Chapter 5: Ten Thousand

Words : 1933 Updated : Oct 23rd, 2025

"Mr. Jauncy? Which Mr. Jauncy?" Lauryn asked, puzzled. If the man at the door hadn't been dressed to impress, she would've shut it in his face. "Gabriel Jauncy. Mr. Jauncy," the young man said with a friendly smile. Gabriel stepped to the doorway. "I am. And you are?" "Mr. Jauncy, I'm Atlas Warth's secretary. My name is Shawn." he said, smiling. Gabriel nodded. "What brings you here?" At the mention of the Warth family, Lauryn panicked. Before Shawn could say another word, she blurted out, "He's only staying at my place for a bit. He has nothing to do with us. If you're here to take him, then take him." "Mom, what are you saying?" Madison called from the stairs, frowning. Her stomach tightened; it had to be about Gabriel saving that man this afternoon, and now someone had come knocking. Still, she came down and said, "Gabriel only rushed in to save a life. That's all there was to it." Shawn blinked at their exchange, then said, "You've got the wrong idea. I'm here on behalf of the Warth family to thank Mr. Jauncy." "To thank him?" Both women stared. Gabriel stepped back and said, "Please, come in." Wilson, who'd jumped up as soon as he heard Shawn's name, startled when Shawn entered. "It really is Mr. Shawn!" "Mr. Shawn, what brings you here?" he asked, hurrying over. Shawn looked him over, frowning slightly. "Do we know each other?" "Ah, I'm Wilson Wokey, manager of the Project Department," Wilson said, forcing a smile. Shawn gave a perfunctory nod. "Oh, you." In truth, he had no idea who the man was. Warth Corporation had hundreds of project departments. Who could keep track of every manager? Then it hit him that this was Gabriel's home. "What are you doing here?" "I..." Wilson hesitated. He could hardly admit he was here to try to get another man's wife to go out with him. Gabriel strolled over, amusement flickering at the corners of his mouth. "He came here to try to set up a blind date with my wife." "With your wife? Mr. Jauncy, I'm lost," Shawn said, half-smiling. "Simply put, he wants my wife to divorce me and marry him," Gabriel said, voice flat. Color surged into Madison's face. Even if there hadn't been a real marriage between them, he shouldn't toss that out so coolly. She quickly stepped in. "Mr. Shawn, don't misunderstand. Gabriel is joking. He's a relative from my aunt's side. Right, Aunt Sharon?" Sharon had read the room the moment she saw Shawn treating Gabriel with respect and Wilson acting like a sycophant. She nodded and said, "Yes. We were visiting my sister today and came along together." "Yes, I'm just here visiting," Wilson echoed, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Really?" Shawn's expression hardened as he looked at Wilson. Years at Atlas' side had sharpened his eye for people. After checking in on Gabriel this afternoon, it became clear that he was a live-in son-in-law who had married into the Ades family. What he couldn't understand was how a man with such medical skill had ended up a live-in son-in-law. "Yes. Really!" Wilson nodded frantically, then turned to Gabriel. "Mr. Jauncy, I offended you earlier. Please forgive me." "You weren't saying that a moment ago. If I remember right, you said you could crush me with a single finger," Gabriel said, a smile in his eyes but not in his voice. Shawn's brows knit together. He looked at Wilson and said, "Get out. If I catch you bothering Mrs. Jauncy again, you're out at Warth Group." "Yes! I'm leaving now. Please don't be angry, please." Wilson scuttled for the door and, in his haste, nearly tripped over the threshold. Sharon jumped up, too. "I've got things to do at home. I'll be off." Only after Sharon left did Lauryn snap out of it. Everything had happened so fast that she hadn't processed a thing. "Mom, pour Mr. Shawn some tea," Gabriel said. "Oh. Right." Still dazed, Lauryn answered automatically. In the kitchen, her composure cracked into a mutter. The deadbeat actually told her to make tea? But with Shawn in the living room, she bit it back and put the kettle on. "Mr. Jauncy, Mr. Warth is out of danger. Mr. Warth Sr. sent me to thank you. We didn't have your number, so we pulled some strings to find your address. I hope you don't mind." Gabriel waved a hand. "No harm done. As long as he's fine." "Thanks to your roadside treatment, he made it back alive," Shawn said, "Mr. Warth Sr. asked me to give you this. We weren't sure what you liked, so we went with something standard." He took a check from his breast pocket and handed it to Gabriel. Lauryn came out in time to hear about Gabriel's treatment and see Shawn hand over the check. The clarity she'd just regained went fuzzy all over again. What on earth had this useless man done to make the Warth family's secretary come thank him in person? "It was just lending a hand, hardly worth mentioning. You're too generous. Please take it back," Gabriel said with a smile. He did need money, but taking payment for helping a stranger on the street felt wrong. He hadn't become someone whose eyes lit up at the sight of cash. "Since Mr. Shawn meant well, it would be rude to refuse. Better take it," Lauryn cut in, snatching the check. She bent over the numbers, counting under her breath. "One, two, three, four zeros. Ten thousand!" "Mom, what are you doing? You can't just take people's things," Madison cried, reaching for it. Lauryn, dazzled by those zeros, clutched the check tight and wouldn't let go. Gabriel's brow twitched, but he kept quiet. "Mr. Jauncy, Mr. Warth Sr. also asked me to invite you," Shawn said, "When Mr. Warth is discharged, please come by our home sometime." "We'll see," Gabriel replied, calm as ever. With that, Shawn rose and took his leave. Once he was gone, Madison burst out, "Mom, do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?" "Embarrassing what? Didn't you hear him say Gabriel saved the Warth family's eldest son? Ten thousand is too little if you ask me. And I just spotted a handbag yesterday," Lauryn said, settling onto the sofa with a satisfied smile. "Mom, that money is Gabriel's," Madison snapped, exasperated. "He's been eating and drinking on the Jauncy family's dime for three years. Besides, I'm his mother-in-law. If he doesn't show some respect to me, who should he show it to?" Lauryn shot back. Madison, choking on anger, spun and went upstairs. Gabriel had no wish to argue with Lauryn. He followed Madison up, then turned into his own room. Only after they were both upstairs did Lauryn's opinion of Gabriel shift. Had the boy finally come around? Right out of the gate, he brought in ten grand. Hmm. I could tell something was different about him at the hotel this afternoon. Looks like he's finally getting his act together. I only wonder how he managed to save the Warth family's eldest son.

Chapter 5: Ten Thousand

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