Love on the Fast Track - Chapter 97

Chapter 97:

Derek was silent for a moment, his face darkening. “What did you just say?”

Norah chuckled and replied, “Whoever makes the most noise is nothing short of pathetic.”

Her words served as an insult to Derek, Madeline, and Madeline’s parents.

Rhoda, quickly angered due to her temperamental nature, opened her mouth to hit back. But at that moment, two men approached them from behind Norah.

One of them, dressed in a finely tailored wine-red suit with meticulously combed hair and gold-rimmed glasses, emitted a polished aura. The other man, visibly cold-tempered, wore a silver-gray suit, with his right wrist wrapped in a white bandage. He scanned the whole crowd with a malicious gaze.

They were Bryson and Kason, respectively—and neither of them had a female companion with them.

Coen, about to belittle Norah, stopped when he noticed the man in the wine-red suit approaching with his assistant. Upon recognizing the man as Bryson, he hurriedly walked forward with a smile.

Facing Bryson, Coen bowed unctuously and said, “Greetings, Mr. Andrews. My name is Coen. You remember me, right? I believe you’ve gone through the plan I sent to you the other day.”

“It’s quite impressive,” Bryson smiled politely and replied, “Actually, I haven’t gone through your plan yet. But rest assured, once I’ve read it, my assistant will forward my reply to you.”

With that, Bryson turned to face Norah and quickly took a few steps toward her. “Norah, you’re stunning! I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Bryson said. Having no idea what had happened between Norah and Sean, Bryson assumed she came alone.

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“You have an invitation, right? Or, do you need me to take you in?” Bryson asked.

He hadn’t been around when the Powell family had sarcastically addressed Norah. If he had been aware of their demeaning words toward her, he wouldn’t have treated Coen so politely. Instead, he would have told Coen directly to his face to go to hell.

“Thanks, but don’t bother, Mr. Andrews. Please leave Norah to me, I’ll take her in,” Kason said.

Hearing this, Bryson raised both of his eyebrows in surprise. He wondered whether Norah and Kason were on good terms.

Neither Bryson nor Kason gave a second thought to why Norah, well-dressed for the occasion, was standing outside the auction hall without an invitation or anyone to bring her in.

“You’re here without an invitation?” Kathy asked as she got out of a taxi and walked up to the entrance of the auction hall. Dressed like royalty, her exquisite dress drew attention.

“Wait a minute, Kathy. Why are you here?” Madeline asked, her face filled with surprise.

“Well, as I wanted to attend the auction and have a look around, I asked someone to bring me along,” Kathy replied.

Derek raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Then who on earth will bring you along? Behave yourself and go back home now, or else, you might end up humiliating yourself!”

Hearing this, Kathy felt hurt and disappointed. Her brother didn’t even bother to ask her who agreed to bring her to the auction and instead just scolded her.

“There’s no need for you to stress yourself, Derek. I’ve made my own arrangement,” Kathy retorted.

Kathy then turned her head to face Norah, who was now standing on the red carpet. Dressed in a bright red dress, Norah was, without even trying, dazzling the crowd. Just a few days ago, however, Norah had been seriously injured. Kathy wondered how on earth she had recovered so quickly.

“You’re still staying at the Scott family’s place, right, Norah? If so, why don’t you have an invitation when today’s auction is being hosted by the Scott family? Besides, I thought Mr. Scott was the one you were chasing after. When did you start chasing after Andrews?” Kathy mocked, widening her eyes in pretended surprise.

“Oh my God! Were you kicked out of the Dreamview Villas by Mr. Scott? Mr. Hayes hasn’t kicked you out, right? Or have you forgotten what we discussed about him the last time we met at the Splendor Building?” Kathy concluded her words with an insolent giggle.

Just as Norah was about to respond to Kathy, Bryson cleared his throat and said softly, “Excuse me. I believe you are Mr. Carter’s sister.”

“Carter’s sister, right? I never thought that a daughter of a famous family would speak such nonsensical words like that. Mr. Carter, do you just let this undisciplined girl run around? You should be able to bring her to order. Or should I do that for you?”

