NovelEnglishBrandon looked up to find Harvey Ferber already standing on the deck, clad in a sleek black suit, casually leaning on the railing and looking down at him.
Brandon shot him a chilly glance and bolted up the stairs two at a time.
Harvey Ferber turned and followed suit.
They arrived at the top deck of the cruise ship, the sspot Harvey had shown Brandon last the was here. Emerging from the staircase and making a turn, the sight of the hospital they'd visited before was unavoidably in view.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtA storm brewed in Brandon's eyes, and he spun around, ready to burst through the hospital doors.
"There's no one in the hospital," Harvey's timely words echoed from behind.
Brandon halted in his tracks, turning to glare at him, "Where is she?" Harvey just stared back, silent.
"Where the hell is she?" Brandon's voice suddenly roared, his eyes reddening, his usualposure gone.
Harvey gave him a steady look, "Mr. Crawley, you're not in the right state for negotiations." With that, he turned and strolled through the opulent corridor, taking a seat at the stable where they'd negotiated last time. Brandon watched him from a distance, his Adam's apple bobbing violently several times before he forced himself to cool down and approached the table, taking a seat across from Harvey.
A contract concerning Z-Z Wharf slid across the table towards Brandon.
"Mr. Crawley, fancy signing the contract first?" Harvey's voice was calm and measured.
Brandon glanced at him, snatched the contract for a quick read, and grabbed the pen, ready to sign. Kent, arriving just in time, called out, "Mr. Crawley, think it through." He wasn't trying to stop Brandon from signing the contract; it was just that signing it without seeing the person in question would seem a bit rash.
Brandon knew all too well how reckless it would be to do so, but the thought that she might be Sophia, and his urgency to see her, outweighed everything else.
Harvey caught Brandon's pen pause and his lips curled slightly, "What's up, Mr. Crawley? Can't let go? Seems she's not that important to you after all." "I want to see her first." Brandon managed to rein in his emotions, throwing the contract back on the table and staring down Harvey with a determined stance, "Now, immediately!" Harvey leaned forward to pick up the contract, his fingers tapping it lightly is gaze locked on Brandon, "Mr.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmCrawley, you're the one in neve here 'ou don't have room to negotiate." As he spoke, the contract and pen were pushed back to Brandon, Harvey's eyes still fixed on him.
Brandon's gaze didn't stray from Harvey's eyes either.
Beneath the seemingly calm stare-down lurked a silent battle of wills.
"I won't sign without seeing her!" Brandon finally spoke, his voice steadier than when he'd first boarded.
Harvey didn't back down at hisposed demeanor, "Mr. Crawley, you boarded this ship without a care, even stopping my vessel, all because you're sure she's with me, aren't you?" "Or," Harvey's voice sharpened, "does she mean less to you than a wharf?" "You're twisting my words," Brandon pointed out bluntly.
et "It doesn't matter," Harvey's lips held a trace of a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "What you think isn't important, but watch your tongue. Don't say or do anything disheartening; this ship isn't big, and waffs have ears." The calm was now threaded with threat.
By not signing, he was essentially telling others that Sophia wasn't worth a wharf to him.
What others thought might not matter, but wasn't he afraid that Sophia would be disappointed, hurt? Brandon clearly heard the threat in Harvey's words, his lips curling slightly, "Is that a threat, Mr. Ferber?" "Just a friendly reminder," Harvey retorted, "after all, I'm the one holding the cards right now." "Is that so?" Brandon echoed, subtly smirking.
He then gestured with a flick of his finger to Kent standing behind him.
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