Rebate System: From Poor Student To Billionaire Playboy

Chapter 14. Clara Langston

The morning drive was calm. Harry focused on the road, but it was impossible to ignore the subtle scent of Clara’s perfume drifting through the car. It was soft, expensive, and somehow distracting.

Mrs. Langston, like he always called her, sat quietly beside him, her gaze fixed out the window as she hummed along to the song playing on the radio. She didn’t seem eager to start a conversation, and Harry didn’t mind. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, it was new. For the first time, he was sharing space with her without her husband around, and it gave him a strange sense of awareness.

When she first stepped into his car, he’d seen the flicker of surprise in her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to own a vehicle like this. But after a quick, polite comment, she’d let it go. Clearly, her husband had already mentioned Harry’s sudden change in fortune, but she wasn’t the type to pry.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Tonia’s school. Harry parked, got out, and walked the little girl up to the entrance, waiting until she disappeared safely inside before heading back to the car. When he returned, Mrs. Langston was staring at him through the windshield.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, feeling her gaze linger longer than usual.

“Nothing,” she said, finally smiling. “I just didn’t realize you were so good with kids.”

Harry chuckled. “Haven’t you heard? Never judge a book by its rugged cover.”

“Not when the book’s only a chapter long,” she shot back with a grin.

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Did you just call me short and predictable? That’s cold.”

She laughed, a light, genuine laugh that filled the car. “I didn’t mean it like that! You’ve always seemed so serious. I didn’t know you had a soft side.”

“You do know you’re making this worse, right?” he said, pretending to sound wounded.

Her giggle turned into full-blown laughter, and just like that, the tension between them dissolved.

Once things felt easy again, Harry glanced at her. “So…do you want to tell me where we’re going? Or am I just driving aimlessly?”

“Oh!” she said, realizing she hadn’t told him yet. “It’s the Q2 centre.”

Harry raised his brows. “The Q2 Center? As in the Q2 Center, the one where both student athletes, pro-athletes and celebs train?”

“That’s the one,” she said proudly. “I’m an instructor there. It’s how we manage to stay afloat when certain tenants conveniently forget to pay rent on time.”

Harry laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, okay, I deserved that.”

The drive to the Q2 Center didn’t take long. The building came into view, a modern glass structure with the name printed boldly across the front. It looked like something straight out of a movie.

Harry kept the conversation polite, steering clear of anything that could be interpreted the wrong way. When they finally stopped, Mrs. Langston unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out. Harry couldn’t help it, his eyes betrayed him for a second, drawn to her figure as she adjusted her gym bag over her shoulder.

Unfortunately, she turned at that exact moment and caught him.

Their eyes met. For a heartbeat, neither said a word. Then she smirked.

“What? Aren’t you going to walk me, too?” she asked casually.

Harry froze. Was that… flirting? Or was she just teasing him? He honestly couldn’t tell. The woman was impossible to read.

“You’re a big girl,” he said finally, keeping his tone light. “I think you’ll be fine. Just make sure to tell your husband I got you here safely before he decides to strangle me.”

That earned him a small, knowing smile. “Sure thing, Mr. Farrow.”

He waved as she turned away, and the scent of her perfume lingered in the air long after she’d gone. For a brief second, Harry found himself wondering what she was really thinking. But he shook the thought off quickly, he had work to do. The agency needed his attention now.

*******

Across town, Susan was already at the office, long before anyone else. She always came in early, not because she had to, but because she believed in leading by example. If the boss could show up first and get things moving, no one else would dare to slack off.

Since taking over the agency, she’d made some drastic changes. A few employees had been let go, not out of spite, but because she realized most of their work was unnecessary. The place had been running inefficiently for years.

Now, every move mattered.

Susan was determined to prove that she was capable of managing Harry’s business properly. He had trusted her with full control, and she wasn’t about to let him regret it.

She needed results, and fast.

To her surprise, they were already showing. The agency’s ranking had skyrocketed overnight, drawing attention from models, but known and unknown. For once, they weren’t chasing people to sign contracts. People were coming to them.

It wasn’t a massive victory yet, but it was enough to give her confidence that she was on the right track.

A cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Good morning~!”

Rita, her assistant, bounced into the room, carrying her usual energy. There was a time when Rita had thought she’d be fired during the layoffs, but Susan had kept her around. She was young, sharp, and loyal, the kind of person Susan wanted in her corner.

“Morning, Rita,” Susan called out from her office.

Rita peeked in to see Susan already glued to her computer, typing away.

“Get in here,” Susan said sharply, motioning for her to come closer.

Rita hurried over. “Everything okay, ma’am?”

Instead of answering, Susan tilted the monitor toward her.

“What’s going on?” Rita asked, leaning in, then froze.

“What the hell…?”

The screen showed their agency’s inbox flooded with messages, hundreds of applications from aspiring talents. It was the kind of volume they’d never seen before.

“This can’t be real,” Rita said, her voice rising. “These all came in overnight?”

Susan nodded, her lips curving into a smile that was part shock, part pride.

“I think the rankings update did it,” she said. “The new visibility must’ve put us on everyone’s radar.”

Rita blinked. “Okay, I am happy you didn't let everyone go. We’d be drowning right now if you did.”

Susan laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, I am beginning to regret it. But we’ll hire more if we need to. The important thing is, we’re back in the game.”

For the first time in a long while, the agency felt alive.

Outside the office window, the city pulsed with noise and movement, but inside, Susan felt still, grounded. Everything she’d been working toward was finally starting to click into place.

She couldn't wait to share the news with Harry next time he comes around.