thefictionvixens Page 76
Page 76
Who would mind having too much money?
Especially such a huge, unexpected sum of money!
In her gaze towards Hawke, besides the usual dependence, there was now a hint of the greedy little rich kid.
137 Three women make a drama [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
Money truly is the best remedy for awkwardness and hostility.
Root, who was just shocked by the generous commission, exchanged a glance with Cipher. The smell of past conflict in the air seemed to have been diluted by the scent of US dollars.
Both of them had a relaxed and joyful feeling on their faces, as if they had struck it rich.
This sense of pleasure quickly transformed into a barrage of teasing remarks directed at "sugar daddy" Hawke.
“Hey, boss,” Root was the first to reappear with her signature dangerously seductive smile, leaning forward almost to the back of Hawke’s driver’s seat, her voice deliberately soft and sweet, “You’re so generous with money, do you have some special ideas for us? Like… a ‘buy one get two free’ long-term service package?”
She licked her lips meaningfully, her gaze shifting between Hawke and Cipher and Helen Zhao in the back row.
Cipher chuckled, unusually not refuting Root, but instead following up with her sexy, deep voice, "Helen, sweetheart, don't you think the boss is being so generous? Shouldn't you properly express your gratitude tonight?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "good".
Zhao Hailun never expected the flames of war to suddenly spread to her, and her face flushed red instantly, like a ripe apple.
She turned back and glared at 537 reproachfully, then quickly glanced at Hawke, muttering softly, "Sister Cipher, don't talk nonsense..."
But that shy yet sweet demeanor actually proved some of the truth.
“Exactly,” Root, never one to miss a chance for a good show, continued to fan the flames. “Helen is so shy, it seems the boss hasn’t been ‘teaching’ her enough, has he? Cipher, why don’t you share some experience? Boss Hawke saved your life three years ago, did you repay him handsomely?”
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her eyes darting ambiguously between Cipher and Hawke.
Cipher leaned back lazily in his chair, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "Experience is something you have to 'do it yourself' to truly understand it. I've signed up for both the spring-like and non-spring-like ones. As for some people, they just take the money and don't 'do any work,' that won't do."
She glanced meaningfully at Root.
Root immediately retorted: "Oh, sounds like someone's got a lot of experience! Boss, what's your assessment? How much of a fountain does Cipher have?"
Three women make a drama, and at this moment they were openly flirting with him using explicit language.
Even though Hawke wasn't shy, listening to these increasingly unrestrained and lewd words, especially Zhao Hailun's adorable blushing from time to time, he couldn't help but feel a little parched.
He snapped helplessly, "Enough! Shut up, all of you! Another shout and I'll dock your pay!"
This utterly ineffective threat only elicited louder, more mocking laughter from the three women.
Back in New York, everything was settled.
The three women's work on Z will continue for at least a few more days. That evening, in the top-floor office of the Lane Building in New York.
Root didn't knock; like a gust of wind carrying a dangerous scent, he simply pushed the door open and entered.
“Boss,” Root’s voice was as languid as ever, yet it carried a hint of seriousness that was more pronounced than usual.
She walked up to Hawke, so close they could feel each other's body heat. "This mission... was exciting and enjoyable."
Hawke tilted his head slightly, looking at her: "And then?"
“Then,” Root’s fingers lightly traced the lapel of Hawke’s expensive suit, with a seductive probing, “I want to stay. Long-term.” Her eyes were direct and aggressive. “Following you is a million times more interesting than being a ‘pet handler’ for the military. And…” She leaned closer, her red lips almost touching Hawke’s earlobe, her warm breath escaping, “the pay is great, and the boss is very charming.”
Hawke didn't flinch, but simply looked at her: "Ross won't let people go easily. The price I need to pay to get him to relent might be a bit painful."
"Painful?" Root chuckled, his laughter tinged with disdain and determination. "Boss, as long as I can get out of that damn 'cage,' I'm willing to pay any price. And Ross will make sure you feel pain somewhere, boss. I'll blow on it for you."
Her eyes and movements were full of blatant hints and invitations, like a blooming, highly poisonous yet incredibly alluring datura flower.
Hawke's gaze swept across her face for a few seconds, seemingly assessing her resolve and worth.
Finally, a triumphant smile appeared on his lips.
Without answering yes or no, he simply raised his hand, his slender fingers pinching Root's chin with just the right amount of pressure.
The next moment, their breaths were intercepted.
Root wrapped his arms around Hawke's neck.
The temperature in the office suddenly rose.
She even let out a short, pleasant chuckle as Hawke lifted her up and pressed her down onto the large desk.
“I’m very expensive, boss…” She scratched her nails across Hawke’s firm back muscles.
“Let me see how expensive it is,” Hawke said in a low voice.
The following day, Lane Building gained a server room equipped with top-of-the-line equipment, and a cybersecurity director who reported only to Hawke Lane—Root.
