Rags to Riches

Chapter 5 Spare Change

"You're my wife; there's no way you'd lose this bet!" Marcus said matter-of-factly.

"God, you're hopeless!" Vivian was utterly despaired. "What am I gonna do now? It looks like I have no choice but to visit all the banks tomorrow and try to get as many loans as possible."

There was nothing else she could do at this point.

"Don't be so worried, Vivian. Believe in yourself." Marcus couldn't help but feel amused at the sight of her being so anxious. How could the almighty Drakon be worried about money?

Vivian snorted. "I must've been possessed when I chose to believe you." She glared at him.

As expected, he couldn't be depended on at all!

…

The following morning, Marcus left the house after preparing breakfast. He headed to Globestone Investments and strode into the building.

"Good morning, sir. Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked politely.

"I'm looking for Vincent Rook. He knows about me coming here," Marcus said.

Before making his way here, he'd instructed Murray to make a call to Globestone Investments but had told him to keep his true identity under wraps.

"Understood, sir. Please hold on for a minute." The receptionist was afraid he was an important client when she heard him refer to the company's general manager by his full name.

She quickly made a call to check.

After some time, Marcus sat down in Vincent's office.

"I'm Vincent Rook. Mr. Fletcher called me and told me that you needed me for something. Tell me what it is, and I'll try my best to make it happen. Oh, right. How should I address you?" Vincent leaned back against the couch and crossed his arms as he appraised Marcus.

What did this young man have to do with the Fletcher family? Murray hadn't made himself clear over the phone, only telling him to satisfy whatever requests Marcus was to make.

Still, Vincent wasn't the type to help any Tom, Dick, and Harry he came across on the streets. He could help someone if they deserved it, of course, but if they didn't …

"My name's Marcus Coleman. I'm here to talk to you about investing in the Lorimer Group." Marcus got straight to the point.

"Marcus Coleman? The Lorimer Group?" Vincent frowned. Why did Marcus' name sound so familiar? Where had he heard it from?

Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He slapped his thigh and asked in disbelief, "Are you the Lorimer family's matrilocal son-in-law, Marcus Coleman?"

The Lorimer family was a relatively well-known family in Cromford City, and Vivian was the belle of the city. The whole city had been abuzz when the news of her marrying a matrilocal husband had gotten out.

"Yes, we're one and the same." Marcus frowned, feeling a little displeased. It looked like Vincent wasn't the best at understanding social cues.

Vincent scoffed. "And here I was, wondering which hot shot I was dealing with. I've heard plenty about you—I doubt anyone in Cromford City doesn't know about you being the Lorimer family's matrilocal son-in-law. Oh, you mentioned something about wanting me to invest in the Lorimer Group, right? Sorry, but that's not happening."

He'd lost interest in Marcus after finding out who he was, so much that he didn't even bother to be polite anymore.

Vincent refused to believe that someone like Marcus could have anything to do with Murray Fletcher. Moreover, if the members of high society were to hear about him being afraid of a loser, he'd be the laughingstock of the city!

"Are you sure about that? Can I know why?" Marcus' expression darkened.

Since Vincent wasn't bothering with his manners, there was no need to play nice.

"Why? Why don't you take a look at yourself in the mirror? How dare a shameless matrilocal son-in-law like you talk to me about money! Besides, I know all about the Lorimer family's crisis—it's run out of cash and is waiting to go bankrupt. It's a shit business filled with shit people. Now get the hell out of here!" Vincent said unceremoniously as he stood up and brushed some lint off his clothes.

"If you apologize right now and agree to invest in the Lorimer Group without any extra charges, I can pretend none of this ever happened and let you off the hook. Otherwise, you'll have to bear full responsibility for the consequences of your actions!" Marcus snarled, trying to suppress his anger.

Vincent burst into derisive laughter. "Are you secretly a comedian or something? You want me, Vincent Rook, to apologize and agree to invest in some fucking dumpster fire without any extra charge? How dumb can you be? And I have to bear the consequences of my actions, huh? Oh, I'm so scared. Can you see me shaking in my boots?" He looked at Marcus like the latter was a fool.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll make you experience true fear soon enough," Marcus sneered.

He then pulled his phone out and called Murray. "I'll give you ten minutes to make Globestone Investments mine; I don't care how you do it." With that, he hung up and shut his eyes while waiting for a result.

Vincent's fate was sealed from the moment he insulted Marcus anyway.

Vincent practically doubled over with laughter. "Acquiring Globestone Investments in ten minutes? Do you know how much its market value is right now? 500 million dollars! Can you even imagine that amount of money? Stop acting like a hot shot when you're nothing but a piece of trash! Ten minutes, huh? I'll be patient and wait these ten minutes out with you. Once the time's up, I'll have the security guards strip you naked and throw you out of here! How about that?" he said menacingly.

While there might be people in this world who could fork out 500 million dollars in ten minutes, Marcus definitely wasn't one of them.

The seconds ticked by; soon, ten minutes were up.

"Hey, you piece of shit. I'm now gonna show you what you've brought upon yourself, offending the almighty Vincent Rook!" Vincent sneered.

He was just about to call the security guards when his phone rang.

"Morning, boss!" He immediately sat up straight and answered the call with a simpering smile. Soon, however, the smile disappeared from his face. "W-What? Boss, are you joking? You sold Globestone Investments when it's making you a fortune? What? You sold it for ten billion dollars?"

Vincent's face became ashen, and his eyes were practically falling out of their sockets.

Things were only made worse when he heard his boss say that Marcus—the man he'd just mocked for being a worthless piece of trash—was the one who'd spent the ten billion dollars to acquire Globestone Investments.

The phone slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor with a clatter. It was then that Vincent knew he was dead meat.

"Sorry, but ten billion dollars is nothing but spare change to me," Marcus informed Vincent calmly as he got to his feet.