Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 133: Chapter 133

Ruby saw the Instagram post and quickly commented: [Alex?]
Elara remembered that Ruby and Adrian had added each other on WhatsApp, so she replied: [Yeah, he even contacted a renovation company and said he'd take me to choose the renovation style today.]
Justin commented with a winking emoji: [Yeah, you have to meet up to go to the Housing Authority for the transfer.]
Elara smiled while thinking, 'If the small fish has bitten, the big one can't be far behind.' She tapped her long fingers on the screen and replied, [Oh right, I forgot you're a lawyer. You'd know all about this. I'll DM you.]
Then she turned off her phone and quietly watched Yvette do her makeup. Not long after, her phone started buzzing with notifications.
Elara ignored it, picked up the cup of coffee she'd brought with her, and took a slow, leisurely sip. When her phone began to ring, Elara saw Justin's name flashing on the screen and hit the mute button.
Elara did want to return the house to Alex, but he had always refused. Later, she put it up for sale online, thinking she could just sell it and transfer the money to him.
But no one had shown any interest, and the property deed was still in Alex's hands. She had almost forgotten about it. If it weren't for the call from the renovation company today, she wouldn't have remembered at all.
Now that Nancy was pregnant, she needed to get rid of the house as soon as possible. The cleaner she cut ties with them, the better.
She wondered if there was a way to transfer the property to Alex without even having to meet up in person.
"Elara, I'm done with my makeup. Let's get started. Let's take some photos of you first," Yvette said.
Elara nodded. "Okay."
"My assistant will take the photos for us. She's the one who takes all my Twitter pics. She's really good at candid shots."
Elara handed her phone to the assistant. The theme was Elara coming to visit Yvette, bringing over some afternoon tea treats from her shop.
The two of them sat together on an elegant sofa, with two cups of coffee and two desserts on the table, plus a paper bag with the Tiffany logo on it.
The assistant had told Elara to dress up for today's shoot. So, she wore delicate makeup, and her hair was softly curled with a curling iron.
Yvette, meanwhile, was dressed in a casual yet well-tailored loungewear set—simple but flattering, with barely-there makeup, looking completely at ease at home.
Elara wore a purple dress that hugged every curve—only someone with a killer figure could pull it off.
The thin spaghetti straps made her collarbones and those perfect, angular shoulders stand out, and she threw a sheer cardigan over the top. Her foxlike eyes were mesmerizing, but in that purple dress, she was even more of a head-turner.
The two of them moved with ease, their interactions natural and unforced, chatting and laughing like old friends.
After the shoot, Yvette took the phone and looked at the photos, smiling. "These are great. Elara, you stole the show today!"
'Stealing a celebrity's spotlight is a big no-no.' Elara waved her hands quickly. "No, Yvette, your elegance and presence are on a whole different level from mine."
Yvette was genuinely complimenting her, with no hidden agenda. "Elara, you're too modest. If you ever get interested in the entertainment industry, just let me know. I've got connections. I could make you a star. It's just that Adrian doesn't want me to recommend you."
Elara gave an awkward smile. "Thanks, Yvette, but really, I'm good."
After that, it was time for Yvette's solo shoot. The shoot took over three hours, and the photographer edited the photos right there. Only after Yvette and Elara had both approved them did the work officially wrap up.
Once Elara's shoot was done, Yvette had to change outfits and redo her makeup for the next round, so Elara headed out first.
She glanced at her phone—eight missed calls from Justin, three from Adrian, and the WhatsApp icon on her home screen was lit up with a red 69. She just chuckled to herself.
Her car was just leaving the garage when Adrian's call came through again. She let it ring for a while before finally picking up. "Mr. Hartley, do you need something?"
"What are you up to? You ignored all my calls and didn't reply to my WhatsApp messages," Adrian said.
"Oh, just busy."
"Busy with what?"
"Had to meet someone this afternoon and do some work."
"Who did you meet? What did you do? Was it Alex?"
"I'm still busy. We'll talk later," Elara replied, then hung up and focused on driving.
She was telling the truth—she wasn't done. She had to head to the shop next. Today, she'd arranged for someone to upgrade the coffee shop's online sales system, so the system wouldn't crash if there was a surge in visitors later.
After wrapping up the system upgrade at the shop, she headed to the back warehouse to start pre-packing coffee beans. There were a thousand bags to get through—there was no way she'd have time to pack them all after the orders came in.
Only two staff members stayed out front. Everyone else—including staff from the Maple Street location—was pulling overtime to help with the packing.
It was past ten by the time Elara finally dragged herself home, completely wiped out. Half-asleep, she squinted as she stepped out of the elevator, only to see a tall figure looming at her door. Her first thought was that it was Adrian.
In her exhausted state, she honestly hoped it was Adrian. But it turned out not to be. She couldn't help but sigh, 'I'm stupid. Real life isn't a fairy tale.'
She trudged over slowly. "Who are you?"
"Elara?" the man asked. He was tall and burly, standing in front of Elara like a dark cloud hanging overhead.
Elara nodded. "Yes."
He looked her up and down, clearly impatient. "Why are you so late?"
Elara felt ridiculous. 'Seriously, who is this guy? Why is he acting so abruptly?'
"I'm Adrian's classmate, Lucas Leonard. He asked me to pick you up."
'Another classmate? Does he have classmates from all over the world?' Elara thought, but she replied listlessly, "Pick me up? For what?"
"To take you to Namukitts."
Elara doubted her ears. 'What did he say?'
"You have ten minutes to pack your things. If we don't leave now, we'll miss our approved takeoff slot," Lucas urged.
"T-takeoff?" Elara stammered, her brain short-circuiting at the word.
"Yeah, I'm flying you there on a private jet."
Elara began to think she was in a dream. "Wait, you're a pilot?" Elara asked, still trying to process it all.
Lucas, barely holding onto his patience, said, "No tickets for the holiday—private jet's our only option. Move it. Getting clearance and a flight path is tough. If we're late, we're grounded for the night."
"Oh, okay," Elara mumbled, still dazed.
"You still got eight minutes," Lucas reminded her.
Elara panicked. She hurried inside to pack, but halfway through, she realized she was just letting this guy order her.
She walked over to the door and asked Lucas, who was still standing in the entryway, "Why should I go with you? And why should I listen to you and rush to pack in eight minutes? I'm not going to Namukitts."
Lucas barely bothered to look up, glancing at the toothbrush in Elara's hand. "Time's up. Do I need to carry you to the airport?"
Elara fell silent.
It was already one in the morning when the private jet took off from Veritasiton's private airport. Elara was sprawled out on the spacious sofa bed in the plane's cabin, so tired that her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton.
She could barely keep them open. She glanced at the missed calls and unread messages on her phone and slowly drifted off to sleep.
The plane landed at Namukitts Airport at five in the morning. It was the last day of September, and the sky was still pitch black.
Elara woke up gasping for air. She felt like she couldn't breathe and instinctively snapped her eyes open, trying to save herself.
The cabin was bathed in a warm yellow glow, and suddenly a shadow loomed over her. Adrian, with that unbelievably handsome face of his, was leaning over her, staring straight down.
He was pinching her nose, a wicked grin on his lips. "Wake up, jealous little thing."
Elara blinked up at him, dazed, half-convinced she must be dreaming.
His expression was icy. "Too busy rekindling old flames in Veritasiton to answer my calls, huh? Is going back to your ex that irresistible?" he added, jealousy clear in his voice. "Come on, spill it.
"What did you and Alex talk about? I want every word. Repeat every single word for me."