Leo grabbed her hands to free himself, but the woman refused to let go. He even felt like he was being choked the more he tried to free himself.

"Ah, Miss? Can you release me?" Leo asked even as he was wondering why this woman was so strong.

"It's fine. I don't mind," the woman said, maintaining her hands around him. "Also, shouldn't we be discussing work? Isn't that why you came here?"

'Discuss work like this?' Leo thought, watching her hands slowly slide down his chest.

He grabbed her hand again, directing them back up. "Didn't you already see my proposal? I'm willing to place my company as collateral to get a loan. Since your family's bank is the largest in this star region, I approached you."

"Though... Shouldn't we have discussed it at your workplace? Did it really have to be at your home?"

As a man, Leo certainly didn't dislike being touched by a beautiful woman. But he didn't lose his mind either. He was simply confused.

First she changed the meeting place from the Bank to her personal residence. And then, she was behaving like this.

Was this a honey trap from the woman to get better terms from him? Did she really have to go this far when she was the only child of the Banking Conglomerate Family, Lionels?

"You can't blame me for that. This was my off week, where I spent my time with my daughter. When I received the proposal, I couldn't reject it since it was truly lucrative. So I could only arrange a meeting here. I hope you don't mind."

'Is that the thing you're worried about me minding, and not this?' Leo thought before he once again grabbed her hand which was trying to sneak down again.

"Can you... control your hands?" he asked. "Your child is right before us."

"Don't overthink, young man. I am not hitting on you. It's just that I have an anxiety problem, which makes me touch those near me to calm down. It's a perfectly valid thing, you can read about it if you doubt me."

"Is that so..." Leo mumbled. Even though he still found it suspicious, he couldn't prove it. He could only try to keep her hands on his chest to prevent them from roaming elsewhere.

"Anyways, I'm sure you read my proposal. What did you think about it?"

"Ah, right. Your proposal... It's interesting to say the least. But I do have some apprehensions about it. Your company was only established a few months ago." One hand of the woman climbed up as she started tapping Leo's chin like she was thinking using his head.

Meanwhile, her other hand looked like it was still waiting for an opportunity to roam around, only to be caught by Leo every time.

"It doesn't have a long history... And to suddenly become so valuable... From a certain perspective, it looks like the company is overvalued. So it will be a risky investment to give you a loan simply based on the company as collateral."

"If it's really overvalued, and we give you a loan based on that, then even if we eventually get the company, we will lose out."

The woman sounded quite serious since it was about investment of a large sum.

The company was worth 150 Billion Credits based on the current valuation. And Leo was only asking for a loan of 100 Billion Credits.

On paper, it was a safe deal with good collateral, but the problem was that the company did look overvalued at this point and didn't have a problem track record.

"Do you think I don't know how you make the loan defaulters disappear? Do I look like someone foolish enough to mess with the Lionel Family? I can promise you that you won't lose out on the deal."

Leo lied with a straight face. The only problem was that his straight face was facing the child, and not the mother who needed to be convinced.

"That is true. One would have to be a true fool to take Lionel Family's Credits without paying back. But still... Is your life worth more than the sum you're asking for? That's the question."

The woman's words made Leo feel like it was getting harder to convince her. She was a little too perceptive about the scam in this valuation. It was no wonder that Lionel Family was a giant in the global banking industry.

'Should I lower the amount of loan? Or should I try other banks?' Leo was lost in thought, momentarily getting distracted.

He didn't notice the woman's hand getting past his defences. Only when she touched the wrong thing did he come to his senses and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand back up.

"Impressive." He heard the woman's words which made his lips twitch. He wasn't sure if he should be feeling proud or angry.

"Cough, I meant that it's impressive that you managed to bring this company to such a valuation." The woman coughed lightly, changing the topic once more. "Unfortunately, I can't give you such a loan without confirming that your company isn't overvalued."

"In that case, it looks like the deal fell through." Leo sighed, as he stood up, the woman's hands finally getting off him.

"I didn't say that we can't go through with this deal. You just have to prove that your company isn't overvalued."

"And how do I do that?" Leo looked back at the woman who was still sitting on the couch, resting one leg over the other.

"First, I want to meet your other shareholders to see if they really think that this company is worth so much. But I won't be as friendly with them, so they might have to go through a few lie detection tests. So you should tell them about this properly."

"It's just precautionary measures, so don't mind it. Oh, and I also need a proper plan on where you intend to invest those credits and how you plan to profit enough to return the loan."

"If you can do these two things, I can grant you a loan. No, I might even give you a little bonus on top. The choice is yours."

She stood up and approached Leo, her sweet scent standing out.

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