Chapter 48
Sean stood there, staring at the closed door, lost in thought. He’d never really dug deep into this issue before.
Back in her room, Zoe sat down with a serious look on her face. She was thinking about her recent run–ins with Shawn and realized once again how amazing he was.
She’d been on her toes every time–if she hadn’t been, Shawn might have already figured out who she really was. As a legendary warrior, he was strong and intimidating. It brought out Zoe’s competitive side.
She smiled to herself. ‘Hey, it’s time to get serious. This is gonna be interesting!’
”
Zoe knew she might need some help to pull off the mission. She quickly grabbed her phone and opened the group chat for Crimson Blaze.
Firefox: [Medusa, are you busy?]
Medusa: [Boss, I’m honored you’re hitting me up. What’s the deal? Did Mr. Ludwig not play ball, and you need to vent on me?]
Zoe was used to Medusa’s teasing. She just sent a cold command: [Get to Clusia now.] Then she ignored whatever Medusa replied with.
Medusa might act like a jokester most of the time, but when Zoe gave an order, she’d drop the act and follow through, no questions asked.
As soon as Zoe closed her laptop, her phone dinged with a special message notification. Looked like someone was asking for her help.
She opened the chat and saw a private message at the top. It was from Walther Alcott, the richest guy in Goldewood.
Walther: [Hey Queen, you busy?]
Walther: [I need a favor. I’ve got this project I want to invest in and break into the Clusia market, but I’m stuck. Can you whip up a plan for me?]
Firefox: [No.]
Walther: [Queen, please! I’ll pay whatever it takes for your plan. If it works, I’ll give you 20% of the new company’s shares. It’s a no–brainer for you. Think about it.]
Firefox: [Alright.]
Zoe’s mind flipped in an instant. For mercenaries like her, money was the ultimate temptation–it was just how they were wired. The reward Walther offered was too huge to turn down.
After hashing out the price, Zoe got straight to work. She picked up a pen and started writing fast on a blank sheet of paper.
In just a minute, a rough but solid business plan started to take shape. It was only a first draft, but once it got rolling in the market, its growth potential was massive, with a market value easily hitting several billion dollars.
For now, though, it was worth a few hundred million. For Zoe, putting together such a valuable plan was a breeze.
Still, it needed some fine–tuning. Zoe put down her pen and tossed it onto the bedside table. Then she changed into her workout clothes and headed out for her self–discipline training.
Time flew by, and Zoe’s showdown with Zack was almost here,
On this particular morning, Zoe got up early and threw on her lightweight workout gear to start her day. Most people would go for a jog, but Zoe’s morning routine was a bit different.
As she reached the track to start her training, she turned the corner and saw Sean heading the same way. He was clearly on his way to work out too.
Sean was a businessman, but he wasn’t the type to slack off. Growing up in a well–off family, he’d picked up good habits of self–discipline and a love for sports carly on
Plus, ever since Eunice had stolen Zor’s business plan–which had ended up helping Sean solve his company’s financial crisis–he’d been able to take some time off to stay home and exercise regularly.
Seeing Zoe, Sean looked genuinely surprised. “Zoe, are you out for a morning run too?”
“Uh–huh,” Zoe said, nodding. She didn’t feel like talking to Sean and didn’t want to get close to any of the Evanses. She just kept running.
Sean, though, was intrigued “Zoe’s super energetic. My other siblings never wanted to join me for morning runs. They always said no when I asked.
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12.09 PME
Chapter 48
‘But Zoe, who just got back from that village, is surprising me. I never thought she’d be into morning runs this early: Sean thought to himself. He felt more and more interested in her.
“Hey, Zoe, Wait up! I don’t think you can beat me. Let’s run together,” Sean shouted, speeding up and chasing after her. He figured it’d be a piece of cake to catch her, but the run turned out to be way tougher than he thought.
No matter how hard Sean pushed himself, Zoe stayed ahead.
He usually only ran 3 miles, but he kept going way past that. Zoe did a full 6 miles and didn’t even slow down. Sean had to keep pushing so he wouldn’t look like a joke.
After the run, Zoe went to the park and did 100 push–ups and 50 pull–ups. By then, Sean was totally out of breath.
Sean almost dropped his jaw watching Zoe. He’d never seen a morning workout that intense. He asked, “Is your training always this crazy?”
Zoe just shrugged. “This is nothing. Is it really that much?”
Sean was stunned. He scratched his head and thought, ‘What has she been through?‘ He wanted to know more about her past, but he kept it to himself. He decided to keep an eye on her instead.
Before long, the big showdown between Zoe and Zack finally happened.
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