Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Adrian wasn't ready. He stumbled back a few steps. Before he could recover, Julian was already ready to throw another punch.
Victor jumped in fast to stop him. "Mr. Quinn! Mr. Quinn, what're you doing?"
Alex grabbed Julian's arm. "Julian, what're you up to?"
Victor paused when he heard that. "Do they know each other too?"
Julian shouted, "Alex, Adrian's a total jerk. He bullied Elara!"
Everyone looked at Adrian, whose mouth was bleeding. He wiped the blood, pressed his tongue against his cheek, and got this dangerous look on his face. Victor, who knew him well, knew Adrian was gonna fight back.
Victor held Adrian back. "You're a lawyer. Don't start a fight."
Alex looked worried when he heard Elara was involved. "What happened, Julian?"
Julian said, "He dragged Elara into a private room earlier. He tried to force himself on her. And he made her cry."
Alex paused for a second. His calm face turned serious. He turned to Adrian. "Mr. Hartley, is what Julian said true?"
Victor stepped in quickly to play peacemaker. "No, you got it all wrong. We were just talking with Ms. Langton."
Julian cut in to challenge. "Talking? I saw the security footage. The room's got chairs and a couch, but he didn't sit and chat. Instead, he pushed Elara against the door and forced a kiss.
"When she resisted, he held her tight and wouldn't let go. You call that talking?"
These words were the same as those ones Victor had said to Adrian. Victor grinned, defending his quiet friend. "Calm down. It was just a bad camera angle. If you don't believe me, call Ms. Langton and check."
Nancy saw Alex's expression and stepped in. "Alex, Adrian's never been into women since he was a kid, so he wouldn't do anything to Elara."
Adrian was totally speechless.
Victor felt even more stressed. This day was dragging on forever.
Nancy grabbed Alex's arm to stop him from doing something dumb. "And we saw Elara just now. She was okay, right?"
Alex knew Elara wasn't okay. He had thought Elara had cried because she saw him hugging Nancy, but it turned out Adrian had messed with her.
Alex clenched his fist, and then let go. He got calm again and said softly, "Mr. Hartley, since it's a misunderstanding, I won't bother you this late." Then he turned to Julian, "You're drunk. I'll drive you home."
After that, he tried to pull Julian away, but Julian refused. "No! I gotta fight him properly today," Julian shouted at Adrian.
Adrian sneered coldly, "Illegitimate child, no wonder."
Julian was pissed off. "Come again? You jerk. How about when you forced yourself on Elara? Didn't that make you feel like a monster?"
Adrian said, "I'm the monster? Why don't you ask her why she didn't fight back when she walked into my room naked yesterday?"
Julian fired back. "Shut up. How dare you bring that up, you scumbag!"
"Julian, calm down. What happened yesterday? Wasn't Elara still overseas?" Alex asked.
Julian stayed calm and explained to Alex, "When we were abroad, Adrian and Victor teamed up to trick Elara into Adrian's room. After that, they falsely accused her right then and there of trespassing and sexual harassment to cover it up.
"Alex, Elara was taking a shower when Adrian barged in rudely. Elara exposed them on Tweet, and now they're here to make her delete the post."
Alex's calm look disappeared. Anger filled his chest, and without thinking, he clenched his fist and punched Adrian.
Victor quickly blocked it, taking the hit himself. He explained, "It's my fault. I've been wanting to work with Ms. Langton, and she finally agreed.
"But last night, the hotel was fully booked on short notice, so I gave her the room I always save for Adrian. Adrian didn't know at the time."
Alex defended Elara. "Since you gave the room reserved for someone else to Elara at the last minute, shouldn't you have checked with Adrian first? After all, she's a woman; she shouldn't have to put up with such unfair treatment."
Victor replied, "You're right. I apologize. I'll take the punch, and we won't make a big deal out of Adrian getting hit. You're looking for a lawyer for your dad, right? I'll handle it; I'll find one for you. Please don't be mad."
Alex shook his head and scoffed, "A minute ago, you refused to help, and now that you wanna calm things down, you're offering an olive branch?"
Victor forced a smile. "Mr. Keating, we talked this over with Elara to settle the issue. It's all sorted now. You're her friends, so let's be friends from now on. Helping each other should be a piece of cake."
"I'll check with Elara later. If everything's settled, we won't bother you. Friends? Nah. We're not on your level." After saying that, Alex grabbed Julian's arm and pulled him toward his car.
It was 2 a.m., and the Aurora Club was just kicking off. Alex drove out of the underground garage, on his way home.
In the car, the two guys were quiet for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Julian broke the silence. "Alex, are we just calling it quits?"
Alex looked tired, his voice all hoarse. "You just got back in the group, so don't stir up trouble. And it's the Hartleys and the Montgomerys we're dealing with."
Hearing that, Julian hung his head. The confident guy turned into a helpless kid. "But Alex, they bullied Elara."
Alex gripped the steering wheel tight, clearly mad himself. "Elara's safe now. We fought back. Let's just drop it."
Julian wasn't totally convinced, but he knew Alex was right. Since they'd backed down, keeping the fight going could cause problems.
Then Julian asked, "Hey, Alex, what did Victor mean? Are you here to ask them for help? Didn't you already hire a lawyer? You said we had a good shot at winning the case, right?"
Alex didn't say a word.
Julian sighed, "Alex, you're not telling the whole truth again. Are you in some kind of trouble?
"And what's up with Nancy? Didn't you say you'd sort things out with Elara and be together after you got back? Now you're hanging out with Nancy so much. Doesn't that bug Elara?"
Alex didn't answer. While waiting at a red light, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He looked beat but still reminded Julian, "Julian, don't be so impulsive in the future.
"I can't be part of your circle. If you get in trouble again, I won't be able to help you."
Hearing that, Julian bowed his head. To Julian, Elara, and Ruby, Alex was the best big brother ever. Since they were kids, he'd protected them. Even now that they were grown up, he still treated them like kids who needed looking after.
When Julian was a kid, he got bullied at school and called a bastard. Alex took him to stand up to the bullies. In junior high, seniors picked on Julian, so Alex called their leader's parents to school to sort it out.
In high school, during his rebellious phase, Julian often fought with street gang members. Alex, in college, would rush back on weekends.
They'd play basketball all afternoon, and then go online all night. That wore Julian out. Then, Alex would give Julian some solid life advice.
Alex was such an awesome guy that it made Julian feel small. Now Julian was one of the top heirs of the big four families in Veritasiton. Julian got it all now. But Alex, as his big brother, smartly kept his distance at the right time.
Alex still worried Julian might get the short end of the stick in that circle. "Alex, why won't you take the house and car I bought you?" Julian asked, looking at the plain car.
"Why give me those things? Can't I earn them myself?"
Alex could definitely earn money. He was always a top student growing up. He went to the best college in Veritasiton. In his senior year, top firms offered him jobs. Now, his salary was great.
But it wasn't the same. Julian's gifts weren't like his own earnings.
Alex said in a serious tone, "Julian, I need a favor. It's about my dad's case. It's a bit tricky. But promise me; don't tell the others."