He had been so occupied the entire day that he had almost forgotten about his sister, and a pang of guilt struck him at the realization. Quickly, he opened the message, expecting to find complaints or perhaps a plea for help.

After all, Maple Leaf City was known to be a rather lawless place, and someone as beautiful, gentle, and soft-spoken as Ashley could easily be intimidated there.

However, the moment he read her message, his expectations were shattered.

"Secured a chance with someone important."

"Rented a storefront and company building."

He stared at the words for a long moment. Individually, they made perfect sense. Together, however, they left him utterly baffled.

What?

Ashley had only arrived in Maple Leaf City hours ago, yet she had already secured an opportunity with a businessman and even rented both a storefront and an office building? Was it really that easy to establish a foothold in the city, or were the people he had sent there simply that incompetent?

Apollo reread Ashley’s message several times, as if the words might rearrange themselves into something more believable. He hadn’t expected much from her so soon. In fact, he had been worried that she was struggling to adapt to Maple Leaf City and was preparing himself to comfort her. Instead, she had dropped a bombshell on him.

Of course, if Apollo ever learned exactly what Ashley had done to secure that opportunity, he would probably explode with rage and personally hunt Gage down for allowing her to take such risks. But that was a problem for another day.

For now, his mind simply went blank.

After staring at the screen for a long moment, he finally managed to type a reply.

"Ash, are you serious?"

The response came almost instantly, as though Ashley had been waiting for his message the entire time.

"Yes."

Apollo stared at the single word.

Somehow, that simple reply made the whole thing even harder to believe.

"How did you manage to do this?"

Apollo’s question was born purely out of curiosity and disbelief. He didn’t suspect anything, nor did he mean to pressure her. However, when Ashley saw the message, her heart skipped a beat. A guilty conscience made her nervous, and she instinctively avoided answering directly.

"Hehe, Brother, I was just a little lucky."

A cute grinning wolf sticker followed the message.

Apollo stared at the reply for a moment before lightly tapping his index finger against the table. He wasn’t entirely convinced by the explanation, but he decided not to press further. Everyone had their own opportunities and secrets, and as long as Ashley was safe, he could overlook the details for now.

More importantly, she had somehow managed to secure a chance to negotiate with influential businessmen in Maple Leaf City.

Apollo knew better than anyone how difficult that was. His company had spent months trying to establish connections there, only to face countless obstacles and unreasonable demands. He wasn’t even sure whether those people would try to take advantage of Ashley’s inexperience and ask for excessive concessions.

Just then, his special assistant returned with the coffee he had ordered.

Apollo immediately made a decision.

"Select the best business proposals we’ve prepared for Maple Leaf City," he instructed. "Use the most conservative profit estimates and the most favorable terms possible. Then send them to my email immediately."

"Understood, President."

If Ashley had worked so hard to open a door for them, the least he could do was make sure she had the strongest bargaining chips in hand.

Apollo had already sent Ashley several business proposals before her departure, and she had carefully reviewed each one. However, special circumstances called for special measures. The proposals prepared earlier were designed for ordinary businessmen in Maple Leaf City, but Mr. Lowe was anything but ordinary.

His status, influence, and connections far surpassed those of the other business figures in the city, making the previous proposals inadequate for someone of his caliber.

Coincidentally, both Apollo and Ashley had arrived at the same conclusion, and that is, they needed to take a conservative approach.

About ten minutes later, Ashley received several business proposals from Apollo. She immediately opened the documents and reviewed them one by one. The overall direction matched her own thoughts, but there were still a few details she wanted to adjust.

Specifically, the profit distribution.

In Ashley’s opinion, the company could afford to negotiate for a larger share of the profits without appearing unreasonable. After all, they were already in the process of establishing both a storefront and an office building in Maple Leaf City. Unlike before, they no longer needed a distributor to handle sales and logistics. They could manage those aspects themselves.

What they truly needed from Mr. Lowe was his influence, connections, and protection.

With that in mind, it was only natural for the profit allocation to lean more heavily in their favor. Even after making adjustments, the share offered to Mr. Lowe would remain generous enough to demonstrate sincerity and respect. From a business standpoint, the arrangement would still be fair to both parties.

After all, they were not seeking capital, infrastructure, or distribution channels from him. What they were buying was access, influence, and security, assets that were valuable, but not valuable enough to justify surrendering an equal share of the profits.

As such, Ashley couldn’t send the business proposal to Mr. Lowe just yet. She needed to return to her hotel first, revise several sections, and finalize the profit distribution. After that, she could either arrange another meeting with him to present the updated proposal in person or simply send it directly if he was too busy to meet. Either way, she could ask him about it once his discussion with Gideon concluded.

Lost in her thoughts, Ashley continued waiting outside the room.

A short while later, the door opened.

Gideon stepped out first.

His expression was as indifferent and unreadable as ever, but there was an icy sharpness to his demeanor that made it feel as though a gust of cold air had escaped the room alongside him. Seeing him emerge alone, Ashley couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She had no idea how the discussion had gone, nor did she know how to bring up the business proposal with Mr. Lowe afterward.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, Mr. Lowe also walked out of the room.

His expression appeared calm and unchanged, as though nothing unusual had happened inside. Seeing the two men leave one after another rather than Gideon being escorted out or thrown out, the onlookers naturally assumed that their discussion had gone relatively well.

The sight eased Ashley’s worries considerably.

Gathering her courage, she stepped forward and politely addressed Mr. Lowe.

"Sir, about the business proposal..." she began hesitantly. "Would it be possible to arrange another meeting so I can show you the business proposal, or would you prefer that I send it directly to you instead?"

Before Ashley could finish her sentence, Mr. Lowe interrupted her.

"It would be better if we met again and you explained it to me personally."

Ashley blinked in surprise before quickly nodding in understanding. Since Mr. Lowe had already expressed his preference, there was no need to send the proposal immediately.

Hearing Ashley agree, Mr. Lowe nodded at once and promptly started walking, as though afraid that if he delayed for even a second, Gideon would find another reason to object.