Chapter 5: Thrown Out

Amari Letherdale stole a cautious glance at the woman in front of him and forced a smile. "Hello. May I ask who you are…?" She flicked her eyes over him, clearly not interested in entertaining him. After all, the two of them had been far too arrogant earlier. Still, when she remembered they had claimed to be Holden Duffus's relatives, she hesitated for a beat before answering coolly, "My name is Serena Lapwood. I'm Chairman Showyer's personal assistant." Amari's heart jolted. Chairman Showyer's personal assistant? But Holden Duffus was nothing more than the Letherdale family's live-in son-in-law. How could he possibly know Chairman Showyer? If he really had that kind of connection, then forget a third-rate little family like the Letherdale family. Even plenty of weaker first-rate families would be tripping over themselves to curry favor with him. How could he have ended up in such a pathetic situation? Unable to hold it in, Amari blurted, "Um… Assistant Lapwood, are you sure you've got the right person? Holden Duffus is just my cousin's live-in son-in-law. How could he know Chairman Showyer?" Serena's expression changed instantly. Her face darkened. "What company are you with?" Amari opened his mouth to answer, but Serena lifted a hand, cutting him off. "Forget it. It doesn't matter. I've been listening to you since earlier, and you've been extremely disrespectful to Mr. Duffus. I didn't want to say anything because you're supposedly his relatives, but you've pushed your luck." Her voice turned sharp. "I'll give you one chance. I don't care why you came here. Apologize to Mr. Duffus. Immediately. Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next." "What? A-apologize?" The Letherdale brothers almost wondered if they had misheard. Or was it April Fools' Day, and this woman was messing with them? They exchanged a look. Randy Letherdale still refused to give up. "No, Assistant Lapwood, listen. Holden Duffus really is just my cousin's live-in son-in-law. He's a useless piece of trash. All he does at home is laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Are you sure he didn't trick you? How could he possibly know Chairman Showyer?" "Shut up!" Serena's face went livid. She barked, "Security!" Four guards outside the doors rushed in at once. Serena pointed at the Letherdale brothers, her tone icy. "Throw these two out. They disrespected a VIP of Showyer Group. Blacklist them permanently. From this moment on, they're not allowed to step foot in any property under Showyer Group. Not one." Randy's face drained of color. Panic flooded his eyes. "Assistant Lapwood, it's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! Please don't blacklist us. We'll apologize. We'll apologize right now. Please, give us one more chance!" Serena didn't even blink. "I gave you a chance. You didn't take it." She snapped, "What are you standing around for? Throw them out!" The four guards moved in, each grabbing an arm. They hauled the brothers toward the exit. Amari struggled like a man drowning, voice cracking as he begged, "Assistant Lapwood, don't do this! It's a misunderstanding! Holden Duffus! Holden Duffus, I'm sorry! We were wrong! Please, forgive us, okay? Please help us, say something to Assistant Lapwood. We're family, aren't we…" Serena turned her head toward Holden Duffus. The guards, reading the room, stopped and waited for Holden's response. Holden turned back to the brothers and suddenly laughed. "Heh." "Sure." The brothers' faces lit up with hope. Then Holden's smile sharpened into pure mockery. "I lied to you." He spat, "Morons. Here are four words for you. Go eat crap." As if he would plead for them. He already disliked them, and after the way they had treated him, there was no chance in hell he would lift a finger. What were they, exactly? How could two people be so clueless and still make it to adulthood? Domestic public security really was too good. This time, the guards didn't wait for Serena to speak. They dragged the two men, who had gone from terror to despair in the span of a breath, straight out the door. Once the idiots were dealt with, Serena's expression shifted as smoothly as a mask being replaced. She put on a flawless, warm smile. "Mr. Duffus, shall we? Chairman Showyer has been waiting." Holden smiled back and nodded politely. "All right. Sorry to trouble you, Assistant Lapwood." "It's my honor to serve Chairman Showyer's most important guest." Serena gestured. "This way, please." As Holden followed Serena toward Kyla Showyer's office, the Letherdale brothers were thrown out of the Headquarters Building. They scrambled up from the ground, disheveled and humiliated, and stared at each other with nothing but fear in their eyes. They had spent countless favors and an obscene amount of effort just to get acquainted with a mid-level manager at Showyer Group. It had taken over three months to persuade that person to help introduce them to the company's procurement supervisor. And it was all gone. Not only had every early "investment" been wasted, they would never be able to cooperate with Showyer Group again. The moment that sank in, despair swallowed them whole. "What do we do?" Amari wiped the fat beads of sweat pouring off his forehead, his mind racing. "We got kicked out, and we're blacklisted. Any chance of working with Showyer Group is dead. What do we do?" "It's all because of Holden Duffus!" Randy's eyes flashed as if a light had switched on. He spoke faster and faster. "That's right, bro, it's all his fault! If it weren't for him, would we have gotten thrown out? Would that bitch have blacklisted us? It was him. He caused trouble at Showyer Group's Headquarters Building. We tried to stop him and couldn't. He dragged us down with him!" Amari's eyes brightened too. Right. It was all that useless Holden Duffus's fault. As for him knowing Kyla Showyer? Who would believe that? Damian Letherdale? That was their father. Was he going to believe his own sons, or that trash? Besides, did Holden have any proof he hadn't caused this? Amari would have rather died than believe someone from