The Greatest Manager of All time

Lynn realized there was an obvious misunderstanding in his conversation with Lance Cook.

He explained Swansea's recent training schedule to Lance.

After listening, Lance Cook looked confused and said, "That's strange. James has been coming home very late recently. Sometimes he doesn't get back until midnight. When I asked him why, he said he was training at the club."

Lynn frowned. "I can't rule out the possibility that he's been doing extra training on his own at the club."

Lance Cook shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'll go back and ask him again."

Lynn nodded. "Go home and have a proper talk with him. If he really is training alone, then advise him against it. The spirit is admirable, but the effect won't be good."

Lance Cook stood and shook hands with Lynn before saying goodbye.

Although Lynn had said that to Lance, he knew James Cook could not possibly be training alone at the club until midnight. After all, the team's training was not a joke. If a player had the energy to spend four or five extra hours training for several consecutive days, that could only mean Swansea's training intensity was far, far too low. But in reality, during the competitive period, the team kept training intensity fairly high to maintain the players' condition. Only around matchdays would things be slightly relaxed, and that was also so the players could face matches with sufficient energy.

To confirm his guess, Lynn made a special trip to the club's security department. There, he checked the video records of people entering and leaving the club at night over the past few days. Combined with the testimony of the security guards on duty, Lynn confirmed that James Cook had not been doing extra training at the club at night.

At the very least, the club had no entry or exit records for him after seven in the evening.

After walking to the parking lot and getting into his Bentley, Lynn took out his phone and called James Cook.

When the call connected, he asked, "James, where are you?"

"Boss, I'm eating."

"Can I join you?"

"Uh… all right. Come over, Boss. Perfect timing. I'll introduce my girlfriend to you."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Mm, yes. We just started dating recently."

"All right. Tell me the address. I'll come have dinner with you."

After noting down the address James Cook gave him, Lynn called Erin.

"Are you free right now?"

"I am. What do you want? Haven't you been with Isabel every day recently?"

"Come have dinner with me."

Lynn briefly explained the situation to Erin. He did not want to run over by himself and become a third wheel. Going as a pair made dinner together look more suitable.

Erin agreed to go with him. Lynn drove to Mansel Street to pick her up, then headed toward the east side of the city.

At a Spanish restaurant in eastern Swansea, Lynn and Erin saw James Cook and his girlfriend.

James Cook smiled and waved at Lynn. Lynn and Erin walked over hand in hand and sat across from them.

Lynn smiled as he looked over the fashionably dressed girl, then greeted her first. "Hello, I'm Lynn, James' friend. This is Erin Taylor."

The girl had makeup on and looked rather glamorous. She said to Lynn, "Hello. Daisy Rowan. I know who she is. The famous little princess of the Taylor family."

Erin Taylor smiled, but her eyes carefully examined Daisy Rowan.

Based on her experience managing more than ten entertainment venues for the Taylor family and reading all kinds of people, her intuition told her that Daisy moved in nightlife circles. As for exactly what she did, Erin could not make a hasty judgment.

Every line of work had its own little details.

Take a girl's makeup, for example. Whether the look was meant to be seductive, pure, or charming, there were rules to it.

Some girls who worked in nightlife almost shared the same makeup style, and when combined with their clothes, it was not that they were improper, but what they were likely doing could be guessed with eight or nine parts accuracy.

James Cook warmly asked Lynn and Erin to order. Lynn handed that task to Erin, then began chatting casually with James Cook.

"Your brother came to see me just now. He told me you've been coming home very late recently. He's quite worried about you, and so am I. Now that I know you have a girlfriend, I understand."

James Cook scratched his head shyly. "I wasn't ready to let my family know yet, so I used training at the club as an excuse to brush it off. I caused trouble for you, Boss. I'm really sorry. I'll explain everything clearly to Lance when I go back."

"Mm. Your brother cares about you a lot, so don't overthink it. Besides, your girlfriend seems nice. There's nothing wrong with telling your family openly. After all, you're already nineteen. This is normal."

James Cook immediately nodded in agreement.

Lynn then asked, "So how did your romance begin?"

When Lynn asked that question, James Cook suddenly could not speak. His face turned awkward.

Daisy quickly smiled beside him and said, "We met at a bar."

Lynn smiled. He saw James Cook's embarrassment, so it definitely was not what Daisy said. But he did not expose them and instead said with a smile, "Erin and I also met at a bar. Looks like Swansea's bars always give birth to romantic love."

Erin immediately curled her lips. "Who has romantic love with you? I don't like reading, and I never went to university."

Lynn laughed loudly. "But you can race cars, you can dance, and you can do so many, many things."

James Cook did not know who Lynn's official girlfriend actually was, but he did not ask. Especially in his current state, he seemed to understand Lynn's feelings even more.

When a man fell in love, he really could not pull himself free.

He had fallen for Daisy. After that night a week ago, he had gone madly in love with Daisy.

Whether it was because Daisy was the first woman in his life, even if she had come through money, or because he was only a green kid in the face of love, after leaving Daisy, his mind had been filled entirely with her image.

So after that, except for the night of a matchday, whenever training ended, he would ask Daisy out for dinner, then go to "Kiss the Night" and book Daisy for himself.

To him, his £6,000 weekly wage was more than enough to spend a few hundred pounds on Daisy every day. He did not care, because that pleasure and enjoyment, once tasted, made him sink into it until he forgot everything else.

Daisy noticed James Cook's feelings for her. She also had a very good impression of this polite and honest man, so naturally, she would consider things for his sake too.

Today, she suggested that James Cook stop visiting "Kiss the Night" in the future. If they were going to date, they could spend nights together outside. At the very least, opening a hotel room was far, far cheaper than James Cook spending money at "Kiss the Night."

