Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE: THE UNRAVELING
The silence in the showroom was absolute, broken only by the sound of Liam’s frantic breathing. His cell phone, resting in the inner pocket of his bespoke suit, began to vibrate wildly. It buzzed once, twice, three times. He knew exactly who it was. The financial dominoes were already falling.
He ignored the phone, staring at Eleanor with pleading, tear-filled eyes. “Please. Ms. Chen. I beg you. You’re going to destroy my entire family over a mistake. Over a bumped shoulder!”
“A bumped shoulder?” Eleanor’s voice rose, the anger finally breaking through her icy veneer. “You targeted him because you thought he was weak. You targeted him because you thought he was poor. You are a predator, Mr. Vance. And today, you made the fatal mistake of hunting in the wrong jungle.”
She turned to Marcus, the showroom manager, who was sweating profusely.
“Marcus,” Eleanor said.
“Yes, Ms. Chen! Anything!”
“Cancel Mr. Vance’s leases. Immediately. Seize the keys he currently has on his person. Have his personal belongings removed from the vehicle he arrived in, and put them in a garbage bag.”
Marcus didn’t hesitate. He practically sprinted toward Liam. “Mr. Vance, I need your keys. Now.”
Liam was paralyzed. The reality of the situation was crashing down on him with the weight of a collapsing skyscraper. He numbly reached into his pocket and pulled out the heavy, leather-bound key fob to his leased luxury sedan. He dropped it into Marcus’s waiting hand as if it were radioactive.
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“Furthermore, Marcus,” Eleanor continued, not missing a beat. “You are terminated. Your severance package is revoked for gross negligence. Clear out your desk by the end of the hour.”
Marcus slumped, his world ending just as rapidly as Liam’s, but he didn’t dare argue. He simply nodded, a broken man.
