Inside the sales office.
Gene froze for a moment after hearing General Manager Rivera's words, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Manager Gene, you don't recognize me, do you? I'm Kingsley. Our company once took out a loan from your bank, and you were the one who assisted us. I even said I'd treat you to dinner afterward..." General Manager Rivera said with a friendly smile.
Jessica, Wynter and the salesgirls in the office were all stunned upon hearing General Manager's words. Bank, loan, you assisted me! These words strung together made it clear, even to a fool, that Gene must be a bank employee!
"Is he really a manager at the Industrial and Commercial Bank?" Jessica's eyes flashed with a hint of fear. She glanced at the check she had just thrown on the ground, her mind racing. "If Gene really is a bank manager, then... then that check must be real too?"
Wynter, who had been advocating for calling the police to arrest Brentley and Gene, was also completely dumbfounded, standing there in a daze.
"Oh, it's General Manager Rivera! Now I remember!" Gene quickly sized him up and instantly recognized him.
"Manager Gene, what brings you here today? I've been meaning to treat you to dinner since last time, but never got the chance. How about we grab a drink later?" he suggested, knowing that real estate companies like his heavily relied on banks. They usually needed to secure loans from banks to start building, then repay the loans after selling the houses.
Although Gene was just a small-time manager, he was in charge of the credit department, so Mr. Rivera spoke to him with great respect.
"General Manager Rivera, your staff almost called the police to have me arrested. How can I be in the mood to have a drink with you?" Gene said with a tone of helplessness.
"Arrest you? Why would they want to do that?" he asked, frowning.
"Well, I came here today to deliver a check to Young Master Carter, but your people insisted that I was an imposter and that my check is fake, so they wanted to call the police!" Gene explained softly.
Hearing Gene's explanation, Mr. Rivera couldn't help but glance at Brentley. Although Brentley was dressed very plainly, he wasn't a fool. He knew that if Gene had come personally to deliver a check, his background must be significant.
"Young Master Carter, Manager Gene, I deeply apologize for this incident. I'll handle it right away. Please wait a moment," he said, his tone extremely respectful towards both Brentley and Gene.
"General Manager Rivera, I think you should really manage your staff better. It was hard enough for me to bring a distinguished guest like Young Master Carter to our sales office, and not only did these people not thank me, but they also wanted to call the police. What kind of behavior is that?" Caroline's tone was noticeably more assertive now that Mr. Rivera had confirmed Gene's identity.
"Yes, I will definitely handle this matter seriously!" he replied in a low voice. He then turned to look at Jessica and the others, his expression stern. "Who was it that wanted to call the police just now? Step forward!"
Jessica hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.
"Jessica Rosa, was it you who wanted to call the police?" Mr. Rivera asked, his expression showing a hint of difficulty.
Mr. Rivera knew that Jessica had a powerful boyfriend backing her up, and she had been abusing this advantage to do whatever she wanted in the company for a long time. He had always disliked her, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"General Manager Rivera, I asked this Gene to prove his identity earlier, but he refused. And that Brentley is clearly a poor guy who lived off collecting scrap in school. How could he possibly afford a mansion worth over seven million dollars? Even if Gene is really a bank manager, I think there's something fishy going on here!"
Even after learning that Gene was indeed a manager at the Industrial and Commercial Bank, Jessica still couldn't believe that Brentley had the money to buy the mansion.
"How do you know Young Master Carter doesn't have money?" Caroline asked, glaring at Jessica.
"Does he look like a rich person to you?" Jessica retorted, pouting.
"Enough, both of you, stop arguing!" Mr. Rivera scolded, his face expressionless. He then continued, "Alright, here's what we'll do. Manager Gene just brought over a check, right? I'll have our finance team verify whether it's real or fake. That will clear everything up!"
Upon hearing this, Jessica quickly picked up the check from the floor and handed it to him, saying softly, "General Manager Rivera, this is the check!"
"You left the check on the floor? If it's real, can you afford to compensate for it?" Mr. Rivera shouted at Jessica, his tone exasperated.
"General Manager Rivera, don't worry. There's no way this check is real. I'm even starting to think that Gene is just someone Brentley called over to help him put on a show!" Jessica replied confidently.
Gene looked at Jessica, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He couldn't understand why she was so sure that Brentley couldn't come up with the money.
"We'll find out if it's real or not soon enough!" he said as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. A few seconds later, a girl with glasses and a scholarly appearance hurried down the stairs.
"General Manager Rivera, did you need something?" she asked softly, addressing Kingsley.
"Faith, can you check if this check is real?" he handed the check to the girl. Faith took the check and examined it meticulously, occasionally using a magnifying glass for a closer look.
After a few minutes, she carefully handed the check back to him and said in a low voice, "General Manager Rivera, this is a standard check from the Industrial and Commercial Bank. The signatures and stamps are all in order, so this check is valid and can be cashed at any time."
Mr. Rivera's legs went weak, and his right hand holding the check began to tremble. This was a check worth seven million dollars! Just moments ago, Jessica had thrown it to the ground. If he hadn't shown up in time, things could have gone terribly wrong today!
Wynter, Jessica, and everyone else present were all stunned by Faith's words. Who would have thought that Brentley's check was actually real?
"How is this possible? Brentley is just a garbage collector. How could he have so much money?" Wynter felt like she was dreaming, her eyes blankly staring at him sitting on the sofa.
Brentley hadn't said a word from the beginning. He knew his check was real, and no amount of skepticism could change that.
"How can this check be real? Faith, you must have made a mistake!"
Jessica shouted with an unusually excited expression.
"Manager Rosa, don't worry, I definitely didn't make a mistake. If you don't believe me, you can take this check to the bank right now and ask!" Faith, the accountant, said seriously to Jessica.
"No need to go to the bank. I work at the bank, and I can confirm there's nothing wrong with this check!"
Gene replied with a serious face.
Jessica was completely stunned after hearing what the two of them said.
Meanwhile, Brentley slowly stood up and walked over to Jessica. In a soft voice, he said, "Do you remember what I told you before I bought this villa?"