"Boy, are you crazy?" The overweight man stared at Henry's joking expression, shock evident in his voice as he scoffed, "You look like a poor kid. How could you possibly support this beautiful woman? I'm different. I'm Jacob, the CEO of Andrew Petroleum, and I own 1% of the shares. I have private jets, luxury villas, and an annual salary of one million dollars!" As he spoke, Jacob's face wore a haughty and arrogant expression.
"I can't support her, but she can support me!" Henry replied with a grin. "Kalena, your annual salary plus bonus must be in the millions—could you support me?"
"Support you? Not a chance!" Kailena shot back, rolling her eyes. "Give me all your money, and I guess I could consider it!"
Jacob's expression shifted, surprise flickering across his face. How could she be earning several million a year? But immediately, he dismissed the thought. This young man must be lying!
"What a joke!" A sneer formed at the corner of Jacob's mouth. "You're pretending; you don't even have a private jet!"
Henry felt a flush of embarrassment at Jacob's derision. A private jet? Ridiculous. I'll buy two planes tomorrow—one for travel and one for home!
"Attention passengers, the plane to Los Angeles is ready for takeoff. Please hurry to check in!" The airport announcement interrupted the moment.
"The plane is about to take off! Kailena, let's go!" Henry urged.
"Okay!" Kailena nodded in response.
"Dammit!" Jacob cursed under his breath, his irritation evident. Why did the announcement have to come just when he was bragging? As he watched Kailena and Henry leave, anxiety gripped him, and he quickly stopped Kailena, handing her a business card. "Beautiful, this is my business card. If you reconsider, please call me!"
"Sure..." Kailena accepted the business card, her tone indifferent, clearly trying to end the conversation.
Jacob smiled with satisfaction, but it was short-lived; moments later, he watched in horror as Kailena flicked his business card into the trash!
Jacob's face went pale with anger.
"Let's go; we're off to Los Angeles!" Jacob grumbled, his mood darkening.
The two bodyguards fell in step behind him as they made their way to the private jet.
---
Two hours later, the plane landed at Los Angeles Airport.
After exiting the airport, an extended Ford vehicle was waiting for them.
"Get in the car, beautiful Ms. Kailena, or else the CEO of some oil company might catch up with us," Henry teased.
"Oh, this car is impressive! It looks luxurious inside—air conditioning, champagne, a refrigerator, and even a big bed in the back. You're really living the life!" Kailena marveled.
"It's nothing special," Henry shrugged. "Are you tired from the flight? Want to take a nap and rest together?"
Kailena's face flushed suddenly, and she shot Henry a fierce look.
Henry was taken aback, realizing the double entendre in his statement.
"Oh, don't misunderstand! I meant we could both lie down to rest—nothing more!" he clarified quickly.
"You're hopeless!" Kailena replied, glaring at Henry.
Henry shook his head, amused, and chose to lie down on the bed to rest himself.
Kailena watched as Henry closed his eyes, a soft snort escaping her lips as she lay down on the opposite side of the bed to rest.
More than an hour later, the car arrived in San Jose.
Their first stop was the villa Henry had rented for Kailena. The rent had been covered for six months, and if Kailena wanted to stay, she'd have to fork out the money herself.
After they placed Kailena's luggage in the villa, Henry said, "You should rest well today; I'll take you to the company tomorrow morning. By the way, there are plenty of ingredients in the refrigerator. If you can cook..."
"I can't cook!!!" Kailena exclaimed.
"Alright then, there's a note on the fridge with the number for food delivery. Of course, you can also eat out. If you don't invite me to dinner, I'm leaving!"
"Go ahead; I won't see you off!"
Henry exited Kailena's house and returned to his own. By the time he arrived home, the family servant had already prepared dinner. After eating, Henry took a shower and attended to documents sent by the company.
The following day, Henry arrived at Kailena's villa bright and early. At this point, Kailena had finished getting ready, dressing in professional attire that exuded the essence of a confident white-collar worker. Without realizing it, Henry began to compare her to Helen; perhaps it was because he had been a Chinese in his previous life. He felt Helen's beauty paled slightly in comparison to Kailena's, although both were undeniably beautiful. Personality-wise, however, they were worlds apart—Helen was obedient and kind, while Kailena was unpredictable, alternating between charming and frosty, straightforward and endearing, making her a delightful enigma.
Upon arriving at Prestige Capital, Henry found that the company had employees already hard at work. He gathered everyone together to introduce Kailena.
"This is Kailena Qiao; she will be the CEO from now on! You all are to cooperate with her to help the company grow!"
"Yes! Chairman!" the employees responded enthusiastically.
"In the evening, I'll host a party to welcome Kailena!"
"Yay!!"
"Chairman, can we bring girlfriends?" one male employee inquired.
"Of course! Both girl and boyfriend can come," Henry grinned. "In the evening, I've invited the famous Flying Leopard band from Silicon Valley to perform. It'll be a blast!"
"Oye, that's fantastic!"
"Boss, are you bringing a model with you?!" another male employee asked.
"Absolutely! What's a party without beautiful models to enhance the atmosphere?" Henry replied with a teasing smile. Previously, his parties lacked vibrancy; it wasn't until he spoke to someone else that he learned how to throw a lively event. Inviting attractive guests had become a thing, and these event attendees earned quite a salary! When Henry had first learned this, he was baffled at the various professions in the United States.
Henry made the necessary calls and set everything in motion before turning back to Kailena with a cheerful demeanor.
"On your first day, get familiar with the situation. I'll need a development plan from you within a week!"
Kailena nodded in agreement. "No problem!"
"Prestige Capital is primarily focused on high-tech innovation companies. For companies that show potential, I hope to secure controlling interests as much as possible. As you know, I have numerous companies under my belt: Cisco, Nicholas, Global Online, Isearch, Noah's Ark, etc. These may be competing with new startups. Therefore, my goal is to acquire these emerging companies through Prestige Capital and subsequently merge them with those under my ownership!"
"Through mergers and acquisitions, Prestige Capital can generate significant profits, and the companies under my name will not only acquire competitors' firms but also obtain their technologies, making them even stronger and unbeatable!!!"
Kailena's eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "If you follow through, then Prestige Capital and the companies under your name will mutually benefit, achieving a win-win situation!"
"Exactly! That's the plan!!!"