Chapter 608: Howard is a Jerk
Ethan shot a look at Brandon; Jasmine had nailed it.
"Claire, scared stiff of dying, and the only one she trusts is Mark." Jasmine whispered. "If they're sneaking around, it's way more than just an affair."
"The patient pulled through, vitals are stabilizing, but he needs ICU time for a bit," the doc said, giving a quick rundown of the surgery.
Brandon let out a big sigh, leaning against the wall.
At least he didn't kick the bucket.
Ethan also exhaled, eyeing the recording in his hand. "I owe him one this time."
Jasmine nodded. If it wasn't for Bradley, they wouldn't expect that Claire had some crucial dirt.
"Howard's assistant, Mark, and Claire are from the same small town. They've probably been fooling around forever, and Howard didn't even catch on," Brandon sneered.
"It's not that he didn't catch on. He just didn't give a damn. You can see it too. Howard just used Claire. He didn't care if she was seeing other guys because the only woman he ever cared about was Leah, who died right in front of him," Ethan said, his voice cold.
"This is his punishment," Jasmine said, squeezing Ethan's hand.
As soon as Ethan got to the office, Liam yanked him aside. "We've got trouble. The folks you fired, Howard and Claire's crew, are making a scene. They say if you don't fix this, they'll sue for wrongful termination, and now they're messing up our operations."
Firing a bunch of people without replacements was bound to stir the pot.
Ethan smirked like he saw it coming.
"Mr. Douglas, there's a ruckus over there," a senior exec rushed over, looking frazzled.
In the lobby, someone was leading the chaos.
"Ethan needs to explain why he canned us out of nowhere. If he doesn't, we'll take him to court."
"Yeah, sue him!"
"The Douglas Group's got its own mess, and now they wanna fire us? We'll drag them with us."
"Yeah!"
The crowd was gunning for Ethan, with Howard stirring the pot. To take Ethan down, Howard needed to trash his rep with the higher-ups.
Ethan had the board's backing thanks to his past wins, but if he caused trouble now, he'd be seen as a liability.
"The charity event's in two days, and the higher-ups are worried. With the Douglas Group in chaos, we'll make a scene to show the leaders who Ethan really is!"
"Yeah, make a scene at the charity event!"
Ethan listened to the ringleader and smirked. "Howard's tricks are getting lame."
"Ethan! Ethan's over there!" someone shouted.
The mob rushed at Ethan.
Liam quickly stepped in front of him.
Ethan grabbed Liam by the collar, yanking him back, and casually raised his hand, signaling the security to stay put.
"Ethan, why'd you fire us outta nowhere? All thirteen of us got into The Douglas Group legit. Why'd you can us? Give us a reason," the ringleader barked at Ethan.
Ethan gave him a cool look and said, "Roy Sullivan, head of Project Team B, took bribes for the East Bay Village project, over a million bucks, and we've got solid proof."
Ethan never did anything without being sure. If these folks had just taken their firing quietly, he might've let it slide. But nope, they had to stir the pot.
The ringleader's face went white. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Ethan glanced at Liam. "Report it and hand the evidence to to the cops."
Roy's voice shook. "Mr. Douglas, come on, this isn't necessary."
"You came here to cause a scene, messing with public order, and it's not necessary?" Ethan shot a look at the others.
They were stunned, too scared to say a word.
Ethan probably had dirt on them, too.
Ethan never did anything half-baked; he looked way too confident.
Seeing Roy getting hauled off, the others exchanged looks and wisely backed off. "Mr. Douglas, this is just a misunderstanding. We're loyal to The Douglas Group, no harm meant. You fired us, but it's cool. We won't cause trouble."
Then they bolted.
Roy was shaking, pleading, "Mr. Douglas, please, just this once. I was just acting on impulse."
Ethan looked down at Roy, sneering. "Impulse? Was it Howard who put you up to this?"
On the second floor, Howard stood by the railing.
He and Ethan locked eyes, both looking ready to kill.
Ethan clenched his fists, his hatred for Howard boiling over.
Howard knew these cheap tricks wouldn't take Ethan down, but he didn't expect Ethan to be so ready.
"No." Roy glanced at Howard, scared out of his mind. If he had known, he wouldn't have crossed Ethan for any amount of cash.
"No? Then explain it to the cops," Ethan said, making sure the board members and senior management heard.
Today, he was gonna break with Howard for good.
Howard wanted to trash his rep with the board and employees, but Ethan was set on disappointing him.
"No, Mr. Douglas. Don't do this. It was the chairman, no, it was Howard who made us do this," Roy blurted out.
Ethan looked at Howard, whose face was dark as a storm cloud.
All the board members and senior management started whispering.
"How could Howard do this? That's his own son."
"He wanted to get rid of Ethan before. Looks like he had a plan."
"Even the coldest person has a soft spot for family."
"He's trying to wreck the whole Douglas Group."
Ethan quietly stared at Howard, his smile icy.
Howard's clenched hands were shaking; Ethan had to go.
"Howard, look at what you've done. Ethan is your son," Harold Fisher said angrily.
Others joined in, ripping into Howard.
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