Aurelius Group
President's Office.
"Mr. Carter, Mr. Sterling and Caleb are here," Yulius Linn walked in respectfully, glancing at Riley Palmer who was sitting across from Adrian Carter.
Who would understand… these past few days he had been bombarded endlessly by colleagues.
The president didn't show up, and the newly transferred Riley Palmer also didn't show up, who would be stupid enough not to know what their relationship was.
Yulius kept a polite smile on his face, waiting quietly.
"Adrian," Caleb Montgomery's voice came from the hallway into the open president's office, "Hey! Riley, where are you?"
Standing beside him, Leonard Sterling wore a simple brown suit, holding a grey-brown coat—Caleb's.
Caleb himself wore a plain cream-white shirt, bouncing in as he walked.
"Adrian," Caleb poked his head in and saw Riley sitting in front of Adrian, "Riley, you're here."
He looked at Riley's outfit, then at Adrian's suit in the same color scheme.
"All black… it hides Riley's beauty."
Caleb stared resentfully at the innocent Riley.
Adrian glanced at Leonard, who was trying hard not to laugh behind Caleb.
He picked up a document from the desk and tossed it at Leonard.
Seeing the atmosphere between this group of troublemakers, Yulius quickly slipped out of the office.
Looking at the curious colleagues outside the secretary office staring at him, he let out a helpless sigh.
Another sleepless night.
Nalya Zulky glanced at Yulius's thin figure while she continued typing her work, yet called out, "Yulius, come look at this."
His eyes lit up, and he quickly shook off the gossiping colleagues and went to stand beside Nalya.
"What do you want to eat tonight?" Caleb casually pulled out the chair beside Riley and looked at the work displayed on her laptop.
"Liharbor again!" Caleb shot a fierce glare at Leonard behind him. "Riley, you don't know. Leonard has been ignoring me for days because of this project. Leaving early, returning late, never home."
Riley widened her eyes and glanced at Leonard, thinking quietly. Could it be… the project these few days was completed by Adrian and Leonard together?
Adrian felt Riley's gaze and smiled at her.
Leonard saw Caleb and Riley moving to the sofa area to chat, then pulled out the document he had been holding for a long time.
"How's Yudy?"
Adrian flipped through the document, didn't answer, and stayed silent for a moment.
Leonard guessed what he was thinking, leaned back in his chair and said, "You don't owe me anything. Whatever belongs to Caleb, I won't give even a fraction of it to Yudy."
In Leonard's heart, Caleb took up one hundred percent. No one could compare, not even Leonard himself.
Adrian smiled. Leonard was still the Leonard he knew, he could help others, but never at the cost of Caleb's due benefit.
"I know."
Adrian raised his phone and snapped a picture of the first page of the contract.
He sent it to Yudy Palmer.
[Yudy, the contract has been issued.]
[How's your side?]
"Leonard Sterling!" Caleb stormed toward him. "What are you two talking about?"
He looked at the documents in their hands. "Didn't you promise—no work today?"
"How did you swear to me? What did you just say?" Caleb kept patting Leonard's shoulder.
Leonard finally grabbed his wrist. "I didn't. Just handling a few things."
Caleb snatched the documents from Adrian, looked inside, and his voice rose with excitement. "Yudy is changing companies?"
He turned to Leonard, who nodded. Caleb tugged at his sleeve. "Yes! Finally someone will keep me company."
Buzz—buzz—
[I agreed, but the penalty fee… I need some time.]
Adrian lowered his head at the new message. Just as he was about to type—
Riley appeared behind him at some point, snatched the phone from his hand, and looked at the message.
She stared silently at Adrian.
Seeing Riley's darkened eyes, Adrian held her hand gently and apologized to Yudy in his heart. "Yudy told me not to tell you."
Riley looked at the chat window, then typed.
Ring—ring—ring—
"Adrian, tell Mr. Sterling to wait a bit."
"When I gather enough money, I'll sign the contract."
Yudy's voice came through, along with car noises in the background.
Riley gripped her clothes, trying hard to steady herself. "How much."
Yudy froze. "…R-Riley? Why are you—?"
"How much." Riley repeated calmly.
He let out a long sigh. "One hundred million."
The atmosphere in the office dropped to freezing.
Everyone looked at Riley's expression, thoughts spiraling.
"One hundred million… That's too much…" Caleb muttered softly, his words echoing in Riley's mind.
"Riley, I can help—" Adrian stood up, heart aching at her expression.
"Account number." Riley said firmly into the phone.
Leonard spoke from the other side, noticing Caleb's worried look. "They're asking for an outrageous amount."
He flipped to the later pages, showing Yudy's commercial value and recent years' income.
The discrepancy was obvious. Yudy once had extremely high value, but disappeared at the peak of his career. When he returned, he had missed the best exposure window.
Riley stared at the dates Leonard pointed to.
Silence.
Because at that time, Yudy was taking care of her. Her condition spiraled out of control, so he left the entertainment industry to watch over his sister carefully.
"Account number." Her voice trembled.
Adrian stepped forward and hugged her from behind, gently patting her and whispering repeatedly for her to calm down. He was here, she didn't need to worry.
Yudy finally gave the account.
Riley took out her phone, quickly typed in the number, transferred 100 million, entered her password, and hit send.
Adrian was surprised watching her do it.
Caleb whispered tip-toe by Leonard, "Leonard… do you think if Riley hadn't met Adrian, she'd be the next Madam Xule Polly who founded the empire back then…?"
Leonard listened to Caleb's wild imagination, but had to admit—If not for Adrian, Riley might really have become that legendary founder.
"Riley, where did you get that money?" Yudy asked nervously.
Riley gently rubbed Adrian's palm but didn't answer.
"Was it from Dad?" he pressed again.
"Yes."
"Riley, I told you, you can't touch the money Dad left."
"Yudy! I don't need it. Dad left it for both of us, not just for me."
Yudy fell silent.
Adrian understood Yudy's concern. "Yudy, don't worry Riley will ever be mistreated. I'll transfer all my assets to her—Aurelius included."
Riley snapped out of her cold composure, staring at him in shock. "Adrian…"
"Stop. Don't try to persuade me." Adrian covered her lips with his hand and pulled out a folder from the drawer.
The title read: Asset Transfer Agreement.
"Riley, remember to give me pocket money in the future," Adrian lowered his eyes slightly, smiling as he nudged her forehead.
Somehow, Riley had already signed at the bottom.
She later realized, it must have happened when they were in the suburbs, when she fell asleep; Adrian had guided her sleeping hand to sign.
Yudy said nothing on the phone, only stared blankly.
His sister no longer needed him to protect her.
She now had someone even more capable, someone who understood her better.