When did I ever say I wanted to marry her?

Even if I did want to, I’d still need approval from my superiors at my organization first.

“Fine, fine. I’m the loser, and you’re the rich heiress. Happy now?” I spat sarcastically. “But since President Dixton isn’t interested in me, I’ll just leave. However...”

I suddenly changed the tone of my voice.

“This first-class seat was reserved in advance by my superior through the airline. No matter how much money you offer, you have no right to sit here.”

As soon as I said that, Assistant Wesley jumped out like a loyal watchdog.

“You little punk, still putting on a show in front of President Dixton, huh?”

“You think you have a say on a plane that belongs to the Dixton family? Who the hell do you think you are?”

Only then did I truly understand the meaning of the term “bootlicker.”

“Assistant Wesley, I’m just trying to sit in the seat that was assigned to me. What does the ownership of the plane have to do with me?” I frowned.

Before I could finish, Aubrey grew visibly annoyed and pulled out her phone on the spot. “What’s the big deal about a first-class seat? I’ll pay ten times the price.”

“I’ll give you a hundred thousand. Take the money and disappear. Don’t let me see your face again,” she continued.

I curved my lips into a faint smile and gave her a half-hearted nod.

“Well, since President Dixton is being so generous, I suppose I can reluctantly accept.”

But just as I turned to walk away, Assistant Wesley suddenly shouted after me.

“Stop right there, you little brat!”

I paused mid-step and turned slowly.

“What now? Changed your mind, Assistant Wesley?”

He gave me a smug grin, then leaned in to whisper something into Aubrey’s ear.

The next second, California’s so-called youngest billionaire snapped.

“Camden, did you just lay a hand on my people?”

Judging by Wesley’s expression, I could already guess he had just painted me as the villain. And I had to admit—his tactic of using someone else to do the dirty work was brutally effective.

Given how Aubrey already viewed me, I knew no amount of explaining would help. So I didn’t bother trying.

“Whether I hit him or not doesn’t matter anymore. Just tell me—what do you want to do about it?”

She hadn’t expected me to be so direct. For a moment, she actually looked a little stunned.

“What do I want? Of course, I want an apology!”

I raised an eyebrow, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

“An apology? Yeah, that’s not happening. Maybe you two can come up with a different solution.”

“One million!” Wesley suddenly jumped in gleefully.

“As President Dixton’s personal assistant, I’m involved in multimillion-dollar deals daily.”

“Just now, you pushed me, and I’m not feeling too well. You’ll have to take responsibility!”

Gasps erupted around us.

Even Aubrey looked caught off guard.

“Wesley, isn’t one million a bit... excessive?”

“Even if you went to the hospital and did a full-body scan, it wouldn’t cost that much.”

But Wesley just waved her off.

“No, no, President Dixton, you’re thinking too small.”

“As your assistant, I was assaulted on your family’s own plane. The damage isn’t just physical—it’s to our reputation!”

“The fact that we’re only asking for one million means we’re actually going easy on him.”

Aubrey paused, considering it for a moment, then gave a slow nod.

“Fine. One million it is. I’ll pay it.”

Before they could think twice, I spoke up.

“Deal.”

Instantly, every pair of eyes on the plane locked onto me.

Some people thought I was just bluffing to save face.

Others assumed I was playing dumb—pretending to be a sheep when I was really a tiger. While the rest were just enjoying the drama from the sidelines.

But honestly, I didn’t care what they thought.

What mattered was that someone had tried to steal my seat.

Sure, she offered over ten times the price. But it was her attitude that really pissed me off.

“Now that we’ve settled the whole pushing incident, shall we talk about the seat?”

I shifted the tone suddenly, lips curving into a subtle smirk.

“My trip was registered with the airline ahead of time. You think anyone can just waltz in and take this seat?”

My words had barely landed before the cabin erupted in laughter.

“This guy is crazy, right? It’s just first class. Why the hell would you need to report your travel plans?”

“Exactly! The whole airline belongs to the Dixton family! Who’s he gonna report to—himself? Lol. That's nuts.”

I slowly swept my gaze around the crowd, my eyes turning cold.

“All of you keep saying the Dixton family is rich and powerful, that they practically own the airline, right?” I scoffed.

“Well then, let me ask—can President Dixton stop the plane midair?”

I grinned, just slightly.

“She can’t, but I can.” I shrugged.

“Cut the crap!” someone snapped. “Do you know how many clearances it takes to ground a plane?”

“Only leaders from the capital could pull that off. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Wesley was practically fuming now, his face was red with rage. “You punk, are you trying to back out of paying the money?”

“Let me warn you—if you can’t cough up that million, you’re not getting off this plane alive!”

Twice.

In less than an hour, someone threatened my life twice.

In all my years at the organization, I never even dreamed someone would dare threaten me.

Enough was enough.

Without another word, I took out my phone and called my superior—right in front of everyone.

“Hello, sir? It’s Camden.”

A warm chuckle came through the line.

“You brat, why’re you calling now? You met the girl? Are you satisfied?”

I glanced at Aubrey, then gave a low chuckle of my own.

“Sir, the blind date... that’s a long story.”

“But there’s something urgent I need to report first.”

“Someone tried to buy my seat.”

“...What did you just say?!”

I could practically hear the disbelief spilling through the phone.

“You’re not joking, are you? That seat was specially reserved—it’s not for sale under any circumstances!”

I stayed calm and unhurried.

“Well, I wouldn't dare joke about this, Sir.”

“That's not all. This man says I pushed him and wants me to pay a million in compensation. He said I can’t leave the plane if I don’t pay.”

I gave him a quick rundown of what happened.

There was a crash on the other end—probably a shattered teacup.

“Who is it?!”

Just as I was about to respond, Wesley snatched the phone from my hand.

“Hey! You must be the guy this brat called for backup, right?”

“Here’s the deal—if I don’t see that one million before we land, start preparing his body bag!”

For a few seconds, there was dead silence on the line.

My superior—who had lived through decades of political storms—was stunned that someone dared speak to him like that.

“So you stole Camden’s seat and now you’re demanding he pay you?”

Wesley, still clueless, scoffed with the same cocky swagger.

“Cut the nonsense. Just say whether you’re paying or not.”

Even through the phone, I could feel the fire radiating from my superior’s voice.

“Pay? A million? That’s too little.”

“How about I pay you a hundred million?”

“You just wait—I'll have someone send the money over right now!”

Wesley, clearly shocked by how furious my superior was, snapped back without missing a beat.

“You old bastard, who are you trying to scare with that crap? Compensate a billion?”

“If you’ve got the guts to pay, I’ve got the guts to take it. Just make sure it’s cash!”

After hanging up the call, Wesley turned smugly to his boss—Aubrey—looking as proud as a dog bringing home a bone.

Watching that ridiculous display, I couldn’t hold back. I burst into laughter right then and there.

“Miss Dixton, you really picked a top-tier assistant.”

“Not only does he yell at my superior, but from what I’ve seen, there probably isn’t another man in the entire country who’d dare speak like that.”

Wesley, completely unfazed by my sarcasm, snorted.

“Hmph, I don’t care who your boss is. The plane is about to take off. So get your ass off it!”

But instead of getting angry, I smiled.

“Take off? Without my permission, this plane isn’t moving an inch today. You believe that?”

Right as my words fell, someone in the crowd shouted.

“Look outside!”

Heads whipped toward the windows.

A convoy of heavily armed armored cash trucks was speeding toward the runway in formation.