Mark, the Professional

Chapter 6 Meeting the Lawrence

“Mrs. Lawrence, tu casa, mi casa,” Mark replied with a cheeky smile and took out from his pocket a jade bracelet. He handed it to Judy, “Here’s a little present for you, my beautiful Mrs. Lawrence.”

Judy took a look but didn’t accept the bracelet. “Ah. It’s nice of you, knowing to bring a present, but I don’t accept any cheap stuff.” She mocked. Judging by Mark’s attire, Judy thought him someone without much money. She looked down upon him.

Kate took a glance at the bracelet and said uncertainly, “Emerald green jadeite bangle?”

Judy turned to look at her daughter in surprise. The name of the jewelry sounded fancy to her. “Emerald green jadeite bangle.” She repeated after Kate. “I don’t know much about jade, you see.” She said a bit guiltily.

Mark smiled and handed the piece to Kate.

“It’s carved to a classic round shape, bright emerald green color with good translucency. It’s a beautiful piece.” Kate observed carefully and commented. Though Kate didn’t study about jewelry much, she had experience in purchasing and had collected quite a lot herself. She knew enough to tell easily that it wasn’t anything cheap.

“Hmm. How much do you think this bangle is worth then, Kate?” Judy asked curiously.

“The market price should not be lower than two thousand pounds, and if it’s sold in an auction, it can go up to ten thousand easily,” Kate said and returned the bracelet to Mark. She gave him an unfriendly look and wondered if that was the reason why Mark borrowed money from her. It looks like he’s got a plan. He thinks that pleasing my parents to get their approval will help get mine. Ha. Naïve.

“Ten thousand pounds?!” Judy repeated. She looked at the bracelet again, this time, with a happy smile. She adored money.

Though the Lawrence was wealthy and successful, it didn’t necessarily mean Matt Lawrence had much to do with the family’s property. Matt was the youngest son in the family.

His two older brothers, Marcus and Nate, were both hardworking and competent. Marcus was the president of the Lawrence Corporation, the family company, and Nate, the vice-president. However, Matt, who was now in his fifties, was still just the human resources director of the company. Therefore, Matt didn’t really have much property except the villa. Most of the jewelry that Judy had was worth no more than two hundred pounds each.

Every time when Judy gathered with her girl friends at tea parties and talked about jewelry, she would find an excuse and avoided the topic as she felt embarrassed. It was understandable that she got excited for seeing a jade bracelet of such high value.

She wanted it, but now she found it too awkward to ask. She blinked at Matt, hoping he got the message. And of course, Matt did. He knew his wife well, probably too well.

Matt pointed at the sofa and said politely with a smile, “Take a seat, Mark. Make yourself at home. Would you like a drink?”

“Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.” Mark did make himself at home as he always did wherever he went. “Yes, a whisky would be very nice.” He placed the bracelet on the table casually, knowing that Judy was yearning to grab it and put it on.   

“So, what do you do, Mark?” Matt asked.

“I don’t have a job now. I’ve just got back to Manchester.”

“I see. Do you have a house or any property here?” Matt pursued.

“No,” Mark answered briefly.

“Do you drive? I believe you have some nice cars?”

“I do drive, but I don’t have a car.”

Matt was utterly disappointed. Useless. Penniless. He thought. However, he managed to remain calm and said, “No worries. If you don’t mind, stay here tonight and tomorrow you can go and look for a job. What do you think?”

“Ah, it’s unnecessary. I mean, Kate is very talented and she makes more money than we can spend. There’s no need for me to work.” Mark smiled and said matter-of-factly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There came a loud and persistent knock at the door. The housemaid rushed to open to the door only to see three masculine men waiting impatiently.

“Where’s the b***h? Kate Lawrence!” One of the men shouted angrily and pushed the housemaid away.

“Get out or I will call the police.” Kate stood up, alert. She was just threatening them but actually took out her phone to call the police. The man with a tattoo on his hand came forward and slapped Kate’s phone off her hand. “Don’t you dare!” He glared at her.

“Who are you?” Judy stood up and shouted back at the man.

“Shut the f**k up!” The man demanded.

Matt took a look at Mark, who remained seated quietly and thought he wasn’t going to be of any help. Too frightened to confront the three tough men, he retreated to the kitchen secretively, intending to call the police.

“Threw your phone away or I will chop your hand off.” The man threatened.

Terrified, Matt dropped his phone.

“I will speak to your boss tomorrow. It has nothing to do with my family. Leave my parents alone.” Kate looked at the three men and spoke as calmly as she could. She didn’t feel safe at all as she knew how cruel these guys could be, yet she could only act calm so as not to worry her parents more.

“Tomorrow? Haha. Our boss has given you enough time to get it done! Give us the contract right now!” The tattooed man demanded.

Slap!

He gave Judy a hard slap on her face. Judy screamed in pain, lost balance, and fell over.

“Judy!” Matt rushed over to her and held her in his arms. “You can’t hit my wife!” He shouted. The man responded with a sneer.

Kate took a deep breath. She was as furious as scared. She was certain that if she angered them more, they would probably beat the s**t out of her parents and herself. She had to be cautious with how she should react.

“Contract, right now!” The man demanded again and lifted his arm up, threatening to hit Kate.  

Bang!

Before the man landed his fist on Kate, he got smashed on his head. “f**k!” he cursed.

It was then when the three men noticed Mark, who had thrown a quick and sudden punch at the tattooed man.

“I guess you work for Tommy Smith, the badass,” Mark said with a sneer.