With his name having been called, Marshall couldn’t pretend they didn’t exist, so he walked over to
help support the body of Mr. Henderson. “Had too much to drink, huh?”
Clara didn’t do the polite dance with him before putting Mr. Henderson in his charge. “They are too
good,” she said, slightly out of breath, “and I can’t really drink, so Dad did the drinking for me for the
second half of the dinner.”
The elevator door opened and the four of them walked in together.
Mr. Grant remained quiet throughout the elevator ride. He started to develop ill feelings for the
Hendersons when they took advantage of Marshall’s divorce to make a PR mess. And now, he was
even more disinclined to talk to the Henderson father and daughter since he was feeling queasy from
the alcohol.
Clara, too, kept silent ever since she got into the elevator. She leaned back on one of the walls of the
elevator carriage and looked absolutely miserable, too.
When they reached the ground floor, Marshall was still responsible for helping Mr. Henderson out of the
elevator.
Their respective cars were waiting in front of the restaurant, so Mr. Grant got into his car, and Marshall
helped Mr. Henderson into his own.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Henderson had no sooner settled in than he puked all over the car.
Clara froze before she rushed over. “Are you alright, Dad?”
Having emptied his stomach, Mr. Henderson felt better. He was able to stand upright when he got out
of the car, and he waved a hand at Marshall. “Don’t mind me. You guys go ahead. I’ll get my car
washed.”
“Well then,” Marshall suggested, “you can take my car. Let me get you two home when your chauffeur
gets someone to wash the car.”
But Mr. Henderson was adamant as he shook his head. “No. I shall see to the car-washing myself.”
Clara turned to look at Marshall. “This car is a treasured gift from Mom. It’s been decades but Dad
refuses to retire it. He also gets it thoroughly maintained regularly.”
Marshall had heard the same story before. Mr. Henderson’s car had long been out of fashion, but it was
the only car he’d use when he needed to go out. Thus, Marshall nodded as he commented, “Mr. and
Mrs. Henderson enjoy a wonderfully adoring relationship indeed.”
Mr. Henderson laughed before he said to Clara, “Why don’t you take the car of our young gentleman
Marshall and head on home then? I’m feeling much better now, and I shall return home once the car
gets cleaned.” And he looked much better indeed.
Clara then turned her inquisitive gaze to Marshall, who understandably had no choice but to agree.
“Okay.”
With the chauffeur present, Marshall reasoned, Mr. Henderson should be fine and nothing bad would
happen to him.
Mr. Grant and Marshall had arrived in the restaurant in their separate cars. Since Mr. Grant was not yet
gone, he spoke as Marshall was about to usher Clara into the latter man’s car. “You know what, Clara,
let me get you home. Marshall had a lot more to drink than I did, so he should really get home and rest
now.”
Clearly embarrassed, Clara froze before replying, “No, sir, I shall not bother you.”
“It’s no bother at all! I welcome the opportunity to ride the car with the window down and feel the wind
blow past my face. Perfect way to sober up.”
After that, Mr. Grant didn’t wait for Clara’s polite refusals before he spoke directly to Marshall. “Go on
home, then. You had quite a lot to drink just now, so don’t forget to ask the kitchen staff to make you
some liver-detox juice when you get back. Make sure you drink it before going to sleep.”
Hesitant, Marshall watched his father for a short while and suddenly looked as if he was
comprehending something. “Okay.”
Then he turned to Clara. “It’s a good idea that you take my father’s car. I probably smell like a brewery
right now.”
As such, Clara had no choice but to accept her fate as she nodded with a smile. “Well then, thank you
both so much for your kind arrangements.”
And then she walked towards Mr. Grant’s car, opened the door, and got in.
Marshall ducked into his own car and asked the chauffeur to pull away. But he kept catching glimpses
of Mr. Grant’s vehicle from the rearview mirror.
When Mr. Grant spoke to Marshall, the older gentleman looked as if he was trying to give the younger
one some warning.
Yes, Marshall had been negligent indeed.
Marshall didn’t look away until Mr. Grant’s car had finally disappeared from his view. He, too, had had
too much to drink, and his brain seemed not to be working as he closed his eyes and reclined into the
car seat.
He didn’t even know when the car had pulled into the Grant residence, only realizing his whereabouts
when the chauffeur woke him up.
