Chapter 16 Slaps Echoing

• All eyes were on Olivia, Joe, and Thomas. No one noticed the change in Sean's expression as he stood there on the stage.
• His eyes had widened almost comically when he spotted Thomas, and immediately after, the young man who could bring all of Irieson to his knees if he wanted to broke out into a foolish grin.
• "What makes you think you can butt in now, Olivia Pearson?" Joe retorted icily.
• He didn't have a single ounce of respect for Olivia, so why would he bother to show her any courtesy?
• "Why, you…" Olivia was infuriated.
• But at the same time, she was also regretting her decision to bring Thomas in on a whim. If she hadn't, then none of this would've happened.
• In her defense, she didn't know that Thomas and Joe were enemies! He broke Harvey's legs… so it won't be easy to settle things today.
• However, regardless of everything, Thomas was still her savior, and she would protect him no matter what.
• "My sister is merely working as a server at a bar. She's not a bar girl. You need to apologize for what you said just now!"
• Thomas' voice was firm and authoritative.
• "Apologize? Hahaha!" Joe guffawed. "Am I hearing things? A little thug like you expects me to apologize? Do you know who I am? Did you get dropped on the head as a baby?"
• Several among the onlookers began to snicker as well.
• Their thoughts were largely the same. How can a bar girl's brother like you compare to Joe Patton? How can you make such a ludicrous demand? What an arrogant fool!
• "I don't care who you are. You humiliated my sister, so you need to apologize, or else, I'll make you pay!"
• Olivia was startled. She immediately nudged Thomas as she thought to herself, I can't believe how hot-headed Thomas is. He's even threatening Joe Patton, of all people! Everyone in Irieson knows that Joe is a well-known bully. Things will get even more out of hand if Thomas angers him!
• "Hah!" Joe snorted. "What an arrogant and boastful young man you are! How was I wrong? Your sister is a b*tch who's selling herself out at the bar, isn't she? The audacity you have to threaten me!"
• "The audacity!" A furious voice rang out.
• The crowd turned to see who the voice belonged to. It was Sean, who was coming over with a dark expression on his face.
• Joe immediately put on an unctuous smile as he said to Sean most respectfully, "You're right, Mr. Morton. He is such an arrogant young man, and he doesn't have the right to join our auction. Please chase him out of Unicus Hall, Mr. Morton!"
• Sean eyed Joe coldly. "Joe Patton! How dare you?!"
• "Yeah… Huh?"
• Joe was stupefied. What did Sean just say? Did he just snap at me? That doesn't seem right. He should be furious at Thomas instead! Was it just a slip of the tongue?
• "Thomas! I never thought I'd see you here! Aren't you supposed to be serving in the army right now?" Sean gave Thomas a light punch in the chest.
• "Oh, my goodness! Can it be? Mr. Morton is acquainted with that young man?"
• "That's impossible! One's the pride and joy of the Morton Family, and the other's just an average dude from a poor family. How can they possibly know each other?"
• "Hang on. That young man can't be an average guy. Mr. Morton spoke to him so respectfully just now!"
• "I feel like my whole perspective on life has changed!"
• Sean's friendly and respectful attitude toward Thomas left everyone else dumbstruck. How could such an ordinary-looking man turn out to be someone entirely opposite of that?
• Even Olivia was at a loss. What's going on? How did Thomas get acquainted with Sean Morton? It doesn't seem like they're merely ordinary acquaintances either!
• "What… What's…"
• Joe and Harvey were now certain that Sean hadn't misspoken earlier. If he had, it wouldn't explain why he was being so friendly with Thomas now.
• Joe was beginning to realize the hole he dug for himself by demanding that Sean chase out the person he was showing so much respect to right in his own territory!
• While the Pattons did have some influence in Irieson, they were far from being the mightiest in town. In reality, they were nothing compared to the Mortons!
• "I left the army."
• "What the heck?! That's not nice of you, Thomas. I thought we agreed that you'd get in touch with Will and me once you left the army and came back to Irieson?"
• Thomas chuckled. "We can catch up later. I need to deal with this first."
• "Let me handle it, Thomas. Go ahead and take a seat!"
• Then, Sean turned to Joe and gave him a menacing glare. How dare he try to mess with Thomas?! Does he have a death wish?
• Sean had a nasty temper. All at once, he lifted his foot and kicked Joe right in the gut.
• "Mr. Morton, don't the rules of Unicus Hall state that no fights are allowed in here?"
• "Are you dumb? I'm the owner of this place so whatever I say goes! Hurry up and apologize to Thomas, or else, I'll make sure you can't step foot out of here alive!"
• "I'm sorry, Mr. Clifford! I'm so sorry! I was blind for not knowing who you are! Please forgive me!" Joe was regretting his actions with every fiber of his being. How did it come to this?
• Thomas lit up one of his cigarettes and inhaled deeply. "A word of apology won't cut it. You humiliated the most important person to me! Since you don't know how to watch your tongue, I'll have to help you by teaching you a lesson today. Let's see now… Alright. Let's settle on a thousand slaps. That should be enough!"
• "No! No! Please have mercy on me, Mr. Clifford. I know I made a grave mistake. Mr. Morton, please help me… Miss Pearson, please put in a good word for me…"
• Smack! Smack!
• Thomas didn't wait for Joe to finish speaking. He grabbed Joe by the collar and began to slap Joe across the face.
• The sounds echoed all across the hall.
• Everyone present held their breath out of fear.
• They were shocked by how ruthless Thomas was!
• Who on earth was Thomas? Why was Sean treating him with such respect? This man wasn't showing any mercy to Joe either. When did such a formidable man show up in Irieson?
• Thump!
• Joe couldn't take it anymore. It was unclear how many times he had been slapped in the face by Thomas, but by now, his face was all swollen up like a balloon!
• "Tsk! What a weakling!"
• Thomas glanced at Joe, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and snorted derisively.
• Gasp!
• The crowd all gasped in response. After all, Joe did rank among the top of Irieson's society. How could it be that he would end up fainting from being slapped by someone?
• Sean signaled over a few of Unicus Hall's security guards. "Get these two losers out of here, both the father and the son!"
• Once that was settled, the auction proceeded as normal.
• Naturally, the auction felt a lot less exciting than the events that had taken place just moments earlier.
• Once the auction was over, Sean grabbed Thomas to stop him. "Don't go, Thomas. I'll call Will right now. Since you've left the army, we must celebrate with a drink. A lot of drinks! None of us are leaving without getting drunk!"
• Thomas shook his head. "I can't. I'm Miss Pearson's personal driver and I can't drive while intoxicated. Why don't we wait until I get off work to grab a drink instead?"
• Sean cast a careful glance at Olivia before grinning devilishly.