Chapter 97 Don’t Mess
With William
“Nice to see you again, Renee,” the man said as he approached Renee, his smile warm and inviting.
“Derek.” Renee acknowledged him with a nod.
Derek’s face lit up with a bigger smile, a relieved sigh slipping out effortlessly. “It makes me really happy that you remembered my name.”
Nearby, William tensed, his gaze sharp and wary as he observed Derek, whose easy demeanor and focused attention on Renee seemed to ruffle him, as if a rival had encroached upon his territory.
“If you don’t mind me asking… who are you?” Orlando asked carefully, his voice tinged with hesitation.
Regret was already seeping into his day; he cursed his decision to venture out, now caught in a potentially perilous encounter with figures best left unchallenged.
A silent alarm went off within him–Derek was a man of significance, not someone to overlook.
With a congenial smile still playing on his lips, Derek responded to Orlando’s query, “The name’s Garza.”
Orlando’s mind sifted through familiar names, but none from Tofral’s high society carried that surname. Still, the name Garza did ring a bell–it belonged to a noble family from Stotta.
His eyes widened in realization. If Derek was indeed linked to the Garza family of Stotta, then he, Orlando, a mere Chief Inspector of the Tofral Police Department, was now standing in the presence of someone vastly his superior.
Orlando stumbled over his words, his voice faltering. “You…”
“I’ve caught bits and pieces of your conversations,” Derek interjected, his brow furrowing slightly as he struggled to remember something crucial. “Remind me, what
was your name again?”
His forced look of recollection settled awkwardly between them.
With a steady tone, Orlando answered, “Perez. Orlando Perez.”
“Ah, Mr. Perez.” Derek nodded, his tone polite but the underlying implication clear. “From what I’ve pieced together, it seems you’re the one in the wrong here. This lady isn’t inclined to forgive you, and you’re here, trying your best to make amends. Perhaps a bow would demonstrate true sincerity on your part.”
The gentle cadence of Derek’s voice belied the corner he was painting Orlando into.
Orlando’s hand flew to his forehead, mopping at the sweat that had begun to bead there; Derek’s earnestness had caught him off guard.
Trying to salvage his dignity, Orlando reached out, his voice earnest. “Mr. Garza, nobody’s perfect–we all slip up sometimes. Why don’t we leave this mess behind and move forward as friends?”
Ryland scoffed, his disdain palpable, “Be friends with you? Not a chance! Who’d want to be friends with someone like you?”
He wasn’t intimidated by Orlando in the slightest; in fact, his admiration for Derek only deepened. Orlando and his family were nothing but bullies. Now he wanted to just lightly brush things off?
If a simple apology made things right, laws would be pointless.
The appointment of Orlando as the Chief Inspector of the Tofral Police Department had long been contentious, and the consensus was growing: Orlando’s resignation couldn’t come soon enough.
Compromised by his reluctance to cross the influential Garza and Mitchell families, yet accustomed to sycophantic adoration, the notion of bowing in apology was intolerable to him.
In a charged exchange, Orlando questioned with a hint of defiance, “May I ask, Mr. Garza, what exactly is your connection to Ms. Carter?”
Derek’s response was dismissive. “I don’t feel obliged to satisfy your curiosity.”
Caught off guard, Orlando faltered, struggling to regain his composure.
Yet, Derek wasn’t done. His lips curled into a sly grin, his eyes playfully scanning Renee
as he teased, “Wait. Perhaps, I might just enlighten you. I am her…”
The atmosphere thickened with tension as Derek’s gaze provocatively settled on Renee.
In response, William, who had been quietly observing from her side, suddenly stepped in, positioning himself protectively between Derek and Renee.
Unperturbed, Derek arched an eyebrow and flashed a roguish smile at William, his voice smooth yet loaded with intention. “I’m trying to win Ms. Carter’s heart.”
Ryland, unable to contain his amusement, let out an excited whistle. However, his grin faded fast under the weight of William’s cold, unyielding gaze.
He knew all too well the consequences of antagonizing William.
After years of rivalry and rebukes, his wariness of William was almost instinctual, rooted deeply in a childhood fraught with friction.
