Chapter 265 Leave This Matter to Me
"James? What are you doing here?" Laura's eyes widened in surprise.
Earlier, Joe, Isolde, and the rest had treated James like dirt, so naturally, he was a bit ticked off.
But James shrugged it off. After all, Joe was his future father-in-law, and Laura was his fiancée. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
When Atticus spotted James, he was floored, totally baffled. He had no clue what James was up to.
"James, why are you here? Get out right now!" Isolde snapped, her voice dripping with irritation.
James shot Isolde a frosty glare. If it weren't for Laura, he wouldn't even bother with this mess today.
"James, what are you doing here? This has nothing to do with you. You better keep quiet!" Laura hurried over to James and whispered urgently.
"I got this. Don't worry," James said, cool as a cucumber.
"You got this?" Laura blinked at him, taken aback.
Before she could say more, James was already striding towards Atticus.
James acted like he didn't know Atticus and asked, "You're the manager of this place, right?"
Atticus gaped at James, totally lost.
The restaurant's lobby manager, Herbert, didn't recognize James. Seeing him talk so boldly to Atticus, he rushed over and barked, "Who the hell are you? How dare you talk to Mr. Hayes like that?"
"My name's James, and I'm Laura's fiancé," James replied, unfazed.
Everyone's heads turned at that.
"No wonder he’s standing up for the Hall family. He's Laura's fiancé!"
"Why did Laura pick a guy like him?"
"Yeah, Miss Hall's fiancé looks like a total loser. I can't believe he’s messing with Mr. Hayes!"
People started murmuring among themselves.
Meanwhile, Thalassa and Thalia looked thrilled. Leander's situation had been super embarrassing, but James showing up gave them a chance to shift the focus.
"So, you're Miss Hall's fiancé. Are you here to pay her debt?" Herbert asked James.
"Pay the debt?" James scoffed, then said, "That antique vase is a fake. How much do you want me to pay?"
"Fake?" Herbert's face turned red with anger.
He pointed at James and yelled, "You idiot, what crap are you talking about? Mr. Hayes bought those vases from an auction house, and you dare say they're fake?"
"Yeah, no way Mr. Hayes would buy a fake!"
"Is this guy nuts?"
"Do you even know what an antique is? How dare you spout nonsense here!"
People started backing up Atticus, but he just kept staring at James, still confused.
Out of everyone there, only Atticus knew who James really was. He didn't want to say anything rash, so he just waited to see what James would do next.
"I might not be an antique expert, but I know that vase is a fake!" James said, cool as ever.
Laura, Joe, and the others were baffled, not sure what James was trying to pull.
"What proof do you have that it's fake?" Herbert yelled.
"I don't need proof. A fake is a fake!" James replied, looking straight at Atticus.
"James, stop causing trouble. There's no way Mr. Hayes bought a fake antique. Come back here right now!" Laura was worried things would get out of hand, which would be bad for everyone.
Plus, the $20 million deal she had worked out with Atticus might jump back to $40 million because of James's words. She quickly tried to pull James back.
"Yeah, James, what are you doing? Get back here now!" Joe shouted too.
But James ignored them both, stepped forward, and said to Atticus, "If you think I'm talking nonsense, bring out the vase fragments, and let's see if it's real or not!"
Atticus hesitated for a moment, finally catching on to what James was doing. He turned to Herbert and shouted, "Go get the vase fragments now!"
"Mr. Hayes, this brat is talking nonsense. Why believe him?" Herbert protested.
"Just do it!" Atticus cut him off.
Herbert didn't dare defy Atticus and went into the restaurant.
Atticus, now understanding James's game, said, "Sir, I, Atticus, always act fairly. Since you claim my vase is fake, we'll bring it out and see."
James looked at Atticus and smirked, thinking Atticus finally got it.
He was here to help Laura and Joe out of this mess, but he knew he couldn't blow his cover. Otherwise, Laura, being as sharp as she was, would definitely suspect something was up between him and Atticus.
So James had to play it another way, and Atticus had figured out what James was planning. Now, he just needed to figure out how to go along with James without giving away his identity.
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