In her opinion, those plotlines might be a bit idealized, and perhaps not as interesting as real comics, but they were still potential gems. She even thought that some of the scenes could be incorporated into a movie with great effect.
So she wanted to save this place, and perhaps only she could.
With Aiden's meager resources, the chances of him keeping the shop from those people were almost negligible. But she was different, with her status, the backing of the Moran Group, and connections to Oswald's network, she could ensure her safety. Most importantly, she believed that if she cloned the business model of this cafe into a theme park, it would undoubtedly attract countless visitors.
Laila offered Aiden a generous price, one that not only bought the shop but also his creativity, like some interesting props and the business model. Once the theme park opened, she could replicate the best ideas from here.
Aiden was tempted by her offer. It was just a change of ownership for him, but he could still stay here just like before. Compared to his meager resources, Laila, who could easily write a big check, was much more reassuring. Especially when Aiden learned her full name and did a quick search online, any doubts he might have had disappeared.
If someone with that kind of background couldn't protect this shop, what else could be said?
So, on that very evening, Laila had her lawyer, Walton, bring in the contract, and then she quietly purchased Aiden's shop.
It was a good deal, both Laila and Aiden thought so. As for Walton, this small amount of money for buying a shop wasn't even worth his attention. Don't forget, this little boss could easily make hundreds of millions from just one movie, so spending a few hundred thousand dollars was just pocket change to her.
After buying the shop, Laila asked Aiden not to reveal her identity. She didn't want her status to change the way Owen and his friends treated her, as she had very few people she could call friends and didn't want to lose them.
Aiden understood her meaning because he had become one of the people who couldn't look at her the same way after learning her identity. Just thinking about her net worth made him a little incredulous that such a big shot would become a regular customer in his shop. Well, now it was her shop.
However, after purchasing the coffee shop, Laila didn't do anything at all. She didn't change the original setup of the shop, nor did she interfere with its operations. She just had Aiden add a red tea option to the menu. She preferred tea over coffee after all. Thinking that it wasn't easy to buy Oriental tea here, she opted for imported black tea from England.
Aiden was a bit worried about her safety. Even though the shop was now hers, no one knew about it yet, and in case those troublemakers returned and harmed her, what would they do?
On the contrary, Laila hoped those people would show up sooner rather than later. This way, her bodyguards, who were almost driven to madness by her calm and peaceful life, would have a chance to get some exercise.
However, she didn't have to wait long. On a certain day when she came to the shop to attend Owen and his friends' regular discussion meeting, she received a warning from her outside bodyguards – a motorcycle gang was gathering outside the door.
"How many of them?" she asked.
"More than twenty, and there might be more coming, but we can't confirm for now."
Laila was accompanied by her usual four bodyguards, and after the incident that injured Roy, Oswald had sent her four more. However, after the matter was resolved, she had them take shifts, with eight of them taking turns to accompany her. She didn't want to attract too much attention wherever she went by having a small army of bodyguards.
Because of the coffee shop situation, she had all eight of them with her this time. While she sat in the coffee shop, the others were hidden in nearby cars, vigilant about her safety. This was the reason she received the warning from them right from the start.
"Can you handle them?" she asked.
"If it's in an open space, we shouldn't have a problem. But in a confined area, it might be tricky." The bodyguards didn't make any overconfident claims. Despite being several times more skilled than those people, they could still cause accidents and slip-ups once inside the shop.
If they could take Miss away from here and allow them to go all out against these people, it wouldn't be a problem to deal with them. But they knew Miss would never leave. Plus, even if they wanted to leave now, those motorcycle gang members had already parked their bikes in front of the coffee shop.
"Call the police! Just tell them that there are criminals here, no need to say anything else. Also, if I haven't encountered any danger, don't come inside." Laila didn't hesitate and immediately made a decision. Just as she was about to hang up the phone, the motorcycle gang had already brazenly entered the coffee shop.
The coffee shop wasn't large, but it wasn't small either, with about ten tables plus a bar. When the motorcycle gang members entered, bringing the cold wind with them, a dangerous atmosphere came in as well.
The warm and peaceful atmosphere inside the coffee shop suddenly changed, causing Owen and his friends to widen their eyes, looking somewhat alarmed at the intruders.
"Hey, give each of us a beer." The burly man who seemed to be the leader of the motorcycle gang leaned over the bar with a menacing grin, looking down on Aiden.
Aiden unconsciously glanced at Laila, who gave no sign of nervousness. This gave him a little more confidence. He already hated these people, but with someone backing him up, he naturally stood up straighter.
"Sorry, we're a coffee shop here, we don't sell beer!"
The leader of the motorcycle gang raised an eyebrow. "Then give me a vodka."
The members of the gang behind him burst into laughter, knowing that he was just causing trouble.
Aiden rolled his eyes and tapped the menu sign standing on the bar. "Can't you see? This is a coffee shop, we don't sell alcohol!"
"If you don't sell anything, what's the point of being open?" The man waved his hand, and everything on the bar was sent crashing to the ground. Fortunately, there was a thick carpet on the floor, so the cups didn't break too much.
Laila knew she should be angry, but for some reason, she remembered a scene from an anime she had watched before.
"Give me pork." "We don't sell pork here."
"Then I'll buy white radish." "We don't have white radish either."
"Then I'll buy soy sauce." "We don't have soy sauce either (tears)."
"If you don't have anything, why are you even open?" "I sell fish here!"
Thinking of the conversation between Shin-chan and the unlucky shop owner, Laila couldn't help but laugh silently. It was quite amusing to find the leader of the motorcycle gang acting just as foolish as Shin-chan. In such a situation, she should be angry, but instead, she found it rather entertaining.
Sitting in the coffee shop was already attention-grabbing because of the beautiful girl. When the motorcycle gang members entered, several of them spotted her and were waiting to take advantage of the situation during the inevitable conflict.
But who could have imagined that, under these circumstances, she would start laughing!