Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 124: Chapter 124

With a smirk tugging at her lips, Josie toyed with a black metal lighter in her hand as she walked step by step toward Elara.
Elara knew Josie wasn't here with good intentions. It was nothing more than the matter of breaking off the engagement. Elara averted her gaze, looking down at the latte art in her coffee cup, slowly ruining its shape with her spoon.
Josie sat down across from Elara, leaning back in the sofa chair. "I'll have a cup of Mandheling."
Elara elegantly took a sip of her coffee. "Order it yourself. Scan the code or go to the counter."
Seeing that Elara didn't even look up, Josie realized she wasn't as innocent and harmless as she appeared. Josie didn't bother with subtlety anymore and got straight to the point. "Do you know why I'm here today?"
Elara looked completely unfazed, her eyes still fixed on the coffee swirling under her spoon. "We barely know each other. How would I possibly know why you're here?"
Josie's voice sharpened with accusation. "Did you seduce him?"
Only then did Elara glance up at her, her face so composed it gave nothing away. "Ms. Heaton, I think you've got the wrong girl. Who exactly did I seduce? Your fiancé Adrian, your bed buddy Noah, or maybe one of your other side pieces?"
Josie's eyes scrutinized every feature of Elara's face, surprised to realize she was dealing with someone who wasn't easy to mess with. "I'm looking for you, Elara. Adrian told me he wants to break off the engagement. You should know about that."
Elara crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, her eyes arching slightly. "Oh, should I?"
Josie let out a mocking laugh. "Drop the act. It's just the two of us here. How much do you want? Just say it."
Elara just played dumb. "What do you mean?"
Josie's icy composure finally cracked. "How much for you to walk away from Adrian?"
Elara laughed out loud. "Ms. Heaton, you really are bold. Does Noah know how much you secretly care about Adrian?"
"Does that have anything to do with you? Cut to the chase, just name your price."
Elara picked up her coffee cup and took another sip. "I'm honestly curious, Ms. Heaton, how much are you willing to put on the table?"
"Fifteen million. Is that enough?"
Elara burst out laughing. "Ms. Heaton, is that really all the Heaton family can muster? That's not even as much as the pocket change Adrian's tossed my way."
When it came to family fortune, the Heaton family was no match for the Hartley family. Matthew used to be a top official in Veritasiton, and even after stepping down, he was still highly respected and had connections everywhere.
Because of that, most of his descendants were mixed up in politics, holding a lot of power. But no matter how much influence they had, it was still nothing like the Hartley or Montgomery families, who raked in money hand over fist from business.
Besides, even if the Heaton family was loaded, they'd never dare to show it off in public. Josie stared her down. "Is fifteen million still not enough for you? Elara, is your appetite really that big?"
Elara pulled her car keys from her coat pocket and pointed them at the black Bugatti parked outside the floor-to-ceiling window. With a beep, the headlights flashed.
"Ms. Heaton, since you're into cars, you should know how much this one's worth. It's worth way more than fifteen million. Adrian gave it to me."
She slipped the keys back into her pocket. "And he gave me a place in Veritasiton Hills. None of those houses go for less than 30 million."
"Please, having something to use isn't the same as actually owning it, is it? Has Adrian even transferred the title to you?"
He hadn't, but that was because Elara hadn't wanted it, not because Adrian hadn't offered.
"How about this? I'll have Adrian transfer the car and the house to me in the next couple of days, and then I'll have him send you a WhatsApp to let you know. How does that sound?"
"Elara, if you're after Adrian's money, that's your business, but you really shouldn't have tried to talk him into breaking off the engagement with me."
"Ms. Heaton, you've got the wrong idea. I never told him to break things off with you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Adrian breaking off the engagement with you was his way of showing he's serious about chasing me. If you have a problem with it, take it up with him. Coming to me won't change a thing."
Josie's expression froze for a second before she let out a chilly laugh. "He's the one chasing after you?"
Elara gave a lazy shrug. "Yes."
"Elara, that's the funniest thing I've heard all year. Adrian chasing after you?"
"If you don't believe me, I can call him right now and have him tell you himself."
