Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 482 It's My Turn to Protect You! (Part One)

I relish the solitude in my woeful corner at night. I nag my heart for a transaction: the physical for the mental. But that isn't enough, as the pain isn't enough to stop me from feeling sad.

Shane had continued to go on gambling several rounds with the man who had just cheated. But what could he do? They were in Vegas. Shane was even the dealer on the game. But for the life of him, Shane couldn't figure out how he managed to cheat. That man must be a professional. That was the most sly trick Shane had seen throughout his gambling career.

Back in T City at the Empire, Brian listened as Shane droned on about his games with this man. His face remained unreadable. The Casino must have lost hundreds of millions of dollars by now. That was a huge amount of money - so huge it could make hundreds of other casinos go bankrupt if it had happened to them.

"Mr. Brian," Shane blurted out in frustration. He couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself after losing to that man. He had never felt so down in his life. "We have to shut down the casino for at least three days. We can't handle this," Shane complained.

Grand Night Casino had many other casinos around the globe, not just Vegas. But their profit went through the roof when they built one in Vegas because Vegas was the heart and soul of the gambling industry. It was a whole new game out there - they hired people, designed everything that way, created plans for development. They had everything. The construction process of their Vegas casino was by no means an easy job. Brian had to hire Shane with an insane amount of money to help him build his gambling empire in Vegas. So if they shut the Vegas casino for even just three days, they would lose a lot of profit. Brian, of course, can have the loss offset somewhere else, but that wouldn't be enough. There would still be deficit that will surely affect the empire in the long run. Although, it was a good way to solve the problem at hand.

Brian stared at the monitor calmly. He paused for a while, thinking before finally speaking, "If I'm not mistaken, Shawn is in M country, right?"

Shane was flummoxed at what Brian was saying. But Brian continued before Shane could say anything, "We just have to be more patient. We have to get to know our enemies better before making a move. Tell Harrow to keep an extra and close eye on that man. I don't think he's only doing this to our casino."

It dawned on Shane that Brian was going to ask Shawn to take matters in his own hands. It would be easier to find out more about the man with the resources of XK Intelligence Agency. As to why he was doing this... well, Shane had some guesses. Both Grand Night Casino and Empire were sources for quick and easy money. But of course, Brian wouldn't be affected that easily if it was just his casino business that got put in danger. He was still more than financially comfortable with the Empire. So their Vegas casino couldn't be the only target.

Brian ended the call with Shane. A stock market analysis of the M Country appeared on his screen. He looked over every detail carefully. After getting some time to think, he began jamming on the keyboard. 'Don't even think about cutting my legs off,' a confident smile formed on Brian's lips as he thought of that.

It was already noon by the time Brian finished with everything. He left the Empire and headed for the Smile Hotel. It was clear as day that this hotel was named after Shirley. It had been a gift for her from the three Longs in the family. So, naturally, everyone in the hotel had known him since he was a child. They also knew well that sometimes he could be worse than his fathers and uncles.

Coco Tang was one of the first employees they ever had at the hotel. She was already in her forties. So, she practically grew up with this place. She had just started out as a mere waitress here more than 20 years ago. Now she was the Manager of the Planning and Service Department, climbing her way up out of sheer hard work. She worked very hard because she sincerely enjoyed being with this particular company. Most, if not all, worked here because of the good pay. But for her, it was different. She had a secret that no one else knew. And that secret was hers and hers alone. A secret that she could never ever live out. She stayed for Hawk. That was her secret. That was why she stayed after all these years.

"Mr. Brian," Coco addressed him politely wearing the smile she always did when she greeted guests, "Miss Xia and her friends should be here in 10 minutes."

Brian didn't break a stride as he listened to Coco. He asked coldly, "Has the chef arrived?"

"Yes, he's currently making menus that will adjust to Miss Xia and her son's dietary habits." Coco responded as she tried to keep up with Brian's pace. "Okay. I know. Go back to work."

"Yes, Mr. Brian," Coco cast a lingering look at Brian before turning to leave. She found his keen interest about a married woman with a kid particularly suspicious. But it was not like she wasn't used to this. Brian had always been unpredictable. He always did things no one could understand why and no one could ever predict.

Brian had just walked into the hotel when he saw Molly and other people coming out of the elevator. He kept his gaze on Mark who was eagerly chatting with Manny with sign language. Manny had just leaned down to whisper something in his ear. He sneered as he focused his gaze on Daniel for a sweeping second before settling them on Molly.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