Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Elara walked fast, her long strides eating up the ground. Ruby jogged to keep up. "Elara. Wait up!"
Elara kept walking, ignoring Ruby.
Ruby shouted from behind, "Hey, Elara! Slow down. Are you mad at me? Don't be angry. I'll stop talking to Victor, okay? If you don't want to delete that post, don't. We'll expose him. Okay?
"If you're still mad, let's sue him for home invasion harassment, okay?" Ruby explained urgently, forgetting her high heels. Suddenly, she twisted her ankle. She wailed, "Ouch!"
Elara stopped.
Ruby looked miserable. "Elara, I twisted my ankle. It really hurts. Please wait for me."
"Next time, act more convincing, Ruby. Also, I already deleted the post. You can go brag to Victor now. I'm really mad today. Let's not be friends for three days." With that, Elara turned and walked away.
"Elara! I really twisted my ankle." Ruby's face flushed red with pain.
She was about to call Elara, who was walking away, when Julian's creepy voice sounded behind her. "What? Home invasion harassment?"
Ruby's heart dropped.
Elara walked out of the Aurora Club, ready to call a cab on her phone. A cool autumn breeze blew by. She pulled her coat tighter and looked up, spotting the person she'd been thinking about all day. She froze.
Ruby had just finished telling Julian everything about last night and limped over. Even though she valued guys, she'd never ditch her pals.
Ruby saw Elara standing by the roadside and thought, 'My Elara's the best; she's waiting for me after our fight.'
She walked up and hooked arms with Elara. "Elara, I'm sorry. Don't be mad, okay? I'll ignore Victor from now on. We're not breaking up. I'll block him right now."
She grabbed her phone, opened WhatsApp, and showed Elara the screen. "Look. That's Victor. I'm blocking him. It's done. Please don't be mad at me. There are tons of guys out there, but none are as important as you."
Ruby kept talking, but Elara didn't say a word. She stopped, glanced at Elara, and then followed her gaze. Ruby saw Alex.
Ruby limped forward a few steps and called out, "Alex!"
Alex looked up, startled to see Ruby as he'd just remembered something. Sure enough, he spotted Elara a few steps away. Flustered, he pushed the woman in his arms away, staring only at Elara.
Elara's eyes were red. On a September night, the cool breeze blew her long hair, making her look hauntingly beautiful. She didn't move toward them; she just stood there, watching Alex.
Elara was really done in tonight. Last night, it was just physical exhaustion. Tonight, she was drained, body and soul. The last straw was Alex.
Alex hadn't picked her up tonight or come to her welcome-back dinner. He said he had to deal with his dad's stuff. But now, here he was at the club entrance, hugging another woman.
Alex and Elara weren't dating, but she'd had a crush on him for six years. By now, everyone knew Elara liked Alex, and Alex knew it too.
He hadn't dated anyone all those years; she thought she was part of the reason. But now, he was just back in town, already hugging someone. Elara thought bitterly, 'Guess the one he likes is here after all. That's it.'
Elara was devoted, but she wasn't some clingy, desperate person without self-respect.
Alex wore a fitted white shirt with sleeves rolled up, showing off his lean arms. His dark gray pants highlighted his long legs as he walked slowly toward Elara.
Nancy stood beside him in a little white dress. As a wealthy family's kid, she looked and acted the part.
"Elara, Ruby," he greeted them calmly.
Ruby pouted and fired off, "Didn't you say you were meeting a lawyer today and couldn't make it to Elara's welcome party? What are you doing here... flirting?"
Alex didn't explain. "Just waiting for someone here."
"Who?"
Just as Alex was about to speak, Nancy chimed in, "I'm taking Alex to meet my brother. You guys done here?"
Ruby glared at Alex and spat out, "Oh, so you're meeting family now?"
Alex's eyes stayed on Elara's red eyes. "No, her brother can help with my dad's case, so I thought I'd meet him."
Ruby frowned, "Help Dylan's case? A judge? No way, a judge wouldn't come to a place like this."
Alex said, "He's a lawyer, boss of Anchor Law Firm, the biggest in Veritasiton. He's Nancy's brother. I couldn't get an appointment, so I asked Nancy to set up a meeting."
Ruby had an "aha" moment. "Is it... Adrian?"
Alex looked surprised. "You know him?"
Ruby thought, 'What a small world.' She said to Alex, "Seriously, if you'd told me earlier you were busy all day to meet with him, you could've just come to Elara's welcome party and seen him there."
Alex asked in surprise, "You were together earlier?"
Ruby replied, "Yeah. But are you hiring him for Dylan's case? I heard he won't take on civil disputes like this. He only handles big company cases, and he charges a lot."
Alex nodded. "I know, so today was just about trying my luck. Meeting him would be the best."
"Adrian!" Nancy yelled excitedly as she saw Adrian coming out of the door.
Alex and Ruby looked over. Adrian walked out with his jacket over his arm, with Victor. Then, a car horn honked; it was Elara's ride.
Nancy tugged at Alex's arm to head toward Adrian, but he didn't move.
Alex let go of Nancy's hand and hurried after Elara to get to her car. "Elara."
Elara didn't turn around but stopped walking.
He rushed over to her. "Sorry, I couldn't give you a proper welcome today. I'll pick you up tomorrow, alright? We'll go to a really good restaurant for dinner."
Elara didn't even get a chance to reply when Nancy shouted, "Alex, come on! Adrian's leaving."
Alex reached out and messed up Elara's hair. "Go home first, and text me when you're there." Then he left her and jogged over to Nancy.
Elara opened the car door and slid into the back seat. Ruby got in and sat next to her.
The car drove off. Adrian and Victor were standing by the roadside, waiting for a designated driver.
Elara leaned her head against the window, tired, and watched the scenery go by. She saw Nancy held Alex's hand and introduced him to Adrian. Alex smiled and shook Adrian's hand. She then looked away, staring straight ahead.
Alex had been single for ages. Even though girls hit on him, he never flirted back. This was the first time Elara had seen another girl get so close to him, and he didn't push Nancy away.
Elara was sad. The worst part was she didn't even have the right to ask him about it.
Adrian's hand still wasn't bandaged. Elara had only bit a tiny spot on his thumb, but she bit hard, so Victor planned to take him to the emergency room first.
As they stepped out, Adrian heard Nancy calling him. He ignored her, lit a cigarette, and walked to the curb.
While they waited for their designated driver, Nancy came over. "Adrian, are you done with the party?"
Adrian just smoked quietly, not saying a word.
Victor frowned and tutted. 'Even his sister needs me to handle stuff,' he sighed in his heart tiredly. He flashed a polite smile to Nancy. "Nancy, did you just leave the party too?"
Nancy shook her head. "No, we're waiting for Adrian."
"Who else?" Victor glanced at Adrian's bleeding wound. "Why wait for us? We've got other things to do."
Nancy turned and yelled, "Alex, come on! Adrian's leaving."
Victor and Adrian looked over and saw Alex in a white shirt talking gently to Elara, and then patting her head.
Victor glanced at Adrian. "Dude, Elara's got guys all over the place. Adrian, you better step it up."
Adrian took a deep drag of his cigarette, his face blank. "Step it up with what?"