Normally, if anyone dared to treat his Sprout like that, he would never let them off easily.
But today…
Sprout had agreed to be his honorary sister.
This realization was like a panacea, soothing much of his hostility.
“Stay away from her in the future,” Silas Sutton’s voice was faint but carried a clear warning.
“Absolutely!” Victor Lane nodded profusely, looking as if he’d just received a royal pardon.
“I promise, whenever I see that lady from now on, I’ll take a detour!”
He raised his glass with both hands.
“This glass is my apology!
I’ll drink it first out of respect!”
With that, he tipped his head back and downed the strong liquor in one gulp.
Silas didn’t say a word.
He simply picked up the glass Victor offered and took a small sip.
The liquor was sharp and fiery, yet it couldn’t suppress the secret joy bubbling in his heart.
Setting the glass down, he swept his gaze across the private room, his brows furrowing slightly.
“Where’s that manager?”
Sean Crane immediately caught his meaning and shot a look at the door.
Soon enough, Manager Warren was brought inside.
As soon as Manager Warren entered, he saw Silas sitting on the sofa with his long legs crossed.
One arm rested on the armrest, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the leather.
It looked like a casual posture, yet it exuded an overwhelmingly oppressive aura.
Silas raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze ice-cold.
“How long has that girl in the white dress been working part-time here?”
Manager Warren’s legs gave out, and he nearly dropped to his knees.
He knew he was doomed.
From the moment Silas had angrily dragged Zoe Quinn out of the room, he knew he had made a catastrophic mistake.
He knew exactly who Silas Sutton was—the CEO of Cosmos Group, the “Boss Sutton” who wielded immense power in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.
Crushing a lowly manager like him would be as easy as squashing an ant.
“M-Mr.
Sutton…” Manager Warren’s voice trembled.
“Miss Quinn…
she just started today.
She was covering someone else’s shift, only working as a cleaner for the day…”
“A cleaner?” Silas’s voice betrayed no emotion.
“Then why did she show up in here?”
“B-Because…” Manager Warren broke into a cold sweat.
“Because Mr.
Crane asked for twenty hostesses.
We couldn’t gather that many on such short notice at this hour, so I figured I’d have her and Don stand in the back row to make up the numbers.
I-I even specifically instructed them to stay in the back and not step forward…”
With a heavy THUD, he dropped straight to his knees, his voice laced with a sob.
“Mr.
Sutton, I swear I didn’t know Miss Quinn was your person!
If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared do it even if you beat me to death!”
He wanted to cry but had no tears left.
Losing his job was a small matter; if this master in front of him was displeased, he might actually resort to knives or guns!
Silas looked down at the groveling man, his eyes remaining frosty.
Seeing this, Sean knew he couldn’t escape blame for today’s incident.
He quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and plead for mercy.
“Boss, this is actually my fault too.
I insisted on twenty hostesses, and the manager had no choice but to pull them in last minute to make up the numbers.
Besides…
I just asked around, and he really did tell them to stand in the back.
He tried to protect them in his own way.”
Ryan Rhodes chimed in to help.
“Yeah, Boss.
The manager made a mistake, but it’s not a capital offense.
Considering he didn’t know, just let him off light.”
Silas took a deep breath.
He knew Sean and Ryan had a point.
The manager was certainly detestable, but the root cause was indeed Sean’s insistence on having so many hostesses.
Furthermore, the manager had indeed placed Zoe and Daisy Donovan in the back row, which showed some intention to shield them.
But he was still furious.
He was furious that someone actually dared to bring his Sprout into a place like this, exposing her to all those filthy gazes.
Fortunately, it hadn’t resulted in a disaster.
“Your year-end bonus is gone,” Silas finally spoke, his tone freezing.
“Also, pay them double their wages for today.
Right now!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Manager Warren kowtowed repeatedly.
“I’ll do it right away!
Right away!”
“And another thing,” Silas said, standing up and walking over to Manager Warren.
He looked down at him from above.
“From now on, that girl in the white dress is never allowed to set foot in here again…”
He paused, lowering his voice to a menacing whisper that felt like an ice-cold blade.
“Otherwise, I’ll chop you into pieces.”
Manager Warren shuddered violently and hurriedly promised, “I wouldn’t dare!
I guarantee I’ll never let Miss Quinn take a single step inside here ever again!
I-I-I swear!”
Only then did Silas retract his gaze, turning to his group of friends in the private room.
“You guys keep having fun.
I’m tired, so I’ll be heading back.”
Sean and Ryan exchanged a glance.
a rare softness?
“We’ll walk you out,” they said in unison.
“No need,” Silas waved them off.
“Kyle has the car waiting outside.”
With that, he didn’t look at anyone else and walked straight out of the room.
The corridor was dimly lit and lined with a thick carpet that absorbed his footsteps until they were almost inaudible.
Silas walked toward the elevator alone, his figure looking particularly lonely in the empty hallway.
In the underground parking garage, a black Bentley had been waiting for quite some time.
Kyle, his driver and bodyguard, immediately got out to open the rear door upon seeing Silas emerge.
“Boss,” Kyle greeted respectfully.
Silas nodded and got into the car.
The car drove smoothly out of the parking garage.
Silas leaned back in his seat, resting his eyes, but his hand remained over his shirt pocket.
After a while, he couldn’t resist taking out the business card to look at it again.
The solid black card was thick and weighty, printed with only a name and a phone number.
There were no titles, no company names—it was minimalistic to the point of arrogance.
It was his private number, one he hadn’t changed in years.
When Sprout said she still had this number saved, the corners of Silas’s lips unconsciously curved up into a smile.
He recalled how she looked on the balcony earlier, giving a small nod to agree to let him be her honorary brother.
She had clearly been flustered and had obviously wanted to refuse, but she’d ultimately relented.
His Sprout was still as soft-hearted as ever.
Catching a glimpse in the rearview mirror of Silas actually smiling, Kyle was so shocked he nearly stepped on the wrong pedal.
He wondered if he had seen it wrong.
The smile on his boss’s face was genuine and full of warmth, completely unlike the suffocating, icy aura he’d exuded yesterday.
Kyle quickly withdrew his gaze and focused on driving, though a storm of shock raged in his heart.
He wondered what on earth had happened tonight, and whether the boss had encountered some kind of good fortune.
Meanwhile, a taxi pulled up to the entrance of Serene Vista Gardens, where Zoe lived.
“Zoe, are you sure you’re okay?” Daisy asked worriedly before they got out.
“Did that man earlier…
really not do anything to you?”
Zoe nodded exhaustedly.
“Yeah.
Thanks for accompanying me today, Daisy.
Get some rest when you get back.”
Just as she finished speaking, Daisy’s phone let out a crisp DING.
Daisy picked up her phone, and with just one glance, she instantly let out a cheer of joy.