Chapter 4

I thought that with my degree from a top university, finding a job would not be hard.

But I underestimated Vivian’s methods.

In one week, I sent out over a hundred resumes.

Either they disappeared without a reply, or after I passed the interview, I would get a call the next day saying I was not a good fit.

Then I went to a fairly decent internet company.

HR handed my resume directly back to me.

“Mr. Reed, if you offended someone you shouldn’t have, then don’t try to make it in New York. Go back to your hometown.”

I clenched the resume, my knuckles turning white.

Vivian Grant.

She was trying to force me into a dead end and make me go back to beg her.

I stood under the blazing sun, looking at the Grant Group building in the distance.

It towered into the clouds, arrogant and untouchable.

“Vivian Grant, don’t even dream of it,” I said through gritted teeth, one word at a time.

If I could not get into a big company, then I would go to a small one.

I would go somewhere that did not require connections, did not care about education, and only looked at performance.

In the end, I joined a newly established real estate agency.

The base salary was fifteen hundred, and the commission depended entirely on my own hustle.

The office had no AC, the electric scooter was old, and every day I handed out flyers on the street under heat close to forty degrees Celsius.

“Hi, are you looking to buy a house? There’s a new development in the South District, right by good schools!”

I stopped a passing middle-aged woman and handed her a thick flyer.

The woman waved me away in disgust, as if shooing a fly.

“Go away, go away. It’s too hot!”

The flyers scattered all over the ground.

I crouched down and picked them up one by one.

Sweat flowed into my eyes, stinging sharply.

My white shirt was already soaked through with sweat and stuck tightly to my back.

But I had no time to complain.

After half a month, I was tanned and had lost ten pounds.

But I had also closed three small deals and earned over ten thousand in commission.

On payday, I bought a roast chicken and brought it to the hospital to eat with Mia.

Mia ate until her mouth was greasy, smiling happily.

Looking at her, I felt everything was worth it.

Just when I thought life was finally getting back on track.

Trouble came to my door.

That afternoon, the manager suddenly called me into his office.

“Liam, there’s a big client tonight who specifically wants to see that villa at Nanshan Manor. Come with me.”

The manager rubbed his hands together, his face full of excitement.

“Nanshan Manor? That’s a mansion worth over a hundred million!”

“Exactly! If this deal closes, the commission alone will be over a million! You’re lucky, kid!”

A faint unease rose in my heart.

How could such a huge deal fall into the lap of a newcomer like me?

But a million in commission was too tempting.

With that money, Mia’s surgery and follow-up recovery fees would all be covered.

I pushed down my doubts and followed the manager to Nanshan Manor.

The moment I pushed open the door to the luxury private room.

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze.

On the leather sofa.

Vivian sat with her legs crossed, holding a glass of red wine and looking at me with a half-smile.

Ethan sat beside her in a custom suit, his face full of superiority.

There were also several rich heirs from their circle in the room, all staring at me like they were waiting for a good show.

“Ms. Grant, I brought him.” The manager nodded and bowed as he hurried over.

I turned to leave.

“Stop.” Vivian spoke coldly.

Two bodyguards immediately blocked the door.

I turned back and looked at her coldly.

“Ms. Grant, if you want to buy a house, then look at the house. If not, I still need to get off work.”

Ethan burst out laughing.

“Vivian, this is the man you said had such a backbone? How did he end up like this?”

He looked me up and down, taking in my cheap work clothes and sun-roughened skin, his eyes full of contempt.

“I heard you’re selling houses? Fine.” Ethan took a stack of cash from his bag and threw it onto the table.

“Drink these three bottles of liquor on the table, and I’ll sign the contract for this hundred-million-dollar villa with you.”

On the table sat three bottles of strong liquor.

The manager kept desperately winking at me from the side.

“Liam, drink it! Ms. Grant and Mr. Sullivan are giving you respect!”

I looked at the three bottles of liquor.

I was allergic to alcohol, and if I drank that much, I could die.

Vivian looked at me, her gaze carrying the charity of someone high above me.

“Liam, as long as you drink it, this deal will be yours. Not only that, I’ll pay for all of your sister’s follow-up treatment overseas.”

She was certain I would compromise.

Just like every time over the past three years when she had used Mia to threaten me.

I walked to the table.

Ethan’s smile grew even more smug.

“A loser really is a loser. For money, he doesn’t even care about his life.”

I picked up a bottle of liquor.

I twisted off the cap.

Then.

I flipped my wrist.

Splash!

The entire bottle of liquor landed precisely on Ethan’s custom suit worth hundreds of thousands.