Chapter 6

Mia was stunned at his words at first, but when she gave it a second thought, she nodded in agreement.

Aria always tried to protect her idiotic husband by every means possible as she believed an embarrassment to him was also an embarrassment to her.

If Leon really licked off the dirt on Simon's shoe with his tongue, Mia would really feel superior and use it against her in the future. In fact, everyone in the city would know her husband licked off dirt from someone's shoes.

"What are you doing still standing there? Hurry up and go down on your knees and lick off the dirt. Or do you plan on calling Aria?"

"Hmph, she'd run helter-skelter trying to raise money to compensate him and still won't come up with enough money to do so. That's how expensive his shoes are."

Leon said nothing to them and instead stared down at Simon's shoes for several seconds.

"I didn't damage the shoes, neither is there any dirt on them. But even if there was, why do I have to lick it off with my tongue?"

Mia quickly lashed out at him, "You punk, do you think you have the right to ask any questions? Simon is being magnanimous by giving you a way out.”

“He could easily file a lawsuit and have your darling wife lose everything she has paying him back. Is that what you want to happen?"

She kept nibbling at Aria's name because she had seen Leon do numerous insane things whenever it involved her. So she had no doubt he'd also do the same in this case.

After a moment of silence, Leon looked Simon Mayfair in the eyes and said stoically, "Fine. I'll buy the shoes. How much will you sell them for?"

Mia hissed, "Leon Bartlett, are you out of your mind? Are you trying to make fun of the Mayfair family?"

Leon glanced at her and retorted calmly, "When did I try to make fun of them?"

The corners of Simon's lips curled into an amused smile as he sneered, "You want to buy my shoes instead?”

“Do you have any idea how much I got them for? This isn't some cheap knock-off you can afford. This is the real deal. So I'll ask you again, are you sure you want to buy them?"

Leon frowned slightly. "Why make me repeat myself?"

Simon was angered by his audacity and calmness, but he was too angry to think of anything to retort with.

Not like he had anything to worry about. From what he knew of the Miller family, they were buried deep in debt and were struggling to secure a stable investment.

Even if they could, they would never agree to fork out the amount of money he was about to call just to offset the bill their foolish son-in-law brought upon them.

"My shoe is a Ford Winston limited edition. There are only 100 of them in the world and they're priced at $2 million."

The bystanders gasped upon hearing him.

"$2 million for a mere shoe? And he says they aren't worth much? Are you sure the rich aren’t a different specie from the rest of us?”

“I said he was kicking up a ruckus for nothing, didn't I? I take that back. I would kick up more than a ruckus for my most expensive shoe which is only worth $5,000!"

Leon took out his phone to call Grant Wyatt to send the money to him when a woman's voice sounded in front of him.

"What is going on here?”

"This has nothing to do with you!" Simon sneered without looking at the person who spoke.

The woman was silent for a moment before she chuckled, "It doesn't? But I own the hotel."

Simon's eyes suddenly bulged, and he instantly turned towards her.

He cautiously called out, "Ms. Carter?"

Venice Carter was putting on a pair of impeccably tailored, high-waisted slacks. She paired it with a crisp, white blouse, tucking it in neatly.

Then completed the look with a thin leather belt that cinches her waist, highlighting her figure and accentuating her slim silhouette.

Her lengthy, straight hair moved with the wind as she walked to Simon Mayfair and frowned tightly, "Why? There's no one bold enough to claim my name as theirs in front of my hotel."

"Yes, of course," Simon hurriedly nodded, flashing her a wry smile.

Venice glanced away from him and settled her eyes on Leon.

Leon Bartlett. She only saw his back that day and heard his name once, but it stuck with her.

She at least expected a man in his late forties, so never did she think the famous Leon Bartlett would be a man in his twenties. He even looked younger than her.

She didn't want to stare at him for too long lest it caused any misunderstanding. So she turned her attention back to Simon. “I asked what is going on here.”

"Nothing really, just me teaching this trash who doesn't know his place a lesson," Simon replied, pointing at Leon.

She narrowed her eyes at him immediately, "What?"

He huffed and raised his nose high up in the air as he continued, "Not to offend you, Ms. Carter, but isn't the hotel being too lenient by letting someone like this walk in? Other people even mistook him for a clearer."

"He's an idiot. A man with the IQ of a 5-year-old. Furthermore, someone like him has no business in a hotel like yours. You never know what he has in mind by coming in here. Whether he came to rob your customers or something."

Venice's eyes darkened, and she raised a brow at him, "Mr. Mayfair, are you trying to say my hotel's management isn't good?"

Simon waved his hand at her in response and went ahead to clarify, "Don't misquote me, Ms. Carter. Our Mayfair family has been close with you and closely supported you ever since you opened up your hotel, and we'll continue to do so."

"We invested in you because of your hotel's high standards which brought in people of high caliber. The hotel was meant to set apart the wealthy from the peasants. It's a place only the rich should come to."

"What would those wealthy customers say about the hotel when they find out peasants can now be allowed entry? That they share spaces with the peasants whom they leave other hotels to come to yours for?"

Venice shot him a stern look, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Simon laughed slightly, trying to lighten the heavy air among them.

"There's no need to get so serious, Ms. Carter. I'm just trying to tell you the other shareholders might pull out their investments if they find out about this."

"The hotel's wealthy customers may also feel betrayed and not want to visit again, which would result in the hotel's stock price plummeting and the hotel even going under."

She chuckled and scratched the back of her neck calmly before saying, "When I built the hotel, I didn't build it with a certain background of people in mind. I built it for anyone who can afford to come in here."

"But just so I'm correct, are you trying to say you're not comfortable with the people from humble backgrounds who come in here?"

"Yes, precisely. People like that dummy standing there. The mere sight of them makes my skin crawl," Simon immediately nodded, glad that she finally understood what he was saying.

"I see. Well, then, please give me a second to sort it out," she smiled gently and whipped out her phone.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Carter. I'm glad we're on the same page," Simon chuckled and flashed Leon a triumphant smile.

At the end of the day, he had the upper hand because he was from a wealthy family.

The Mayfair family had helped Venice Carter in building her inn to a 5-star hotel in the city. They had a longstanding and deep-rooted friendship.

So he had no worry that she’d do something about what he told her.

However, the smile on his face stiffened when he heard her words to the person she got on the phone with.

"Venice Carter speaking, please relieve Simon Mayfair of his hotel membership and blacklist the Mayfair family from using the hotel and its subsidiaries ever again.”