Showyer Group would come to their door to testify for Holden. The last thing that "trash" had said flashed through Amari's mind. A vicious glint passed through his eyes. He pulled out his phone and started dialing. "Dad… the order's dead. What happened? It was Holden Duffus. I don't know what kind of crazy he caught, but he ran to Showyer Group and started making a scene…" At the same time, Serena led Holden into a private elevator that went straight to the executive floor. They rose directly to the twenty-eighth floor. When the doors opened, a solid wooden door stood right in front of them, marked with the plaque for the CEO's office. Serena personally stepped forward and pushed it open. Inside was a roughly two-hundred-square-foot assistant reception room. Beyond that lay Kyla Showyer's office. Serena smiled and nodded at Holden, signaling for him to wait a moment. Then she knocked on the inner door. "Come in." Serena opened it and stood at the doorway with a smile. "Chairman Showyer, Mr. Duffus is here." She stepped aside, inviting Holden in. Kyla had already risen from her seat. The moment she saw him, she complained, "What took you so long? I've been waiting forever. Come in, sit." Holden looked around the massive office, well over a thousand square feet, and couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly. *Midcoast's richest woman… no wonder. This office alone is bigger than the entire Letherdale family place.* If he had known that behind this office there was an equally large private lounge area, he might have been even more stunned. He walked over a little stiffly and accepted the water Serena handed him. "Thanks." Only then did he sit down. After the office door closed, Kyla smiled. "Yesterday was too rushed. I didn't even get the chance to properly thank you. How about this, tell me when you're free. I'll invite you to my home for dinner. I'll cook personally to show my gratitude." "No, no, no." Holden waved both hands, flustered. "Sis Kyla, you're being way too warm to me. If you treat me like this, how am I supposed to ask you for a favor with a straight face?" Kyla tapped her forehead. "Ah, right. I almost forgot. Go on, then. What do you need your sister to help with?" Holden scratched his head, hesitated, and thought of the promise he had made to his mother-in-law. In the end, he steeled himself. "It's like this, Sis Kyla. My father-in-law's family does imported mid-to-high-end liquor. They've always wanted to cooperate with… with Showyer Group. These past few years, they've taken care of me a lot. I kept thinking I should do something to help them. I happened to meet you yesterday, so I wanted to ask if Showyer Group could consider us." He hurried to add, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to pull strings. I just hope Showyer Group will take a look at our products. If the quality and price make sense, give us a chance to work together. That's all." Kyla studied him with interest. In truth, calling him a man felt a little off. He was more like a big kid trying to act grown. Her expression turned playful. "You said the Letherdale family takes good care of you?" Holden froze. He didn't understand why she was asking, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah." "But what I heard doesn't match what you're telling me." Kyla's voice stayed light, but her words landed clean and sharp. "I heard that as the Letherdale family's live-in son-in-law, you're not welcome in that house at all. They insult you whenever they feel like it. You and Jayla Letherdale look like husband and wife, but it's only a title. The Letherdale family is a fairly well-known liquor merchant in Midcoast. They've got everyone's work arranged neatly, so why were you the only one left out? Why did you end up spending your days at home washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning for them?" Those things sounded private, but they weren't. Ask any neighbor around the Letherdale family, and you'd get the whole story. If Kyla wanted to investigate, it would have taken almost no effort. Holden was shocked at how thoroughly she seemed to know his situation, and the truth left him with nowhere to hide. His ears heated, and he couldn't bring himself to argue. Seeing his reaction, Kyla let out a soft laugh. "Holden Duffus, I'm not trying to rub salt in your wounds. I'm telling you this because if you're unhappy staying with the Letherdale family, come work for me. I'll arrange a position for you. What do you think?" Holden stared at her, stunned. She was beautiful, no less than Jayla Letherdale, and her presence was even more refined, more commanding. He couldn't understand why she was being so good to him. Was it really just because he had saved her and her mother once? After a long silence, Holden shook his head. "Sis Kyla, I know you mean well, but I can't do that. Yes, the Letherdale family has treated me badly, but without them, there wouldn't be the Holden Duffus I am today. At the very least, until I repay what I owe them, I can't betray them." Three years ago, Holden's mother had died suddenly, leaving only Holden and his younger sister, Kendra Duffus. Back then, one was in college and the other still in high school. The two of them had nearly collapsed. It had felt like the sky was falling. If the Letherdale family hadn't stepped in, Holden might never have finished school. Kendra might not have made it to college at all. And if that had been only a small kindness, what happened half a year ago was something else entirely. Kendra had fallen from a classroom building in an accident. She suffered multiple fractures, grievous injuries, and slipped into a coma. She was rushed to the hospital, and only after eighteen straight hours of emergency treatment did she barely survive. Even then, a cerebral hemorrhage left her in a vegetative state. She had remained asleep ever since. The cost of medical care and long-term nursing was something Holden could never have afforded. Without the Letherdale family, the only thing waiting for his sister might have been death. That was the debt he truly could not repay.