Steve slapped himself and said, "It's my fault for not recognizing you. I shouldn't have disrespected you because of Ms. Kate!"
"Ms. Kate? She's the famous charitable princess in Easthan. How can you compare her to someone like me?" Chantelle replied.
Steve's face went pale.
All he cared about now was keeping his job. "Chairman! I made a mistake! Ms. Kate is no longer the charitable princess. I shouldn't have been protecting her. But I couldn't offend her because she has the Wilson and Bently families backing her!"
Kate didn't expect Steve to turn against her. She shouted angrily, "Steve, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Steve didn't dare to look at Kate's side. "I'm not talking nonsense. Ms. Kate, please don't put me in a tough situation. The chairman knows everything you've done. And our committee looked into what the Bently family did for you. I can't help you."
"Shut up, Steve! I'll tear your mouth off if you say one more word!" Kate threatened him.
Steve fell silent. He couldn't afford to offend either of them.
Kate was furious. She never imagined the committee would find out about her actions. If her wrongdoings were exposed, everything she had worked for would be ruined.
It would also make Daniel hate her for all the fake charity work she had done in the past.
The thought of that made her feel weak. She could no longer stand tall as her knees were shaking.
Thankfully, Allen was standing beside her and caught her just in time. "Ms. Kate, do you want me to inform the family or Mr. Wilson?" he murmured, noticing her pale expression.
"No," Kate replied quickly. "Daniel can never find out about this. Keep it a secret, understand?"
Allen was still worried, "These people are going to treat you badly."
"I can handle it on my own," Kate said, trying to compose herself. "Go wait for me outside."
Allen had no choice but to step outside the meeting room.
Kate took a deep breath, regained her composure, and turned to Steve. "Mr. Walter, please step outside for a moment. I need to discuss something important with your chairman."
Steve knew he had offended Kate. He glanced at Chantelle with pleading eyes, "Chairman..."
Offending Kate meant offending both the Wilson family and the Bently family.
Steve knew he could only try to make up for it later.
Chantelle gave Calvin a cold order to take Steve away.
Once they were alone in the meeting room, Chantelle turned her attention to Kate.
Kate didn't waste any time. "Name your price. How much do you want for the Global Ambassador for Philanthropy title?"
Chantelle raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Kate, are you trying to bribe me openly?"
"There's no one else here. I'm sure the chairman of the charity association still needs to eat. No one would turn down money," Kate said calmly.
Chantelle raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Kate, how much do you think the title is worth then?"
"10 million dollars," Kate replied confidently. "I'm more than worthy of the title. You won't find anyone else in Easthan more suited for it than me. You'll get the money, and I'll get the glory. It's a win-win situation. What do you think?"
The social media scandal had mostly been cleared, and Kate was just trying to get things back on track since she was meant to be the only candidate for the Global Charity Banquet.
Chantelle chuckled as if she had heard a joke. "I see. So, the glory that helps you get into the Wilson family is only worth this much to you, Ms. Kate..."
Kate clenched her fists and asked, "Are you trying to take advantage of me?"
Chantelle just smiled, and its coldness sent a shiver down Kate's spine. It was clear that this woman had it out for her.
Is she trying to get back at me for Mr. Wesley? Kate thought, remembering her presence at the cemetery.
She felt agitated, and she snapped, "It was you! You exposed everything, didn't you? You've been sneaky since the cemetery encounter. What do you want? Who are you? What's your connection to that old man and Chantelle Bently?"
Chantelle looked into Kate's eyes, who was now agitated and frantic, and replied casually, "Ms. Kate, you think too much of yourself. I'm just using my power as chairman. What? Do you think I said that because I'm against you?"
Kate didn't know what Chantelle wanted, but she had no choice but to listen.
She didn't want to offend her any further, worried that this woman might have come to take revenge for Mr. Wesley's death.
Kate reluctantly agreed, "What about 30 million dollars? That's more than enough! Don't be greedy!"
Chantelle calmly responded, "100 million dollars. Transfer the money today, or forget it."
Kate was furious, "This is a daylight robbery! Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
Chantelle smirked, "Sorry, I'm not afraid. You can try, but if you do, everyone will find out about your fake donations."
Kate swallowed her pride, feeling both angry and humiliated, "Fine. 100 million dollars."
"Ms. Kate is such a decisive person," Chantelle said with a smile.
"Don't try to flatter me. I'll remember this!" Kate shot back, grabbing her handbag and preparing to leave.
She would get her revenge once she married Daniel.
But as she turned to go, Calvin stopped her.
Kate growled, "Move."
But then, she heard a cold, deep voice from behind her.
Chantelle wasn't ready to let Kate walk away so easily. She lightly tapped the table and said, "Ms. Kate, you promised to compensate me for my laptop. Are you going to break your promise?"
Kate turned around, glaring at Chantelle. "It's just a stupid laptop. You already got 100 million dollars. Why do you care about that small amount?"
Chantelle gave Calvin a subtle nod to hand Kate the quote.
"Ms. Kate, let me remind you. It's ten laptops, not just one."
Kate looked at the quote, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it in anger.
"Don't push your luck! How can a few stupid laptops be worth 300 million dollars?"
Calvin casually explained, "Ms. Kate, our chairman's laptop is custom-made with the most advanced specifications. More importantly, it holds all the data from previous chairmen and information about this year's Global Charity Banquet award winners. Do you still think 300 million dollars for ten of these laptops is too much?"
"That's going too far!" Kate exclaimed.