Chapter 15
Chapter 15
“Ahem!”
Thomas cleared his throat, which snapped Olivia out of her reverie. She rattled off an address.
He nodded and started driving.
“Oh, right!” She was struck with a thought and quickly added, “There’s no rush. Feel free to take your time.” Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
A slight hint of a smirk danced across Thomas’ lips.
Olivia must have been terrified of the way he drove the last time.
Well, it wasn’t surprising. He was probably the only driver in this world who would end up making his employer puke on his first day on the job. It was a bit extreme.
Soon, they arrived at Unicus Hall, which was an auction house.
There was a sea of luxury cars parked out front. Thomas gave them all a cursory glance. Even the cheapest model among them would cost at least six figures. It proved that all the attendees were some of Irieson’s richest and most influential people.
Olivia glanced at Thomas and decided on a whim to ask, “Why don’t you come in with me, Thomas?”
“Me? Go in with you?” Thomas was taken aback.
He was just a driver. Would it be alright for him to follow Olivia into a place like this?
“Yeah. This is a charity auction. You can come along and gain some experience. What’s the matter? You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that!”
Thomas shook his head at once. Why would an employee refuse their superior in this manner? It was akin to handing in their resignation letter.
Thus, the two of them stepped into Unicus Hall one after the other. The reception was in full swing. Handsome young gentlemen and beautiful young ladies filled the area, along with older, more established members of the upper echelon of society. Thomas knew that those present would have more than a few million to their name. Furthermore, money was the least of all requirements to get into a place like this. No matter how much a person had, they still wouldn’t be able to get in without some kind of influential or prestigious status to back them up.
“The Morton Family owns this place.” Olivia glanced at Thomas and began to explain, “The Mortons are one of the oldest and most prestigious families here in Irieson. They’re involved in numerous industries, including entertainment, food and beverage, finance, and medicine. Unicus Hall was started by their most promising young heir, Sean Morton. He built it up from scratch himself. A charity auction is held here every six months and all the proceeds are donated to children in need in rural areas.”
Thomas nodded. It appeared that not all of the wealthy elites turned a blind eye to the plight of others. At the very least, young men like Sean Morton still had a generous side to them.
Hang on. Sean Morton? Why does that name sound so familiar? I’ve heard it somewhere.
Meanwhile, Thomas didn’t know that someone had zeroed in on him!
There was a young man in a wheelchair tucked away in a corner of the hall who exclaimed, “That’s him, Dad! He’s the b*stard who broke my legs at Twilight Bar the other day!”
That young man was Harvey Patton!
And the man beside him who looked to be hitting sixty soon was one of Irieson’s most infamous people, Joe Patton!
Joe cast an icy stare at Thomas. “Harvey, are you sure that young man is the one who broke your legs?”
“Of course! I’d recognize him anywhere!”
Over the last few days, all Harvey could think about was taking his revenge on Thomas, but unfortunately for him, Thomas seemed to have vanished into thin air. There was no trace of him anywhere, and even Chloe had disappeared as well. Harvey got someone to look up Chloe’s address for him, but when they showed up, the house had been vacated already.
Harvey was fuming. He was convinced that Thomas and Chloe must’ve fled Irieson by now, and he had no way of making them pay for what they did to him!
He never would’ve thought that he would run into Thomas at the auction house today.
The sight of his enemy made his blood boil. “Dad, you must avenge me! Rip him to pieces!”
“We can’t act rashly, Harvey. We’re in Unicus Hall right now. Don’t cause a scene here. But don’t worry. I’ll take revenge on your behalf!”
At the same time, a handsome young man walked onto the stage and waved to get everyone’s attention. The crowd instantly fell silent and shifted their gazes to him.
Thomas lowered his head and snorted. No wonder the name Sean Morton felt so familiar! It’s him!
Sean was smiling jovially as he said, “Thank you, everyone, for honoring me with your presence here at our auction today. I won’t give a long speech, but on behalf of all the children in need in rural areas, I want to thank you for your contribution today! Let the charity auction begin!”
“Wait a minute!”
Before the crowd could break out into applause, they were interrupted by Joe’s loud hollering.
Joe put his hands together and greeted Sean before saying, “Mr. Morton, one of the people here today doesn’t have the right to be here!”
Joe was certain that Thomas and Sean would not be acquainted in any way. Thus, as long as he spoke up, Sean would surely go along with him out of respect for him.
“Oh? What do you mean?”
Although Sean was a little annoyed at someone interrupting the auction, everyone invited was a guest, so he couldn’t deny them the right to speak. After all, everyone else was watching…
Joe continued calmly, “Everyone here today is someone of influence and prestige in Irieson, but this doesn’t include the person I’m talking about. This person’s sister is just a bar girl at one of the local bars, and he is nothing more than a violent thug. He was the one who broke my son Harvey’s legs!”
The crowd was stunned by Joe’s words.
“Goodness me! Someone broke the young Mr. Patton’s legs?”
“Does he have a death wish?”
“His sister is a bar girl? That means their family must be dirt poor, right? How could he show up here?”
Joe pushed the wheelchair forward until they were right in front of Thomas. “What makes you think you can come in here?”
Unicus Hall had rules in place that were said to be set by Sean himself. No one was allowed to get into a fight inside the walls of Unicus Hall, so as long as Thomas was chased out of the place, Joe was certain that it would be a piece of cake for him to exterminate a little rat like Thomas!
Thomas glanced at Joe and the wheelchair-bound Harvey. His blood started to boil.
He couldn’t care less about being called a violent thug, but how dare they call Chloe a bar girl right in front of everyone? It was blatant slander! Chloe was far more important to Thomas than himself. On one hand, Chloe wasn’t a bar girl. She was just a server working at a bar. However, even if she were a bar girl, Thomas still wouldn’t allow anyone to humiliate her in public like that.
Before Thomas could say anything, Olivia chimed in, “Mr. Patton, I’m the one who brought Thomas in here. Why wouldn’t he be allowed to come in?”
Joe had noted Thomas and Olivia’s proximity early on, but it didn’t stop him from being determined to take revenge on his son’s behalf. Although Pearson Group was a fairly influential conglomerate, he wasn’t afraid of them. Furthermore, it was just Olivia here. He might’ve been warier if her father, Norman Pearson, was here today.
Olivia Pearson? Hah! Who’s scared of her?!