Chapter 27 Pretense âFinny, are you really not visiting Max at the hospital? After all, he is your cousin. Your Uncle Adrianâs family members are your kin!â
âBut some relatives are no better than outsiders, like the Mdm. Dickson and her family, who used to live next door. How can Uncle Adrianâs family even compare to them?â Finnegan. countered.
âQuiana, donât trouble Finny anymore. Even I donât want to waste my time entertaining them either when I look at your brotherâs familyâs repulsive demeanor.â
âMom, Dad, I am going to Bellridge to visit a patient. I may be away for a few days, but do call me if anything happens.â
Quiana fell silent.
The next morning, Finnegan rejected Quianaâs pleas once again before leaving the house. He asked Alisha to send him to the car showroom.
The trip might take a few days. Finnegan intended to give Lindsey an acupuncture treatment first. At the same time, buy Rhiannon a car as a birthday gift. He wanted to avoid being pressed for time if he were to do those things upon his return.
However, Finnegan found out Lindsey was still on the way when he got there.
While waiting, Finny looked at the vehicles on display. The sales staff recognized him as Lindseyâs friend, so they left him alone.
âMister, are you interested in buying a car?â asked a new saleswoman who had just started working there yesterday.
She didnât meet with Finnegan the other day.
He noticed her nametag: Lucy Watson.
Finnegan nodded. âI want to buy a car for my sister to gift to her as a birthday present.â
A seasoned saleswoman, Wendy Mabins, chuckled, âHey, handsome, quit teasing the young lady.
Youâre a friend of Ms. Jennings, and your sister has been here many times. How can your family afford a car? If you want to see Ms. Jennings, wait in her office. Donât bother the girl for no reason.â
The other salespeople also snickered, as they were certain Finnegan was just joking with Lucy.
Finnegan had heard of how snobbish the salespeople at a car dealership could be. Unexpectedly, he encountered the experience that day, not to mention from Lindseyâs subordinates.
He sighed inwardly and turned to Lucy, âIf youâre busy, I can wait for your manager to come.â
âItâs all right. There arenât many customers this morning, so Iâll show you around.â
Lucy smiled sweetly, not looking down on Finnegan like Wendy and the others.
The girlâs innocence left a good impression on Finnegan. âCan you recommend a car thatâs suitable for girls to drive? Prioritize the suitability without minding the price.â
Hearing Finneganâs tone, Wendy whispered disdainfully, âWe are well aware of his background, so why is he still keeping up the pretense?â
Finnegan heard her but didnât bother to respond. Instead, he followed Lucy to look at the cars.
A moment later, a man and a woman walked in. The man wore an expensive suit with a luxury watch worth hundreds of thousands on his wrist. Even his leather shoes were worth tens of thousands.
Although the woman wasnât wearing any branded items, her outfit alone was worth tens of thousands.
Wendy, an experienced saleswoman adept at identifying potential customers, quickly got up to greet them, âAre you two here to survey a car?]
Her attitude did a one-eighty from before as she was now approaching the customers with great passion.
That man, Yosef Haimowitz, grunted in response. âIâm getting engaged on Saturday, and I want to gift my fiancée a Porsche 718. Can you recommend one?â
âSure, follow me,â said Wendy while leading them to the exhibition area where Finnegan and Lucy were also present.
Wendy uttered in disdain, âGet out of the way. Iâm showing the cars to my clients. Donât block the way.â
The tall and beautiful woman, wearing heavy makeup, stared at Finnegan and asked tentatively, âFinnegan?â
Finnegan turned around and immediately recognized the woman calling him. âXimena, itâs been a while.â
He was very familiar with the woman before him. She was Ximena Larkin, the daughter of his Uncle Raymond She had frequently bullied him and Rhiannon when they were young.
r Finnegan never expected to meet her there.
After confirming that it was really Finnegan, Ximena sneered and hooked her arm around. Yosefâs, âI thought Uncle Desmond was kidding when he said youâve returned. I didnât you to dare to come back.
