Chapter 23 Chapter 23
Immediately, Oliver looked at him and said, “Take your seat. That is not why we are here.”
The words were calm, simple, and direct.
But to Vincent, they landed like an insult, his jaw tightened instantly.
He could not believe it.
Oliver had not questioned the staff.
He had not asked what happened, he had not even pretended to care.
At the very least, Vincent had expected him to say something to ask for an explanation, to acknowledge the issue, to show even a small sign that Vincent’s complaint mattered.
But no.
Instead, Oliver had brushed it aside as though it were nothing.
As though Vincent himself were making noise over something beneath notice.
The humiliation stung.
For a brief second, Vincent felt a dangerous wave of anger rise inside him. But he quickly forced it down. However upset he was, he knew this was not the time to challenge Oliver. Not yet.
Not when a one-hundred-billion-dollar contract was supposedly within reach, so he masked his anger.
He swallowed it, for now.
He would endure the cold treatment, he would sit through the irritation, he would let all of this pass, and later, after the contract was signed, he would deal with whatever needed to be dealt with.
That thought was the only thing that helped him settle back into his seat.
Then, after a short pause, he looked around the room again and said, “Well, I’m not seeing any cameras here.”
His tone carried a note of confusion, but also complaint.
“There’s nobody here to document what is supposed to be a historic event,” he continued. “So is something wrong, or are we signing the contract here first and then moving to another office where the cameras are waiting?”
He looked from one face to another.
Because the more he thought about it, the less it made sense to him.
The biggest contract Global Investments had ever offered.
The first of its kind, a deal worth one hundred billion dollars.
And yet the room looked like a quiet internal meeting no one cared about.
It offended his sense of importance.
“If nobody told me in advance that there would be no proper media setup, I’m still finding it very hard to believe that a company as big as Global Investments cannot organize a proper contract announcement for something like this.”
He shook his head with visible dissatisfaction.
“It is honestly very disheartening. I would have literally brought my own team here to do a proper contract announcement.”
Oliver’s jaw tightened.
Outwardly, he still wore a smile small, controlled, almost courteous but beneath that expression, his anger had already begun to rise.
He was irritated, deeply irritated.
Every arrogant word coming from Vincent’s mouth only confirmed what he had long known about him: entitlement, pride, and a foolish belief in his own untouchable brilliance.
But even with the annoyance building inside him, Oliver also felt something else.
Relief. A cold, satisfying kind of relief.
Because he knew this performance was almost over.
Very soon, Vincent’s arrogance would come crashing down.
This was how Vincent had behaved for a long time boastful, dismissive, swollen with pride ever since Megan had quietly been the one opening doors for him behind the scenes. She had been the one influencing deals, securing connections, and making sure his name kept rising in the business world.
And yet Vincent had walked around believing every success came purely from his own intelligence.
He truly thought he had earned it all by himself.
That was the most laughable part.
He had no idea that the woman he looked down on, the same woman he discarded, had been the very force pushing opportunities into his hands.
Megan had been the one pulling strings in silence.
And this fool this shameless, arrogant fool had still found the audacity to divorce her, convinced that he no longer needed her.
What a joke, what a complete fool.
Oliver took a slow breath, steadying himself.
Thank goodness it was all ending now, the lies, the arrogance.
The false image Vincent had built around himself.
Everything was about to crack.
And when it did, Oliver wanted to be there to watch the exact moment Vincent’s expression changed to see the pride leave his face, to see the shock, the confusion, the humiliation, especially when he discovered that from the very beginning, it had all been Megan.
At that moment, Oliver looked at him and said, “Well, I’m sorry to say, I don’t think there will be any need for any contract announcement.”
At that moment, Vincent frowned deeply, clearly thrown off by what he had just heard.
“Sorry what do you mean there will be no need for any of that?” he asked, the confusion in his voice rising fast. “I don’t understand. Am I missing something here?”
He glanced from Oliver to the others in the room, then quickly looked at his wristwatch as though time itself might explain the problem.
“Is today not the day I’m supposed to sign the one-hundred-billion-dollar contract?” he demanded. “Is this not the D-day?”
Immediately his face darkened even more.
“Then why are you saying there will be no need for any of that? What the hell is going on? Or have you forgotten?”
But almost immediately, he gave a short, dismissive smile, as if trying to rescue the moment by convincing himself Oliver had simply overlooked some detail.
“I knew it,” Vincent said with a small laugh. “I knew it. You must have forgotten.”
He leaned back slightly, regaining some of his swagger.
“Well, that kind of thing can happen when a lot is being put in place,” he said, sounding almost indulgent. “But if you step outside, you’ll see the media, the cameramen, everybody waiting already.”
He gestured toward the door.
“So nothing is spoiled. Nothing is wrong. We just need to get some of the proper people in here, and they can cover everything.”
Then, with the easy authority of someone who still believed he was in control, he pointed toward the lady and ordered, “Go and get some of them in here immediately.”
The room stayed still.
Then Oliver spoke again, his tone calm enough to be frightening.
“Well, like I said before, there will be no need for that,” he said.
He paused just long enough for the words to sink in.
Then he looked straight at Vincent and added, “Unless, of course, you want to tell the world live and directly that Global Investments has pulled out the contract offer. It has been terminated. Do you want to inform the world about that quickly?”