Free Web NovelChapter 264: Chapter 267: Take the Fall for Me
"...Huh?" Simon Abbott lifted his head slowly.
The question was both sudden and bizarre. He didn’t know what Ethan Lockwood meant, nor did he dare give a rash answer.
"What’s with the ’huh’? Just answer what I ask," Ethan Lockwood said, hooking a nearby chair with his leg and sitting down casually in front of Simon Abbott.
Even though more important matters weighed on his shoulders, he didn’t seem the least bit worried. He even had the leisure to grab Simon Abbott and ask him these strange questions.
"Abbott, how many people are in your family?" he asked again, patiently.
Simon Abbott looked at him blankly and answered cautiously, "Mr. Lockwood, there are three people in my family. My mom, my girlfriend, and me."
"A girlfriend?" Ethan Lockwood raised an eyebrow, a surprised look on his face. "You have a girlfriend?"
"Yeah," Simon Abbott nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "We’ve been together for a long time."
"How long have you been together?" Ethan Lockwood lifted one long leg and casually crossed it over the other.
Simon Abbott answered honestly, "Five years now."
"Five years..." Ethan Lockwood calculated in his head. "You came to work for me at the Lockwood Group right after you graduated from college, and this is your fourth year. So, that means you and your girlfriend got together in college?"
"Yes." Simon Abbott’s cheeks reddened slightly as he admitted openly, "We got together at the beginning of our senior year. This year makes it exactly five years."
Ethan Lockwood’s lips curved into an approving smile. "Not bad. So when do you plan on marrying her?"
Simon Abbott: "Next year!"
Ethan Lockwood’s question sparked his hopes for a beautiful future. He grinned foolishly, his eyes shining brightly with happiness.
"By this time next year, I’ll have saved up enough money for the wedding. I’ll be able to marry her and bring her home in style!"
Ethan Lockwood nodded, a hint of admiration now in his eyes as he looked at Simon Abbott. "How much money do you need for the wedding?"
Still oblivious to the strangeness of Ethan Lockwood’s question, Simon Abbott continued to answer honestly, "I need 500,000. My girlfriend said I just need to give a little for the betrothal gift, that it’s just a formality, but I don’t think that would be fair to her. She grew up well-provided for with her family, and I don’t want her to have to lower her standard of living just because she’s marrying me. So I want to work hard and earn a bit more."
Ethan Lockwood: "How much more do you need?"
Simon Abbott: "I’m still short 100,000. I’ve already saved up enough for the betrothal gift and the banquet. My mom prepared a house and a car for me a long time ago. I just need to save another 100,000 for our savings after we’re married, then I can marry her without any worries."
"...Not bad." For once, Ethan Lockwood had the patience to hear him out.
He stood up from his chair, walked behind his desk, and pulled open a drawer in the far corner.
Watching his movements, Simon Abbott felt a strange sense of unease.
Ethan Lockwood never allowed anyone to touch that drawer, and he rarely opened it in front of them. This was the first time since Simon Abbott had started the job that he’d suddenly pulled it open to get something right in front of him.
Simon Abbott wanted to look but didn’t dare, his eyes darting about erratically.
Ethan Lockwood glanced at him, the corners of his lips hooking into a faint, mocking smile.
He took a check from the drawer, picked up a pen, and wrote seven digits on it.
"Abbott, you’ve been with me for four years now. As compensation and a reward, how about I approve a long leave for you to go home and get married?"
"...Huh?" Simon Abbott froze. "Get married? Now?"
Clutching the check, Ethan Lockwood walked out from behind his desk and said with a smile, "Yes, now."
"...Why?" Simon Abbott frowned at him, his eyes filled with confusion. "Why do you want me to get married now, Mr. Lockwood? I haven’t even saved up the 500,000 yet."
Ethan Lockwood didn’t answer his question. He only said, "You’ve been with me for four years. You may not have any great achievements, but you’ve certainly put in a lot of hard work. As your boss, it’s only natural that I give you a wedding gift."
With that, he held the check out to Simon Abbott. "Take this. Consider it my, Ethan Lockwood’s, wedding gift."
Simon Abbott didn’t rush to take the check. Instead, the first thing he did was look down at the numbers written on it.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...
He silently counted the number of digits in his head, growing more shocked with each one.
’A seven-figure number. It’s actually seven figures! Ethan Lockwood is actually giving him a seven-figure wedding gift?’
No matter how slow on the uptake Simon Abbott might be, he could now sense that something was off about this seven-figure check.
"Mr. Lockwood..." He looked up at Ethan Lockwood, his eyes filled with unease.
Ethan Lockwood pushed the check closer to his hand, urging him softly, "Take it. What are you standing there gawking for?"
Simon Abbott didn’t dare to take it.
He shifted his feet, unconsciously taking a step back and putting a little distance between himself and the check.
"Mr. Lockwood, I can’t take this money."
"Why not?" Ethan Lockwood stared at him, the smile on his face slowly fading. "Is it not enough for you?"
"No!" Simon Abbott denied it at once. "It’s not that it’s too little! It’s that I feel my contributions to the company don’t warrant such a generous gift from you, Mr. Lockwood. Besides, I made my wedding plans a long time ago. To suddenly disrupt them now... I’m not mentally prepared."
"...That’s fine." Ethan Lockwood’s hand remained frozen in mid-air, refusing to pull back. "If you’re not prepared, then I’ll prepare for you. The betrothal gift, the banquet, the savings—I can get it all ready for you. You don’t have to do anything. Just take the leave, go home, and wait for your wedding with peace of mind."
"..."
A chill flashed in Simon Abbott’s eyes. The unease and apprehension in his heart instantly swelled into intense panic.
He had been with Ethan Lockwood for four years. He knew Ethan wasn’t discussing this with him; he was giving him an order.
This wedding of his—he had to go through with it whether he wanted to or not.
But he didn’t understand Ethan Lockwood’s motive for forcing him, so he asked directly, "Why?"
"Mr. Lockwood, why do I have to go back and get married right now?"
Ethan Lockwood couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush any longer, not that he’d ever intended to.
"Simon Abbott, I can’t respond to Felix Preston’s lawsuit. So, for this case, you’ll be the one to take the fall for me."
"...What?"
He had long suspected that Ethan Lockwood would find someone to take the blame, but Simon Abbott never, ever imagined that person would actually be him.
Ethan Lockwood didn’t want to waste any more words with him and forcefully shoved the check into his arms.
"It’s just a slander charge. You don’t have to be so scared. If we lose the case, you’ll be locked up for a few years at most. When you get out in a few years, you’ll still be in your prime, in your twenties. It won’t hold you back."
