Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 113: Chapter 113

The whole room was waiting for Elara to speak. Some people were just here for the show, while others genuinely cared about her true identity.
"I'm his secretary," Elara said firmly.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Beeman asked, "So, are you the flirty kind of secretary, or..."
"Come on, look at how close she is to Adrian. Do you really think she's just a proper secretary?" someone else chimed in.
Elara replied seriously, "I'm just the kind of office secretary who brews coffee and takes out the trash. That's all."
Adrian was fuming. He leaned in close to Elara's ear and muttered, "You really have to embarrass me in front of everyone like this?"
Elara turned her head slightly, her voice so low only Adrian could hear. "Come on, Adrian, you've got more than enough respect already. You don't need me to back you up."
Adrian's smile was tinged with emotion, and Elara could tell he was seriously pissed. She tried to wriggle out of Adrian's arms. "It's uncomfortable for me to stay here. Can I go back now?"
"What's the rush? There's still someone who hasn't arrived yet," Adrian replied.
Elara frowned. "Who is it?"
"You'll see when he shows up," he said.
Elara sighed, "Right now, I just want to escape into my dreams and not see anyone else."
Adrian grinned mischievously. "I promise, the person you're about to meet is even better looking than anyone in your dreams."
Seeing the two of them whispering sweet nothings without caring about the occasion, everyone tactfully looked away and buried themselves in their drinks.
Logan couldn't take it anymore. He nudged Adrian with his arm. "Wasn't my being the third wheel all night yesterday enough? Now you want a whole crowd to be third wheels with me?"
Elara looked embarrassed and put some distance between herself and Adrian. "You go hang out with them. I'll go chat with Ruby over there."
"Why not just sit here and chat with me?" Adrian said.
Elara fell silent. And then, Ruby and Elara made their way to the center of the private room. Ruby sat next to Victor, while Elara found herself next to Adrian. The guest of honor, Logan, took a seat off to the side.
At first, Elara and Ruby felt a bit awkward, but as boredom crept in, the two of them started chatting again.
"Out of everyone here, only Victor, Adrian, and Logan are actually top tier in the looks department," Ruby said, munching on a cherry.
Elara hadn't really paid attention before. "Julian's got killer looks, too, but he's too busy fighting with his siblings over the family fortune to party and have fun every day like these rich kids."
"Have you talked to him lately?" Ruby asked.
"I checked in on him today. He's doing alright. At least he's still alive," Elara replied, trying a bottle of pink wine. "Why are there so many girls here today? And none of them seem to know each other."
"Victor called them over to warm up the place, but Logan doesn't seem interested at all," Ruby said.
"Huh? Why's that?" Elara asked.
"Victor said Logan got his heart broken overseas and came back to recover," Ruby explained.
Elara thought of last night and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Everyone was already tipsy, and when Victor saw Logan still brooding over his drink, he figured it was time to stir things up a bit.
"Hey, stop drinking. There are so many pretty ladies here tonight. Why don't we play something fun together?" Victor called out.
Beeman immediately got excited. "Yeah, let's do it. How about a round of Truth or Dare?"
Elara took a sip of her pink cocktail and leaned over to Ruby, saying, "I haven't played something this cliché in, like, ten years."
Ruby, who was no stranger to romance novels, just shrugged. "Honestly, people in their circle are obsessed with this game. Every romance novel has such a scene."
"Seriously? Is this, like, the go-to party game for your crowd?" Elara asked.
"Pretty much. Most of them just want an excuse to get handsy, or the guys use it to confess, or ask stuff they'd never dare to otherwise," Ruby replied.
Elara fell silent.
A dozen or so people were playing. Those who didn't have a spot on the couch just grabbed chairs and joined in, forming a big circle.
Victor, who started the game, was the first to spin the bottle. The bottle spun around a few times before slowly coming to a stop, ending up pointing at Adrian.
Adrian shot Victor a meaningful look. "Did you do that on purpose?"
Victor just laughed. "If I really had that kind of skill, it wouldn't have landed on you."
Beeman quickly jumped in, "Come on, Adrian, truth or dare?"
Adrian casually draped his arm over the back of the couch behind Elara, his fingers playing with her hair. He said lazily, "Truth."
A bunch of girls immediately raised their hands, eager to ask a question. Victor pointed at one of them. "You go ahead."
The girl couldn't take her eyes off Adrian, curiosity written all over her face. Everyone said he fell for Josie at first sight, but could never win her over. Still, Adrian had never actually admitted it himself.
