ke was taken aback by a clear and refreshing female voice. He turned around and met Lucia''s gaze. The sun had risen, and the workers were gathered around Lucia, but they all kept their distance within two meters of her. She was like a lotus flower in ake - beautiful to look at from afar but not to be touched. Her arrogance between her eyebrows made people sigh with admiration. ke suddenly lost his voice and stared at Lucia without knowing what to think.


    At this moment, Carlos beside him pushed him slightly without any trace of it. ke suddenly came back to his senses and spoke softly to the woman with such pure temperament yet unparalleled beauty, "Who are you? Are you a journalist? We can ept interviews now."


    Lucia smiled, and even the quiet sunrise in the east paled inparison.


    ke was stunned again, but Lucia''s next words shocked him instantly, "I am Lucia Webb, CEO of Webbex Group. Would you be willing to talk with me?"


    "You''re Lucia?!" The word CEO instantly caused an uproar among the workers who couldn''t believe that she hade alone into their midst.


    "Is that okay?" Seeing ke''s shock left him speechless, she asked again.


    ke didn''t know what to do at this point so he subconsciously nced at Carlos who nodded lightly; however, neither action escaped Lucia''s eyes.


    "Okay then," said ke harshly after realizing that she was indeed CEO of Webbex Group. "We''ll talk with you but don''t try anything funny! These workers are witnesses; if you darey your hands on us, they will call the police immediately!"


    Lucia burst outughing when she heard this, which left ke confused and embarrassed as his face turned red quickly.


    "What are youughing about?" he asked angrily


    "Sorry," replied Lucia while still smiling slightly. "I just think that you''re too cautious. I only want to talk with you guys; I have no intention of harming anyone here or being seen as an evil person." "Indeed not!" thought ke immediately in response although he reminded himself not be swayed by this beauty before them. Because their goal was still for better wages even if her attitude was good - capitalism is still evil!


    "Follow me," said ke straightforwardly, his thoughts written all over his face. Lucia had a n in mind and without waiting for anyone to follow, she headed straight for thepany stairs, not caring if anyone was following her.


    ke called out to a few other foremen like himself to join them. When Carlos spoke up and said he wanted toe along just in case they tried anything funny, ke nodded in agreement. With four foremen and Carlos by their side, they followed Lucia into the Webbex Group building.


    Lucia handed her car key over to one of her subordinates at the front desk before turning back around to face ke''s group. Seeing that Carlos was still with them, she smiled discreetly.


    "Please follow me to the conference room," Lucia politely invited them. At this point, the manager Ramiro Mcfadden responsible for security quickly dispatched a few guards to protect Lucia but she waved them off saying, "No need for protection; they''re just workers who want their sries back and won''t pose any threat."


    Even if they were really riled up enough to attack her, there were probably only twenty or thirty of them, which wouldn''t be much of a match against herself anyway - though she didn''t say that out loud. ke saw how gentle Lucia''s attitude was and began looking at her differently from then on. He beckoned everyone else inside the elevator with him as they followed Lucia up towards the 17th floor conference room where Kane was already waiting anxiously.


    Lucia worried about Webbex Group but Kane naturally felt even more uneasy about it all since he had an obligation towards repaying his debt of gratitude while also feeling guilty about something else entirely unrted.


    "Kane! You''re here so early?" eximed an astonished Lucia when she saw him there already.


    Kane gave a slight smile before answering, "Of course."


    Lucia beamed happily before introducing Kane as Deputy General of theirpany who would be negotiating with everyone presentter on alongside herself.Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org.


    Just as ke was about greet Kane properly, however, Carlos nudged him slightly, indicating that he shouldn''t be too humble or soft-spoken; instead, he should try being more assertive instead, which prompted him immediately speak up gruffly saying, "Alright then, let''s negotiate together."


    Lucia exchanged nces with Kane, both noticing how unusual Carlos'' behavior seemed.


    Once inside the conference room, after everyone took their seats, Lucia deliberately asked, "May I know what your names are? And what positions do you hold at Vian Construction?"


    This was standard protocol, and ke naturally wouldn''t back down. He introduced himself along with the other foremen, but hesitated when it came to Carlos''s turn.


    "What''s the matter? Is this gentleman''s identity not to be revealed?" Lucia smiled lightly and stared at Carlos.


    "Oh, he''s a new clerk in the engineering department of ourpany, Carlos Curry." ke answered for Carlos straightforwardly.


    Neer? Lucia raised an eyebrow slightly and asked again, "Is Mr. Curry new to Vian Construction?"


    Carlos seemed restless as Lucia kept asking about him. Without waiting for ke to answer, he provocatively said in a rough voice, "Do you really have any intention of negotiating with us? Why do you always ask about our identities? Do you want to stir up trouble behind our backs?"


    Carlos had some influence among the foremen, and his suspicion caused others to re angrily at Lucia.


    Lucia waved her hand and smiled lightly. Her gaze skimmed over Carlos as she said, "You don''t need to be so defensive; I just asked casually."


    "So how do you n on handling the unpaid wages issue?" ke was impatient and couldn''t wait any longer.


    Lucia nced at Kane before he began exining the hierarchy betweenpanies and division of authority within them. But the more Kane spoke, the uglier the expressions on the foremen became. "Mr. Harrington already told us these things yesterday!" Finally losing his patience, ke rudely interrupted Kane''s words without any hesitation, "I don''t care how you manage yourpany; all I know is that Stable Growth is under your umbre so you are responsible for it! We work hard on this construction site; we have families relying on this sry! Besides that little bit of money means nothing for you guys! Why make things difficult for us?! If you still have some conscience left in you, then pay us back our wages quickly!"


    "The 3 million and 520 thousand owed by Vian Construction may not mean much to Webbex Group," Lucia politely responded, "But regardless of that fact whoever is responsible should take responsibility! Webbex Group has no obligation or intention whatsoever of paying off such debts just because we want everything resolved smoothly."