The Hidden Billionaire

CHAPTER 10: CALLIGRAPHY

After Murphy exposed his intentions, Peter forced out an awkward laugh.

"Come on, we're both men here. Those kinds of thoughts are normal." Unfortunately for him, Murphy wasn't in the mood for excuses.

"Listen carefully." His voice turned cold.

"I don't care what you're thinking. "But if you mess up Mrs. Ava's contract, don't bother coming back to work tomorrow."

Peter's smile vanished. Before he could explain himself, the call ended. He stared at his phone.

For the first time that night, he felt uneasy.

Murphy wasn't someone who lost his temper easily. If he was this angry, then someone bigger had already gotten involved. And there was only one person Murphy feared that much.

David Torres.

The most powerful businessman in Lake City. Peter swallowed hard.

Just who exactly was Ava?

Without wasting another second, he hurried after her.

"Mrs. Ava! Wait!"

Ava stopped and turned around immediately. The moment she saw him rushing over, her guard went up.

"What do you want now?"

She took a step back.

"Keep bothering me and I'll call the police."

Peter nearly cried.

"Mrs. Ava, you've misunderstood." His earlier arrogance was completely gone.

"We're here to discuss business, aren't we?"

He forced out a smile.

"I just reviewed the contract again." "Everything looks perfect."

Ava frowned. A few minutes ago, this man had practically been chasing her out.

Now he was acting like a different person.

Still, she wasn't about to question good luck. She took out the contract.

"Fine, let's finish this."

Peter grabbed the documents immediately.

Without even looking through most of the pages, he signed his name. His hand was shaking the entire time. A few seconds later, he handed the contract back.

"Done."

Ava blinked.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Peter stood up so quickly he nearly knocked over his chair. Then he rushed toward the exit. It looked less like he had signed a contract and more like he was escaping a disaster. Ava stood there holding the papers. For several seconds, she simply stared at the signature. Then a smile slowly appeared on her face. The deal was done.

Her commission would soon hit her account.

For the first time in days, she could finally breathe easier. But as the excitement settled, confusion took its place. Something wasn't right. Peter's attitude had changed too suddenly. Someone had clearly pressured him.

But who?

A face appeared in her mind. Scott Black.

The last time they met, she had casually mentioned this project. Could he have remembered?

Could he have stepped in to help?

The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. Then another face appeared in her mind.

Thomas.

Her expression immediately cooled.

No.

Absolutely not.

There was no way Thomas had anything to do with this. All these years, she had been the one carrying the family.

The one paying bills.

The one working overtime.

The one worrying about money.

Thomas couldn't even solve his own problems. How could he possibly help with a deal worth hundreds of thousands?

Ava shook her head.

No matter how she looked at it, Scott made far more sense. When she got the chance, she would thank him properly. Little did she know that the person she was grateful to wasn't Scott at all. And the person who had quietly solved everything for her was the husband she called useless every day.

Meanwhile, Thomas had no idea what Ava was thinking. His phone suddenly rang.

David.

Thomas answered immediately.

"What now?"

David chuckled.

"Come meet a client with me."

"No."

"I already know that tone." David cut him off before he could continue.

"You promised to help me."

"And haven't I helped you a lot recently?"

Thomas sighed. The old man wasn't wrong.

"Fine."

"I'll go."

David instantly sounded excited.

"Good."

"I'll be there in five minutes." The call ended. Thomas shook his head and laughed. Sometimes David acted less like an executive and more like an excited child.

A few minutes later, a black Range Rover pulled up outside. Thomas got in.

Inside the car, Thomas stretched lazily.

"So who are we meeting?" David smiled while driving.

"A friend."

"What kind of friend?"

"The troublesome kind."

Thomas rolled his eyes. David continued,

"He's having some business issues and wants my advice."

"Besides that, he's pretty famous in the calligraphy world."

"Lots of people respect him." Thomas wasn't particularly interested. "As long as I don't have to give a speech." David laughed.

"No speeches."

"Good."

Thomas closed his eyes.

"Then wake me up when we get there." A few moments later, he was asleep.

Outside a large office building downtown, dozens of people had already gathered.

Luxury cars lined the street. Many passersby stopped to watch. Among the crowd stood a middle-aged man in an expensive suit.

Mr. Keira.

One of the city's most successful businessmen. Beside him stood his son, Andrew.

Andrew wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Dad."

"Who exactly are we waiting for?"

"We've been standing here forever." Mr. Keira shot him a warning look.

"Watch your mouth."

Andrew immediately shut up. Mr. Keira lowered his voice.

"This partnership is important."

"Very important."

"If you offend the wrong person today, even I won't be able to save you." Andrew swallowed.

Now he was curious. Who could make his father this cautious?

Back in the car, Thomas slowly opened his eyes. The car had stopped. Looking through the window, he frowned. A huge crowd stood outside the building. Luxury cars were parked everywhere. People were waiting as if some celebrity was about to arrive. Thomas looked at David.

"I thought you said this was a private meeting." David glanced ahead and smiled.

"It was."

Then he looked at the crowd again.

"Looks like our friend takes this partnership very seriously." Thomas followed his gaze.

A faint smile appeared on his lips. For some reason, he had a feeling this meeting was about to become very interesting.