Downstairs, in the open-air parking lot facing the entrance of the office building, David nonchalantly hung up on Areli, who refused to meet him, as if he had expected it.
He rolled down half of his car window and played Beethoven’s symphony. Amidst the majestic music, he squinted his eyes and observed the entrance of the Vertex.
Here resided the woman he most desired. To him, this was a place to conquer, yet he had never personally gone up to the eighteenth floor.
Because of Areli’s refusals, David always waited downstairs, sending flowers and gifts through others.
He believed that one day, Areli would plead for him to come up, like a docile woman calling him “honey”.
David was waiting for that day. Hence, he would never go up to the eighteenth floor himself.
He wanted Areli to beg him to come up. It was his pride.
While waiting, his phone rang. As soon as he put on his earbuds, one of his subordinates’ voice came through. “Mr. Kemp, those guys failed.”
“Not only did they fail to beat Darnell, but they also got beaten up by him.”
“Useless!”
David’s expression turned cold. “Didn’t you say they were the best fighters? That they could hunt bears and tigers as if it were child’s play?”
“How could they not handle a young lad? Are they useless, or did you exaggerate?”
Todd, on the other end, quickly explained, “Mr. Kemp, I swear they are indeed the best fighters I could find. I’ve seen them hunt black bears and wild boars with ease. The leader is terrifying. One punch can kill a leopard, and one charge can bring down an entire wall.”
David sneered, “If they’re so great, why couldn’t they handle Darnell?”
“They got beaten black and blue. Some couldn’t even open their eyes. They didn’t say much except that they couldn’t take the job and returned the deposit.”
“They also brought a message. Darnell seems to have guessed it was you who hired them.”
“A bunch of losers! Good for nothing but trouble.”
David was disdainful. “Get rid of them. And don’t introduce any more hillbillies to me in the future. They’re all worthless.”
Todd hesitated for a moment before saying, “Mr. Kemp, since Darnell knows it’s you, will he retaliate? He’s quite cunning.”
“Retaliate against me?”
David was indifferent, “Who am I, and
“Retaliate, my ass.”
David dismissed the concern with indifference. “Who am I, and who is he? Even if he knows I’m the one who went after him, he can only suck it.”
“The consequences of messing with me are not something he can bear.”
His tone was laced with sarcasm. “The drama of a poor boy challenging a rich heir can only happen on TV.”
“Go, bring another three hundred thousand and find more people. I must vent this anger. Otherwise, everyone can walk all over me.”
“There’s no need for him to die. I just want to break one of his hands or one of his legs…”
Before he could finish his sentence, suddenly, someone knocked on the car window.
David’s face darkened. His mood was interrupted, and he was furious, so he looked up angrily. “Who is it?”
Darnell smiled brightly, “Mr. Kemp, what a coincidence”
David’s expression cooled. “What do you want?” He wanted to call for his bodyguards but remembered he was alone.
Darnell asked politely, “Did you send Garrett after me?”
David’s face flickered as he retorted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If there’s nothing, get lost.”
Darnell remained amiable. “Dare to do but not to admit it. Do you think Miss Fanshaw will like such a coward?”
“Darnell, shut the fuck up.”
David’s face darkened. “You are not worthy to speak with me.”
Darnell sighed, “Can we let bygones be bygones? Stop sending people after me. I hate pain.”
“Let bygones be bygones?”
David became angry. “You disrupted my romantic scene, ruined my relationship, and made me lose face completely. And you actually ask me to forgive you? Are you insane?”
Darnell’s eyes twinkled. “Mr. Kemp, I’m begging you. Can’t we call a truce?”
“Beg me? Too late!”
David said aggressively, “You don’t even have the qualifications to beg me. What happens next depends on my mood.”
Darnell scratched his head, looking troubled. “So it’s a fight to the end?”
David snorted, “A fight to the end? You overestimate yourself.”
“It seems you and I can’t be good friends. What a pity.”
Darnell tossed a carrot aside. “I prepared two things, a brick and a carrot. To be friends, I offer you a carrot.”
“To be enemies…”
Darnell flashed the brick in his left hand and smashed it against the car window, shattering the glass instantly.
David was startled and stunned, dodging to the side.
Whack!
Darnell slapped David across the face.
The sound was crisp and loud.
David had fair skin. After Darnell’s slap, a distinct handprint immediately appeared on his cheek.
He was completely dazed, sitting there thunderstruck, not even wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, unable to understand what was going on.
Although he was not the most elite young master in Whiteville, he was also a person who mixed in high society, and the Kemp family’s background brought him a lot of respect.
Both the criminal underworld and the police had to show him some respect.
But with Darnell’s slap, his identity and background collapsed, so instead of getting angry, he fell silent.
“Actually, I am a reasonable person. I disrupted your romantic scene, but you also had your bodyguards attack me.”
Darnell stared at David and continued, “It’s just that I was lucky to escape, and this grudge should end here. I haven’t provoked you again.”
“It was also you who first insulted me at lunch, and then I fought back. I’ve made concessions over and over, but you just kept pushing. Don’t you think that’s too much?”
David didn’t speak, only laughed angrily.
Darnell sighed, “This slap is my revenge for Garrett’s ambush.”
“I’m too soft-hearted. On my way to find you, I kept telling myself that if you wouldn’t be friends with me, I would smash your head, but in the end, I still couldn’t do it.”
“Mr. Kemp, I’m so tolerant and kind to you. Can’t you understand my good intentions?”
David’s gaze was full of resentment.
Darnell clapped his hands, shaking the debris onto David’s face, then took a bite of the carrot. “Mr. Kemp, take care.”
“I’m not always this merciful. Next time if you mess with me again, I will definitely take bricks to your house and smash all your windows.”
After that, he picked up the brick and smashed the remaining three windows, not even sparing the car lights, leaving the ground covered in fragments.
Not far away, several patrol officers saw the incident and rushed over, shouting.
David watched Darnell leave and suddenly let out a shrill, mad laugh, his gaze full of venom.
A few patrol officers appeared beside the car and asked the terrifying-looking David, “Sir, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
How could David let the police get involved? If the police got involved, everyone in Whiteville would know that he had been slapped by Darnell.
This was more humiliating than death.
He wanted to solve it his own way.