Lee Shan was not an issue. The people who might be behind her were the problem. It would not be a stretch to guess that they were responsible for tipping off Ping An to the existence of his father’s second family.

Lee Shan was careless. It made sense that the news leaked from her end. While she would have heard about his mother, it was obvious she wasn’t as afraid as she should be.

Bai Li rubbed his temples. This day wasn’t going the way he hoped. It would be enough if the people around him were neutral. Was it too much to hope that people stopped getting in his way? They didn’t need to be helpful.

Walking to the table, he picked up the list of people he wanted to scout. It was time to get people who were useful on his side. He thought long and hard about who to recruit. The people he used in the future weren’t old enough or skilled enough to pull to his side now.

This list was drafted using all the talents he remembered. Some were his others belonged to his competitors. He picked up a second list that contained people he could nurture. While helping someone didn’t guarantee full loyalty, it had its benefits.

Tobias Carpenter. That was the first person he wanted to pull to his side. His freedom would be a lot less than he originally imagined. He would need someone to manage his affairs and to move when he couldn’t.

Carpenter was just the manager of a shopping mall at this point in his life. Due to family issues, he dropped out of law school. Ten years from now, he would be known as one of the business world’s best fixers.

The best part is he would require little training. Three months from now, he would be fired and sued. It was during that case that he made headlines and launched his own business. It was a given that he already had the necessary skill set.

Bai Li didn’t feel any shame in derailing Tobias’s life path for personal gain. In his mind, it was a partnership for both of their benefits. If Tobias grew under his wing, wouldn’t that be best?

The next person on his list would have to be crossed off. Dave Campo worked at Trident Industries. He used to be his father’s head of security. With Knox still alive, there was little chance of him being recruited.

There were three other people he was considering as his head of security. He would use Tobias to help him look into them before making a decision.

The next person he needed was a programmer/hacker. This list was small. He didn’t need an IT graduate from a top university. Those were a dime a dozen. What he needed was an underground hacker. While hackers had been around since the dawn of computers, they weren’t as prevalent now.

One step at a time. He smiled as he stroked the computer he purchased today. It was a good thing Tobias worked at a mall.

Getting in contact with him wouldn’t be an issue.

Moving onto the third document. He picked up the plan he made to present to his grandfather. This was where he had the biggest problem.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized he knew very little about his grandfather or his activities. All he had was an irrational fear of approaching the man.

He didn’t have enough interactions with his grandfather to have that fear. That means it would have been cultivated in him by his mother.

He honestly could not figure out how their meeting would go. His assumptions could be right or wrong. He just knew how capable his grandfather was as a businessman. The towering persona was hard to shake.

The fear he had was the fear his mother felt when she thought of her father. It also made sense why she wouldn’t want her children to interact with him.

He was basically approaching Ping Zen blind. All he could do was put together several plans and prepare for as many scenarios as he could.

It was hard for him to sleep that night. The things he needed to do kept swirling in his mind.

Bai Li woke up groggy and more than a little bit miserable. It took all his willpower not to throw his ringing phone into a wall.

“Hello.”

“Hello,” a deep voice responded.

Bai Li bolted upright. This wasn’t a voice he could forget. “Mr. Degas.”

“I knew you would figure it out. Despite not having looked at my face.” Knox sounded amused.

“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have wanted to figure it out either.” There was no point in lying to this man. His best option was to try and develop an equal relationship of some sort.

“Thank you,” Knox said without expanding. They both knew what he was talking about. “I sent you a present. It contains a few things I think you need the most.”

Why did it sound more like a land mine than a present? Did he dare to accept it? “That is too kind of you. There is no need for that.”

“Do you think you can reject it?”

“Do you think you can force me to accept?” Bai LI countered.

Knox laughed. “Use the things I sent however you want. It is entirely free. I don’t care for games. When I want something, or there is a price to be paid, you will know about it.”

Bai Li couldn’t figure out the hidden meaning of those words.

“Bai Li, what secrets are you hiding?”

Bai LI’s heart started to race. Those words could mean a lot of things, but why were his instincts telling him Knox was talking about his rebirth. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I also don’t think you know me well enough to ask that question.”

There was silence at the end of the line. “That just tells me that you really have a secret.”

Bai Li couldn’t lie. There would be no benefits, and he couldn’t guarantee that it would work. What he could do was use misdirection to his benefit. “Everyone has secrets, Mr. Degas.”

“I would prefer it if you would call me Knox.”

I would prefer it if we weren’t having this conversation, but you don’t hear me saying anything. “That would be rude. You are older than me.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line. What did he say?

Knox let out a hollow laugh. “Your package should have arrived. Let’s stay on the line while you go and pick it up.”

Bai Li would be lying if he said that he wasn’t curious about what Knox had sent. It would be interesting to see how much Knox Degas valued his life.

The landline rang. Picking it up, he listened to the desk man for a beat before telling him he would head down now.

“I don’t like being watched.” His need to get a security detail just jumped up on his list of priorities. He wouldn’t even bother to ask how Knox found out where he lived.

“Would you believe me if I said I would stop?”

“I don’t know why you are doing it now.” Bai Li didn’t know why he had sparked this much interest from the man.

At least he was getting his favor repaid. It would have been dangerous if he approached Knox on his own.

“I don’t either. That is why I am trying to figure it out.”

Bai Li’s heart rate spiked again. The dark undertones of that voice seemed to be hinting at something more. “You know that doesn’t make any sense, right?”

“Li, there are a lot of things that don’t make any sense about you.” Knox’s voice had gone back to being amused.

“I don’t have the time or energy to play mind games with you.” Bai Li really didn’t. It would take all his energy to sort out the problem he already had without adding any more complications to it.

“I told you. No games. I would ask right now if I thought you would answer.” Knox paused. There were voices talking in the background. “I think actions speak louder than words. Your mother won’t be coming to bother you for a while. Save this number. Goodbye, little Li.”

Didn’t he want to stay on the line until he collected the package? Something must have happened.

Bai Li couldn’t help but wonder what Knox had done to Ping An. He didn’t care as long as it worked.

He was worried about what Knox wanted but could only wait and see. He didn’t think that he was hostile, though having him curious would be worse.

It would be better to deal with his family before worrying about the shadowy figure that was Knox Degas.

He reached the front desk to see a delivery man holding a gift basket.