“Come back here.”
Seeing Darnell rolling up his sleeves to leave, Areli shouted again, “Don’t cause trouble. I will have the police follow up on this matter.”
Those thugs had already left, and it would be risky to chase after them. Besides, they outnumbered Darnell, and he might end up being surrounded.
Darnell stopped in his tracks, turned around, and walked back to his desk with a smirk. “Are you worried about me, Miss Fanshaw?”
“Who’s worried about you? I wish you were dead,” Areli replied.
Areli looked at the shameless guy and said, “I just don’t want you to bring trouble to the company.”
Darnell sighed, “Miss Fanshaw, I’ve risked my life for you and even secured several big deals. Can’t you fall in love with me?”
“Do you know that my biggest dream in life is to be a kept man?”
“Love my foot!”
Areli glanced at Darnell and said impatiently, “With your despicable personality, only if I were out of my mind would I love you.”
Darnell handed her a cup. “Here, Miss Fanshaw, have some water.”
Areli took it and drank it.
.
She glared at the mischievous Darnell and said, “All you know is how to talk back. You’re lucky today that you figured out the situation. Otherwise, I would have fired you.”
Darnell shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if you fire me. I can work as your assistant for free.”
Areli glanced at him and then snorted, “You must have ulterior motives.”
“By the way, I didn’t include your contribution in Jazmine’s two billion order.”
Areli suddenly remembered something. “I put it under my own performance record. Do you have any objections?”
“No.”
Darnell replied seriously, “My performance is your performance. We’re family. We don’t need to distinguish too much.”
“Who said we’re family?”
Areli almost reached for a paper cutter. “Can’t you have some manners?”
“Okay, my mistake. I’ll give you a massage, considering it a punishment for me.”
Darnell smiled and moved behind Areli, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“You have too much internal fire in your body. After drinking so much coffee, you need at least ten massages to balance it out.”
Areli was about to refuse when she felt the force of Darnell’s touch overpowering her resistance. Her breathing became slightly rapid.
Then she blurted out, “By the way, where have you been these past two days? Were you fooling around?”
Darnell seemed to have anticipated this topic. “I went to meet Chandler. I wanted to secure the order for the Whiteville Hospital. It took me two days of effort.”
Areli narrowed her eyes slightly. “Do your best. Chandler is a cunning person and has close ties with Pioneer Properties. Be careful.”
A glimmer flashed through Darnell’s eyes. “He has a good relationship with Pioneer Properties?”
“Theresa Bedwell is his junior and also his crush.”
Areli hesitated for a moment and decided to remind Darnell, despite disliking gossiping. “Chandler is extremely loyal to her.”
“You could say that Chandler would betray anyone but not Theresa.”
Darnell nodded lightly. “Understood.”
“I want the two-billion contract because the profit from this order isn’t much.”
Suddenly, Areli remembered something else. “If it’s under your name, you’ll get a commission of just over a hundred thousand dollars. If it’s under my name, it will be one million dollars.”
“That’s why I brought it over so that you can earn more commission. Don’t worry. I won’t ask for a single cent of that one million dollars. It’s all yours.”
Darnell replied with a playful smile, “I knew you loved me, Miss Fanshaw.”
“Bullshit!”
Facing this troublemaker, Areli became increasingly helpless. “You’ll still benefit from this arrangement, but your sales performance will suffer.”
“I heard from Lillian that Eliezer is putting pressure on you, and there are only three members left in the Python Team.”
“You have five days left to complete four million dollars’ worth of business or Eliezer will kick all of you out. You have an assistant as a way out, but your girls don’t have that advantage.”
“They will be kicked out by Eliezer without mercy. Although I am the general manager, if they don’t meet the standards, I won’t show any favoritism either,” she added with a snort. “Besides, deep down inside, I really want to get rid of those three girls.”
Darnell’s smile softened. “Are you jealous?”
Areli pointed at the door with her finger. “Get out!”
