Lianne was biting the end of the plastic straw as she studied the documents in front of her. The two files were the background information on Zayn and Deanna.
On the surface, Zayn was a promising youth that graduated top of his class and landed a job at Sheng Corps. He was initially the PA of one of the lower Presidents in the company when his talent was showcased at a big meeting. He had pointed out a fatal flaw in a contract that saved Sheng Corps millions.
He then became the PA of the CEO-in-training then, that is, Kai. They've been together for quite some time and made a formidable pair. It was said that Zayn was the only one that could persuade Kai to change his mind about anything - though it didn't mean that Kai would follow blindly.
Apparently, Kai listened to Zayn as he was the only one that didn't fawn over him and was good at what he did. Though people knew Zayn could influence Kai, it did not mean that it was easy to get to Zayn either.
In addition, before coming to the Sheng Corps, there was no link between him and the Shengs. Even after working with Kai for so long, his only interaction with the Shengs were during functions and business meetings.
Of course, that is what it looked like.
It turned out to be quite a complicated connection, but a connection existed nonetheless.
Zayn's parents were divorced, and Zayn was taken and raised by his father while his mother left without a word. Both parents remarried. His mother had another child: a girl while Zayn's father never had more children.
When Zayn's half-sister found out that she had an older brother, she actually ran away from home to find him. As a result, Zayn would keep in touch and the two got close. Zayn's sister had a best friend who's mother was sickly. However, they could not find the necessary funds for the operation.
Zayn had been unable to bear the heart-wrenching cries from his half-sister, and when the opportunity came to him, he took it. The much-needed life-saving operation was paid for by a mysterious benefactor. Zayn then changed his major from business to management.
Lianne tapped the document.
This was very well done.
The fact that they had identified Zayn to be a pawn to be used was one thing, but the effort it took to get him was another. The Sheng's had also taken great pains to hide the money trail and no one from the Sheng's actually met with Zayn.
Lianne smiled, feeling that Kyle's MIB was truly impressive.
They had left no stone unturned and just from these little clues, managed to follow the obscure money trail back to the Sheng Patriarch.
The Shengs were truly formidable and scheming. The amount of energy they had expanded on this was truly amazing. It basically meant that the plan had been in place and created long before Kai was strong enough to defeat them.
Just who was it that came up with this? The Patriarch? Lianne doubted it because from what she could gather of his personality, he was more the brash type. Not to say that he was all brawns and no brains, but he truly did seem to be more of the type that would do things openly rather than covert like this.
Lianne closed the file with a sigh.
Whoever it was that was behind him, that person was not to be underestimated.
The problem now lay with the fact that Zayn was a danger. Should she tell Kai? They had just gotten together whereas he and Zayn had been together for years.
She would need more than this to bring to Kai.
But she didn't like it.
If there were internal schemes, she wouldn't know about it. If Zayn did any moves that would either instigate that, or encourage it, she would not be able to see it.
Since this was the scenario, the only thing she could do was just keep on monitoring Zayn. Only for the more obvious moves could she bring it up to Kai.
As for the hidden ones?
Lianne took a deep breath.
She prayed that Kai was skilled enough to either detect them, or deflect them.
Right now, they were too new in the relationship and she couldn't trust him 100% yet. She also doubted whether he would trust her 100%.
Trust, takes time.
Though she may not be able to do much about Zayn, the other one, however …
Deanna Pattinson.
As she thought, there was something about her.
She was not the typical 'rich heiress' that you'd often find in CEO novels. She wasn't spoilt nor act self-entitled. She was rich, yes, but also talented. Her skills in business was solid and her position was not obtained through dubious means.
She also dressed down rather than play up to her looks. This was most likely because as a woman, her skills would be shadowed by her looks. No matter how society has advanced, there would still be some male-chauvenists, more so in the business world.
A woman had to look dowdy or something, and when one is not distracted by the looks, then the skills are seen.
For these reasons, Lianne was inclined to look upon her favourably.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was all an act.
Her concept of 'dressing-down' truly was badly done. The materials were of the best and the cutting was made to highlight her assets rather than downplay it. It may look like she didn't wear a lot of make-up but in reality, her features were heavily made-up.
Lianne tapped a picture of her true face.
The make-up skills truly did hide all the blemishes and created almost perfect features. It wasn't to say that she was originally ugly, but most definitely, pre-make up and post make-up were drastically different.
This could be her method of trying to 'capture' Kai's attention.
After all, Kai had always been surrounded by buxom beauties and he never got together with them seriously. He treated his subordinates with respects and thus, she probably was trying to get to him from this angle.
Lianne gave a ghost of a smile as she tilted her head and tapped on the picture.
To think that such a woman also caused her boss to get food poisoning just so she could attend the meeting in his stead showed dedication.
She was truly a formidable opponent … one whom the Patriarch apparently shortlisted as Kai's potential bride.
Now the question was: what would Kai's move be?