Arenât you afraid of being beaten to death by Mr. Killian?â
Yosef glanced at Finnegan and said contemptuously, âIs he your younger cousin you mentioned who hit Mr. Killian?â
expect âThatâs him.â Ximena said sarcastically. âWhen my Uncle Desmond was a teacher, his family. was doing very well. Finnegan and his sister bullied me a lot. Fortunately, karma caught up with him. He offended Mr. Killian and caused his familyâs downfall. Subsequently, our family flourished.â
Finnegan merely grinned in silence while taking in her detestable mien as she distorted the truth.
He had discerned his relativesâ true colors after the incident five years ago. While pointing to a car, he said to Lucy, âThis one will do. Please help me process the order as soon as possible because Iâm giving it to my sister as a birthday present in a few days.â
Ximena laughed out loud, âFinnegan, this is a top-spec Porsche 718. The total cost is probably close to two million. Donât fool around with me. If you can afford this car, why does your family still live in a run-
down house? Miss, donât waste your time with him. We are your real potential clients.â
Wendy was afraid to lose the chance of securing the sale, so she hastily pushed Lucy aside. âHurry up and take him elsewhere. Donât affect me from closing this deal. Otherwise, you can forget about passing your internship.â
Lucy was caught off guard and was shoved to the side. Fortunately, Finnegan quickly grabbed hold of her. âAre you okay?â
Ximena mocked, âFinnegan, donât embarrass yourself here. Iâm your cousin, and if you cause a scene, it will also bring shame to me. My fiance wonât be pleased if that happens.â
Finnegan let go of Lucy and handed her a card, âIâll make full payment by card.â
What?
No one expected Finnegan to react in such a straightforward and terse manner.
Ximena was also taken aback Could this guy be rich now?
However, she quickly dismissed the thought and oncluded that Finnegan couldnât be wealthy Otherwise, his family wouldnât have been arving in such poverty for the past five years. And seeing how he was dressed in cheap clothes from head to toe further convinced >
her belief.
She continued to ridicule him, âFinnegan, do you think youâre Mr. Milesâ son?â
In an effort to please her customers, Wendy chimed in, âExactly. Your sister often comes to our store, so we know about your familyâs financial situation. What are you still pretending for?â
Finnegan ignored their jeers. He flashed a faint smile and said, âMiss, stop daydreaming and just swipe the card.â
Lucy hesitated before receiving the card. âPlease give me a moment.â
She brought over the point-of-sale machine and processed the payment in front of everyone.
The sardonic smile on Ximenaâs lips became even more pronounced as she prepared to humiliate Finnegan severely if the payment failed.
To her surprise, after a few seconds, the point-of-sale machine beeped with the sound of a successful payment and began to print out a receipt.
Everyone was stunned. Yosef looked at Ximena in confusion. âDidnât you say heâs poor?â
Now that Finnegan had successfully made the payment, it seemed that Ximena was the one who had been proven wrong, but Yosef felt he was indirectly humiliated too.
Ximena shook her head and looked at the bill costing one million nine hundred and twenty thousand that had just been successfully paid. After confirming that it wasnât an illusion, her mind raced to come up with an excuse to comfort herself. âFinnegan, you are such a spendthrift. If Iâm not mistaken, this is your familyâs demolition compensation, right?â
Hearing that, Yosef nodded slightly, âSo heâs using his relocation fund to act rich. How interesting.â
He looked at Finnegan with an increasingly scornful expression.
Finnegan couldnât be bothered to explain. He took back the card, put it in his pocket, and beamed at Lucy. âI shall trouble you to handle the subsequent procedures and insurance- related matters. Please pass the documents to your manager after they are ready, and she will hand them to me.â He then went to Lindseyâs office to wait for her arrival.
Lucy, who was still in a daze from closing such a profitable deal on her second day of work, muttered, âAll right.â
Wendy looked at the bill enviously. Her voice was laced with a hint of jealousy as she uttered, âHeâll definitely ask our manager to cancel the order later. He only swiped the card to keep up the pretense.â
Ximenaâs eyes lit up after she heard Wendyâs remark. She grew more at ease. âI see. This cousin of mine is so good at pretending.â
THE r