Just as Hawke and Root were in the new server room, deeply discussing how to accelerate Z's development for the company, a loud knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door.
"Bang bang bang!"
Andy pounded on the door and said in a cold voice:
"Something urgent has happened on the Ganges River, and I need you to handle it personally."
She naturally heard the continuous "pfft" sounds coming from the room, and cursed inwardly at those two shameless bastards.
Inside the room.
Hawke and Root, who was sitting on him, looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Uh...it seems like something happened."
Hawke removed his claws from Root's fleshy, white thighs and said awkwardly:
"I may need to take care of some things."
"That woman, she came at the worst possible time!"
Root couldn't help but mutter to herself, she was completely captivated.
"Never mind, let's have a technical exchange another time."
Hawke arrived at Andy's office.
"hey-hey……"
Hawke had a simple, honest smile on his face.
"Alright, stop fooling around, we have serious business to discuss."
Andy felt a little uncomfortable, but when there was something important to do, she would suppress it; she wasn't an unprofessional person.
"What's the matter? Tell me."
Hawke's expression instantly turned serious.
138 Why do you have to force me?! [Please subscribe and give flowers]
Andy showed Hawke a video on the projector in his office for a while.
At Gandhi International Airport, amidst the crowded throng, Killian accidentally bumped into someone.
Hawke's eyes narrowed immediately.
"While you were exchanging technical information with the newly appointed cybersecurity chief, we had already had the cybersecurity department repair and re-enlarge this somewhat blurry image."
Andy took out his electronic pen and circled the point of contact when Killian and the newcomer collided.
“If we slow down the viewing, we can clearly see that the person stuffed something into Killian’s sleeve. And if we zoom in on Killian’s micro-expressions, we can see that his expression changed very obviously for a moment, but he quickly adjusted and acted as if nothing had happened.”
“That’s quite interesting,” Hawke chuckled. “It seems Killian probably thinks that once he reaches the Ganges, he can do whatever he wants, like a fish leaping in the sea or a bird soaring in the sky. Haha! What a naive scientist!”
Perhaps Killian thought he was hiding his ambition well, but in fact, anyone with a little emotional intelligence could see the undisguised arrogance on Killian's face. Andy had reminded Hawke more than once to keep an eye on Killian.
So how could Hawke possibly relax his surveillance on Killian?
Hawke never expected that Killian would be so foolish as to not be able to suppress his restless heart before the Extremis virus was even fully developed.
Idiot!
“He was really too impatient.” Andy shook his head and said, “But think about it, he’s been mediocre for over forty years. When he arrived in Ganges, far from the emperor’s reach, he had a chance to rise to the top, so he used other people’s power to fight us with force and fish in troubled waters. It’s not that he’s stupid, he just—had no other choice.”
"Ah."
Hawke nodded and said calmly:
"But since he refuses to live and insists on courting death, then Killian can die the moment the Extremis virus is developed."
"What about the party that relayed the message to Killian? Should we handle them? Should we investigate them thoroughly?"
“If they dare to do it, why would they be afraid of your investigation? They’ve probably destroyed all the evidence. No need to investigate, it was definitely Roxson who did it. They wanted to acquire AIM before, but were rejected, so they must be holding a grudge.” Hawke waved his hand and said, “Tonight I’ll blow up another Roxson factory and cut off another claw of theirs to teach them a lesson.”
"What if? What if we make a mistake?"
Andy pressed for an answer.
“Then I’ll go apologize to Dario Agger, the president of Roxson.” Hawke shrugged. “Sorry, it’s all my fault, okay?”
Anyway, no matter who's after me, if I don't know who it is, I'll go after Roxon first. After all, Roxon is Marvel's biggest villain, who does all sorts of evil deeds and destroys everything without restraint in order to make money. He was even an ally of Malekith the Dark Elf when he tried to invade Earth. He's a veritable "traitor to the planet." If I don't go after him, who will I go after?
Lane Capital.
Hawke hurried into the trading room, where Emilia was directing the collection of funds. The short selling of Rockxen these past few days had brought them at least six billion dollars in profits. Of course, compared to Rockxen's market value, this was just a drop in the ocean.
The bombing of the oil refinery had the most devastating impact on Roxon himself.
"This time we will continue to short Roxson Group."
“Huh?” Emilia exclaimed in surprise.
Jordan looked completely bewildered and said:
"Didn't we just short Roxson a while ago?"
Hawke glanced at him: "You just ate lunch, aren't you going to eat dinner?"
"No, young master, don't misunderstand, I didn't mean to object to you." Jordan smiled awkwardly.
Emilia smoothed things over, saying, "If we keep fleecing a sheep, we might end up fleecing it all!"
Those in finance understand one principle: you can't cut off the root of the problem when you're exploiting new investors!
Chives are a very simple crop. As long as they are watered on time, they will grow wildly on their own. After one harvest, as long as a stubble is left, their vigorous vitality will allow them to grow again. They grow back after one harvest, and they are inexhaustible.