"Mr. Hastings, this isst week''s report. Please take a look." I bent forward slightly and handed over the documents with both hands.


    "What are you up to this time?" Alex furrowed his brows as he flipped through the report quickly. "Not bad. Good work. There''s a coboration with Zegler Corporation this week. Follow up on it with Oliver."


    I nodded. "Understood. I''ll contact Oliver right after this."


    "Anything else?" He lifted his eyes to nce at me briefly.


    Maintaining my professional smile, I stood before his desk. "Mr. Hastings, could


    you lend me some people for... some personal matters?"


    "What kind of people?" He put down the report and looked up at me.


    "Well... like those who helped you dig up information on Kevinst time- specialists in intelligence gathering." I tried my best to hint without being too direct.


    "Who are you trying to investigate?" Alex stood up, towering over me. "Tell me what you''re nning to do."


    "No way." My mood darkened instantly.


    "No way?" He sat back in his chair, amused. "Then I won''t help either."


    I felt disappointed and a little dejected.


    "Why are you digging into someone''s private information? What are you trying to aplish?" Perhaps my displeasure was written all over my face, but Alex''s tone was a lot more measured as he tried to exin.


    "If there''s a valid reason, I can help you. But if you''re just stirring up trouble, don''t me me for teaching you a hard lesson."


    I sighed, then exined in a low voice, "Jolene tried to have me kidnapped. If I don''t dig up some dirt on her to use as leverage, I won''t feel at peace."


    He fell silent, and I lowered my head gradually.


    He probably thought that I was petty, vindictive, and ruthless, right?


    After some time, just as I was about to give up, he suddenly asked, "Do you need my help?"


    "No." I raised my head abruptly. "I want to handle it myself."


    "Alright." He nodded. "If you need anything, just reach out to Oliver."


    "Thank you, Alex!" I eximed in delight.


    "So, I''m your brother when you need something and Mr. Hastings, the capitalist, when you don''t?"


    He chuckled, stepping closer and tapping me lightly on the forehead. "You''re unbelievable."


    My cheeks turned red. "I''ll get back to work now."


    After leaving his office, I quickly reviewed the coboration project with Zegler Corporation. After some discussion, it was decided that Oliver and I would handle


    negotiations directly with Zegler Corporation''s boss, Ronald Zegler.


    The rest of the team would focus on preparing relevant data and


    documents before the contract signing.


    "Mr. Hastings told me to assist you with some personal matters. Is something the matter?" Oliver asked casually as he drove us to Zegler Corporation''s office.


    "Yeah." I nodded, turning to him. "I need you to help me investigate Jolene


    Harrington and find out who she''s been associating with."


    Oliverughed. "You don''t even need an investigation. I can tell you right now. It''s Ronald, the person we''re meeting today."


    "What?" I looked at him in shock. "How do you know that?"


    "Zegler Corporation has a batch of high-polymer raw materials, which are critical for Hastings Group''s current R&D. But they''ve been ying hardball, trying to raise the price. Negotiations have been dragging on for a while. Jolene used to handle Ronald personally. I guess during all those meetings, sparks started flying.


    "On Saturday, Mr. Hastings called and asked me to look into Jolene. And guess what? Those two aren''t even trying to hide their rtionship. As long as they''re not in the office, they''re practically inseparable, acting like no one''s watching. Oh, and Ronald? He''s not even divorced yet!"


    Saturday... It was the same day I got hurt.