelope. I’ll pick you up!”

Jackson was about to open the door when Naomi called out. “It’s a black-tie event where the guests are required to wear masks. I’ll be ready by seven.”

Jackson waved her goodbye with a satisfied smile on his face.

***

The following night, Jackson arrived in front of the Jade Palace, the only seven-star hotel in the country, with his luxurious sports cart. The metallic black color glistened the streetlights. He got off, went to the other side, and opened the door for Naomi.

He held out his hand. No surprise, she ignores his hand. The valet standing outside hurriedly rushed to Jackson to get the keys and park his car.

They stood in front of the domineering hotel. He felt the girl next to him shivering and held her hand. “Are you ready?”

“This is all for my family!”

Jackson gently caressed her hand. His voice came out soothing. “Are you familiar with the term' battle of attrition?”

 It was a simple stroke on the back of her hand, but for reasons she couldn’t explain, an excitement ran through her spine. His touch brought about an electric current throughout her body.

“You patiently wait for the right time to strike back.”

He put his hand on her slender waist and gently caressed her back, making her blush. “Trust me, Naomi. I’ll take care of them.”

They put on their masks and walked inside. Naomi clung to his hand. Once they walked into the lobby, they garnered everyone’s attention. For one, they didn’t expect Naomi Walker to attend. It would be too humiliating. Not only did she go, but she even brought a date with her. The people there formed sinister smiles on their faces.

Jackson expected this to happen. He felt sorry for the girl. At the moment, he could only tighten his grip and show his presence.

Moments later, two young men approached Naomi, and didn't even notice Jackson’s presence. Their voices were loud enough for everyone to hear.

 “I can’t believe you actually showed up!”

While the girl shivered from what he just said, one youth showed a shocked expression on his face. He nudged the other next to him. “Hey, look. She came with a guy!”

“Hahahah! How brazen!”

“Shaming you once wasn’t enough? I’m sure we can find a lady or two for this guy!”

The last line caused everyone’s laughter.

Jackson turned to Naomi and asked her in a loud enough voice for everyone to hear. “Who are the idiots?”

“How dare you…”

Naomi whispered in his ear. “They are from the Adams family. The… The groom is their cousin!”

‘Adam family, huh? I didn’t expect this, it’s getting more interesting’ said Jackson

In silence, he pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang twice and on the other line, a gasping voice picked up. “Ah, Mr. Pearl. I want to spend a dollar!”

Mr. Pearl immediately asked. “Who?!”

“Adams!”

“Five minutes, sir!”

“Do it in two and you can keep half!”

“I-I’ll do my best, young master!”

The onlookers looked surprised. When the phone call was over, they burst into laughs. Naomi pulled his sleeve. “What are you doing?”

Jackson chuckled. “Just wait and see. I give it two minutes!”

In the meantime, the two cousins of the Adams Family kept ridiculing Naomi and Jackson. They ignored them until the last second, when everyone in the lobby received notifications on their phones.

[The Adams Family’s flagship hotel, Jade Palace, was just auctioned for one dollar!]