Chapter 16
At five o'clock in the afternoon, in the president's office on the third floor of SH Corporation.
James sat in the executive chair, munching on chilled watermelon, and surveyed the room calmly and composedly, as if he owned it.
After an intense battle, he didn't feel tired but rather refreshed. The fiery energy from the ginseng fruit had finally stopped tormenting him.
Opposite him sat several female secretaries of SH Corporation, who were anxiously serving James, pouring coffee, slicing watermelon, and peeling sunflower seeds.
They had all witnessed James' fight, their initial disdain and scorn thoroughly crushed under his might. Now, they only had admiration and flattery for James, ready to throw themselves at him if he so desired.
James paid them little mind, his gaze landing on a large, somewhat ancient-looking ten-foot-long saber hanging on the wall. The blade gleamed menacingly, razor-sharp. He could see strands of red light entwined around it—signs of blood energy.
"James, Brian, and those bastards slipped away through the back door while we were fighting." Jacob burst in through the door, wiping sweat from his forehead. "But don't worry, I've already sent people to capture them."
Brian instigated today's battle, and naturally, Jacob wanted to apprehend him to account for James, lest he suffer severe consequences himself. Moreover, he harbored resentment towards Brian—what was supposed to be an easy target turned out to be a thorn that stirred up the entire association.
"Forget it, don't capture them. I'll handle it myself." James decided to let Brian off for now—not out of mercy, but rather he preferred to watch Brian die from the torment of liver cancer.
It was said that people in the late stages of liver cancer lived like ghosts.
James was curious to see if Jennifer would continue to stand by Brian or turn her back on him when she found out.
"Understood." Jacob agreed without any objection, immediately canceling the order to pursue Brian. "Mr. Williams is truly magnanimous, returning good for evil."
James bit into the watermelon and said, "Stop the nonsense; just pay up."
"Yes," Jacob bellowed outside the door, "Is finance and legal ready? Mr. Williams has been waiting too long."
Soon, a young woman entered, handing Jacob a file bag.
"Mr. Williams, this is a 200,000-dollar check, settling the debt with CF Clinic in full."
"Mr. Williams, this is our contract for the next three years of cooperation with CF Clinic."
Jacob placed each document in front of James and said, "Please review them."
James chewed on the watermelon, saying, "What's this mean?"
Jacob bowed and nodded. "We were wrong to owe money, and we've troubled Mr. Williams, so we want to make it up to CF Clinic."
"Don't worry, we won't owe money again. We're even prepared to prepay one million dollars."
He took out a check and added it to the contract, saying, "We hope to continue our cooperation."
James felt that Jacob was no saint, but with a one-million-dollar prepayment, there was no need to worry about defaults.
"Fine, I'll take the check and the contract back," James spoke indifferently, "But whether we sign it in the end is up to Addison."
"Understood." Jacob saw James accept the documents, his smile growing even brighter. He presented a watch box and said, "Mr. Williams, this is the latest Rolex model."
"It's a token of our newfound acquaintance, a small gesture of our intentions."
He respectfully placed the watch in front of James.
"A Rolex?" James glanced at it casually and said, "It's no use to me."
As a son-in-law tasked daily with mopping, cooking, and cleaning toilets, sporting a Rolex seemed incongruous. His status made such a luxury watch a target for mockery, inviting accusations of pretentiousness and showing off a likely fake status symbol."Mr. Williams, you must accept it. We offended you first; it's only right we express our apology," Jacob knelt and said, "If you don't accept it, we'll feel uneasy, as if you haven't forgiven us."
"And this Rolex, given to me by Brian, should rightfully be yours as spoils of war."
"Please do us the honor of accepting it."
The female secretaries and other executives also urged James to accept it.
Jacob was indeed a character.
James had initially looked down on him but now admired his ability to bend and stretch, a resilience stronger than many.
He thought, 'After injuring five hundred men of SH Corporation, he isn't thinking of revenge buyers fully committed to befriending; it's a rarity.'
"Alright, you've said so much; I'll accept the Rolex," James said and helped Jacob to his feet, "But I won't take advantage of you for nothing."
"This saber is an ominous object." James pointed out. "You'd best throw it away, or soon you'll face a bloody disaster."
Having received a Rolex worth tens of thousands of dollars, James felt it fair to warn Jacob.
The saber seemed old, but it still emitted a chilling murderous intent.
Moreover, the tip of the sharp saber was pointed directly at Jacob's executive chair.
Being enveloped by such hostile energy and facing the blade's tip could cause great harm to his fortune.
Fortunately, the saber hadn't been there long, or he might have already met his end.
"A bloody disaster?" Jacob was slightly taken aback, then looked at the saber, saying, "Mr. Williams, it is a high-quality imitation. I thought it looked good, so I spent 1,300 dollars to buy it for decoration."
"It shouldn't be ominous, right?"
Jacob clearly didn't believe James' words.
For him, the metaphysics was purely a form of self-consolation, lacking in substantive significance.
Furthermore, he perceived James' reference to 'bloody disaster' as a thinly veiled mockery of the events of today's conflict.
They were, moreover, considering that the others with their large blades, why hadn't they experienced any catastrophic events?
If it hadn't been for James bravely confronting the multitude that afternoon, he would have been inclined to suspect that James was a swindler.
"You'd still be better off throwing it away," James said coolly.
Jacob quickly nodded. "Thank you for the warning, James. I'll dispose of it another day."
James heard the nonchalance in Jacob's tone and said no more, picking up a pen and paper to draw a talisman.
He said, "Carry this with you; it may save your life once."
After speaking, he left the office.
Jacob looked at the talisman, scoffed disdainfully, and tossed it into the trash can. James might be skilled in martial arts, which he acknowledged, but this physiognomy was nothing but feudal superstition. He was a person educated in Division Head.
Minutes later, Jacob was preparing to go to the Rosewood City Hospital for treatment, hanging a hand downstairs. As he descended the stairs, he inexplicably slipped, tumbling down the stairs and gashing his head.
Before Jacob could curse or rise, the chandelier plummeted. Saved from serious injury by his subordinate's timely shove, he was still left bloodied and bruised, covered in shards of glass. Reaching the doorway, Jacob was about to get into the car when it suddenly burst into flames...
He and his confidants exchanged glances, seeing uncertainty in each other's eyes.
He thought, 'Could what James said be true?'
"The talisman, find the talisman!"
The next second, Jacob rushed back to the office, overturning the trash can in search of the talisman...
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
