There were not many jokes one could make about Diarmuid, let alone humiliate him.
Naturally, Harvey felt cathartic whenever he mentioned something that humiliated the man so thoroughly.
Bzzt…
Harvey’s phone was suddenly vibrating in his pocket, and he whipped it out to see who the caller was. He glanced at Abigail for a moment just then, but answered it with a raised brow.” Mr. Hill.”
After a slight pause, he turned back to Abigail. “Mr. Althoff wants to see me?”
Abigail was left staring fixedly at Harvey, her eyes widening right then.
“Of course. I’ll be there,” Harvey replied before hanging up.
Sighing, he told her, “Diarmuid Althoff is coming to Sunny City and asked to meet me. Do you think he’s found you?”
Abigail was panicking slightly already, and held her child protectively.
“Don’t worry, he probably just wants to test me,” Harvey replied. “Anyway, just consider my offer.”
Abigail glanced at her son. “Okay.”
“Rest well for now. I‘m leaving,” Harvey replied.
She nodded, and Harvey left the house, heading to the designated venue to meet Diarmuid. The man was already there, waiting as he arrived.
Harvey entered and took a seat.
“Long time no see, Mr. Althoff.” He greeted Diarmuid with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
The private room was dark, and Diarmuid appeared to be lounging–but the look on his face was inscrutable.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Harvey asked.
“I heard that the CEO of Hartman United reneged on your partnership offer?” Diarmuid asked evenly, but it was a direct slap to Harvey‘s face. Still, Harvey knew that Diarmuid was behind that, and composed himself despite bleeding from the heart. “It‘s just a partnership–if it falls through, it falls through.”
Diarmuid chuckled. “How magnanimous. How much did it cost you?”
Harvey felt humiliated right then.
Diarmuid was just trying to twist the dagger now!
Harvey had always known that the man was swift and decisive, but he came so prepared that he had caught Harvey completely off guard!
Moreover, in spite of the devastating losses from that failed partnership, Harvey still had the advantage because he knew where Abigail was.
“A loss is a loss. It‘s just money–I can always earn more,” he stubbornly retorted. “Is that all you came to tell me?”
Even now, Diarmuid was still refusing to mention Abigail, and replied, “Why else would I do it? Also, your property at Spring Bay might get investigated for construction policy violations. If an investigation follows, the project would have to be suspended as well…”
Harvey was pushed over the edge before Diarmuid was finished, and he growled angrily, “Are you backstabbing me?”
He could handle the failed partnership, but he had invested so much in Spring Bay that suspending construction alone would leave him with inestimable losses!
Diarmuid appeared perfectly comfortable and unaffected, however. “Business is war. How could you blame me for your negligence?”
Harvey gritted his teeth and heaved in frustration, before turning to leave without a word.
He never saw Diarmuid‘s carefree look turn into a glower the instant he left. “Get someone to follow him.”
“Yes, sir.” Stan did as he was told immediately.
This was all a part of Diarmuid’s plan–he never mentioned Abigail to Harvey because he knew Harvey would never breathe a word.
If he did, Harvey would know his goal and become wary. It would also make Harvey even more tight–lipped and use it as leverage against him.
Instead of falling on the back foot and being left with no authority at all, Diarmuid must strike first so that Harvey would panic and mess up.
They were in Harvey’s territory, and they must start with the man if they wanted anything. As long as he had Abigail, an opportunity would eventually present itself.
And just as Diarmuid had predicted, Harvey was feeling too hot–headed to care, let alone realize that Diarmuid had someone tailing him.
He first headed to his office, which was left in utter chaos.
The string of incidents left an atmosphere of doom and gloom!
Harvey cursed endlessly as he tried to salvage the situation, calming down after one night before returning to Abigail.
He realized that Diarmuid had done all that for Abigail.
Trying to force him to concede? He would rather suffer all those losses than to give her up!
Once he met Abigail again, he flew into an angry rant instantly.
“That man is outrageous! How could he be so heinous?!” Harvey paced around beside her bed, his hands clasped behind his back. “That son of a bitch backstabbed me!”
Abigail was feeling uneasy. Somehow, she knew that Diarmuid would show up in Sunny City anyway.
“So, you‘re giving up?” she asked.
“No way!” Harvey was just getting pumped for a fight against Diarmuid. “The more he wants to get to you, the more I‘ll make sure he never does… Nonetheless, he soon trailed off because he just realized that Sheryl and Abigail‘s son were gone.
“Where‘s your mother and the baby?” he asked.
“They left last night,” Abigail replied–she did not plan to hide that anyway.
She had been compliant over the last few days at the mansion, and they had become very friendly with the guards. Moreover, Harvey was not keeping her as well guarded as he did before, which allowed her an opening.
“Do you not trust me?” Harvey‘s face contorted in rage, feeling as if he was betrayed after being so nice to her for months!
Abigail held his gaze. “It‘s not as if I don‘t trust you, but Diarmuid is here, so I had to do something. What if you‘d told him about me when you met him yesterday? I‘m fine if he catches me, but what if he hurts my child?”
That was why she had asked Sheryl to take the child away and hide. Even if they were friends in appearance, Abigail had never thought so for a second–it was just tit–for–tat at best.
On the other hand, Harvey actually thought that she considered him a friend now, and was naturally stunned that she had been keeping him at arm‘s length.
“You‘re a heartless bitch!” he snapped in frustration, but even as his knuckles cracked, there was a crash from the door, soon followed by objects shattering and screams of pain.
Panicking, Harvey rushed downstairs to see that Diarmuid and his men had stormed into the mansion, having already taken down all the guards Harvey posted around the house.
“How did you get here?” Harvey exclaimed in disbelief . He was basically untouchable in Sunny City, and was convinced that Diarmuid would never reach this place.
“Sure, this place is so well–hidden we never got here last time,” Stan said smugly. “Hell, we would never have found it this time even if you didn‘t lead us here.”
One must say that Diarmuid‘s plan to chase the hare and follow it to its den was immensely effective.
Harvey narrowed his eyes when he came to a realization.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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