Love on the Fast Track (Derek and Norah)

Chapter 97:

Derek was silent for a moment, his face darkening. “What did you just say?”

Norah chuckled and replied, “Whoever makes the most noise is nothing short of pathetic.”

Her words served as an insult to Derek, Madeline, and Madeline's parents.

Rhoda, quickly angered due to her temperamental nature, opened her mouth to hit back. But at that moment,

two men approached them from behind Norah.

One of them, dressed in a finely tailored wine-red suit with meticulously combed hair and gold-rimmed glasses,

emitted a polished aura. The other man, visibly cold-tempered, wore a silver-gray suit, with his right wrist

wrapped in a white bandage. He scanned the whole crowd with a malicious gaze.

They were Bryson and Kason, respectively—and neither of them had a female companion with them.

Coen, about to belittle Norah, stopped when he noticed the man in the wine-red suit approaching with his

assistant. Upon recognizing the man as Bryson, he hurriedly walked forward with a smile.

Facing Bryson, Coen bowed unctuously and said, “Greetings, Mr. Andrews. My nis Coen. You remember me,

right? | believe you've gone through the plan | sent to you the other day.”

“It's quite impressive,” Bryson smiled politely and replied, “Actually, | haven't gone through your plan yet. But

rest assured, once I've read it, my assistant will forward my reply to you.”

With that, Bryson turned to face Norah and quickly took a few steps toward her. “Norah, you're stunning! | didn’t

expect to run into you here,” Bryson said. Having no idea what had happened between Norah and Sean, Bryson

assumed she calone.

Let your mind wander with gvinov[Is[000

“You have an invitation, right? Or, do you needto take you in?” Bryson asked.

He hadn't been around when the Powell family had sarcastically addressed Norah. If he had been aware of their

demeaning words toward her, he wouldn't have treated Coen so politely. Instead, he would have told Coen

directly to his face to go to hell.

“Thanks, but don’t bother, Mr. Andrews. Please leave Norah to me, I'll take her in,” Kason said.

Hearing this, Bryson raised both of his eyebrows in surprise. He wondered whether Norah and Kason were on

good terms.

Neither Bryson nor Kason gave a second thought to why Norah, well-dressed for the occasion, was standing

outside the auction hall without an invitation or anyone to bring her in.

“You're here without an invitation?” Kathy asked as she got out of a taxi and walked up to the entrance of the

auction hall. Dressed like royalty, her exquisite dress drew attention.

“Wait a minute, Kathy. Why are you here?” Madeline asked, her face filled with surprise.

“Well, as | wanted to attend the auction and have a look around, | asked someone to bringalong,” Kathy

replied.

Derek raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Then who on earth will bring you along? Behave yourself and go back

hnow, or else, you might end up humiliating yourself!”

Hearing this, Kathy felt hurt and disappointed. Her brother didn't even bother to ask her who agreed to bring her

to the auction and instead just scolded her.

“There's no need for you to stress yourself, Derek. I've made my own arrangement,” Kathy retorted.

Kathy then turned her head to face Norah, who was now standing on the red carpet. Dressed in a bright red

dress, Norah was, without even trying, dazzling the crowd. Just a few days ago, however, Norah had been

seriously injured. Kathy wondered how on earth she had recovered so quickly.

“You're still staying at the Scott family’s place, right, Norah? If so, why don’t you have an invitation when today’s

auction is being hosted by the Scott family? Besides, | thought Mr. Scott was the one you were chasing after.

When did you start chasing after Andrews?” Kathy mocked, widening her eyes in pretended surprise.

“Oh my God! Were you kicked out of the Dreamview Villas by Mr. Scott? Mr. Hayes hasn't kicked you out, right?

Or have you forgotten what we discussed about him the last twe met at the Splendor Building?” Kathy

concluded her words with an insolent giggle.

Just as Norah was about to respond to Kathy, Bryson cleared his throat and said softly, “Excuse me. | believe you

are Mr. Carter's sister.”

“Carter's sister, right? | never thought that a daughter of a famous family would speak such nonsensical words

like that. Mr. Carter, do you just let this undisciplined girl run around? You should be able to bring her to order. Or

should I do that for you?”

