"Do you remember that she slapped a man on her way out of the restaurant yesterday? Guess who the man was." Barely giving his friends the time to answer, Josh did it himself. "He's Mark Gunter, the heir to the Blossoms Group!"
"The f*ck!? The Blossoms Group!?"
David was shocked. He got to his feet and said loudly, "The Blossoms Group is one of the top ten organizations in Ridgeview! They're the parent company of Blossoms Retail, which has branches everywhere! Also, Blossoms Retail is only one of the group's many ventures! Sophie did it this time. Of all the men to slap, why did she have to slap him? She's done for!"
Logan shot the blabbering David a look, and the latter quickly shut his mouth. Then, Logan turned to Josh. "Isn't Sophie's family influential as well? Can't they do anything about this?"
Logan was thinking that Sophie's family had an account in Goldguard Bank, so they should have some degree of influence.
"Sophie's family owns a company as well. It's called Divine Dragon Logistics. They can't hold a candle to Blossoms Group," said Josh with a frown.
"Joey told me that their company has been receiving calls about their business partners intending to cancel their collaborations today. Sophie's dad must be worried sick right now." Josh crossed his arms before himself. He was also shaking his feet anxiously.
"This must be the work of the Blossoms Group. I've read about them online. Their president, Marvin Gunter, is Mark's father. There are many negative news reports about him. It's said that he's especially ruthless when he's dealing with his problems." Ross looked at Josh and then at Logan with a serious expression on his face.
Josh's phone rang. Joey was calling him. Josh had a heavy expression when he answered the call.
"Alright, I'll head over right now. Yes. Okay. Bye," said Josh before he curtly ended the call.
"Sophie's dad called her. It must be one of Marvin's tricks. He was completely open with his request. He says that if Sophie spends the night with Mark, he will turn a blind eye to the incident and sweep it under the rug! If she disagrees, Marvin will make sure that Sophie's family goes bankrupt!"
"Mark was giving her strange looks yesterday. He will destroy Sophie if she agrees to the one-night stand. F*ck! That pair of father and son… They're shameless!" cursed David indignantly.
Josh and the others knew what spending a night with Mark meant.
"Enough talk. Let's head over to Joey's dorm. We'll think of something for Sophie." Josh stood up abruptly.
The four of them went together. They locked their door and hurried toward their destination.
After registering their names with the dormitory manager, Josh led the others to the third floor and opened the door to Sophie's dorm.
Sophie and her friends looked gorgeous when they were out in public, but their room environment was not necessarily pleasing to the eye. Joey's bed was the only one that was made. The blankets of the other three beds were left in various forms.
Joey, Wren, and Bella sat beside Sophie. They looked worried. Sophie was hugging her knees tightly as she sat on her bed and sobbed.
"How is she?" Josh stepped into the room and directed his question to Joey.
Joey stood up and pulled the boys toward the door. After throwing a worried glance at Sophie, she lowered her eyes and whispered, "Sophie's dad found out about the trouble she's gotten herself into and gave her a good scolding over the phone. She has been crying for almost three hours. Her dad said that if they can't find any other way around this, she will have to spend the night with Mark!"
"The f*ck? What kind of father is he?" David could not help but vent his frustration.
"I guess he was merely emotional when he said that. After all, about eight of his business partners called him to dissolve their contracts. Anyone else would have been in a bad mood as well. Her father gave me a call and asked me to look after her. He's trying to contact his acquaintances and see if he can do something about this situation!" After saying that, Joey led the boys to Sophie.
"Stop crying, Sophie. We can report Marvin to the police if he tries anything funny!" Josh offered with his brows tightly knit.
David immediately produced his phone and spoke with an eager expression. "Did someone say, call the police? I'll dial 911 right away!"
"Don't."
Sophie finally raised her head and showed her small face. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying. She had lost her proud edge from yesterday. After all, David and the others were doing this for her.
Sophie blew her nose with the tissue Wren gave her. With her eyes still wet with tears, she said, "It's pointless to call the police now. After all, things will be much more complicated if the police are involved."
Sophie was from a rich family, after all. She had some knowledge about the methods people like her father would choose to deal with problems like this.
Marvin might be angered if they tried to get the police involved in this. The situation would be much worse if Marvin was angry, given his Gunter's influence and skills.
"Let's ask for someone else's help. If we can get to the higher echelon, we can change this. I'll try calling my dad," said Josh. He took out his phone and stood in the corner to make a phone call.
"I'll try asking around as well," said Joey, Wren, and Bella.
However, they knew that trying to stop Marvin Gunter of the Blossoms Group from having his way with the influence of their families was not just difficult—it was impossible!
"Don't worry. You'll be fine soon enough!" said Logan.
