Chapter 99
Chapter 99 A Beautiful Victory
As four million was quite a large sum of money, Meredith decided to put her ego aside and said, "Hey, Rayna... We agreed that playing cards is all about having good fun, right? I know I was at fault for stealing your husband, but it was Julian who seduced me first! Besides, I've already resigned from Faymon Group, so we're even now, right?"
Rayna let out a soft chuckle. "Is that so?"
There's no way we're even! Ever since I entered this private room, Meredith has been stealing glances at me and whispering into Mr. Gibson's ear!
Thinking Rayna would let her off the hook, Meredith nodded profusely and said in the most pitiful way possible, "Yeah! I'm working in a small company right now, so I don't even have a hundred thousand on me!"
"And how is that my problem?" Rayna asked.
Meredith went pale when she heard that.
Rayna waved the document in her hand as she continued, "I'll give you one year to pay me the four million, Ms. Jones. However, I want you to get the naked run around Lunaria Lake over with as soon as possible."
Infuriated, Meredith lost her temper and yelled angrily at Rayna, "You b*tch! You've been setting us all up right from the start, haven't you? You put up an act and lied to our faces! See, that's why you deserve that sexual disorder of yours! That's why your husband left you! Do you think no one knows about your past? Well, think again! Honestly, your ex-boyfriend should've just strangled you to death!" Meredith's face was twisted with rage as she hurled all sorts of abuse at her. Rayna, on the other hand, remained completely calm.
With a smile on her face, she patiently waited until Meredith was done before replying, "I was trying to be nice by giving you a whole year to pay up. Since you insist on taking that attitude with me, I'll shorten that duration to three months."
Rayna then pushed her way through the crowd and staggered out of the private room.
"Ha! That's what you get for mouthing off! Serves you right!" Kristie felt great when she saw Meredith lose to Rayna. Finally, I'm not the only one who lost to her!
She then wrapped her arm around Curtis' and said, "Let's go, Curt. The show's over."
"All right," Curtis replied with a nod.
Before stepping out the door, he glanced at Meredith and reminded her, "You'd better remember what she said, Ms. Jones."
The calm and emotionless look in Curtis' eyes sent a shiver down Meredith's spine.
Curtis is taking her side on this, so I have to pay Rayna the four million, or he'll make my life as miserable as can be... Why is he so protective of Rayna? Is there something going on between them? Having gotten no response from Meredith, Curtis repeated his question a second time. It wasn't until Meredith nodded at him that he left the private room with Kristie.
Displeased with Curtis' protective behavior toward Rayna, Kristie pouted her rosy lips at him and asked, "Hey, Curt! You're already done with the negotiations for the contract in Tyrandas, aren't you? Why are you still defending that vix- I mean, woman?"
"Because she's an employee of Faymon Group."
"No, don't give me that crap! I've never seen you treat any other employee like this! You like her, don't you? What's so good about her? She's neither as pretty nor as likable as I am!" Kristie exclaimed. "Kristie." Curtis stopped in his tracks and glared coldly at her. "Just because I always let you have your way doesn't mean I'm okay with everything you do. That stunt you pulled in Tyrandas had better be the last one. If you do anything like that ever again, I will have you spend six months on an island in Nardor!"
Realizing from his tone that he was truly angry, Kristie quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Curt. I won't do it again."
If I ever need to get back at that woman, I'll get someone else to do it for me! She's way too scary for me to handle!
The look on Curtis' face eased up a little as the two of them left Plum Blossoms.
Cillian was already waiting for them outside with the engine running.
"Mr. Faymon, Ms. Winton," he greeted them the moment they walked through the front door.
Not wanting to speak to him, Kristie simply let out a defiant snort in response.
Curtis nodded and had Kristie get in the car before saying, "Send her home. Naomi will come to pick me up later."
"All right." Cillian then glanced at the stairs on the side and asked hesitantly, "Mr. Faymon, is that Ms. Garland over there? Shall I send her home as well?"
Curtis arched an eyebrow in surprise as he turned around and saw a slender figure sitting on the stairs. The hem of her gray dress was splayed out on the floor beneath her, and her head was resting on her forearms.
She's still here? I thought she went back long ago! Does she not have anyone who can send her home?
"I'll send her home. You can leave now."
"Okay."
Cillian then drove off with Kristie in the car while Curtis made his way over to the stairs and knelt in front of Rayna. "Do you have a ride home, Ms. Garland?"
Rayna slowly lifted her head to look at him. Although her vision was a little blurry, she could still recognize his handsome face.
"Oh, it's you, Uncle Curtis..." Rayna had been drinking a lot just to keep Gavin and Simon distracted, so she was pretty intoxicated and needed a quiet spot to rest while waiting for Jessica.
After taking a moment to clear her head, she nodded and said, "Yes, Jessie will come to pick me up. It's getting late, Uncle Curtis. You should head on home."
Those words had barely left her mouth when Jessica arrived in a taxi.
She was about to make her way into Plum Blossoms when she spotted Rayna and Curtis by the stairs.
Whoa! What's Nana doing with Mr. Faymon? Hmm... They seemed to be having a great chat, so it'd probably be rude of me to interrupt their conversation.
After giving it some thought, Jessica turned around and hopped back into the taxi, which sped off into the distance.
Jessie, huh? I'm guessing she's referring to Jessica. Still, there are hardly any cars on the road out there. I can't just leave her here all by herself...
Curtis was snapped out of his train of thought when Rayna looked at him and asked in confusion, "Why are you still here, Uncle Curtis?"
"I'm waiting for my ride."
"Oh, okay." Rayna sniffled loudly before letting out a loud sneeze. Noticing that she was shivering in that thin dress of hers, Curtis took his coat off and draped it over her shoulders. Rayna sobered up a little when she felt the weight of his coat on her shoulders and noticed a faint minty fragrance. "Thanks, Uncle Curtis," she said with a slight blush.
"You're welcome. By the way, that was a beautiful victory back there," Curtis replied in a deep voice.
As Rayna buried her face in her knees, her nose rubbed against his coat, which caused her to blush even harder. For some reason, she felt really happy when she received his compliment.
"Oh, it was nothing! I was planning on leaving immediately after helping Mr. Smith with the deal, but he insisted on having me join him in the private room. I got mad when I saw Meredith in there, so I decided to do something about it."
"Did Edith send you?" Curtis asked.
"Yes."
"For an acting supervisor, she sure knows how to abuse her power! I bet she won't even listen to me if I promote her to a supervisor!" Curtis exclaimed with a sneer.
"She works for Mr. Saunders, so she'll only listen to him." Rayna knew it wasn't her place to ask, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Uncle Curtis, are you going to transfer some staff over from the branch in Norham?"
Now that Uncle Curtis is back, there's no way he would let one of Mr. Saunders' lackeys get that position.
Curtis looked at her and asked, "Do you not want that position?"