The next morning, Darnell stepped out of his rental house and took a few glances at the square.
Last night’s fight was intense. Although Gisselle and the others fought bravely, they were overwhelmed by the masses of tenants.
Garrett received word from a friend he had stationed at the scene that Gisselle and her group had been completely overwhelmed. They were battered and bruised, pelted with benches, bottles, and bricks, leaving them in a disheveled state.
The owners of the confiscated vehicles and the street vendors who were usually chased away by urban management officers were like they had taken stimulants last night, venting their anger in the dark.
If it weren’t for the timely arrival of the police, Gisselle and the others might not have even survived. Despite that, some people still ended up with broken limbs.
“Tsk tsk, I should have stayed to watch this good show.”
Passing by the square, Darnell saw a cleaner washing away bloodstains with a water hose. He regretted missing out on the spectacle. Instead, he learned about it from Garrett.
Despite many people joining the brawl last night, the police did not detain the residents of the village because Gisselle and her group were notorious criminals with a history of offenses, and they were armed at the time.
On one side were members of a notorious gang with a long list of crimes, and on the other side were struggling civilians. Coupled with the tension between law enforcement and civilians caused by the ban on motorcycles, the police had to consider the impact even if they were enforcing justice impartially.
Therefore, they educated a few detained civilians and sent them back to the village overnight while increasing police patrols.
Darnell was satisfied with this outcome. However, he didn’t just sit back since last night’s brawl was somewhat related to him as well. He went to the parking lot and gave Leroy five thousand dollars.
Darnell asked him to use it for medical expenses for the injured villagers through the village committee. In return, Leroy praised him repeatedly and waived his last hundred dollars of rent.
After giving him the money, Darnell quickly took a bus to work.
Arriving at the bus stop near the company, Darnell swiftly got off and ran towards the Vertex.
As he passed an intersection, he was suddenly stopped by a polite volunteer wearing a red vest. The volunteer handed him a flyer and a small object.
“HIV prevention?”
Darnell glanced at the flyer and realized it contained information about HIV/AIDS. The small object turned out to be a condom.
In this early morning, encountering something like this made Darnell feel invigorated. He quickly stuffed them into his pocket and continued rushing towards the company.
“Mr. Halford!”
When Darnell appeared in the company building with a carrot in his mouth, Shayla in the elevator immediately called out to him and pressed the button to keep the elevator doors open.
She urged Darnell to hurry over. “Hurry up! In another five minutes, you’ll be late, and Mr. Izzard will scold you again.”
“Thank you, Shayla.”
Darnell swiftly entered the elevator with a bright smile and said, “I’ll treat you to some carrots.”
“I don’t want them. You can eat them yourself.”
Shayla replied with an unkind look while rejecting the carrot seductively. “Mr. Halford, why didn’t you come yesterday?”
“Miss Fanshaw assigned me some tasks yesterday.”
Darnell spoke softly, “But I missed you all day. That’s why I came early today.”
“It’s almost time for work. It’s not early at all.”
Shayla glanced at Darnell and exhaled lightly. She extended her slender fingers to press the close button but moved forward to make room for Darnell.
However, before it could fully close, a large group of people squeezed into the elevator just in time for work, pushing Shayla and Darnell further inside.
The two of them were almost pressed against each other.
In this intimate proximity, Darnell’s chin rested on Shayla’s hair as he breathed in the fragrance of her shampoo.
Today, Shayla wore a black skirt with a white knitted sweater layered over a white shirt inside.
Her fair and smooth legs shimmered with an enticing luster. Her slender waist hinted at perfect curves. She exuded a fashionable yet minimalist style with an indescribable allure that attracted many gazes.
Suddenly, Darnell narrowed his eyes and noticed a middle-aged man slowly pressing himself against him and Shayla amidst the crowd.
His hand reached towards Shayla’s black skirt.
Darnell sneered as he bit into his carrot and placed his hand over theirs.
Soon enough, the middle-aged man grabbed hold of Darnell’s wrist. He frowned slightly before letting go but continued trying to touch Shayla’s thigh by maneuvering around Darnell’s hand.
Darnell casually moved his palm to block the middle-aged man’s hand from getting past him.
Seeing that he couldn’t get around it, the middle-aged man grabbed hold of Darnell’s wrist again but mistook it for Shayla’s hand this time.
Darnell smiled faintly without making any movements.
Thinking that Shayla didn’t resist because they were in public, the middle-aged man tightly held onto Darnell’s wrist as if it were Shayla’s hand.
Darnell was waiting for this moment. He suddenly exerted force with his fingers.
“Ah!”
The middle-aged man instantly let out a scream and jumped up in pain. He squeezed out some space for himself but remained in agony with a twisted face.
He shouted at Darnell angrily, “Bastard! Did you do this to me?”
“In front of everyone else, you tried to sexually harass me. If I don’t teach you a lesson, who will?”
Darnell wiped his hands with a wet wipe. “You looked like a pervert. I just didn’t expect that you preferred men.”
As Darnell’s words fell, everyone in the elevator gasped in disbelief as they looked at the middle-aged man.
Several men even took defensive stances.
The middle-aged man quickly waved his hands. “No! I wasn’t trying to touch him! I wanted to touch that woman…”
Shayla instinctively hid in Darnell’s embrace.
“You admitted that you wanted to harass her.”
At that moment, when the elevator doors opened, Darnell kicked him out. “Resign immediately and leave this building. Otherwise, I’ll report your harassment.”
The middle-aged man flew out from being kicked and had bruises all over his face. He fumed but dared not lose control. He could only leave in embarrassment.
Shayla was elated. “Darnell, you’re amazing!”
Darnell smiled playfully, “I have even more tricks up my sleeve…”
While they flirted with each other, they arrived at their floor as soon as they reached the 17th floor. The doors opened.
A figure appeared before Darnell. Areli stared coldly at both of them like an icy sculpture.
Darnell instinctively let go of Shayla’s hand and greeted her with enthusiasm. “Good morning, Miss Fanshaw. I…”
Before he could finish speaking, Areli walked into another elevator without expression, closed its doors, and went upstairs directly without acknowledging Darnell’s presence at all.
Sensing that something was wrong with Areli’s mood, Shayla stuck her tongue out and rushed out of the elevator doors towards the restroom.
Rubbing his head absentmindedly as he walked out too, Darnell muttered to himself, “When can I thaw the ice in this icy beauty’s heart?”