Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 100: Chapter 100

Elara's world crumbled the moment she heard that familiar voice. 'Is this some kind of rich people's game? I'm the only clown here,' she thought.
She couldn't believe she'd gone soft this morning and actually swore to help Justin ruin his blind date.
"Why aren't you eating? Waiting for me?" Adrian's voice cut through the tension. He breezed past Elara and Justin, heading straight for the seat at the head of the table. There was an empty spot next to him, clearly reserved for someone.
Adrian lit a cigarette, lounging back in his chair. His eyes swept over to Justin's hand gripping Elara's, and he sneered, "So, when did you two start hooking up?"
Elara awkwardly lowered her head, digging her nails hard into Justin's palm. "You really screwed me up," she muttered.
Justin gave a helpless smile, whispering, "He's never shown up to any of my blind dates before. Who knew he'd come today?"
They both looked miserable, stuck standing there like exhibits, unable to leave or even sit down. They could only stand there, letting everyone stare at them.
The woman sitting next to Adrian spoke up. "Justin, I set you up on this blind date. Why did you bring another woman? Did you really think you could just hire some girl to pretend to be your girlfriend and get out of it?"
Justin had his response ready. "Mom, Elara is the first woman I've ever liked."
To most people, that might sound fine. However, this morning, Adrian told Justin's mother, Paige Johnson, about Justin flirting with his male colleagues. Therefore, the more Paige thought about it, the weirder it sounded.
'What does he mean, the first woman he's ever liked? Was he not into women before or something?' Paige wondered.
She frowned as she asked Adrian, "Adrian, do you know this girl? Is she really Justin's girlfriend?"
Adrian watched the fake couple with interest, taking a casual drag of his cigarette. "Yeah, I know her."
"Is she really Justin's girlfriend? Didn't you tell me this morning that he's into guys?" Paige asked.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Justin only spent some cash to rent a girlfriend on the spot to fool you, Aunt Paige."
'Turns out I was right. She really is a rental,' Paige thought.
She was furious. "Justin, you're going to drive me crazy. You won't date properly, and you won't even go on blind dates. Do you think I won't cancel your credit cards?"
"Mom, she really is my girlfriend. What website could rent out a girlfriend this beautiful?" Justin said.
Elara thought, 'Thanks a lot.'
"After all, she's the star attraction. Her appearance fee is 300 thousand dollars," Adrian chimed in, his grin turning even more roguish.
Paige shot Adrian a sharp look. "And how would you know that? Are you picking up bad habits from your cousin now?"
Adrian, always happy to stir the pot, shrugged and said, "I just booked Ms. Langton myself last night."
"You booked her last night?"
"Yeah, my family had an engagement party last night. I brought her to meet my dad. He was so pleased that he even gave her a gift."
Adrian's gaze landed on Elara's face as she tried to avoid him. "Right, Ms. Langton? I gave you a five-star review last night."
Seeing Elara shrink back behind him, Justin frowned. "Adrian, what are you even saying? Elara is your senior secretary, a triple-degree grad from Westbridge University, smart and gorgeous. How could she possibly be someone you just hired online?"
Justin was speechless. Adrian really had no filter. He wondered when Adrian would ever manage to win Elara's heart.
Justin pulled Elara closer to the table, noticing there was only one empty seat left. He glanced at the spot next to Adrian. "Can you guys scoot in a seat? There's only one spot here. How's that supposed to work?"
Paige scolded him, "There aren't any extra seats for you. You just stand there."
Elara realized she was just extra here, so she tugged on Justin's sleeve. "Maybe I should just go back to the office. You focus on your blind date."
Just as she was about to sneak off, Justin pulled her back. "If you go, I go too."
Then he turned to Paige and said, "Why not let my cousin take this blind date? He needs a girlfriend even more than I do." With that, he started to leave with Elara.
"Wait." Adrian's voice was unmistakable. When he called out, both of them froze. "How about Ms. Langton sits next to me? That way, Aunt Paige and I can really check you out," he said with a lazy grin.
'Am I just a prop here or what?' Elara thought.
Justin bristled. "You're asking my girlfriend to sit next to you?"
Paige frowned, turning to Adrian. "Didn't you say you were bringing someone? Maybe we should just add another chair."
Adrian glanced over at Elara. "No need. She landed a big client today. She's busy."
Paige just shrugged it off and went along with Adrian's arrangement. After everyone shuffled around, Elara found herself sitting right next to Adrian, with Justin on her other side. On Justin's other side sat the girl he was supposed to be set up with.
'What kind of seating arrangement is this?' Elara thought, speechless. She couldn't figure out how the girl next to Justin managed to stay so calm through all this. She could actually just sit there like nothing was wrong.
Elara, however, was about to lose it. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, forcing a smile to keep up appearances.
Paige, though still mad at Justin, didn't seem too hostile toward Elara. "Ms. Langton, are you Adrian's senior secretary?"
Elara nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
"How old are you?"
Elara glanced at Adrian, who was lounging back in his chair, clearly enjoying the show. She answered modestly, "I'm 22."
Paige nodded. "What do your parents do?"
"My dad is a physics professor at Veritasiton University, and my mom is a freelancer who now lives overseas."
Paige frowned. "Are they separated?"
"They're divorced."
"Oh."
Paige thought, 'Her family background isn't great. But she's well-mannered and actually suits my son pretty well. Family background isn't a big deal. Honestly, what matters is that Justin can settle down'
Paige nudged the man next to her. "Kurt, at least take a look at the girl your son brought home."
Kurt had actually been in the middle of a big international meeting for the company when his wife dragged him over for this blind date dinner. He was listening to department reports on mute, barely paying attention to anything else.
He glanced up, thought Elara looked kind of familiar, but didn't dwell on it. "Yeah, she seems fine. Whatever you decide is good."
Paige rolled her eyes. "All you care about is work. Your son's future isn't important to you?"
Kurt sighed, realizing he had no choice but to end the meeting abruptly. He closed his laptop and handed it to the male secretary behind him, then took off his reading glasses and looked at Elara more closely.
She was definitely pretty, but there was something about her eyes. He felt like he'd seen them somewhere before. Then he smiled and greeted Elara. "I'm Kurt Johnson, Justin's father."
Elara nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Johnson."
"So, you're from Veritasiton?"
"Yes."
Kurt nodded. "Good. So when can we set up a meeting with your parents to talk about making this official?"
"Huh?"
Elara was completely thrown off. She shot a look at Justin, and he was actually deep in conversation with his blind date, totally engrossed. Elara cursed him viciously in her heart.
Seeing Justin getting all flirty with the girl next to him, Paige rubbed her temples, thinking, 'Justin, which girl are you actually planning to date?'
Only after making the girl blush bright red did Justin finally glance over to see what was happening on his right. "I'd love to date Elara, but none of you approve. What am I supposed to do? Gotta have a backup lined up," Justin said.
Elara was completely dumbfounded. 'Wait, this isn't how we planned it,' she thought, her mind spinning.
Paige, furious, grabbed a pack of tissues and chucked it at Justin. 'You ungrateful brat! You just brought this girl here, and now you're already leaving her hanging.' Paige thought, exasperated.
Paige yelled, "Who said I don't approve?"
Justin shot back, "You and Dad really agree?"
"Can't you see I'm trying to get to know her?"
"What about Adrian? Does he approve?"
"Your cousin's just here to keep things under control. He can't decide who you date. Since when do you ever listen to your cousin anyway?"
A sly grin crept onto Justin's face. "He can't tell me what to do, but when it comes to Elara, that's a different story. He's been pursuing her for ages, but he just can't get her."