Josie's face grew even colder. "Elara, I've seen plenty of women like you. Trust me, it never ends well for any of them."
Elara couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore. She pulled out her phone and called Adrian on WhatsApp. She put it on speaker.
The call connected quickly, and Adrian's voice came through, sounding muffled, like he'd just woken up. "Hello?"
"Mr. Hartley."
"Yeah, are you done with whatever you were doing?"
Instead of answering his question, Elara went straight for it. "Mr. Hartley, are you pursuing me?"
There was a brief pause on the other end. Adrian replied, "Damn right."
Elara met Josie's increasingly sour gaze head-on. "So what about your fiancée?"
"I've called off the engagement. Soon, I'll have my dad go to the Heaton family and make it official. Breaking off the engagement is the first step if I want to chase after you, isn't it?"
"Oh? Aren't you worried that Ms. Heaton will be heartbroken?"
"There was never anything real between us. She's been with Noah this whole time. I don't owe her a thing."
"Okay, got it."
"Are you still at the café? Want me to come over?"
Elara smiled. "Weren't you just asleep?"
Adrian's deep, husky voice was unexpectedly gentle. "So what if I was? I can get up for you. Want me to come over now?"
"Sounds good," Elara replied, sounding cheerful. It would be perfect to have Adrian kick Josie out.
"Alright, I'll be there in about half an hour."
"Okay, I'll be waiting." After hanging up, Elara smiled at Josie. "So, Ms. Heaton, did you hear that loud and clear? Are you still planning to keep complaining to me about getting dumped?"
Josie pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, took one out, and was just about to light it.
"Sorry, Ms. Heaton, no smoking inside," Elara said.
Josie put the cigarette back in the pack and went back to fiddling with her black metal lighter. "Elara, don't get too happy just yet. Do you even realize what kind of price Adrian will have to pay for breaking off the engagement?"
Elara couldn't care less, so she didn't even bother to ask. She kept sipping her coffee, totally unfazed, like she couldn't care less whether Josie said anything or not.
The metal lid of Josie's windproof lighter snapped open and shut in her hand, making a crisp clicking sound. "If he doesn't marry me, he'll be shut out of Hartley Group for good. That's exactly what Sadie wants."
Elara's fingers paused on her coffee cup for a moment, but her tone stayed lazy. "Honestly, I couldn't care less about your high-society mess."
"Oh, really? If Adrian gets kicked out, he won't see a dime of Hartley Group's fortune. That golden goose you worked so hard to reel in? He'll be worthless to you. All your scheming, down the drain. Wasn't it all for nothing?"
"Ms. Heaton, you say that like you actually have anything worthwhile to offer me," Elara said.
"I know I can't give you what you want, so I'm willing to back off," Josie replied. She sat up straighter, leaning in just a little closer to Elara.
"Adrian's into you now, so there's no way you're leaving him. Just make sure he doesn't call off the engagement. Whatever you two do in private, I won't get involved."
Elara wasn't the least bit surprised that Josie would try to compromise, but she had zero interest in that kind of messed-up arrangement.
"Oh, you mean like the thing you have going on with Noah? I gotta wonder just how many years do you think Noah's willing to play along with you."
Josie said, "Elara, if you want to be Adrian's woman, you better see the big picture. There's nothing wrong with Noah and me. It's just two people together because they want to be, and it doesn't get in the way of the family business.
"Adrian marrying me is the only leverage he has to keep Sadie in check. If this engagement falls through, he'll be completely shut out of Hartley Group."
Elara just shrugged. "Adrian's the rightful heir. If he wants back into his own family's company, does he really need you to make it happen?"
Josie snorted, "Elara, to put it nicely, you're naive. To put it bluntly, you're plain stupid. Sadie's already swapped out all the top execs at Hartley Group for her own people. She's also got the guys who used to be loyal to Joseph under control.
"Sure, Joseph wants Adrian to come back and take over, but he's way out of his depth now. Without the Heaton family's backing, Adrian will be on his own. How do you think he's supposed to claw his way back into the Hartley Group?"