Darnell and Bailee returned to the office one after the other.
Bailee had regained her usual smile, as if nothing had happened, and quickly immersed herself in work. Her complexion looked even better, with a hint of redness still lingering on her cheeks.
Eliezer, experienced in matters of love and lust, felt a bad premonition when he saw that flush. Suddenly, his gaze caught sight of several handprints on Bailee’s thighs, marks that had not yet faded. They were undoubtedly left by Darnell.
Seeing the woman he desired being treated like this by Darnell upset Eliezer. He gritted his teeth and picked up his phone. “I want to deal with that guy.”
Half an hour later, Eliezer, with his protruding belly and a few subordinates in tow, swaggered towards Phoenix Team.
They came with menacing intent.
Darnell glanced over and made a quick judgment. He then noticed a stranger among them, a burly man named Harry who looked fierce and unruly. A thought flashed through his mind. Are they here to pick a fight?
By this time, Eliezer had already approached, pointing at Phoenix Team’s area with an air of superiority. “When Phoenix Team leaves at the end of the month, we need to redecorate this place. The location is good, but the layout is terrible.”
Seeing Eliezer and his group appear, Shayla and her colleagues stopped their conversation and resumed calling clients. Ignoring their presence, Eliezer shouted, “This layout is like a parasite, consuming company profits without producing anything. Parasites!”
Bailee and her team looked upset but didn’t dare to show any anger. After all, their performance was indeed poor.
“Remove those desks then and place a high platform in the corner with a plant on it,” Eliezer commanded.
His subordinates responded loudly, occasionally glancing at Darnell with sinister smiles.
Eliezer tapped Darnell’s desk in frustration. “This old piece of junk should be thrown away too. Keeping it around just adds to the clutter.”
“Don’t worry about the cost. This quarter’s performance was good, over three billion dollars, more than enough for replacements. Remember, no useless items.”
As he spoke, he reached out to swipe Darnell’s teacup off the table.
The teacup didn’t fall. Instead, Eliezer let out a scream as his hand struck a cactus Shayla had given Darnell. No one knew when the cactus had been moved from the corner.
In pain from the cactus, Eliezer’s fingers also plunged into the hot tea. He screamed in pain.
Darnell suddenly stood up, dropped his report, and shouted, “Hey, Mr. Izzard! Can you show some decency?”
“You’re an adult. Hitting a cactus is one thing, but why did you stick your fingers in my cup? That’s disgusting! How can I use it again?”
He complained while standing up to pick up the cup but accidentally knocked it over again, spilling tea everywhere.
The hot tea made Eliezer and his men step back, shaking their feet to ease the pain.
Darnell quickly apologized, “Oh no! Sorry about that! My hand slipped.”
Eliezer gritted his teeth against the pain and roared, “Darnell! Are you looking for trouble?”
“Mr. Izzard, I didn’t mean it,” Darnell said as he took tissues from Shayla to wipe up the spilled tea. “We were working quietly at our desks when you came over banging tables and glaring at us. Not only did you hit my cactus, but you also dirtied my tea. How is this my fault? You need to be reasonable.”
“And this tea is worth at least three hundred dollars per cup.”
“You stuck your fingers in it. That’s disgusting. Who knows whether you have some disease?”
Darnell shivered and threw the cup back on the table. “Oh my god! The cup and table are ruined now. They’re contaminated.”
He looked at Eliezer with an aggrieved expression. “Mr. Izzard, you need to compensate me.”
Eliezer wanted to punch Darnell to the ground out of frustration. Clearly, it was Darnell who had set him up with the cactus and hot tea. Now it seemed like he was being blamed for dirtying Darnell’s tea and accused of having diseases.
Even though he came today specifically to pick a fight, this outcome was infuriatingly unjust.
Seeing Casey and her colleagues looking at him disdainfully made him feel wronged. “Darnell! Stop slandering me! I could sue you for defamation!”
“Sorry, Mr. Izzard, whether or not you have diseases isn’t clear, so I shouldn’t say that,” Darnell said while pointing at the cup and the spilled tea on the table. “But you did stick your fingers in my tea. You can’t deny that loss.”
Eliezer felt like strangling him. Darnell’s words were misleading enough to make anyone think he had some hidden disease.
He struggled to find words. “Bastard! You scalded me with hot tea and now you’re slandering me! You’re despicable!”
“Mr. Izzard, how could I scald you?” Darnell asked innocently. “Did I invite you over here just so I could scald you? You’re not that stupid.”
As Casey and her colleagues stifled their laughter behind their hands, Eliezer slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “Darnell! Stop spouting nonsense!”
After twice trying to intimidate Darnell on Roberto’s behalf only to be nearly driven mad by him instead, Eliezer pointed at Darnell but held back what he wanted to say. His face flushed red as Darnell weakly continued,
“Mr. Izzard, pay up.”
“This tea costs three hundred dollars per cup.”
Eliezer fumed. “You’re extorting me!”
“If you won’t compensate me, then I’ll report this to Miss Fanshaw.”
“I’ll tell her you insulted our group as useless parasites while sticking your fingers in my tea.”
Having been called useless parasites by Eliezer for no reason made Darnell determined to seek justice for his team.
Seeing Darnell subtly challenge Eliezer emboldened Casey and her colleagues, who began watching eagerly instead of fearfully. Since they were leaving soon anyway, they didn’t mind seeing Eliezer get humiliated further. They might’ve even cheered if not for maintaining some decorum.
Eliezer’s lips twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to slap Darnell but knew better than to provoke someone stronger than himself physically.
Recalling his trump card, Harry, provided by Brian, he signaled with a sinister smile.
Several subordinates rolled up their sleeves aggressively, approaching. “Darnell! This is the sales department, Mr. Izzard’s territory!”
“If you play dirty tricks here, you’ll only hurt yourself!”
“There’s no way your lousy tea costs three hundred dollars. You’re fooling no one!”
“If you disrespect Mr. Izzard again, I’ll beat you even if it costs me my job!”
Harry remained silent amid chaos before suddenly lunging forward, throwing a punch at Darnell’s face, a powerful right hook!
Instantly recognizing Harry as an underground boxer skilled in black-market fighting techniques, Darnell didn’t dodge but instead used his shoulder defensively absorbing the impact effortlessly, while Harry recoiled, screaming, clutching his bleeding knuckles, and retreating several steps. He was stunned by the unexpected resistance while Darnell stood unmoved, smiling harmlessly.