Chapter 263 Duel?
In the lobby of Maple Real Estate, Barbara stood with her hands on her hips, sneering at Ryder. "I can't believe you actually came down! I thought you'd be too scared!"
Ryder didn't have a good impression of Barbara, so he replied irritably, "If you have something to say, just say it!"
Barbara glanced at the Maple Real Estate office building, then said to Ryder, "So, you're the head of security at this company. I really can't understand why Sarah would choose to be with you!
"By the way! Have you thought about the offer I mentioned a few days ago?"
Ryder was slightly taken aback. "What offer?"
Barbara rolled her eyes. "I said I'd give you eight hundred thousand dollars to divorce Sarah!"
Upon hearing this, Ryder responded bluntly, "You could give me the whole planet of Mars and I still wouldn't consider divorcing Sarah. If you have nothing else to say, go home and have dinner with your mom. Don't waste my time!"
With that, Ryder turned to leave.
Barbara grabbed his arm. "Don't go!"
Ryder frowned. "What else do you want?"
Barbara glared at Ryder and pouted, "I want to challenge you to a duel!"
Ryder said, "I don't have time for your jokes. Do you think you're the protagonist of a movie or something?"
"I'm serious!" Barbara said with a stern face. "I want to duel with you. If you lose, you divorce Sarah. If you win, I'll never try to persuade Sarah to divorce you again!"
Seeing that Barbara seemed to be serious, Ryder looked her straight in the eye and asked, "Can you tell me why you're so insistent on me divorcing Sarah?"
Barbara's eyes flickered, and she coughed lightly before answering, "That's none of your business. If you're a man, you'll agree to duel with me!"
Ryder realized that if he didn't agree to the duel, Barbara wouldn't let him off so easily.
He reluctantly nodded. "Fine! I give in. What kind of duel?"
Barbara thought for a few seconds before answering decisively. "How about a drinking contest?"
"No problem!"
Ryder had always been confident in his capacity for alcohol; he had never gotten drunk at any social event before!
The two of them hailed a taxi and headed straight to the bar district by the Houston River.
As soon as they left the Maple Real Estate building, a black Santana followed them.
Inside the car were three strong men.
The man in the passenger seat, a bald guy with sunglasses, was on the phone. "Matthew, I saw Ryder leave the company and get into a taxi with a girl. They're heading to the bars by the river! Do you have any instructions?"
Matthew chuckled and replied, "Just keep a close eye on them. Don't lose them. Wait for the right moment to act, and don't give yourselves away!"
"Don't worry, we've got this!"
Meanwhile, at the Phoenix Real Estate office building, Matthew hung up, humming a little tune smugly.
"Ryder Clark, let's see how you escape my grasp this time!"
Just then, he heard familiar high-heeled footsteps coming from behind him.
Matthew turned around and saw Sandra coming out of the CEO's office.
Her clothes were slightly disheveled, her black stockings had several holes, and her face was flushed. She seemed indifferent to her own appearance.
She walked straight over to Matthew.
Matthew quickly stepped forward and asked, "Sandra, did everything go smoothly?"
Sandra took out her makeup kit and lightly reapplied her lipstick, answering calmly, "When I handle things personally, nothing goes wrong. Roy has agreed to mortgage the company and take out a six hundred million dollar loan. When the time comes, that money will be put to good use!"
Matthew's eyes lit up. He was excited. "Sandra, you're amazing!"
Sandra ignored Matthew's flattery and asked, "What about you? How are things progressing?"
Matthew, hungry for praise, said, "Everything is going perfectly. I just got word from Orlando that Ryder went to a bar with a girl. They'll strike at the right moment!"
"Is Orlando reliable?"
Matthew nodded repeatedly. "Very! We paid a lot to hire him!"
A cold glint flashed in Sandra's eyes as she said, "Maple Real Estate's reputation online is in tatters. Once Ryder is in our hands, the president of Maple Real Estate will definitely be unable to sit still. In that chaos, we can gain the upper hand! By the time they react, everything will already have been settled!"
It was 10pm at Houston's bar district by the river!
"Don't follow me! Leave me alone! Go away!"
Barbara staggered along the riverbank. Behind her was Ryder, looking helpless.
They had agreed to a drinking contest at the bar. At first, Ryder really thought Barbara could hold her liquor; otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to drink as the duel.
But Barbara shocked Ryder.
They started with one drink each. Ryder had just had a sip of his, and Barbara's cheeks were already flushed.
Then, Ryder took another sip, thinking it tasted fine, but Barbara was already dizzy.
And then, before Ryder even felt anything, Barbara was drunk.
"Can't you handle alcohol at all? Have you ever even gone drinking?"
Ryder was bewildered. Barbara was drunk, and he couldn't just leave her alone.
Hence his current predicament by the river.
Ryder followed Barbara, trying to persuade her. "It's getting late. You should go home. Let me call a cab for you."
"Get lost! I don't need your help!" she said.
Barbara wiped her tears and kept walking. Her dreadlocks bounced with each step.
By now, they had walked out of the bustling area by the river, and there were no more pedestrians around. The streetlights were few and far between.
Ryder raised his voice. "Barbara! I don't have time to waste with you! If you don't listen to me, I'm leaving!"
Barbara turned around, looking aggrieved. "Go ahead! All you do is treat me badly anyway. Men are all disgusting!"
Ryder remained silent.
Seeing Ryder standing still, Barbara's anger flared up.
She took off her high-tops and threw them at Ryder. "Get lost!"
The first shoe missed him, so she threw the other shoe, which also failed to reach its target.
"Ryder, you jerk!" she yelled.
Barbara, furious, took off her socks, balled them up, and threw them at Ryder's face. Ryder slightly turned his head, and the socks flew past him.
"Fuck! Can't you act like a girl? Stop throwing things at my face!" Ryder complained.
"You think I want to be a girl? Do you think I like this? Anyway, you won the duel, so be happy! As for me, living is pointless. I might as well die!" Barbara sobbed.
Ryder rolled his eyes, thinking Barbara was just being over-dramatic.
However, Barbara walked to the riverbank. Without hesitation, she jumped in!