Hearing Lucas agreeing to her request, Florence was instantly overjoyed. She said in excitement, “Sure. Tell me the conditions!”

Lucas said, “First, I’m only going to befriend the Howards, but I’ll still be in control of California and Oregon. The Howards are not to interfere in any way!”

Now, he had already become the overlord of California and Oregon. Although he didn’t care about fame and power, the Hales and the Sawyers from Orange County, the Parkers from LA, and the Coles from San Francisco all had strong ties with Lucas.

Lucas could only ensure the interests of these families if he continued to control both states.

If he handed the control of California and Oregon to the Howards, he couldn’t be certain what they would do for the sake of profit.

Thus, Lucas wouldn’t give them away.

Florence thought for a while and said, “I can promise you this. The Howards have never thought about controlling California and Oregon. My purpose is to get you and my family to have a friendly relationship. This is enough for me to go back and complete the mission.

“So, what is your second request?”

Lucas said firmly, “My second request is for you to never mention a single word about Cheyenne’s father to her!”

This was the most important condition to Lucas. If Florence disagreed, he would rather fall out with her.

Florence sneered. “I can promise you this. In fact, I don’t want to mention anything about those unhappy things either. If it wasn’t to express my sincerity to you, I wouldn’t have told you about them at all!”

“You’d better keep to your word!” With that, Lucas hung up.

In order to prevent Cheyenne from being embroiled in the matter, Lucas could only temporarily agree to Florence’s request.

But Lucas didn’t believe that the Howards would really be willing to give up control of California and Oregon.

The current situation was very different from before. Not only had the Smiths, the Howards, and the Peerless Martial Association shown interest in California, but there were probably some other major families secretly plotting to take control of California and Oregon.

Lucas believed that since the Howards’ helmsman was so shrewd and ruthless, he definitely wouldn’t sit back and let others take control of California and Oregon.

But it was too early to consider these matters. He would take everything in stride and deal with the situations as they came.

…

When Cheyenne woke up the next morning, her eyes were as swollen as walnuts.

Lucas was heartbroken. “Why don’t you take a day off and stay at home today? Just leave it to your subordinates to handle matters at the office.”

Cheyenne was also shocked when she saw her swollen eyes in the mirror, but she was in a much better mood today. She even made an ugly face at herself in the mirror.

“It’s okay. I’ll just ice my eyes with a cold towel. Thanks to you, the company has had a lot of business lately. I won’t feel at ease if I don’t go.”

Seeing Cheyenne seeming to be in a good mood despite her red and swollen eyes, Lucas finally felt relieved.

After sending his wife and daughter to the office and kindergarten as usual, Lucas drove to the Stardust Corporation.

But just after he got out of the car, an old man in his sixties wearing a gray tuxedo suddenly stopped in front of Lucas.

“Mr. Gray, it’s a pleasure to meet you. There’s something that I’d like to discuss with you. Is it convenient for us to have a word now?”

His white hair was meticulously combed back, and he bowed slightly as he spoke. Based on his mannerisms and temperament, he was probably from a major family.

“You are?” Lucas asked with raised brows.

“Oh dear, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Charlie, the chief butler of the Smiths in DC. I’m here in California to have a chat with you under the orders of the helmsman,” the old man in the tuxedo said politely.

Charlie was very courteous and spoke amiably as well.

After Lucas heard that he was the Smiths’ butler, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

He didn’t expect the Smiths to send their chief butler over to have a discussion with him after he had humiliated two successors of the family. Not only did they not make a fuss, but they were even extremely humble and friendly toward him.

“If you’re planning to criticize me or make me submit to the Smiths, you can forget about it,” Lucas said indifferently.

“No, Mr. Gray, you’re mistaken. I’m here to ask you for your cooperation,” Charlie said with a smile.

“Cooperating with the Smiths? Sorry, I’m not interested!” Lucas refused outright and turned around to leave.

Considering what he had done to the successors of the Smiths, he knew for sure that there was something wrong with the Smiths wanting to cooperate with him.

Lucas wasn’t a fool. How could he possibly believe Charlie’s words?

“Mr. Gray, please wait! The cooperation I’m talking about is related to the Huttons. Don’t you want to hear about it first?” Charlie raised his voice a little from behind Lucas.

The mention of the Huttons indeed made Lucas stop.

“Mr. Gray, although the Smiths indeed have had some unhappy matters with you in the past, I believe that there are no permanent enemies. Don’t you agree?

“I might as well be honest with you. Although the Smiths and the Huttons both belong to the eight top families in DC, we’ve been at odds in many fields. So it can be said that both families are hostile to each other.

“The Smiths have long been displeased with the Huttons, but unfortunately, the Huttons are also a prominent family with strong roots. It’s not easy to defeat them.

“Mr. Gray, as far as I know, the relationship between you and the Huttons isn’t cordial either. In fact, many Huttons are still targeting you. So from this perspective, the Huttons are our common enemy.

“Mr. Gray, you’re undoubtedly very powerful, but it’s a pity that you don’t have the support of a top family that’s powerful enough. Although the Smiths are one of the top families in DC, we lack a powerful expert like you, Mr. Gray.

“So if we join forces, won’t we be able to exert an enormous power combined?

“Mr. Tyson Smith, the family helmsman, has already made it clear to me that as long as you’re willing to join hands with us to deal with the Huttons, we will give you the support to become the next helmsman after the matter is done! Mr. Gray, what do you think?”

Charlie spoke his mind. He had indeed investigated many matters and was aware of the feud between Lucas and the Huttons.

In his opinion, Lucas would definitely accept the cooperation offer, be it for the sake of taking revenge against the Huttons or taking control over them.

“Hah, idiot!”

After saying this coldly, Lucas turned around to leave while Charlie was dumbstruck.

He was actually rejected by Lucas!