"Patton and his wife are absolutely heartless. You practically begged them, and they still forced me to rip out the materials!"
Randall fumed, realizing his daughter's charm offensive had completely failed.
She used to have them wrapped around her finger, but now they wouldn't even budge.
"Dad, you were too sloppy. If you hadn't gotten caught, none of this would have happened."
He had sworn to Patton that only half the shipment was defective.
But in reality, nearly two-thirds of it was garbage.
He had gambled that his old friend wouldn't bother checking the entire inventory.
Now that Patton was holding his feet to the fire, Randall was panicking.
No one liked coughing up money they had already claimed.
"Go to their house tomorrow."
"Take your mother with you, and bring a gift!" Randall ordered, still desperately trying to salvage the relationship. "Didn't someone give us that Premium Saffron?"
"Box it up and give it to Mrs. Patton."
Rose stared at him in disbelief.
She wanted to scream that Mrs. Patton could buy her own luxury imports.
But she knew her cheapskate father refused to spend actual money on a decent gift.
"And grab two bottles of my homemade liquor for Patton. It's top-tier stuff."
The liquor was cheap rotgut he had brewed back in his hometown.
He'd slapped some fancy custom labels on the bottles to pass it off as an exclusive, vintage reserve.
He gifted it to everyone.
But Patton knew exactly what kind of cheap hustler her dad was.
"Dad, why don't we just give him two bottles of your Vintage Bourbon?"
Rose was utterly mortified at the thought of handing over the counterfeit booze.
Randall shot her a venomous glare. "What do you know!"
"Before Patton struck it rich, he was a nobody digging in the dirt just like the rest of us!"
"Wasting good liquor on him is a joke."
Rose scowled but kept her mouth shut.
She knew her father was delusional, but arguing with him was a waste of breath.
Back inside, the Pattons were so thoroughly disgusted by Randall's transparent manipulation that they had barely touched their plates.
They decided to leave and grab a late dinner elsewhere.
The second they stepped into the corridor, they slammed right into Dane and Claire.
Patton, who had the terrifying privilege of meeting the billionaire once before, froze in his tracks.
Mr. Green was eating at the exact same restaurant.
Had Vertex already uncovered the material fraud? Was the CEO here to handle the execution personally?
It's over! Patton thought, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Mrs. Patton looked at him in alarm. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"
She wondered if the food at The Summit View was tainted.
But they hadn't even eaten anything.
Patton forced a sickeningly pale smile.
"I'm fine."
His mind raced.
Should he confess everything to Dane right here, or pray to God the man hadn't noticed him...
A second later, that sliver of hope vanished.
Dane's predatory gaze locked onto him.
"Mr. Green," Patton choked out, making a split-second decision.
He couldn't let Vertex discover Randall's sabotage on their own.
If he confessed first, he might still have a shot at survival.
"Patton," Dane replied, his voice cool and utterly unreadable.
Patton's stomach plummeted to the floor.
The panic intensified!
The billionaire actually remembered
his
to this entire time
Or had Dane been
because of the botched materials?
Either way, Patton was absolutely terrified.
"Mr. Green, may I have a word with you in private?"
Forced to choose between going down with Randall or saving his own empire, he chose himself without
hesitation
FindNovel.net
Mrs. Patton glanced at her husband, instantly understanding his play, and she
completely supported it.
Randall had crossed the point of no return.
After years of riding their coattails to
a small fortune, his unchecked greed was going to destroy them a