Chapter 140

Chapter 140

To stop Conrad and David from clashing again right there, Mia stepped forward to play peacemaker. She smiled at Conrad and said, "Conrad, today's on me. Whatever's going on between you and Mr. Jones, could you maybe..."

Before Mia could finish, Conrad shot her a cold look and snapped, "Get lost. Who do you think you are? This is between me and Mr. Jones. Nobody asked for your opinion."

That set Michael off.

Sure, he and Mia couldn't be together anymore, but they'd known each other for a long time, and he still had feelings for her. Now here was some guy yelling at a woman he used to love — if he just stood there and did nothing, he might as well hand in his man card.

With that thought, Michael stepped forward before David could say a word, pointed at Conrad, and said, "Hey, buddy, do you have to be so aggressive? Talk like that and someone's going to knock your teeth in."

David wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. The elevator was too cramped, and he was worried he might actually throw up in there and make more work for the cleaning staff.

"Alright, everyone calm down. I've already booked a private room up ahead. Let's go sort this out in there." David slipped out of the elevator.

Conrad frowned, eyeing Michael's all-pink outfit. "And who the hell is this?"

Mia was also worried things would blow up right there with so many people around. Seeing that David had already started walking, she turned to Michael and said, "Michael, just ease up for now. Let's go to the private room with Mr. Jones."

The group made their way to the private room.

The moment the door clicked shut, Conrad marched straight over, planted one foot up on the table, leaned on his knee, and smirked at David. "Well, aren't you something? Last time you took down several of my best guys and nearly beat me to death..."

Before Conrad could finish, David cut him off. "You were actually pretty lucky last time. I was going to kill you, but I went soft for a second — and that's the only reason you're still breathing."

Mia knew David was powerful, but she also knew exactly how much weight the Warren family carried in Seabrook. The three great earls of Seabrook — Joshua, Laurel, and Pax. Any one of them was so far out of reach that a small family like hers couldn't even dream of getting close.

Seeing a fight about to break out, Mia stepped in again, looking pained. "Conrad, they say you never know someone until you've fought them. Whatever's between you and Mr. Jones, I..."

Just like at the elevator, Conrad paid Mia absolutely no attention.

"Mia, can you just shut up? If you stay quiet, maybe after I deal with this bastard I'll pretend I didn't even see you here. But if you keep annoying everyone, I swear I'll..."

Then something nobody saw coming happened.

Michael, who had been standing right next to Mia, heard every word Conrad said — and without missing a beat, stepped forward and cracked him hard across the face.

The slap landed clean. Conrad's already-bruised face twisted on impact, and the force sent him flying. He hit the floor and lay there, hand pressed to his cheek, staring up at Michael in disbelief.

"You hermaphrodite — you actually hit me? Do you have any idea who I am?"

What Conrad didn't know was that the one word Michael hated more than anything in the world was exactly that — hermaphrodite. That word was a hard line for Michael. Cross it, and there would be consequences.

Michael launched himself at Conrad, and David was so stunned he actually stood up. From the moment he'd first laid eyes on Michael, David had figured the guy probably couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. But that slap just now? Turns out you really can't judge a book by its cover.

"Ms. Wilson," David said, "is Mr. Carr some kind of fighter?"

Mia stood frozen for a moment, then gave a small nod and lowered her voice. "He is. He's been training for fifteen years."

By now Michael had tackled Conrad to the ground and was working him over. "You piece of trash — call me broke, call me ugly, fine. But how dare you go after my dignity like that? Open your eyes and look at me. I am a wo— God, you've got me so flustered. I am a man."

Conrad was completely dazed. As Michael's slaps kept raining down on him, he panicked and yelled at the two hired fighters he'd brought along. "What are you two just standing there for?! Get over here! Pull this lunatic off me, now!"

Only then did the two men snap out of it. Without stopping to think, they rushed in.

Mia came back to her senses too and shouted at David, "Hey, don't just stand there watching — go break it up!"

David saw that Michael had the upper hand and smiled calmly. "Relax. You really think Michael's going to lose? Trust me, I can tell — he knows what he's doing."

And sure enough, just as David said, the moment Conrad's two prized fighters moved in behind Michael, before they could even make a move, Michael sprang to his feet and charged at them like a bull, driving them back step by step until they were pinned against the window. He didn't stop there — his fists came down on them like a storm.

Conrad scrambled up off the floor, wiping blood from his nose, and screamed in a fury, "You're all dead! You hear me?! Every single one of you is going to pay for this!"