Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 137: Chapter 137

The judge announced the verdict. Adrian won the case.
Jade jumped up in excitement and, unable to help herself, tried to hug Adrian beside her. Adrian dodged, and then she nearly bumped into the other lawyer.
The villagers in the courtroom shuffled out awkwardly, and the buzz from earlier was completely gone.
Adrian glanced over at Elara, who was sitting with her head down, typing away on her phone. The first thing that popped into Adrian's mind was, 'Is she texting Alex?'
Just as he was about to leave, Jade grabbed his arm. "Adrian, I've set up a celebration lunch at our restaurant. Bring your friends along."
Before Adrian could pull her arm away, his eyes met Elara's as she looked up from her phone after finishing typing.
Elara noticed Jade's delicate hand wrapped around Adrian's arm. Her gaze turned icy, but a smirk tugged at her lips. For the first time in his life, Adrian actually felt nervous.
He stepped back a little, and Jade's hand naturally slipped away. Adrian glanced at Elara, who was already walking out the courtroom doors, and said, "I'll ask them."
Adrian hurried outside to the parking lot and caught up with Elara just as she was about to get into her car. He asked, "Jade's inviting us to lunch at her place. Wanna go?"
Elara shook her head and said, "No."
Justin, on the other hand, was practically bouncing with excitement. "Of course. That's the most popular restaurant in Namukitts!"
Hearing all the hype, Elara got curious. "Alright, I'm in."
Just then, Jade walked over. Her eyebrows arched playfully as she said, "You must be Elara, right? I'm Jade Shaw. Adrian told me you were coming. Welcome!"
Jade's personality was as fiery as her figure. Elara couldn't exactly give her the cold shoulder, so she forced a smile. "Glad to meet you."
Jade said, "Let's go, then. I've already told the chef to start cooking, so we can dig in as soon as we get there."
Justin hopped into the driver's seat and followed behind Jade's car. Inside the car, Adrian glanced at Elara, who was sitting quietly beside him, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Elara kept her eyes on her phone. "Nothing. What do you mean?"
Justin piped up, "She's not in a good mood."
Adrian asked, "Why? Are you jealous again?"
Elara shot him a glare. "Why would I?"
Justin said, "She's super jealous."
Elara snapped, "Shut up, Justin!"
Justin continued, "Adrian, she's mad, but she's pretending she's not."
Elara was speechless.
Adrian gave her a deep gaze. "Which one are you mad about?"
Elara stayed quiet but just kept tapping away on her phone.
Justin said, "Like, why does her company call J&A Wines? Does it name after you two? Did you two have a thing back in school? Jade's totally into you, and you're always helping her out. Have you two been dating for a long time?"
Adrian turned to Elara and pinched her cheek playfully. "Is that it? Are you jealous?"
Elara said expressionlessly, "No."
"Then what is it?" Adrian scooted over and pulled her into his arms, completely ignoring the poor single guy up front.
His voice grew even softer. "You've been getting jealous so easily lately. Do you want me to coax you?"
"Hey. I'm still here, okay? Can you two not get all mushy in front of me? What, can't you get a room or something?" Justin finally couldn't take it anymore.
Adrian leaned close to Elara's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Honey, it's not convenient out here. When we're back in our room tonight, I'll coax you properly, okay?
"It's not often you come out with me, so don't be mad, okay? Just stay with me for a bit. I'll serve you well tonight."
The car bumped along, making Adrian's lips rub Elara's earlobe again and again. His low, charming voice sent tingling all through her body. Elara didn't say anything, but she didn't reject, either.
Adrian pulled back a little and ruffled her hair. "It's not cold here in Namukitts. I'll take you to the beach this afternoon."
Namukitts was right by the sea, and the weather was great. There were tons of beach resorts and fun things to do.
Justin instantly lit up. "Great! I've always wanted to rock some flowery shorts at the beach."
Elara was speechless.
Adrian shot him a glare. "Who said you get to come along?"
Justin didn't know what to say.
When they arrived at J&A Restaurant, an attendant came over to park their car. Justin handed the keys to the attendant and stood with Elara at the entrance, looking up at the huge sign above the door.
The restaurant had a very traditional style, with a red plaque featuring bold, flowing calligraphy that read "J&A Restaurant".
Seeing the name, Elara felt a little weird. She thought, 'It looks as if Jade and Adrian own this place together.'
"Elara, Adrian actually owns 50% of this restaurant, so that's why it's called J&A Restaurant," Justin chimed in.
