Chapter 149

Chapter 149

After saying that, the bodyguard walked up to William, gave him and Rowan another once-over, then turned and headed inside, saying coldly, "Follow us."

Rowan stayed close behind William as they walked through the gate. She quickly leaned toward his ear and whispered, "Mr. Brown, what did you mean by that? Are you planning to go in there and tell Patrick the truth about what happened to the Garcia family?"

William smiled and said straight out, "Just follow me in. Everything will be fine."

The truth was, William already had a plan in mind when he decided to help Rowan.

This meeting with Patrick was a chance to find out who else was behind the Garcia family. When he wiped out the Garcia family last time, they never gave up the name of whoever was pulling the strings. But he knew that whoever had chased him all the way to Novaria back then was far more powerful than the Garcia family — even more powerful than the Tilden family. Now that someone from the Tilden family had come to him, he didn't need to make a special trip to Georgia after all.

As for the deal between Rowan and the Tilden family, William couldn't care less. The Tilden family was small-time. Even if the deal fell through, he could easily find another family to back the Blairs.

Rowan had spent enough time around William to get a sense of how he operated. Seeing that mysterious look on his face, she said uneasily, "Mr. Brown, this deal with the Tilden family directly affects my position and my father's position in the Blair Group. Please don't..."

William cut her off and turned to face her. "Ms. Blair, don't you trust me? I told you — even if the deal with the Tilden family doesn't work out, I'll find a family more powerful than the Tildens to protect the Blairs."

Rowan looked at his confident expression and thought back to everything she had seen and heard. She gritted her teeth and decided to trust him this once.

She gave a small nod, and William turned back around and followed the two bodyguards forward.

They made their way to the front door of the villa.

As they stepped inside, the bodyguards immediately blocked their path.

When it was clear the guards were about to pat them down, a voice rang out from inside the room. Patrick appeared in pajamas and slippers, holding a glass of red wine, flanked by two scantily dressed women. He laughed and said, "Let them in. There's only two of them — why bother searching them?"

It was obvious Patrick didn't take William or Rowan seriously at all.

The bodyguards stepped aside.

William walked into the living room with Rowan.

The moment she stepped through the door and saw what was inside, Rowan felt her first real pang of regret.

The large living room was filled with no fewer than fifteen women. These young women, all fair-skinned and attractive, were barely dressed. Some had already passed out drunk — sprawled on the carpet or slumped on the sofas, fast asleep.

On top of that, the tables were covered with sex toys that were hard to look at.

One glance was enough to make Rowan flush red all the way down to her neck.

William took it all in without so much as a change in expression.

Patrick casually pushed the two women beside him away and walked over to Rowan. He looked her up and down with a smirk and murmured, "Not bad, not bad. She really does have that air about her — you can tell she's from a proper family."

Rowan held back her discomfort and said with a red face, looking down, "Hello, Mr. Tilden."

Patrick smiled and waved his hand.

At that moment, more than a dozen well-built men walked out from a side room. They were all dressed in matching uniforms and quickly lined up in a row.

Patrick said plainly, "Take the ladies upstairs to rest."

On his order, the men moved quickly, helping the drunk and unconscious women to their feet and guiding them up toward the bedrooms.

Patrick then walked back to the sofa, sat down, crossed his legs, and swirled his wine glass with a half-smile. "So — I heard him say you know the truth about what happened to the Garcia family? Let's hear it. What's the story?"

Feeling Patrick's eyes land on him, William said calmly, "Mr. Tilden, why don't you talk business with Ms. Blair first."

Rowan clenched her fists, gathered her courage, and stepped forward. "Mr. Tilden, the reason I came to see you today is to discuss a potential partnership."

Patrick crooked his finger at Rowan.

Rowan had no choice but to step closer.

When she was less than three feet away, Patrick spoke without hesitation. "Rowan, right? The Blair family — sure, you have a bit of a name in Novaria. In Novaria, I mean, not in Georgia. In front of the Tilden family, the Blairs are nothing. Given that, if you're coming to me looking for a deal, shouldn't you be willing to offer something in return?"

Rowan's mind kept flashing back to the image of Cade crying in the conference room that morning.

Looking at this now, she realized she had seriously underestimated what shameless could look like.

Patrick watched Rowan standing there in a daze and continued, "Stop spacing out. Get down on your knees. Make me happy today, and maybe I'll give the Blair family a shot."

Rowan's face turned even redder.

But this time, it wasn't from embarrassment. It was from anger.

Patrick acted like nothing was wrong and let out a loud, easy laugh. "What's the matter? Don't tell me you're shy? What's there to be shy about? You'll feel awkward this time, but next time you won't think twice about it. We're all adults here — loosen up."

Rowan had lived in Novaria for years. She had never come across anyone this shameless.

Even with her easygoing nature, she was now completely furious.

"Mr. Tilden, please have some respect. I came here today to discuss a business partnership. If you don't think the Blair family is worth your time and you have no interest in working with us, just say so, and I'll leave right now. Please don't humiliate me like this."

Patrick burst out laughing. "That's rich. That is really something. Rowan, oh Rowan — do you have any idea how full of yourself you sound right now? Humiliate you? Good God, listen to what I'm hearing. Do you know how many people in Novaria would dream of being in your position right now? I'm handing you an opportunity, and instead of grabbing it, you're accusing me of humiliating you? My dear Ms. Blair, do you want to know what it actually looks like when I humiliate someone?"

Patrick wasn't worried in the slightest.

After all, this was his turf.

And Rowan had only brought one person with her. The man standing there — forget about going up against the men Patrick had brought along — he'd probably lose to the women who had just been carried upstairs.