"Adrian, everyone says you've been into a girl for ages. Is that true?" the girl asked.
Elara only knew Adrian had a fiancée. She had no idea there was someone he'd liked for so long.
Adrian shot a sidelong glance at Elara and saw her take a quick sip of her fruit wine, trying to play it cool. He smiled and said, "Yeah, it's true."
As soon as he answered, a few girls in the room felt their hearts skip a beat. Looked like the rumors were spot on. Adrian really was totally into Josie.
Ruby immediately glanced at Elara, and seeing her face was perfectly calm, she relaxed and went back to picking at the fruit platter.
Adrian sat up straight and spun the bottle. This time, the bottle landed on Nina. Nina chose dare. Everyone knew Beeman had a thing for Nina, so they let him come up with the dare.
Beeman thought for a moment and said, "Pick someone of the opposite sex here and share a strawberry, mouth to mouth."
Elara frowned.
Nina didn't seem upset. She glanced at Adrian first, but when she saw his cold expression, she turned to the always good-natured Victor. "Victor, would you be okay with that?"
Ruby bit into a cherry tomato, her eyes icy as ever. Elara, who knew Ruby well, could tell she was bothered.
Victor laughed and shook his head. "My girl's right here. Isn't that a bit much?"
Nina frowned. Victor was known for being a player, but he'd never publicly admitted to having a girlfriend. "Victor, since when do you have a girlfriend?"
He looked at Ruby and pointed at her with his thumb. "She's been sitting next to me all night. Can't you tell?"
Nina felt a chill running down her spine. This was the second time she'd been rejected tonight.
Beeman, who was sitting nearby, gave her an encouraging look. "Nina, just pick someone else."
Maybe Nina was too afraid of being rejected again, so she grabbed a glass of wine. "I lost. I'll just drink instead."
Beeman didn't say anything.
Nina spun the bottle, and it landed on Ruby.
Ruby chose dare.
The chance to come up with the dare went to Victor. He grinned, "Pick someone to do the strawberry thing with."
Ruby arched a brow. "Keep dreaming." She grabbed her glass and was about to take a sip.
Victor pushed her glass back down on the table. "New rule. If you choose dare, you can't drink."
"Nope, not happening," Ruby shot back. She was a pro at this game. Victor never managed to get the upper hand with her. After finishing her drink, Ruby stood up and spun the bottle. It landed right on Victor.
Victor shot Beeman a look, and Beeman immediately got the hint. "Victor, pick someone to do the strawberry thing with," Beeman said.
Without missing a beat, Victor turned to Ruby.
Ruby smiled. "I refuse."
Victor grinned. "Refusal doesn't count." The next second, he slipped a strawberry into Ruby's mouth and leaned in, biting the other half.
With the strawberry held between their lips, Victor bit off the bottom, leaving the sweet tip in Ruby's mouth. Ruby quickly let go, and the half-eaten strawberry fell to the floor.
The crowd around them erupted into cheers. "Victor, just eat the strawberry. Why'd you have to kiss her?"
Elara, sitting nearby, could clearly see that Victor had used the strawberry as an excuse to kiss Ruby on the lips. She watched as Ruby's ears turned red, and she couldn't help but laugh.
The bottle stopped spinning and landed right on Elara, who was still teasing Ruby. Her smile faded instantly, a sense of dread creeping in.
Sure enough, Adrian looked at her and drawled, "Strawberry—"
Before he could say more, Elara pressed her soft palm over his mouth. "The strawberries are all gone."
Adrian took her hand away, undeterred. "Then how about grapes—"
"I'm allergic to grapes," Elara replied.
"Cherries—"
"I pick truth—" Elara tried to change the subject, but Adrian suddenly cupped the back of her neck and kissed her right then and there. Elara immediately tasted the alcohol lingering on his lips.
The kiss was over in a flash, barely a second, before he pulled away. All the girls in the room were left absolutely speechless, totally blindsided by the PDA.
Elara bristled. "Adrian, you're totally breaking the rules."
Adrian flashed a charming smile. "I'll take a penalty shot." He picked up his glass and knocked it back without hesitation.
Everyone in the room, except Victor and Logan, was left with their jaws on the floor.
Just then, the door to the private room swung open, and a woman's voice rang out. "Why's it so quiet in here? Is it because I haven't arrived yet?"
Everyone was even more shocked, their eyes all turning toward the door. Standing there were a man and a woman.
Elara's eyes nearly popped out when she saw who it was. "Noah..."