The Protector

Chapter 23

Levi left the house to meet up with Azure Dragon, whom he had instructed to wait for him outside the house.

“What can I do for you, Sir?” Azure Dragon asked.

“I want you to contact these companies.” Levi handed him a list of company names.

The following morning.

Zoey was woken up by Aaron in the wee hours of the morning.

“Where the hell is Levi? I presume he was out last night to source for funding, but what’s taking him so long to come back?” Aaron said disapprovingly, “He just can’t do anything right. He’s a born loser, a good-for-nothing!”

It angered Zoey to think that Levi did not even bother to inform her when he knew he would be out the whole night.

“We’d better sign the contract before it’s too late. Let’s meet up with Harry now!”

Harry and his men were already standing by at the family mansion when Zoey and her family arrived.

An euphoric smile hung on their faces as they greeted Zoey and her family.

It was all too gratifying for Harry and company to see the three of them come begging with their tail between their legs.

“You should have known better than to make a fool out of yourself, Aaron.” Henry and Fabian jeered at him, “Can’t you see that there’s no way you guys could ever get the investments?”

Aaron lowered his head and said feebly, “We’re here to sign the contract, dad.”

Anger welled up in his chest when he thought of Levi.

Had it not been Levi who advised them to hold back for three more days, they would have signed it on the same day when it was offered to them, It would have seemed more like a respectable deal at that time.

It had become anything but respectable in the eyes of Harry and his company now that Aaron had to beg them for the contract. Knowing the contract was now the last resort for Zoey, it would only make Aaron looked desperate and defeated in the eyes of the Lopez family.

Aaron and his family had never felt such humiliation before. This is all thanks to Levi.

“Yes, we are ready to sign it now, grandpa.” Zoey informed Harry.

“Sure, we can sign the contract. But there will be a change of terms.” Harry’s expression changed and he curled his lips into a grim smile, “We are no longer asking for ninety but ninety-five percent of the profits now. The remaining five percent would be yours.”

“What? Didn’t we agreed on a ninety percent cut for you and ten percent for us?”

A sudden terrible pang of shock hit Zoey as she stared at Harry incredulously. Harry had just dropped a bombshell on her.

“Don’t you know the terms changes accordingly?” Harry said scornfully, “That’s our offer. Take it or leave it.”

Knowing the ball was now in his court, Harry knew it was he who called the shots. The change of terms seemed justifiable to him since it was Zoey who desperately needed the contract.

Zoey winced at the cold-bloodiness of these people!

She bitterly resented her grandpa for his callous and selfishness.

“Fine then, I’ll pass! I’ll give up the project altogether!” she said in a fit of rage, “Nobody would get a dime out of it!”

“How could you say that, Zoey? Five percent would still give us fifty million, at least there’s something for us!”

“Your mum is right, Zoey. We can’t afford to lose it, just sign it!”

The relentless pestering from Aaron and Caitlyn left Zoey with no choice but to sign the contract.

“Stop! Don’t sign the contract!”

Just as Zoey was about to ink the contract, Levi showed up and halted her.

“There’s still time before the deadline,” he wrung away the pen from Zoey’s hands, “why do we have to sign it now?” he questioned.

“What do you think you’re doing, Levi?” Aaron almost wanted to slap Levi across the face “Why are you stopping us from getting the fifty million? Is it because you’re jealous you’ve got nothing for yourself?”

“Ten minutes! just give me ten minutes! Once the time is up you can do as you please.” Levi glanced at his watch and said, “You can sign it in ten minutes’ time!”

“Alright! I’ll give you another ten minutes to prove yourself!” Aaron muttered through gritted teeth, “Make sure you produce something in ten minutes’ time, or I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life, much less allow Zoey to stay with you!”

“Okay!”

The unyielding attitude of Levi intrigued Harry. He was curious to see what would happen in ten minutes’ time.

“Alright, let’s wait for another ten minutes.”

Henry and the rest giggled with excitement. They could not wait to get their popcorn ready to watch some hilarious comedy in ten minutes’ time.

Ten minutes passed in a flash. Everything was at status quo.

“Just sign it!” Henry threw the contract in front of Zoey. He was certain there would be no white knight coming to her rescue.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

At the same moment, a thunderous roar of engine noises filled the whole of the Lopez family mansion.

It attracted the curiosity of everyone to step out of the building.

What greeted their eyes was a succession of luxury cars making their way into the Lopez family mansion. They all came to a halt when they reached their building.