Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald?
All the whispers and side conversations felt like daggers twisting in Caroline’s heart.
What really set her off was catching both James and Natalia sneaking glances at Abigail. That was the last straw–she could literally feel her blood boiling.
Caroline shot up from her seat, face hard as stone. “I’m sorry, but I absolutely cannot agree with what Mr. Harrison just said!”
Making a scene like that in someone else’s turf was basically spitting in the host’s face.
The looks people were giving Caroline had definitely shifted from curious to straight–up judgy.
Anthony let out a cold scoff, raising an eyebrow with zero attempt to hide his disdain. “Oh really? Mind telling us exactly which part you disagree with, Ms. Yannis?”
Caroline was way too far gone with jealousy to care about saving face anymore. “Everything the Winchester Group is today? That’s all thanks to my dad!” she spat out, her voice razor–sharp. “Abigail? She’s literally just the company’s errand girl! She doesn’t even have the right degree for this! If the company hadn’t taken pity on her, there’s no way someone with her skills
Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald? would’ve landed a manager position!”
The hall went dead silent.
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After what felt like forever, someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back and let out a snicker.
“Damn, James, your little princess sure has your back,” someone next to James piped up with fake sweetness, clearly throwing shade.
James looked like he was about to be sick. Even he wasn’t shameless enough to try taking credit for this.
Gritting his teeth, James fought to swallow his humiliation. “My daughter’s young and doesn’t know any better,” he managed to say, his voice strained. “Sorry everyone had to see that.”
Caroline, completely missing how badly she’d messed up, stomped her foot and whispered, “But Dad, I can’t stand how Abigail pushes you around at work, and now she’s trying to steal your credit out here too! I just…”
“Cut it out! Just shut up already!” James whirled around, shooting her a death glare as he hissed under his breath. “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut.”
How the hell did he end up with such a clueless daughter? She was being next–level stupid–couldn’t even hold a candle to Abigail!
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Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald? Caroline’s eyes welled up with tears, her lower lip trembling. She didn’t get it—she was just trying to stick up for James.
Natalia pulled Caroline into a protective hug, keeping her voice low as she tried to calm things down. “Honey, maybe cool it with the comments? Everyone’s staring, and you’re just making this more awkward than it needs to be.”
The whole mess was turning into quite the show, and plenty of people were living for the drama.
The Winchester family’s rivals were especially eating it up, barely hiding their smirks. Some couldn’t resist twisting the knife a little deeper.
“Caroline’s totally lost it, but at least James knows his place and isn’t trying to take credit.”
“Like he could even show his face. The Winchester Group nearly went bankrupt because of his reckless investments—we’re talking billions in debt.”
Anthony let the gossip swirl for a bit, clearly enjoying the show. Once the chatter died down, he lifted the mic again.
“Listen, I don’t know what kind of pull Mr. Winchester has, but let me make one thing crystal clear–Envision Group’s partnership with the Winchester Group? That’s all about Ms. Winchester’s skills and reputation. Nobody else factored into that decision. Period.”
That was a direct shot at James, and everyone knew it.
Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald?
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James, who’d been riding high since he walked into the banquet, totally strutting around like he owned the place and daydreaming about rubbing shoulders with Mr. Fitzgerald, was now completely deflated.
Everyone else was trying not to smirk at his expense while circling back to their main reason for showing up tonight.
For all of Anthony’s fancy talk, they still hadn’t caught even a glimpse of the legendary Mr. Fitzgerald.
Finally, someone worked up the nerve to ask Anthony directly, “Mr. Harrison, so… did Mr. Fitzgerald actually show up today or what?”
Anthony didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, he’s definitely here. Just said the downstairs was too noisy, so we set him up in a private room upstairs.”
The moment those words left his mouth, people started squirming in their seats. One guy practically jumped up,
practically tripping over himself as he asked, “Any chance you could introduce me?”
The person who’d just spoken was actually kind of a big deal in Claudia–the type Anthony would normally show some respect
- to.
But what Anthony said next left everyone even more shaken.
“Sorry folks, but Mr. Fitzgerald isn’t taking visitors today. He
Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald?
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only wants to meet with Ms. Winchester and her husband in the private room upstairs. Everyone else… well, there’ll be other chances.”
Standing next to Anthony, Abigail raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“What is this Mr. Fitzgerald playing at?” she thought. “Is he trying to publicly back me up, or is he just painting a target on my back? Like, sure, with him showing such obvious favoritism, all these people who couldn’t stand me would have to just deal with it.”
From now on, nobody in the Winchester family would dare look down on Abigail. They’d probably even have to start kissing up to her.
Abigail’s frown deepened. Instead of feeling pumped about this win, she was getting more worried by the second.
Abigail’s mind was racing. She had no clue who this Mr. Fitzgerald was that Anthony kept talking about.
Abigail couldn’t figure out why someone she’d never even met would go out of their way to help her like this.
And the fact that he’d mentioned wanting to meet her husband meant he knew she was married.
A weird thought hit her–was this guy maybe trying to cause trouble between her and her husband, using this whole thing to make Marcus back off?
Chapter 100 Marcus Is Mr. Fitzgerald?
Her eyes snapped to Marcus, and something clicked. Her husband was way too chill about all of this!
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Anthony, completely missing Abigail’s internal thoughts, leaned in and whispered, “Hey Abigail, you and Fitz head up first–I’ll catch up in a sec.”
That was when everything suddenly fell into place. “Fitz…” Abigail murmured and thought. “Mr. Fitzgerald? Fitz? Anthony’s best friend, the one who supposedly knows me, admires my work and has been backing me up this whole time… Holy crap! Is Marcus actually the legendary Mr. Fitzgerald?!”