Kathy couldn’t believe her ears. She blinked rapidly as she studied Bryson, her gaze meeting his cold, unyielding

eyes. She couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling a knot in her throat.

Derek, recognizing Bryson and having been trying to cooperate with him for quite stime, nodded, his

expression tight with concern. Focusing on the task at hand—impressing Bryson—he frowned at Kathy. Outside of

the business world, this was the first the and Bryson had met. The nature of Bryson'’s relationship with Norah

was irrelevant to Derek; all that mattered now was the impression he made on Bryson.

“I told you to behave yourself, Kathy,” Derek said sharply. “What part of my instructions don’t you understand? |

can’t believe you just spouted all that rubbish in front of Mr. Andrews and Mr. Hayes. Well, I'll order a taxi for you

now to take you home. This is not a place for gossipers like you.”

“Derek! I'm not going back home!” Kathy yelled, ignoring the stares of the people around her. “Someone has

agreed to takeinto the auction!”

Despite the disapproving looks and whispered comments from the crowd, Kathy didn’t care. She was determined

to make her point.

Seeing the scene unfold, Norah slightly shook her head. She knew all too well how short-tempered Kathy could

be. Derek and Madeline had already refused to bring Kathy to the auction due to their quarrel. But, being as

stubborn as she was, Kathy must have decided to canyway.

By then, the show was almost over. Norah turned to face Bryson and Kason, who had offered to take her in, and

said, “Actually, | chere with Mr. Scott. Besides, | have an invitation card with me.”

Just as Bryson was about to say something, Derek hurriedly intervened. “I apologize for my sister's arrogance,

Mr. Andrews. She will return hnow. That aside, | was wondering if you could spare sof your tfor a

discussion? We could cooperate on something.”

Bryson shook his head impatiently. “I'm busy right now. If you want to have an audience with me, contact my

assistant and see if a meeting can be scheduled.”

Just as Bryson finished speaking, his assistant approached and faced Derek. “You should step back, Mr. Carter.

Mr. Andrews likes to have sspace around him. He doesn’t like it when people get too close, okay?”

Embarrassed, Derek turned to face Kathy, who hadn't moved from where she stood, and yelled, “Kathy! | told

you to go home! Have you gone deaf?”

Madeline quickly grabbed Derek’s hand, trying to calm him down, whispering his name, “Derek.” The place was

filled with many influential people, and if Derek lost his cool in front of them, it would be something he would

regret forever.

Tears welled up in Kathy's eyes.

Kathy shook her head and yelled back, “I said someone will takein! Are you even listening toat all?”

Seeing how Kathy and Derek were disrupting the general atmosphere with their noise, Norah took a few steps

toward the entrance, with Bryson and Kasan following.

Bryson looked at them in disgust and said, “You know what? | can’t stand this argument. I’m going inside.” With

that, he turned around and walked into the hall. Once Bryson was out of hearing range, Kasan lowered his head

and asked Norah, “Are you familiar with Bryson?”

Norah shrugged and replied, “Joanna and | are well-acquainted with each other's brother through her. By the

way, how's your hand? | thought it was going to prevent you from coming to the auction.”

“It's fine. Sean invited me, so | had no option but to come,” Kasan replied.

At that moment, Derek, his eyes filled with fury, gritted his teeth and asked Kathy, “You've been claiming that

someone would take you in, right? Why isn’t he here yet? Where is he? Who is he?”

“It's me,” replied a voice.

A fat man sporting a tattoo on his arm walked up to them and casually put his arm around Kathy's waist. “She is

with me. Is there a problem with that?”

“Jordy?” Derek muttered, his mouth hanging open in shock. As the realization hit, everyone's eyes widened in

surprise.

Since Kathy had been claiming that she had someone who would take her in, Norah had been wondering who

that person could be. She hadn't expected it to be Jordy. The last tshe saw Jordy, she had believed she would

never see him again.

Judging from the way Jordy rubbed Kathy's back with his hand, it was obvious that they had never met before.