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.

crisp metallic click of the lighter snapped Bowen back to his senses, ruthlessly suppressing all the improper thoughts that had

mind

obscuring his features. He took just

composing herself with a serious expression. “I

an eyebrow, unsurprised by her

Chapter 40

previous life, aside from Alvin, the trust ford kid who bankrolled a club of God’s fury and briefly let it compete with the established teams in the esports league, it was basically dominated

you want a slice of the exports ple, establishing a club

in the coming years, League of Legends and several other games will become official Olympic events, if that really happens, esports will enter its golden age. Now is the perfect time to get in on this Aubree declared

gaze was full of approval. “I suspect you have

understand gaming, but capital was

drift the

to enter the League of Legends competition and establish an esports club was a promising strategy. With its current popularity and buzz,

paid attention to any live streams or broadcasts of regular

if there was an app that could connect fans directly with their idols for real–time, face–to–face interactions? Do you think people would pay for that? And what if

livestreaming platform model that would go viral nationwide in the coming years, just as she remembered from her previous

already envision the substantial commercial returns if these Ideas were put

model could spawn numerous spin–off ventures, and every

to herself, barely able

Bowen was hooked, Aubree continued, “With God’s Fury’s championship, they’re at peak popularity. If we launch the club together with the app, we can have the team kick off livestreaming on our platform, starting with gaming streams. Once traffic builds, more creators will want to

we’d

herself, ‘Back then, this platform wasn’t just a nationwide phenomenon. Even government agencies joined in

planned to refuse her anyway. If it

from a business standpoint,

cigarette in his hand and asked

straightforward, “Money I need money she declared, “Even the over 3 million in prize money from the tournament is

and buying a League of Legends franchise spot is already a huge investment. From what I

but smile at her bluntness. He’d had plenty of people come to him for investment before,

all. But in return, I want a 30% equity stake from the very start, in both your new esports club and the software

Chapter 40

thought, ‘Thirty percent is no small stake, but it’s still within my acceptable

lip, weighing the offer for a brief moment before giving a farm

Turner Group, and the prestige of their nam backing? Absolutely worth it, no matter

even getting

funds wired to your account by