“Fine, my bad.” Darnell exhaled deeply. “Miss Fanshaw, rest assured that I will complete the task.” He looked confident as he said, “Four million dollars won’t be difficult for me.”
Areli nodded and said, “I hope so.”
Then she opened her mouth and let out a seductive moan. This bastard was pressing so comfortably.
Just then, an urgent phone call interrupted them. Areli startled and shrugged Darnell’s hand off before putting the call on speakerphone.
“Lillian, what’s wrong?”
Lillian sounded panicked on the other end of the line. “Miss Fanshaw, something bad has happened! Those people from earlier are back!”
Darnell narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
Almost simultaneously, five vans were parked outside the Vertex. The doors opened and over fifty thugs emerged from them, heading straight for the 18th floor.
With their intimidating presence and even though they were empty-handed, pedestrians who feared trouble kept their distance.
The imposing crowd quickly entered Spectrum Pharmaceuticals while over a hundred employees watched in shock. Casey and the others were dumbfounded as well.
If they hadn’t refrained from violence or causing damage yet still created such an atmosphere, one can only imagine what would happen if they did resort to violence.
“I’ve said it before. Darnell is a disaster.”
“But Miss Fanshaw wouldn’t listen. Now look at the mess she’s created. Let’s see how she’s going to handle this.”
“If the headquarters finds out, we might all be in serious trouble.”
“Miss Fanshaw is too stubborn and doesn’t know how to make the right choices.”
Before Areli and Darnell even arrived at the scene, they could hear Roberto and Eliezer grumbling.
Areli’s expression darkened as she quickened her pace toward the chaotic area. What she saw left her stunned. Dozens of thugs were loitering around.
They weren’t vandalizing, armed, or even shouting or fighting.
Instead, they were grouped in threes and fives, scattered throughout the entrance, the hall, the staircase, and in front of various offices, their presence unmistakable.
They pulled out cigarettes or cigars, puffing away without restraint, laughing loudly, occasionally coughing, and spitting on the floor.
Clients and business partners visiting Spectrum Pharmaceuticals could clearly sense the tension, realizing that the company was on the verge of becoming a battlefield.
Most were so frightened their legs shook. They exchanged a few perfunctory words with their contacts and cautiously backed out. Meanwhile, some thugs remained in the business hall.
They occupied tables individually while loudly reading off lists as if they were going to buy medicine.
The entire company was in chaos. Upper management, department heads, and employees were at a loss for what to do. They didn’t dare drive them away. They didn’t have the courage.
Call the police? They hadn’t done anything wrong. They claimed they were researching business opportunities and wanted cooperation. What could the police do? Even if they temporarily drove them away, they would come back again.
Areli finally witnessed what it meant to face organized crime while Darnell regarded the scene with disdain. It seemed like he needed to find an opportunity to deal with Nick.
“Miss Fanshaw, take a look at what’s happening here,” Roberto shouted as he glared fiercely at Darnell. “This troublemaker should be fired immediately!”
Eliezer also wore an expression of disgust as he said to Areli urgently, “Miss Fanshaw, please consider the overall situation.”
“Huh? Are these people here because of me?” Darnell asked curiously. “Why would Mr. Gower and Mr. Izzard know that they’re here because of me? Maybe it’s because you didn’t pay for services rendered,” he added while glancing at these people. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face. Desmond?
Darnell hadn’t expected to run into Pablo’s creditors here. The last time he encountered them, he had been beaten up by Cesar and his crew. He was surprised to see that Desmond, who had previously been in the loan shark business, had now turned to outright bullying.
What a small world indeed.
“You!” Roberto was momentarily speechless before shouting at Areli, “Miss Fanshaw, it’s best if you fire him right now. Otherwise, the company will suffer significant losses.”
Eliezer corrected Roberto hastily, “The losses have already been made! We’ve lost over ten potential clients and suppliers due to this situation.”
Pointing at Darnell angrily, he yelled, “You’ve caused a big mess.”