Make Me Yours

Chapter 5

As Zoey Martins sat across the room from the man she couldn’t stop staring at, she could not help thinking about what a fool she had been. It felt as though she had already lost this battle, in more ways than one. The look of sheer shock on his face when he had seen her should have consoled her, but it didn’t. All it did was reassure her that he too had been as clueless as she had been, and this was not a calculated attempt on his part to make her pay for winning him at poker.

Of course, this was what her brain had been trying to tell her in Singapore. How could she not have realized it before now? Mr Li, the annoying arrogant man from the casino was the Mr Li of Li Hotels, Li Casino. The CEO of the company that was threatening her claim to the Belmont Property. Fu*king Xen Li. Life sure had some jokes up her sleeves.

Who would have thought?

Oh, she hated it. Hated that he had arrived before her. Hated that she hadn’t gotten the time to be prepared for this surprise. She hated that smug look that his face had settled into since his shock dissolved. The smirk was one she was dying to slap away. Most of all, she hated that he had to be this man of all people. She could remember the brush off in the elevator so clearly. She still tasted the embarrassment in her mouth.

“Alright, then. Since pleasantries have been exchanged, I think it is high time we got to business, do you not reckon?”

Zoey, finally drawn out of her thoughts, tore her gaze away from Mr Li and looked at the woman who had introduced herself as Mrs Chan. Despite herself, Zoey found that she actually liked Mrs Chan. The older woman seemed like that aunt in the family that could be overbearing, but everyone loved her because they all knew it was from a place of love. She exuded warmth and a feeling akin to home.

Zoey also had the feeling that she was in some way related to Mr Stoic-face.

As pleasantly as the woman had spoken, Zoey responded; an identical smile on her face.

“Of course. We are all here; there is no reason why we must waste any more time. Please, by all means, begin.”

In total, there were six of them: Stoic-face, his lawyer who had introduced himself as Yun Tan and Mrs Chan, then herself and her companions.

It was Mr Li who responded, his rich accent filling her ears. Zoey hated it, she did, but she could not deny the shiver that ran down her spine as his voice filled the air.

“Miss Martins, I can only imagine that you are not at all happy about all of these.”

“Is there a reason why I should be? Would you be, if someone who was more powerful than you came out of nowhere and offered to buy Li Casino, with or without your consent?”

He smiled. It was the kind one gave to pacify a child throwing tantrums. How did this man always manage to make her feel less of herself? How?

“I assure you, Miss Martins, I do not think there is quite any company more powerful than Li Tech. The casino alone is worth billions of dollars and is doing fine for itself. It’d be the day when anyone thinks they can just simply buy it off.”

“That is beside the point, I-” she cut in.

He did the just the same. “Precisely. But you are the one who digressed, are you not? Give us the Belmont property. We are aware that you just acquired it and you are looking to sell it to the biggest bidder. We are willing to pay five times more your present bid.”

Five times more. That was hundreds of millions of dollars. Money that she could use to expand St Martins, hire more staff, get a larger office space and acquire more properties.

Swallowing hard, she looked at Kelly, whose face was as calm as a lake.

Then, she looked back at Mr Li. Something told her that she would never get over the tingles that usually slammed her hard whenever she saw that face.

“Bidders that I know have the same intention for Belmont as I do, yes. I have been looking to sell it to the best of them. Sadly, I am aware that you and I do not share the same interests, Mr Li. Are you aware that Belmont is in fact, a living residence? There are about two blocks of flats on that property. Each of which has no less than 500 rooms. In total, over 2000 occupants, who are all living on subsidized rents and bills, because its original owner was kind enough to build it with the low-income earners in mind. I heard you want to convert the space into a what? A tech company? What happens to all the families there? Children, elderly people, whose lives would be displaced? Where in this city do you think all 2000 of them would fit?”

This was why this particular property was precious to her. Too many people lived there, and had been a part of Colorado since forever; a part of her. Her family had lived there.

For the first time since she had known Mr Li, he didn’t seem too certain of himself. In fact, she saw that arrogance falter for a second before he quickly recovered.

“You care about them, I understand. Nevertheless, you must understand that my plan is just as good a cause as yours. If you sell me that property, in six months, we are going to build the biggest tech company on this side of the States. We would employ no less than 2000 workers; industrial and cooperation. Do you have any idea what this means? It means that all of those people on that property could have the opportunity to become high-income earners, and seek better living conditions.”

“And what if they aren’t considered for these positions that would be opening? Would you give them the jobs, nonetheless? What happens in the six months until then? What would they do with their lives, where would they live? Will you not think this through and see that there is no wisdom in this action? Not to mention, Hilton Tech is already doing enough here, as it is. We are loyal to the Hilton’s. They are like family. Their bloodline runs deep into Colorado’s soil; I am not going to be the first to betray them.”