Chapter 189 Mr. Bailey’s Nearly Done For
Winona Sullivan hadn’t stood long before the Night Club’s manager rushed to her with urgency, “Mrs. Bailey, please come with me, Mr. Bailey’s nearly done for.”
Puzzled, she shot back, “Is he dying?”
The Manager didn’t reply.
Walking into the private room, she finally grasped what the manager meant by ‘nearly done for’.
Zachary Bailey was slumped over a table littered with empty bottles, with spills of alcohol all around, making a complete mess. Yet, he showed no sign of disgust. His coat was tossed onto a couch, and he was down to a thin shirt, its sleeves rolled up haphazardly to his elbows, and several buttons of his collar undone, revealing a generous expanse of chest.
He gripped his glass with an expressionless face, eyes clouded, clinging to the last shreds of sobriety to avoid passing out completely.
Winona Sullivan was not much of a drinker and failed to see what was wrong with him. He seemed normal enough to her, at least more so than the person next to him...
She turned her head to glance at the other party involved.
Austin was also holding a glass, but unlike Zachary, he wasn't seated. Instead, he had one leg on the coffee table, leaning in close to Zachary Bailey, and said, “I swear, if I don't drink you under the table to the point where you're crawling and calling me 'daddy', I'll take your surname and let you live like a dog rather than a man. All while you snitch like a grade-schooler!"
"Speak up! You think if you keep quiet I'll let you off? Back when I could take on a squad by myself in the military, you were probably still playing in the dirt!”
"Tell me, were you pulling strings behind my back on this one?"
The experienced manager clarified for Winona Sullivan. "Look at Mr. Bailey's face. His complexion takes on the hue of whatever light hits it, turned completely pale. If he keeps drinking, it'll turn into acute pancreatitis, and that’s deadly!”
When she looked toward Austin, the manager added, “Mr. Qin is actually fine. It's just that he gets...a bit wild when he's drunk."
Frowning, Winona walked over, snatched the glass from Zachary Bailey's hand that was nearly at his lips, and poured the liquor into a half-melted ice bucket. She twisted the bucket and flung its contents straight at them.
Zachary Bailey made no sound.
He was already quiet, and he had no particular reaction to this.
Austin, on the other hand, got a cold shock, suddenly falling silent as a statue. It took a moment before he exploded like a firework, "The hell, who doused me?!"
An ice cube slid down from his collar, chilling him all the way down his spine to his tailbone. The wet spot on his T-shirt began to show a faint red as blood from a clotting wound dissolved in the water.
But the room was too dim, and Winona Sullivan didn't see it.
Austin turned, and saw Winona standing in front of him, and his annoyance immediately turned into a grin, "Winona, what brings you here?"
Behind that smile was a knife, aimed directly at the manager standing behind her.
Winona looked at him coolly, "Sobered up? What the hell are you two doing?"
"Drinking," he said, raising his hand to Zachary Bailey's shoulder, "it's only now that I've realized Mr. Bailey and I share so many interests and have endless conversations."
Zachary Bailey briskly shrugged off his hand, "Beat it."
Winona Sullivan glared at Austin, "Speak English."
She didn't want to be forcefully dragged here another time. Since she was here, she might as well reluctantly play the role of a peacemaker.
Austin gritted his teeth, his fraternal affection switching instantly to a bitter enemy mode, "This sneaky bastard, he's jealous that my game is stronger than his, so he played dirty behind my back, getting someone to spill my secrets to my mom."
"What secrets did he spill?"
Austin remained silent.
He'd admitted to having a thing for a married woman, which set Mrs. Robinson into a fury.
But he couldn't say that out loud. Winona Sullivan still hadn't agreed to be his girlfriend, and knowing his mom’s disapproval would only make matters worse.
Dammit, he was at a loss for words!
Zachary Bailey was indeed a bastard, all businessmen are!
"Winona Sullivan..." a shrill voice rose from behind her, "How can you be so venomous, conspiring with your lover to get Mr. Bailey this drunk!"
Winona Sullivan and Austin both frowned and turned around to see Stella storming in like the wind, with a few young men and women trailing behind her.
Stella had heard from a friend that they might see Zachary Bailey in this private room. She hadn't expected to overhear the conversation.
"Stella," Winona Sullivan, who couldn't care less about Stella or her pursuit of Zachary Bailey and simply disliked her character, said, "Do you remember what you advised me last time we met at the hospital? And now, despite knowing he's no good, you're still shamelessly clinging to him?"
Stella, like a fool in love, retorted, "Back then, I didn't understand Mr. Bailey. I didn't know he was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Unlike some, appearing gentle and harmless outwardly, but so vicious inside."
Speechless, Winona Sullivan turned to look at the aloof yet warm-hearted Zachary Bailey, only to find the man had at some point closed his eyes and passed out drunk.
Stella, with her chin, tilted high, disdainfully said to Winona Sullivan, "I know your family went bankrupt and you're desperate for money. Name your price, how much to stop bothering Mr. Bailey?"
"If it makes you feel better to hand out some chump change, go ahead, give a dime or two."
Enraged by the insult, Stella lashed out, "You dare to mock me! Clearly, your divorce from Mr. Bailey was never sincere!"
Winona Sullivan lost all patience entertaining fools and asked Austin, "Can you walk?"
Austin's legs gave out, and he plopped down on the couch, "No, need help."
Winona Sullivan said, "Then just crash in a room upstairs."
Without waiting for Austin, she walked off.
She had done her part, and stopped the drinking; surely Samuel Anderson wouldn't let his bodyguard stop her from leaving now.
Austin hurried after her, "Why are you so heartless, girl?"
Behind him, Stella expressed her concern, "Mr. Bailey, I'll take you back."
...
Once out of the private room, the bright hallway lights mercilessly exposed the faint red stain on Austin's white T-shirt, causing Winona Sullivan to frown, "Your shirt… Are you hurt?"
The Robinsons were known for their strict family discipline; generations served in the military, which probably explained their harsh parenting methods.
Winona Sullivan asked, "Did your dad hit you?"
"Not at all. It's because of the rumors Zachary Bailey spread; he nearly beat me to death. I'm all bruises," Austin replied.
Winona had seen Austin take a beating back in school days when some lowlifes harassed the girls, and Austin ended up sending them to the hospital. It was brutal.
His father had taken a switch and, right in front of their parents, whipped Austin raw as an apology. That switch was supple enough to draw blood. The other kids' parents gloated until Austin's dad called the police, and they were detained for harassment. They weren't sentenced but got a record nevertheless.
Winona still vividly remembered Austin's injuries. Seeing him sway, she reached out to steady him, "I'll take you to the hospital."
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