Marshall exited the car and leaned on it for a good while before he felt slightly more sober. He slowly
made his way to the main hall of the residence and ordered the kitchen staff to make him some detox
beverage.
The beverage had barely been served and cooled down before Mr. Grant came back.
For the amount of alcohol he had consumed, Mr. Grant appeared to be in a better condition than
Marshall. He went straight for the sofa and sat down in front of Marshall.
Since Grandma Grant was already asleep, Mr. Grant spoke with a low volume. “Get it now?”
Marshall, leaning against the back of the sofa, looked almost asleep when he heard his father. “Huh?”
he replied with a frown.
“What happened tonight,” Mr. Grant reminded him, “was that you almost got set up.”
Thus, Marshall’s frown deepened.
Mr. Grant laughed with resignation. “Think about it after you’ve sobered up. That was such an obvious
setup that you must be really drunk not to be able to figure it out.”
And Marshall was drunk indeed. It probably was related to his mood, too. He had been required to
consume excessive alcohol before, but he’d never been as under the influence as today.
Marshall downed the detox beverage before he headed upstairs. He squinted as he made his way from
the hallway to his room, and pushed the door open when he got there.
He’d felt that something was off with the room, but he didn’t bother to turn on the lights. Under the
moonlight, he went straight for bed, kicked off his shoes, and fished out his phone from the pocket and
put it aside.
Grabbing the blanket to cover his body, he murmured in his intoxicated state, “Kathy, you heartless
woman.”
The “heartless woman” herself didn’t know any of this, of course. Katherine was in her home office
sorting out some data. She had a lot on her plate in terms of opening preparations, and since it was
just her and Margaret, they each had numerous tasks on their hands – Katherine, in particular, had so
much to learn.
When Katherine had finished sorting out the data and things on her hands, she heard the phone ring. It
was Hector, so she picked up immediately.
Hector sounded excited on the other end of the line. “Hey Kathy, you got a minute to grab some late
night snack?”
Katherine checked her watch to find it already pretty late. “Why?” she asked, surprised, “is it because
you have some good news? You sound pretty stoked.”
And Hector didn’t bother to hide it. “Yup!” he said, “I do have something great to tell you. I met with
Rosalie today to talk about the talent show. We just finished speaking, and now I want to see you.”
“Where are you right now?” asked Katherine, to which Hector answered that he was already on the
way to her house.
“Well then, why don’t you get some food and we’ll eat at my place?” suggested Katherine, not wanting
to head out since she had already taken a shower and changed into her pajamas.
Hector didn’t object. He said “Fine!” before hanging up.
And it didn’t take long before Hector showed up with multiple takeout bags and beer bottles.
Katherine was waiting downstairs. As Hector approached, she glanced into the distance behind his
back as she asked, “Is Kyle not with you?”
“Nope,” replied Hector, “he’s too rowdy for our nice little supper.”
Finding that to be true, Katherine nodded in agreement. “Alright then, let’s not include him in this.”
Hector had brought some barbecued food over, which paired supremely well with beer. Katherine, who
was not hungry at all since she’d had dinner earlier, chowed down the food and beer without being
aware of it as she listened to Hector talk about the conversation he’d had with Rosalie Haverford.
Gradually, she grew understandably more inebriated.
Since they were at her place, Katherine didn’t worry too much about getting drunk. Though she kept
telling Hector she was tipsy, she never actually refused when Hector proceeded to pour her another
glass.
The two of them kept eating and drinking into the night, and both got drunk.
Struggling out of the dining room, Katherine was climbing the staircase with the help of the armrest
when she said, “Feel free to find yourself a guest bedroom, Hector. I don’t think I can help you there
today.”
Dizzy with alcohol himself, Hector hummed in agreement as he leaned against the chair in the dining
room before not a sound could be heard from him.
Katherine eventually went back into her own room before somehow climbing into the bed.
If there was anything alcohol was good for, it was helping people fall sleep. A drunk Katherine had a
supremely sound night of sleep that night. She only woke up the next day because bright sunlight
streamed through the open curtains and was directly shining in her face.
And the first thing that came in sight when she opened her eyes was someone’s
face.
If there was anything alcohol was good for, it was helping people fall sleep. A drunk Katherine had a
supremely sound night of sleep that night. She only woke up the next day because bright sunlight
streamed through the open curtains and was directly shining in her face.
And the first thing that came in sight when she opened her eyes was someone's
face.
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