Natasha didn't quite know how to respond. Her mind wasn't in the right place to think about such things. She simply felt that her boss was a decent outlet for her current frustrations. The girl in front of her seemed to have a close relationship with him.
She couldn't tell if they were really siblings or not; after all, who calls their brother "Uncle"?
Not daring to speak the truth, she stammered out, "Your boss is quite impressive. It's normal for women to fancy him."
Avril leaned in a bit closer, covering her mouth as she whispered, "Be careful of that man; he's a player. A girl as beautiful as you could easily find him chatting with eight others at the same time."
Natasha looked at her in surprise but nodded. "I know, but it's fine. I'm not looking to date anyone right now; I just want to have some fun."
Seeing Natasha's nonchalant attitude made Avril feel frustrated and powerless at the same time. It wasn't her place to interfere in matters that were mutually agreed upon.
Meanwhile, James had overheard their conversation and, having quickly showered, stepped into the room draped in a bathrobe.
He shot a mischievous glare at Avril. "You're asking for a beating, aren't you?"
"What do you mean? I was just praising how handsome you are!"
Avril rolled her eyes, confident that he couldn't hear her trash-talking.
James pondered whether to tease her a little in front of Natasha. Just then, the doorbell rang, prompting him to brush aside his thoughts.
He opened the door to find Alice Bentham from the sales office standing there with a contract.
Upon seeing James with two beautiful women, Alice awkwardly smiled and said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Not at all," James chuckled. "We're all just fine here; don't overthink it."
"Yes, yes, I trust your integrity, King."
While Alice said she trusted him, in her heart, she scoffed. She didn't doubt that the starlet might be innocent, but she was certain that the woman with the property had already formed a closer relationship with him by now.
Who could resist the allure of a property?
Alice placed the delegation document on the table and took out a pen for them to sign.
Curious, Avril peered over and was stunned by the multi-million dollar price tag.
Once she learned that it was a gift from James, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Why is this fair?"
She'd earned just fifty thousand from acting for him, while this woman was making twenty-eight million after a day's work.
That was unfair!
After James finished signing and sent Alice on her way, he turned to Avril, noticing her sulking expression and puffed cheeks. "What's the matter?"
"Uncle, I want a property too!" Avril exclaimed eagerly.
James raised an eyebrow, considering her request. "How many do you want?"
Avril's beautiful almond-shaped eyes went wide. Hadn't she just been asked how many houses she wanted? Wasn't the standard question about location or size?
He simply asked for how many?
Her heart raced.
Suppressing her bubbling excitement, she answered in the same absurd tone, "As many as you have!"
"Okay."
James remembered that Jay Johnson's property deal hadn't been settled yet, and the staff dorms also needed to be arranged.
He grabbed his phone and called Alice Bentham. "Miss Alice, could you come back up?"
Having just returned downstairs, Alice hesitated but begrudgingly got back onto the elevator.
Rich people certainly had a lot of annoying demandsâinsatiable bums who never seemed to leave them alone.
When she reached the 18th floor and knocked on the door, she greeted him with an artificial cheer. "King, how can I help you?"
Not one for beating around the bush, James asked directly, "How many properties do you have left that are unsold?"
Alice, momentarily taken aback, soon caught on to his intent and her excitement surged. She guessed he was buying a house for that star.
Quickly pulling out her phone, she outlined the details confidently, revealing there were a total of sixteen unsold units.
James listened patiently before asking, "What's the total price?"
After calculating on her phone, Alice stammered, "Just a little over three hundred million."
James considered that having roughly ten top-tier talents was sufficient; if necessary, they could squeeze four newbies into a single unit.
"Alright, I'll take all of them. Just put them under her name." He pointed at Avril, smirking.
The room fell silent, and Alice stood frozen, staring at him in disbelief.
She had never anticipated that he would want all of them.
Swallowing hard, she cautiously asked, "Will you need a loan?"
"No, thanks."
Hearing that he was paying in full was shocking.
Wealthy people typically have their riches tied up in assets, with little liquid cash accessible.
For someone to be so generous as to drop three hundred million on real estate, they were either planning to invest or just ridiculously wealthy.
From the current market, she was betting on the latter.
As she gazed at this undeniably rich handsome guy, Alice felt her heart race, almost wanting to throw herself at him impulsively, falling head over heels.
"Alright, please wait a moment while I grab the purchase contract!"
She bowed deeply and then hurried out.
As she daydreamed about closing a deal worth several billion, Avril looked on in utter disbelief.
Was this actually happening?
While she had always suspected this man was loaded, for him to so casually whip out three billion based on just one of her comments was something else entirely.
He was straightforwardly ready to buy her a house?
This was downright surreal.
"Uncle... are you for real?" Avril asked, her voice shaky with disbelief.
"Yeah, what do you think? Do you like it?"
In situations involving spending, James exuded a commanding presence, his aura radiating royal authority that made it hard to look him in the eye.
This confidence stemmed from his strong physique, allowing him to spend without a second thought.
The constraints that bind ordinary humans held no power over him anymore.
"Uncle, just how rich are you that you can casually spend three billion daily?" Avril quipped, unable to hold back.
Even robbing a bank wouldn't yield such mountains of cash.
James noticed the lack of favorability prompts and questioned, "Why are you so focused on how much money I have? Don't you like these properties?"
His demeanor reminded her of No-Face from Spirited Away, endlessly pulling out gold in hopes of winning someone's favor.
However, it was painfully obvious that this tactic wasn't working on the innocent Avril.
"Whether I like it or not seems irrelevant. Starting today, you're officially my dad!"
James was left speechless.
Faced with her sincere expression and adorable antics, he sighed softly. It wasn't going to be as simple as he hoped.
Human nature was unfathomable.
He found himself wishing he could open her head and see what was going on inside.
After all that money spent, he received no reaction whatsoever.
But maybe it was for the best. He could now confidently use her properties without a second thought.
When Alice returned, carrying the contract with urgency, James casually stated, "And while you're at it, prepare sixteen property delegation agreements."
Alice hurriedly rushed out again, her expression showing no sign of impatience.
"Uncle, what do you need those contracts for?" Avril asked with curiosity.
"I'll manage these properties for you in the future," James replied.
At his words, Avril's smile faltered awkwardly, and she stammered, "Uh... that's really not necessary..."
James chuckled. "No worries. You can choose any unit you like, and don't stress about the rest."
Avril stubbornly protested, "But... what if I want to sell it?"
James raised his gaze to meet hers, responding coolly, "If you need money, just ask me. As long as it's reasonable, I'll arrange it."
A sense of profound despair washed over Avril.
She had known it would come to this.
Throughout her life, she had never truly owned anything.