Elara was speechless. She was about to blow a fuse. She shot Adrian a glare and marched right in.
Adrian kicked Justin's shin and said, "Shut up!"
When Adrian walked in, he looked around but couldn't spot Elara anywhere. But he did notice quite a few people glancing his way.
Guys in this city were usually on the shorter side, but with Adrian standing at 6.2 feet and Justin at 6.1 feet, both dressed to the nines and ridiculously handsome, they were definitely drawing plenty of attention—especially from the ladies.
And then Lucas, who was about 6.2 feet tall, also walked in. A few girls who were eating nearly lost their minds with excitement. They wondered, 'Is today some kind of eye-candy day here? And they are all total suit-wearing heartthrobs!'
The girls even started picking their favorites.
"The one in the middle—his face looks like it was straight-up designed in a video game."
"I like the one next to him! Wow, he looks so sweet and innocent."
"And the tallest one. Look at his muscles. That height gap is just... Uh!"
Elara had rushed in earlier to use the restroom, and now as she came out of the hallway, she noticed a group of women buzzing with excitement.
She followed their gaze and spotted the three guys standing in the middle of the lobby. It clicked instantly.
Jade came down the stairs and spotted the three men. "Hey, over here, handsome!" she called out.
The three men all turned toward Jade, and every girl in the restaurant followed their gaze. They couldn't be more envious.
They sighed, "The owner of this place is seriously blessed. Imagine being surrounded by three perfect guys at once."
"And she's gorgeous, too! With a perfect body like that, what guy wouldn't fall for her?"
Elara could only hear people fawning over Jade. Then she suddenly felt a weight settle on her shoulder. Adrian's voice sounded right behind her, "Elara, why are you hiding in the corner? Are you sulking again?"
Adrian's voice was loud enough that almost everyone in the restaurant heard him. Suddenly, all gazes were on Elara.
"Wow, the guy with the video-game face has a girlfriend!"
"Figures, hot guys always have high standards. His girlfriend's face is unreal! She looks super young, too."
"She looks like she's still in college."
Adrian took Elara by hand and led her upstairs under everyone's gaze. The chatter behind them slowly faded away.
Adrian didn't rush to the private room. Instead, he stopped in the hallway and pressed Elara gently against the wall, caging her in.
He said, "If you don't like me owning a stake in this place, I can transfer my shares to you. We could even rename it. Or if you really can't stand it, I'll just sell everything and cash out."
Elara stayed silent with a cold expression.
"How's the marital home coming along? I can handle it for you," Adrian offered.
"No, thanks," Elara said coolly.
Adrian reached up and gently pinched her earlobe. "Elara, Alex's only getting close to you because he wants you to help him convince me to save Dylan. He doesn't actually want to get back together with you. Don't let him fool you."
Elara lowered her gaze slightly. "I know. I'm not clueless."
Adrian felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. "So, what did you two talk about yesterday? Are you planning to get back together?"
Elara looked up and met his eyes. "What if I do get back together with him? What would you do, then?"
Adrian gave a dangerous smile. "I'll make his life a living hell." He said it with a smile, like it was a joke, but Elara could tell he was serious.
"You're really ruthless, Mr. Hartley," Elara teased.
"I've always been = ruthless. I just can't help spoiling you," Adrian replied.
Elara's eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him for a few seconds. She couldn't bear teasing him anymore and was about to tell him the truth. "Actually, yesterday-"
"Adrian, what are you doing here?" a voice sounded. Both Elara and Adrian turned their heads.
Joseph stood at the door of a private room, looking sharp in his suit. On his left was Sadie, whose cheeks were flushed. Clearly, she had already had a few drinks.
But all Adrian saw was Alex, who was standing to Joseph's right and staring at Elara the whole time.
"What a coincidence," Adrian said. He took Elara's hand and walked over.
Elara was stunned. She thought, 'What's Alex doing here? Oh, no. I haven't even got a chance to come clean to Adrian yet. Now I'm gonna get exposed.'
Joseph said, "We're here for a business meeting. Are you here for a case?"
"Yeah," Adrian replied lazily. His gaze drifted back to Alex." Oh, Alex is here, too. When did you get to Namukitts?"
Sadie chimed in, "We got here the day before yesterday. We're heading back to Veritasiton. What about you guys?"
Adrian shot Elara a sharp look. "Oh, so you've been here since the day before yesterday, huh?"