Chapter 6

Come on, Melissa, you can't sleep anymore!!

She spoke warning herself, but it was no use, when she least realized it, she had fallen asleep again, and woke up only when they reached their destination.

When Nicholas looked down at the woman in his arms, he realized that she was fast asleep with an embarrassed look on her face, and as the boat neared the shore, there were a few people standing on the pier, so he ran his hand over her face. , waking her up, who began to admire the place they had just arrived.

Melissa thought they were just tourists who were hanging out on the island and wouldn't notice them, but as soon as they got off the yacht, she saw that the "tourists" were lined up in two rows, a middle-aged man walked over and greeted Nicholas.

- Welcome, Mr. President.

- Hello!! - Nicholas spoke greeting everyone with his calm and distant tone, meanwhile, the other party also looked at Melissa and said while smiling.

- This lady looks very familiar, have we met before? - And immediately Nicholas turned his head to look at Melissa.

- You know them? - Nicholas asked a little jealous, but tried to hide it.

- No, I don't remember you. - Melissa replied by shaking her head at the man.

- Oh, I remember now, I think I saw you on TV. You look a lot like that very popular female celebrity. - The man smiled and led the way to the car, and then they left towards the island.

Although Ilha da Lua had not yet been officially developed, due to the opening of Ilha da Lua to the public, some of the island's aborigines had already cleared their own homes and started taking advantage of the shellfish families. The middle-aged man continued to introduce Nicholas to the Island's potential along the way, while Melissa sat in the back row, listening silently, but her gaze was on the island's natural scenery.

The rainforest was full of vegetation, and trees that reached the sky could be seen everywhere. A few cabins were hidden among the trees, and it would have been hard to find them if there hadn't been farm music signs hanging by the roadside.

The car drove south for over 20 minutes before reaching the famous York Beach. Probably to entertain the president the beach was decorated after some time. There was music, loungers, beach volleyball, buffet and a beauty in a bikini.

- President and Miss Roberts!! - Luna appeared out of nowhere, holding a coconut in her hands and wearing beach pants, she had a bright smile on her face.

- Miss Luna, weren't you sleeping at the hotel? - Melissa asked, after all, she was sure that Luna was sleeping in the room, she didn't see any movement until the president woke up.

- That's right, I was supposed to be at the hotel rested, but in the end, I was forced to work again. - Luna replied giving the coconut in her hand to Melissa, in her face, she could see the frustration, and faced the president.

But, something inside Melissa, made her suspicious, because even if it was the case that Luna would go to work when she should be off duty, how had she arrived on the island first, before them? Who had just left before her?

Could it also be because she had fallen asleep on the way here, and Nicholas didn't want to wake her, that he drove at such slow speed or took a detour? But it still didn't make sense, why would he waste his time with her?

Shaking her head, Melissa decided not to think too much about it, and let things happen naturally, it could all just be a fluke, or coincidence.

- If you are so dissatisfied with working for me, just pack your things and leave right now. - Nicholas replied throwing a bucket of cold water on Luna.

- Who? Am I dissatisfied? Never. - Luna replied smiling. - If I didn't follow the president, how would I have the chance to see so many handsome men? Even more, in one shot? - And Melissa just held back a laugh, seeing Luna speak without being afraid of the president's wrath, which she had certainly already seen.

Melissa never thought that Luna, who is usually so serious, would actually act like this in private.

- Stop being cute and start working, who are they? - Nicholas asked, and Luna just followed his gaze until she fixed on a temporarily built awning not far ahead. Some people were playing poker in Texas, and a bunch of beauties in bikinis were waiting for them.

- Well, the bald man sitting over there is the biggest contractor in the area, and next to him are the city officials, the engineers from the design department, and the old man over there is the president of Heng Ding International, our biggest competitor. Speaking of which, Eternal Cauldron International really invested a lot this time around, and even the president himself left. It looked like this Moon Island really was a big piece of meat. I was lucky to be able to attend this party, otherwise we might not have much to do with this project. - Luna explained as she led Nicholas towards the awning.

Then, it dawned on Melissa, Nicholas had come to the island for work, and even though her expectations were shattered, she just quietly retreated to the side, found a cool place to sit and drank some coconut juice, so she didn't would disrupt the business of the man in front of him.

When Nicholas arrived at the awning, everyone was a little shocked and dropped the card in their hands, and the man who had met them on the dock earlier introduced them immediately.