She also did not need James Cook to give her extra money. She could make money herself!

After dinner ended, James Cook said he wanted to accompany Daisy to watch a movie. Naturally, Lynn could not keep playing the third wheel.

After driving to another block, Lynn parked the car by the roadside. He lit a cigarette and asked in a calm tone, "What kind of woman do you think Daisy Rowan is?"

Erin said calmly, "You shouldn't ask what kind of woman she is. That has no meaning. James likes her, so he won't care what kind of woman she is. What you should be asking is what she does, and whether James will be deceived, whether financially or emotionally."

Lynn exhaled smoke out the car window and asked, "What do you think?"

"My intuition tells me she's not great, but before there's evidence, I don't want to attach any colored label to someone. That would be unfair, especially to a woman."

Lynn smiled. "Didn't expect you to be a feminist."

"No. You don't understand how unbearable it is to be judged and treated differently simply because you're a woman."

Erin's tone turned cold when she said this.

Lynn noticed something unusual in her voice. He flicked the ash from his cigarette, and a cold gust of wind swept into the car. Lynn simply put out the cigarette, closed the window, and asked Erin, "What's wrong? The last few times I saw you, I noticed you had a lot on your mind. I thought you would adjust by yourself, but it seems things aren't that simple."

Erin turned her head and met Lynn's eyes. Her beautiful face was full of seriousness.

"Lynn, have a child with me. It has to be a boy!"

Lynn's mouth opened slightly. "Are you all right? Why is this suddenly coming up?"

He thought Isabel's return had stimulated Erin. He was racking his brain to think of how to persuade her, but Erin's next words made him realize things were completely different from what he had imagined.

"I'm not willing to accept this! I started learning how to manage the family business when I was fourteen. I met you when I was seventeen. When I was eighteen, I began building the Mansel District we have now. The Taylor family having what it has today is indeed because I had the family's support behind me, but some part of all this should belong to me, right?

"But soon, all of it will belong to Will Taylor, that useless coward! If the Taylor family falls into his hands, then within thirty years, the Taylor family will no longer exist! I have that strong feeling. I won't let him squander everything that belongs to me. But I'm a woman. In the family, women can be sacrificed, women can contribute, but women alone cannot hold power.

"So I need a child. It must be a boy. My son will take over the Taylor family. He will inherit everything from the Taylor family and become its leader twenty years from now!"

Lynn immediately understood Erin's feelings.

Everything she had worked hard for would belong to someone else.

If that person were an excellent ruler, then it might be tolerable. Even if he could not make things more glorious, at the very least, preserving the foundation would still be acceptable.

But for some reason, Erin's evaluation of Will was extremely low. Lynn could only sense that Will obeyed him on the surface while remaining unconvinced in his heart, so Lynn did not treat Will kindly either. Sometimes, he even went a little too far.

That was due to his personality. Perhaps it was a flaw, but Lynn did not want to change it.

As for Will's ability to get things done, Lynn did not have too many criticisms.

Putting aside everything else, Will had been able to gain the trust of the family elders, and after taking over Toulouse, he had handled the things Lynn assigned to him properly. That looked simple, but in reality, it depended on personal ability.

In terms of capability, he had not done badly.

But now Erin had no confidence in Will, and she also had her own plan. No matter what, Lynn had to support her.

It was just that this plan required Lynn to have a child with her, and it had to be a boy. That made Lynn hesitate somewhat.

"Erin, you should know that I like you, but I also like other people. I'm no longer the kind of man who can devote himself completely to one woman."

"No longer? Were you ever? Bastard."

Erin said this with disdain.

Lynn fell silent.

He had been. Truly.

Twice!

Twice, he had made up his mind to walk into marriage with one woman and protect the most beautiful and innocent love. But both times, it had ended in heartbreaking failure. Nothing was sadder than a dead heart. He did not want to be hurt again, and he had already grown used to this wild and unrestrained life. Asking him to turn back?

How many men in the world could live another life like him, become rich enough to rival nations, and still refuse the pleasures of luxury and nightlife?

Perhaps there were such men. Quite a few, even.

But Lynn did not want to be a saint. If things worked, stay together. If they did not, part ways. The world was huge, with billions of people. Was he really afraid of being lonely, empty, and cold?

Lynn let out a long sigh. "Since you know, then why are you still…"

Erin also sighed. "Don't ask me something even God doesn't know. I understand you, and you understand me. Let's not sit here moaning for no reason. Just give me a straight answer. Are you having this child with me or not?"

Lynn could not help giving her a thumbs-up. "You women are all heroes among women! So damn bold. Then let me ask you this. If I have a child with you, and then you marry someone else, do you think I'll be able to accept that? We don't have to force adult matters, but what about the child? I won't let my child call another man Dad."

Erin sneered. "Are you stupid? If I get married, can I still fight for the Taylor family's assets for my son? Would he still be qualified to inherit everything from the Taylor family?"

Lynn thought about it and realized that seemed to be true. He said, "Then what if we can't have a son?"

"Then we keep having children! I'm prepared anyway. At worst, I lose my figure."

"But if you insist on a son, what happens to the daughters?"

"They stay with me! I want a son, but as long as they're my children, I'll love them!"

Lynn could not persuade Erin, and he did not want to say anything more either. As he started the Bentley, he said, "Fine, fine, fine! We'll have one! Who's afraid of who?"

Just as the car started moving, Lynn suddenly said, "Today I was talking to you about James. How did we end up talking about you and me? Right, do you have a way to investigate Daisy Rowan?"

Erin picked up her phone and waved it. "While we were chatting, I already found out. Someone just sent me a message. They know Daisy's background. Although it isn't detailed, after you read this, you'd better prepare yourself mentally."

Lynn took the phone and glanced at the message.

His expression instantly became extremely shocked.

"A stripper!"

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