Kathy couldn’t believe her ears. She blinked rapidly as she studied Bryson, her gaze meeting his cold, unyielding eyes. She couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling a knot in her throat.

Derek, recognizing Bryson and having been trying to cooperate with him for quite some time, nodded, his expression tight with concern. Focusing on the task at hand—impressing Bryson—he frowned at Kathy. Outside of the business world, this was the first time he and Bryson had met. The nature of Bryson’s relationship with Norah was irrelevant to Derek; all that mattered now was the impression he made on Bryson.

“I told you to behave yourself, Kathy,” Derek said sharply. “What part of my instructions don’t you understand? I can’t believe you just spouted all that rubbish in front of Mr. Andrews and Mr. Hayes. Well, I’ll order a taxi for you now to take you home. This is not a place for gossipers like you.”

“Derek! I’m not going back home!” Kathy yelled, ignoring the stares of the people around her. “Someone has agreed to take me into the auction!”

Despite the disapproving looks and whispered comments from the crowd, Kathy didn’t care. She was determined to make her point.

Seeing the scene unfold, Norah slightly shook her head. She knew all too well how short-tempered Kathy could be. Derek and Madeline had already refused to bring Kathy to the auction due to their quarrel. But, being as stubborn as she was, Kathy must have decided to come anyway.

By then, the show was almost over. Norah turned to face Bryson and Kason, who had offered to take her in, and said, “Actually, I came here with Mr. Scott. Besides, I have an invitation card with me.”

Just as Bryson was about to say something, Derek hurriedly intervened. “I apologize for my sister’s arrogance, Mr. Andrews. She will return home now. That aside, I was wondering if you could spare some of your time for a discussion? We could cooperate on something.”

Bryson shook his head impatiently. “I’m busy right now. If you want to have an audience with me, contact my assistant and see if a meeting can be scheduled.”

Just as Bryson finished speaking, his assistant approached and faced Derek. “You should step back, Mr. Carter. Mr. Andrews likes to have some space around him. He doesn’t like it when people get too close, okay?”

Embarrassed, Derek turned to face Kathy, who hadn’t moved from where she stood, and yelled, “Kathy! I told you to go home! Have you gone deaf?”

Madeline quickly grabbed Derek’s hand, trying to calm him down, whispering his name, “Derek.” The place was filled with many influential people, and if Derek lost his cool in front of them, it would be something he would regret forever.

Tears welled up in Kathy’s eyes.

Kathy shook her head and yelled back, “I said someone will take me in! Are you even listening to me at all?”

Seeing how Kathy and Derek were disrupting the general atmosphere with their noise, Norah took a few steps toward the entrance, with Bryson and Kasan following.

Bryson looked at them in disgust and said, “You know what? I can’t stand this argument. I’m going inside.” With that, he turned around and walked into the hall. Once Bryson was out of hearing range, Kasan lowered his head and asked Norah, “Are you familiar with Bryson?”

Norah shrugged and replied, “Joanna and I are well-acquainted with each other’s brother through her. By the way, how’s your hand? I thought it was going to prevent you from coming to the auction.”

“It’s fine. Sean invited me, so I had no option but to come,” Kasan replied.

At that moment, Derek, his eyes filled with fury, gritted his teeth and asked Kathy, “You’ve been claiming that someone would take you in, right? Why isn’t he here yet? Where is he? Who is he?”

“It’s me,” replied a voice.

A fat man sporting a tattoo on his arm walked up to them and casually put his arm around Kathy’s waist. “She is with me. Is there a problem with that?”

“Jordy?” Derek muttered, his mouth hanging open in shock. As the realization hit, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

Since Kathy had been claiming that she had someone who would take her in, Norah had been wondering who that person could be. She hadn’t expected it to be Jordy. The last time she saw Jordy, she had believed she would never see him again.

Judging from the way Jordy rubbed Kathy’s back with his hand, it was obvious that they had never met before.

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