The CEO Gets What He Wants

Nicole carefully stuffed the items into her pocket before heading toward Azure Royal.

While passing by a crossroad, a filthy hand reached out and grabbed the hem of her jacket. “Could you please spare me some change, miss?”

Nicole took her sunglasses off and frowned in disgust when she saw a homeless man tugging at her jacket.

The man looked disheveled with his messy hair and tattered clothes. His breath reeked of alcohol, and the grime on his skin suggested he hadn't showered in at least a week. His body was stinking so much that he had flies buzzing all around him.

“Ew! You smell like a f*cking landfill! Get away from me!”

Unable to stomach how disgusting he was, Nicole kicked him off with her high-heeled boot.

Her frown deepened when she saw the dirt stains he left on her jacket.

Ugh! This is unbelievable! I just bought this jacket not long ago, and now I have to throw it away because it's all filthy!

Because she was in a hurry, Nicole decided not to waste any more time on the homeless man. However, he wasn't about to let her leave that easily. Right as she turned around, the homeless man crawled forward and hugged her leg as tightly as he could.

The stench of alcohol from his breath was so nauseating that Nicole nearly vomited on the spot.

“You're not going anywhere unless you give me some money!” the homeless man yelled shamelessly while clinging to her like a koala.

Infuriated and disgusted, Nicole began punching and kicking at the homeless man with all her might.

Although the homeless man was intoxicated at the time, he was still fairly strong. It took Nicole a huge amount of effort just to kick him off her. She was so caught up in the heat of the moment that she didn't even notice her scarf sliding off.

“S-Sandra? Sandra Smith?” The sight of Nicole's face was a bolt from the blue for the homeless man. In fact, it shocked him so much that he sobered up on the spot.

It wasn't until Nicole saw the stunned look on his face that she realized her scarf had slid off her face.

She then quickly covered her face with it and glanced about anxiously.

There aren't any hidden cameras or paparazzi around, right? I got into a lot of trouble when word got out about the incident at the bar, so I really can't afford to have another scandal right now. If I appear on the news for beating up a homeless man, my career as a celebrity would surely be over! Not only would the netizens attack me on social media, but it would also ruin my perfect image in my parents' eyes. I can't let that happen!

Fortunately for Nicole, there weren't a lot of people around due to the extremely cold weather. There were a few pedestrians on the street and some cars passing by, but nobody was paying any attention to the two of them.

Everyone was so focused on getting indoors as quickly as possible that they couldn't care less about the homeless man.

Nicole let out a helpless sigh as she ran away from the homeless man and returned to Azure Royal.

Unbeknownst to her, the homeless man had pretended to stroll aimlessly down the street while tailing her.

He fell into deep thought when he saw Nicole enter the luxurious entertainment outlet. That woman looks so much like you, Sandra... Could it be that she's our daughter?

Avery and the others were halfway through their meal when the cat picked up a strange scent. The next thing they knew, the cat had jumped off the table and ran out of the private room to follow that scent.

“The cat is running away, Mommy!” Rory exclaimed anxiously with reddened eyes. She then hopped off her chair and attempted to chase after the cat.

“Rory!” Avery quickly stopped her by picking her up. “The cat is probably going back to its owner. Now, be a good girl and leave it be. I will buy you a new one when we get back home, okay?”

“But I haven't had enough fun with the cat, Mommy. Also, Great-grandpa won't let us keep pets at home...” Rory said while biting down on her thumb.

Cayden gracefully wiped his mouth with a napkin as he said, “Don't worry; I'll allow it. The four of us will move out in a few days. You two can then have your own pets as long as you promise to take good care of them.”

Rory's eyes lit up with excitement the moment she heard that. “Really, Daddy?”

“Since when has Daddy ever lied to us? Daddy is a man of his word, Rory. He would never say something if it isn't true.” Zachary had full faith in Cayden's words.

The mere thought of being able to have a cute pet of his own put a huge smile on his face.

“I want to see if that cat has safely returned to the pretty lady, Mommy. Someone else might try to steal it!” Rory said.

Hmm... She does make a good point. While the customers here are all wealthy and respectable people, it's possible that kids like Rory might take a liking to that cat and bring it home with them.

With that in mind, Avery explained the situation to Cayden and brought the kids out of the room to look for the cat.