Chapter 186 - 184: Your Name is Henry Marshall?
Wesley Yates said nothing, simply taking out his phone.
"Duane, take a few men and wait at the airport. Someone will contact you shortly."
He hung up, then sent a phone number to Cecilia Sterling. Only then did he look at her and say, "When you get to the airport, call this number to meet up with my guys. No matter what it is, you don’t have to be afraid with them there."
Cecilia was slightly taken aback.
To be honest, she hadn’t expected Mr. Young and Jeb to go to such great lengths for her.
They were sending men to the airport to wait for her and accompany her.
After the initial shock came a wave of gratitude.
"Don’t just stand there. Isn’t it urgent? Hurry up and go," Mr. Young urged.
Cecilia’s expression flickered. Seeing her lips about to move, Wesley Yates knew what she was going to say and cut her off first. "No need for thanks. You just have to treat us to another meal when you get back."
Mr. Young laughed as well. "And you can’t just leave in the middle of it this time."
Cecilia swallowed her words of thanks and nodded crisply. "Deal. I’ll treat everyone to dinner when I get back."
With that, she stood up and left the restaurant.
On the way to the airport, Cecilia’s heart was a complex mix of emotions.
’Honestly, I couldn’t help but be wary around these men. They’re seasoned veterans of the street. Even if I lived to be sixty-five, I might not be as sharp as they are.’
’I wanted to build these connections to make things easier for myself in Lorcain, but I never thought about truly opening my heart to them. I certainly never expected them to show me any genuine sincerity.’
’They’re businessmen, after all. Profit comes first. It’s all just part of the act.’
But just now, she suddenly realized she was wrong. She shouldn’t have judged others by her own standards.
The actions of Mr. Young and Jeb had truly surprised her, but they also made her realize something. For old hands like them, who interacted with people all day and had seen it all, liking or disliking someone was actually a very pure and simple matter.
’They like you, admire you, and accept you, perhaps for no particular reason. A single look is all it takes.’
’By the same token, disliking you could be decided in a single glance as well.’
’I was the one overcomplicating things. If they hadn’t taken a liking to me, I never would have been able to arrange today’s gathering. It meant that I had already caught Mr. Young’s and Jeb’s eye from our very first meeting.’
Having figured this out, Cecilia smiled. ’It’s always the simplest things that you overthink. And the people I thought were so complicated are actually far simpler than I imagined.’
When she arrived at the airport, Cecilia had just stepped out of the car when she saw five or six men in suits gathered at the entrance.
They looked sharp in their suits, but there was an incongruous aura about them. With a single glance, Cecilia knew they had to be Jeb’s men.
She took out her phone and made the call. One of them answered quickly—it was one of the men in suits.
"I see you!"
Cecilia waved. The man scanned the area and spotted her, and the group broke into a trot, striding quickly toward her.
The man in the lead spoke first. "You must be Cecilia? My name is Duane. I’m one of Jeb’s men."
The other four men behind him stood ramrod straight, bowed their heads in unison, and chorused, "Cecilia!"
Cecilia blinked. This time, however, she didn’t rush to reject the form of address. The whole display, both in sound and sight, had a certain gravitas. It was quite formidable.
’Perfect for the occasion of backing up my sister.’
Cecilia composed herself and looked at the men calmly. "Did you all bring your IDs?"
They all nodded. Cecilia took out her own ID and handed it to Duane. "Buy first-class tickets for all the brothers. The earliest flight to Starwood. I’ll transfer you the money."
’First class?’
Duane wouldn’t dare. A single first-class ticket cost almost ten thousand yuan.
"Cecilia, economy class is fine for us. We’re all tough guys; we don’t need that kind of comfort."
Cecilia looked at him and said, "You’re Jeb’s men. I certainly won’t treat you poorly. Go on."
Hearing this, Duane nodded. Not daring to say more, he took the IDs and went to buy the tickets.
At the same time, Cecilia received a WhatsApp message from Wesley Yates: "My boys rarely handle business outside of Lorcain. They don’t always know when to hold back. You give the orders, but just make sure to leave the person breathing. I can smooth over anything else."
’Saying the most terrifying things in the most casual tone—that’s exactly the kind of person Wesley Yates is.’
Cecilia stared at the message on WhatsApp. The words looked so alien to her, as if she were in a movie.
Meanwhile, the first people to get the news and rush to the set were James Lockwood and Henry Marshall’s father, the chairman of Zenith Group, Winston Marshall.
The atmosphere in the room was stifling. The assistant director, James Lockwood, and Connie sat on one side.
Winston Marshall and Henry Marshall sat on the other.
Winston Marshall was silent, but his demeanor was imperious. The aura of someone long accustomed to a high position was intensely oppressive.
Henry Marshall, sitting next to his father, wore an arrogant expression. "Where are they? Where are those two?"
James Lockwood and the others also kept their mouths shut. It was already obvious who was right and who was wrong in today’s incident, but given Winston Marshall’s status as an investor, James Lockwood didn’t want to let things get too ugly.
Seeing them remain silent, Winston Marshall adjusted his posture slightly and was the first to speak, his tone measured and cool.
He lifted his gaze slightly to look at James Lockwood. "President Lockwood, I’m a long-time investor in Goldman Golding. We’ve collaborated so many times. This is the one and only time I’ve asked for my son to join the cast for a small role just for fun, and something like this happens?"
"His mother and I have never laid a single finger on him his entire life. But here, on your set, he gets slapped twice? What? Was he filming a fight scene?"
"Chairman Marshall," James Lockwood began slowly, "as for whether your son was in the wrong, you can ask him yourself. Two actresses wouldn’t get into a physical altercation with him for no reason."
"You don’t need to tell me all that. My son is the one who was hit. Bring the people who hit him to me, and I’ll get to the bottom of it myself." Winston Marshall’s expression made it clear he intended to get revenge for his son, which made James Lockwood frown.
’Great. Three people involved, and all of them backed by investors.’
He wasn’t worried about Suzanne Sawyer’s side of things. What he worried about was Miss Sterling finding out about this.
’There’s no way I can drag Lily Sterling in front of Winston Marshall to be humiliated. If Miss Sterling finds out about this, the entire production could be shut down.’
"Chairman Marshall, just say it. How do you want to handle this?" James Lockwood took a step back, trying to gauge the man’s bottom line.
Winston Marshall snorted. "As an investor, I should at least have the right to replace a couple of actors, shouldn’t I?"
"Chairman Marshall, we’re already halfway through filming. Replacing actors now isn’t realistic."
"Then let my son return those two slaps. That’s fair, isn’t it?"
James Lockwood took a deep breath. Faced with Winston Marshall’s aggressive attitude, he was momentarily at a loss.
But in the next second, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open from the outside with a loud BANG. Several large men in suits burst in, startling everyone inside to their feet.
Cecilia Sterling walked slowly into the room, her expression terrifyingly grim.
Her gaze swept lightly over the shocked faces across from her before finally settling on Henry Marshall. She raised an eyebrow, her red lips parting slightly.
"You’re Henry Marshall?"