- Guys, I believe everyone knows President Nicholas Cassano, there is no purpose for everyone to gather here, other than to celebrate.

- Mr. Bianchi, why didn't you inform us that President Cassano would be meeting with us? Did you want to do some surprise? - The president of Eternal Cauldron International, Mario Bicci, blew a mouthful of smoke and said with a cigar in his hand.

- This is a misunderstanding, Mr. Bicci, I really didn't know the President was going to meet with us today, in fact I found out a few seconds ago when I landed on the island. - Bianchi replied to the president of Eternal, who smiled.

- So you're saying that Mr. Cassano came uninvited? - The moment Mario Bicci said that, everyone's expression tensed and a strong smell of gunpowder spread immediately. Nicholas' indifferent face revealed a cold smile, his deep eyes looked directly at Mario.

- By any chance, is President Bicci afraid of me? - Nicholas asked defiantly, and upon hearing these words the president of Eternas felt intimidated.

- Is this a joke, President Nicholas? Why should I be afraid of you? - The president of Eternal retorted.

- I fear that by the time I get involved in the Ilha da Lua project, there will be no room left for Eternal. - Both of Nicholas's hands were in his pockets lazily as he spoke, his tone of voice was lazy, and it was a stark contrast to Mario's cautious look.

"I admit that self-confidence is a good thing, and since Mr. Cassano is so confident of himself, how about we make a bet? If you win, our company, Eternal Cauldron Group will no longer participate in the competition to develop Moon Island. - And when Mario said that, he gave a signal to the dealer who was responsible for giving the orders, who understood the message and nodded to the man.

- I must agree that this is a good idea. - Nicholas replied agreeing, but after some hesitation, he said. - However, I haven't been very interested in gambling lately, but how about that, I'll appoint someone to replace me. - He answered fearlessly.

And at this moment, Melissa was enjoying the sun, sand and delicious food while lying in the recliner, until she saw Luna heading towards her with a worried face.

- What did you say? - I asked in surprise. - The president wants me to go play cards with him? Her gaze went straight to the inside of the awning, and she happened to see Nicholas's gaze in her direction. She felt faint in her heart, and immediately retracted her gaze, and waved at Luna, as if she couldn't do that, she would surely embarrass the president in front of all those men. - I can't, I won't play, I won't play, I don't know how to play. - She spoke desperately.

- With the president here, what are you afraid of? Come on, don't let the president wait too long, he might end up losing his temper. - Luna threatened her, because she knew Melissa was scared to death of the president.

The moment she heard that Nicholas might lose his temper, Melissa just nodded in defeat, and followed Luna to the awning in silence and fear of what was to come.

- Can we know who this lady is? - Mario couldn't help but be curious when he saw Melissa, because she wore simple clothes and followed Luna, in silence.

Nicholas leaned into Melissa's shoulders, pressing her into a chair beside the card table, his face revealing a dangerous smile.

- Her last name is Roberts, but you can call her Miss Melissa.

- Mr. Cassano, are you really all right and preparing to leave this Ms. or represent him? - Seeing Melissa's cowardly look, Mario couldn't help but ridicule her.

- Mr. Bicci, don't be in such a hurry to snub her. Let's win first before talking about anything else. .- Nicholas replied sarcastically while his hand pressed heavily on Melissa's thin and weak shoulder, and with her body pressed like that, all Melissa wanted was to die, she knew that if she didn't win, she would ridicule Nicholas and his company, and that certainly, I shouldn't have come on this stupid trip, I should have fallen into the sea, so this shame wouldn't happen.

Turning her head, she looked at Nicholas with a concerned expression.

- Mr. Cassano, I really can't, you should just let Secretary Luna go in my place.

- I'm not afraid to play the simplest Texas poker. - Nicholas replied comforting her.

- Texas Poker... And how do we play? - She asked totally confused, after all she had never played something like that in her life. How could she joke about that? What would she play with?

Nicholas was startled, as he hadn't expected her to know about Texas Poker.

- And you, do you at least know SUOHA? - He asked, and she shook her head.

- And what is this? - Melissa asked, she really didn't know how to play cards, let alone techniques that would surely take years.

- And what do you know? Nicholas asked, trying not to feel impatient.

- I... - Melissa couldn't say anything, however, when she looked at the president, who looked like he could swallow her at any moment, she really didn't dare to say anything.

