Chapter 11
Laurel was pretty tipsy and shut her eyes right after finishing her sentence.
Roderick glanced at the woman dozing on his shoulder and, without saying a word, took a big step to carry her outside.
As he walked by the SVIP box, he heard the door bang shot. He quickly glanced at the door, which hadn’t quite closed, but he didn’t stop and just Arpt moving
Inside the box, Manfred robbed his chest, gasping in shock. “Talmost got caught by Roderick He totally freaked me out
Alf, lounging on the couch, playfully poked him with his glass. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know. Keep eavesdropping like that, and one day, you’ll
Austin clicked his tongue. “You honestly think Roderick didn’t tee you!” He pointed to the slightly open door. “That’s a clean slate for you.
Manfred choked, but he straightened up, not wanting to look weak in front of his buddies. “If he saw me, he saw me. He can’t do anything about it.”
Alf laughed. “Sure. Murder is against the law, after all. The most he’ll do is share a video of you acting drunk and wild online”
“Shut up” Manfred blurted, quickly covering All’s mouth. “Don’t ever bring that up again?”
“Manfred, ges off me” All shouted, annoyed. In Manfred’s sudden movement, Alf lost his balance and spilled the wine all over his pants.
“Oh, didn’t see that coming” Manfred said, standing up. Tll buy you a new pair.”
You definitely should. Austin chimed in with a grin.
You can shut it too. Manfred rolled his eyes..
After Alf reminded him. Manfred couldn’t shake the memory of how he’d ticked off Roderick earlier and ended up drunk, causing a scene in the
street
Getting drunk itself wasn’t scary. It was terrifying that Roderick filmed his whole meltdown and sent it to everyone.
The video showed him on top of his car, shouting, “I’m the boss of Oslonia City!
whenever people saw him, they chimed in with. “Here comes the boss of Oslonia City.”
Talk about social suicide! What a shame!
Austin eyed him with a sly grin as he noticed Manfred looking anxious, clearly worried about ticking off Roderick again. T’ve got a way to keep you. out of trouble with Rodenck. Wanna hear it?
Manfred perked up immediately. “What’s the plant”
Austin set his glass down and pointed toward the door. “Ms. Lambert”
“Mi. Lambert“” Alf, still drying his pants with a paper towel, chimed in. “What do you mean!”
“Come on, guys! You really need to pay better attention?” Austin sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t you see how differently Roderick treats Ms.
Manford and Alf exchanged puzzled glances. “What’s different?” Alf asked.
Austin Irated in, animated. “Haven’t you noticed Roderick is actually being patient with Ms. Lambert. Just now.” He made a playful kissing gesture with both hands. “Ms. Lambert flirted with him, and instead of pushing her away, he went in for the kiss.”
“When have you u ever seen Roderick take the lead like that?” he asked.
Manfred thought for a moment before shaking his head.
It was true. They often hung out at clubs, and there were always plenty of women interested in Roderick, but he had never been the one to make
the first move.
“Okay, but what does that have to do with Roderick screwing me over!” Manfred still wasn’t following.
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Austin grinned. “If you ask me. Roderick and Ms. Lambert have something going on. They might have been seeing each other for a while, or else Ms. Lambert wouldn’t have jun embarrassed George publicly.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “Honestly, Roderick seems to have a soft spot for her.
“Still, how is that any of my business?” Manfred shrugged.
“Austin, do you just use your head for height! You still don’t get it? Austin shot back, unimpressed. “Turn to Ms. Lambert for help! If Roderick comes for you, he might go easy on you because of her.”“”
A lightbulb went on for Manfred, and he began searching for his phone.
“What are you doing?” Alf asked, sounding confused.
Tm going to talk to Sienna. I need her to save me if Roderick comes after me,” Manfred replied, pulling his phone from the couch. He opened WhatsApp and started typing
Austin threw up his hands. “Seriously. Manfred! Didn’t I tell you to reach out to Laurel? Why Sienna?”
Manfred flashed a confident smile. “Look, distant water can’t quench a nearby fire. I’m not too close with Laurel, so if Sienna can help me out first, then I’ll bring Laurel into the mix later. It’s like double insurance”
Alf was at a loss for words “Roderick and Laurel being an item is just speculation on our part. If it’s not true, wouldn’t you have told his sister? The whole Lynch family would know by then.
“Roderick didn’t even let us in on it, so it’s safe to say the Lynches have no clue. Aren’t you worried about the fallout from spilling t
this?”
Manfred finally came to his senses. His hands were a bit shaky, and he accidentally sent the edited message. Just as he was about to take it back, i reply popped up
Sienna: [Roderick and Laurel are together? When did that happen? Why didn’t I know about this?]
Sienna’s barrage of questions left all three of them frozen in shock, and the room went completely silent. After a moment, Austin broke the tension. saying, “Manfred, you’re so screwed.”
Manfred just stood there, gripping his phone with a blank look.
C
elp Winona make coffee.
The Lynch mansion felt a bit empty
ty after dinner. With nothing going on, Sienna decided to help
She was halfway through the process when her patience ran out. Rubbing her sore wrists, she declared she was done
Winona sighed. “You’ve wasted these coffee beans”
Sienna chuckled playfully. “Whatever, Tll just take yours.”
Winona laughed softly and shook her head. “You’re a scoundrel, just like Roderick. Not too shabby for a sibling”
With that, Winona kept brewing the coffee while Sienna, feeling a little bored, grabbed her phone. She saw a message from Manfred that made her sit up straight.
Manfred: [Sienna, Roderick and Laurel are together. Did you know about this?]
She leapt to her feet and replied. [Roderick and Laurel are together! When did that happen? Why didn’t I know about this?]
Winona glanced up but continued her work. “I’d say all my whispering in Roderick’s ear finally paid off. He actually listened for once”
Sienna was confused. She asked, “Grandma, what exactly did you say to him?”
At that moment, Winona was finishing up with the coffee, her hands moving swiftly while she kept talking. “I think Laurel’s a great match. I kept nudging Roderick in her direction, and he caught on eventually”
“No wonder you’re not surprised at all when you heard about this,” Sienna said.
She sat back down, her face showing that she wasn’t thrilled. “But Grandma, everyone knows Laurel is into George, and they’re still engaged. If
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Roderick gets involved with her, won’t he get a lot of flak for it?”
Wince poured the coffee from the pot and asked. ‘Do you honestly think she likes George, or is it just because of the Lambert and Lynch family
engagemen
Sienna frowned. “Tan’t that pretty much the same thing?”
“Nope.” Winona replied with a knowing
