Chapter 636 - 632: What Was It You Just Asked Me?

Cecilia wasn’t about to be polite to an unscrupulous businessman who preyed on ordinary people.

Jared Fletcher, for his part, seemed surprised that a young girl would dare to be so rude to him. His face immediately darkened. "Who are you?"

Brendan Harris, standing to the side, started to speak up and explain who she was, but then he remembered Cecilia had told him not to say much. His lips moved, but he swallowed his words.

Instead, the portly man named Morgan Young, eager to impress the chairman, glared at Cecilia and snapped, "You little brat, who do you think you are, using the chairman’s name like that? The two of you, get the hell out of here right now, or I’m calling security!"

The man was so loud that Cecilia frowned in annoyance. She turned to Jared Fletcher and said casually, "I’m Cecilia Sterling."

Then she pointed at the portly man. "He’s too loud. Get him out of this room."

With that said, she ignored everyone’s expressions and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

"Why, you mother—"

The portly man was about to fly into a rage when he heard the chairman’s voice ring out from behind him. "Get out!"

"Chairman?"

"Are you deaf?"

The portly man flinched, not daring to say another word. He quickly nodded. "I’m going, I’m going."

Jared Fletcher entered the reception room with his secretary, who tactfully closed the door behind them.

Brendan Harris, still a bit confused by the situation, remained standing awkwardly. Seeing this, Jared Fletcher gestured to a seat. "Please, have a seat. Let’s sit and talk."

Brendan Harris glanced at him before walking over to sit beside Cecilia.

"What can I get for you two? Tea, juice, coffee?"

"Let’s skip the pleasantries. I’m sure you know why we’re here, Chairman Fletcher. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have sent someone to meet us downstairs," Cecilia said softly, crossing her arms and leaning back against the sofa as she watched him.

Jared Fletcher gave an apologetic smile and nodded. "Of course, of course. My apologies, I was blind to your importance. If you’d mentioned your connection to Director Jennings earlier, I would never have dared to be so negligent, now would I?"

Cecilia had no patience for such insincere platitudes.

She sat up straighter, took the documents from her uncle-in-law’s hands, and tossed them onto the coffee table. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him. "All the necessary documents and copies of the certificates are here. We aren’t looking to take advantage of you. Just refund my family’s down payment for the retail space, plus the amount used to pay off the loan in full. You can take the property back..."

"Although you probably can’t get it back, since it’s being held by the bank and the courts. But that’s a matter between you and them."

Jared Fletcher stared at Cecilia. ’For someone so young, her composure and presence are incredibly intimidating. And the guardian next to her hasn’t said a word. Is this little girl the one who calls the shots in her family?’

But thoughts were just thoughts. Jared Fletcher couldn’t afford to offend Randall Jennings. He wasn’t even qualified to be acquainted with a business magnate of that caliber. The message about today’s affair had come through an intermediary, and that alone had been enough to scare him half to death.

"Of course, of course."

Jared Fletcher picked up the documents and handed them to his secretary. After a few brief instructions, the secretary exited with a serious expression.

"This will take some time," Jared Fletcher said as he rose and walked over to the in-room bar to pour water for Cecilia and Brendan Harris himself. As he did, he asked, feigning casualness, "Miss Sterling, are you very close with Chairman Jennings of the Jandon Group?"

His tone was probing, his mind clearly harboring a sordid suspicion.

’Randall Jennings was nearly forty and still unmarried, but what man doesn’t think about... that? Especially a rich man. No matter how prim and proper they act in public, who knows how wild they are behind closed doors.’

’And with Cecilia being so stunningly beautiful, it was only natural for his thoughts to turn sordid.’

That was just how men, creatures who think with their lower bodies, processed things.

Cecilia naturally understood the foul thoughts brewing in his mind, but before she could say anything, her phone suddenly rang.

It was Mr. Jennings.

She swiped to answer and put the call on speaker. "Mr. Jennings."

Just hearing the name "Jennings" made Jared Fletcher, who was in the middle of pouring water, freeze. He quickly turned to look at Cecilia just as Randall Jennings’s voice came through the phone.

"Cecilia, how are things going? Is everything running smoothly? I happen to have a two-hour break right now. Do you need me to come over myself?"

Randall Jennings’s voice was warm and friendly, exactly the tone an elder would use with a younger person. There was nothing amiss.

Cecilia instinctively glanced over at Jared Fletcher. He offered a sheepish, apologetic smile, his heart pounding with anxiety, terrified that Cecilia would say something to his detriment.

"There’s no need for you to come, Mr. Jennings. I only just sat down a little while ago. They’re already processing it, but I’m not sure how long it will take."

"Half—half an hour. An hour at most," Jared Fletcher chimed in hastily upon hearing this.

"Alright. Call me anytime if there are any problems."

"Thank you, Mr. Jennings. When we’re back in Lorcain, you’ll have to come over for dinner. Just the other day, my mom was saying she hadn’t seen you in a while."

"Haha, I’ve been a bit busy lately, so I really haven’t had a spare moment. I’ll definitely visit once I’m back."

They chatted for a few more moments, just ordinary, everyday small talk. This, however, only served to highlight how close their relationship was—like family.

Listening from the side, Jared Fletcher broke out in a cold sweat.

Finally, Cecilia hung up and looked up at Jared Fletcher, her voice deceptively light. "What was it you just asked me?"

"N-Nothing." Jared Fletcher wouldn’t dare ask about their relationship now. It certainly wasn’t what he had imagined. He gave an embarrassed chuckle and respectfully placed the glasses of water in front of Cecilia and Brendan. "Please, have some water."

Cecilia suddenly frowned, seeming to start and stop a sentence. "That portly man from earlier..."

"He... he’s our sales department supervisor."

Jared Fletcher wasn’t stupid. He knew Cecilia was here to settle a score. He quickly volunteered, "Don’t you worry. I will definitely discipline him for his insolence toward you just now."

"I already slapped him," Cecilia said, turning to her uncle-in-law. "But as for the matter of him deceiving my family..."

Brendan Harris’s face flushed with anger as well. He couldn’t remain calm thinking about how badly this man had swindled him. Not only had he lost his life’s savings, but he was also saddled with a loan of nearly two million dollars.

If it weren’t for Cecilia, they might have never overcome this obstacle.

"What would you like to do about it?" Jared Fletcher asked tentatively.

Cecilia pursed her lips. "I know your little operation has cheated a lot of people, but my reach isn’t that long. I can only get justice for my own family. For starters, have him come here and apologize to my uncle."

"Of course! That’s no problem at all!"

An apology was certainly no problem. Jared Fletcher got up to fetch the man himself.

"Cecilia, even if you make a guy like that apologize, he won’t mean it. He’s rotten to the core. He’ll never truly feel any remorse."

Cecilia smiled faintly. "I know, Uncle. This is hardly enough of a lesson. I just want to make him squirm a little first. It’s not like we have anything better to do while we wait."