The Queen They Buried

The study was empty. Aubree pushed open the door but didn’t see Bowen inside

“Bowen?” Aubree called out tentatively as she stepped into the study for the first time. Her eyes swept across the room, but it appeared empty.

Moving deeper into the room, Aubree noticed several cigarelles scattered across the desk.

Aubree thought, “Bowen smokes!

“Who would we thought someone as refined and gentlemanly as Bowen would actually smoke?”

At first glance, Bowen gave the impression of a perfect gentleman, refined in manner, elegant in demeanor, and cultivated in temperament, all seamlessly blended into one.

She’d always pictured Bowen as the type to meditate in a room with burning incense. But this discovery completely caught her off guard.

Aubree picked up an unlit cigarette from the desk and sniffed it. The scent wasn’t unpleasant, more like the kind women would prefer.

***No smoking, young lady.” A large, well–manicured hand reached over her shoulder and plucked the cigarette from her fingers.

Aubree turned back. Towering over her, Bowen’s usually deep and tranquil eyes met hers, yet now, faint ripples of emotion shimmered within them.

With the desk behind her and Bowen standing closely in front, Aubree found herself completely trapped between him and the table.

Trapped in his ams, Aubree’s face flushed with panic and confusion.

The way he was pinning Aubree down from above made Bowen recall last night, her bare back exposed as she lay face down on the bed, cheeks flushed. eyes filled with shyness, completely under his control, just like now

Bowen’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze darkened, and he unconsciously leaned in closer. Aubree’s instincts screamed, she could sense danger in the air, warning her, “Something’s not right, he’s way too close.”

“Bowen,” Aubree stammered tentatively.

Bowen braced one hand against the desk, veins bulging on the back of his hand as it restraining some powerful urge.

Bowen parted his lips, clamping the cigarette between them. With his free hand, he swept up the metal lighter from the desk and pressed it into Aubree’s palm. “Light it for me.”

Trapped in the tight space between him and the desk, all she could see was him, all she could breathe was his scent. For a moment, she felt utterly dazed, caught in a whirlwind named Bowen.

The cold metal in her palm snapped Aubree back to reality. Flustered, she hastily shoved the man looming over her away.

With an amused smirk, Bowen stepped back following her push. As he retreated, he deftly snatched the lighter from Aubree’s hand and it his cigarette with practiced ease.

click of the lighter snapped Bowen back to his senses, ruthlessly

mind

the smoke slightly obscuring his features. He took just

get back to business,” Aubree said, composing herself with a serious expression. “I want to invest in an esports

arched an eyebrow, unsurprised by her proposal. “Not

Chapter 40

fury and briefly let it compete with the established teams in the esports league, it was basically dominated by

you want

League of Legends and several other games will become official Olympic events, if that really happens, esports will enter its golden age. Now

suspect you

but

had already caught Aubree’s drift the moment she

enter the League of Legends competition and establish an esports club was a promising strategy. With its current popularity and buzz, proper branding and management, plus a couple more championship wins, could make becoming the next powerhouse like Apor Squad entirely

any live streams or broadcasts of

Do you think people would pay for

her vision to Bowen, describing a short video livestreaming platform model that would go viral nationwide in the coming

visionary, Bowen remarked. Just from hearing Aubree’s proposals, he could already envision the substantial commercial returns if these Ideas were put into

could spawn numerous spin–off ventures, and every single one would be

to herself,

team kick off livestreaming on our platform, starting with gaming streams. Once traffic builds, more creators will want to join. That traffic becomes both our product and our customer base, creating a virtuous cycle that fuels its own

we’d need to do is

this platform wasn’t just a nationwide phenomenon. Even

anyway. If it

truly caught him off guard. But from a

stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and asked

in prize

a huge investment. From what I know, a slot usually goes for anywhere between 20 to 25 million dollars. And I’m

of people come to him for

“Done. Name your price, I’ll cover it all. But in return, I want a 30% equity stake from the very start, in both your new esports

Chapter 40

percent is no small stake, but it’s still

for a brief moment before giving a

shares for unlimited financial backing from the Turner Group, and the prestige of their nam backing? Absolutely worth it,

funding, even getting started would be impossible for

have the funds wired