When Mario saw this, he couldn't help but mock President Cassano.

- Looks like the helper that Mr. Cassano tried not to help him at all. What should we do? It would be better for you to give up this opportunity, since your The Royal Group is rich and powerful, why should a mere Moon Island fight with us for this?

- Hum... How about we play Landlord? - Melissa suggested looking at Nicholas, who nodded, even not sure if she would be as good as the men at that table.

- All right, let's play Landlord. - Nicholas spoke with determination, and he did not care about Mario Bicci's objections and looked at the political and government official sitting next to him and said. - Sir, how about accompanying them to play a round?

The clerk wasn't in a hurry to respond, but instead lifted his head to look at Mario, and seeing that the man nodded slightly in his direction, he sat down at the table.

When everyone was assembled, the dealer began to deal the cards.

Melissa was sitting at the card table and her heart was full of fear, the hand holding the card was shaking and she didn't even dare to breathe out loud.

Nicholas could see her nervousness, so he lowered his head slightly with his lips close to her ear and said in a low voice, "It's so much fun, you're the one with billions of dollars in business." - And as a result, Melissa became even more nervous.

The dealer handed the labels to each of them, Melissa opened them and saw that there wasn't a single sign, they were all rotten to the core.

She immediately revealed a bitter face and looked to Nicholas hoping he would help her but all she saw was a man sitting beside her playing with his phone. Yes, he was sitting not far behind her with his legs crossed and his head down as he fiddled with the phone, he didn't take the billions of dollars in business seriously.

- What would you like me to call you? From sir? - Mario asked teasing the woman, after all, he knew his cards were bad.

Melissa just shook her head. That kind of card, which couldn't even be linked to Shunzi, would only end up dying a miserable death if she called the landlord.

- No...- Just as she was about to say no, the man playing with the phone behind her suddenly coughed loudly, startling her. She was lost and didn't understand what he meant, so she just turned to Nicholas, and saw that he was still playing with his phone.

- So, Miss Roberts, can I call you landlord or not? - Mario wasn't in the mood to keep it, after all, if only in this round he won, Nicholas would be completely out of the picture. All these years, Eternal Cauldron International has always been suppressed by the Royal Group, and all these years, the industry has been laughing at them for being number two in a thousand years.

Nicholas wanted to take care of the development in New York, and to be one step ahead of it, he spent an enormous amount of manpower and resources to save it all, trying to take over the development rights of the Island of the Moon. It was rare for Nicholas to deliver on his doorstep, so he was obviously eager to win.

Melissa was worried, she was in cahoots with the other two, so no matter if she called them landlord or not, her rotten hand would still be considered a loss. Since that was the case, why not call them landlord?

- I want a new letter! - She spoke with what little courage she had left.

Then she turned the three and asked, no, begged God for a miracle, however, when she saw the cards she had, she almost cried. In her hands, those 3 cards would have no effect, and seeing this trash card that didn't even have four or six cards, Melissa raised her hand and weakly said: - Can I surrender?

- Surrender? Mario chuckled and pointed at Melissa. - Of course you can, as long as Nicholas is willing to accept.

Nicholas who was sitting next to Melissa, simply got up and walked to Melissa's side, took the messy cards from her hands and threw them on the table - Congratulations, President Bicci, you won! - Then he took Melissa by the hands, and turned to leave the awning, until he heard another provocation from the man.

- Thank you for your blessings, Mr. Nicholas, I promise to send you an invitation after the celebration ceremony. - Mario's voice came from behind, and his tone was extremely pleased with himself. The corners of Nicholas's mouth curled up, revealing an extremely dangerous cold smile, and seeing this, Melissa's heart couldn't help but shudder.

After getting into the car, Melissa sat in the seat behind Nicholas, silently marshaling the words in her heart, thinking of how she could apologize and make up for the billions of dollars she lost in that game.

After fermenting for a long time, she finally said close to Nicholas's face, with some care: Mr. Nicholas, I'm sorry... I caused you to lose billions of dollars in business...- And before I could finish my speech, he replied.

- Relax, it doesn't matter. - Nicholas replied, calmly, as if that wasn't the case at all, after all, he seemed to expect her to lose. And hearing those three words, Melissa's afflicted heart finally fell, after all, it wasn't a problem, he didn't blame her for losing a neogic, and even less, he blamed her for losing money.