Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 156: Chapter 156

Elara asked, "Mr. Hartley, when you're, you know, fantasizing, is it my face that comes to your mind?"
After Elara learned that Adrian had fallen for her at first sight and had been thinking about her for four years, her ego soared sky-high.
She wished Adrian would talk more about his obsession with her over these four years, just to satisfy her vanity.
She thought, 'Adrian loves me. Oh, my God! Does that mean I'm the first love of the heir of the Hartley family from Veritasiton?'
Elara leaned in. With her face a breath away from him, she locked her sly, foxy eyes on Adrian's deep eyes. She asked, "Mr. Hartley, am I your first love?"
Elara waited eagerly for Adrian to answer her barrage of questions, but he just looked at her with a cold, indifferent expression. To be precise, his gaze was chilling, almost unsettling.
He thought, 'Since when did my first love get her own hands dirty? Others' first loves were usually pure and untainted by desire, but what about mine? She is the top VIP at the sex toy stores.'
Adrian couldn't help but feel a little bitter when he thought about how all her innocent days had been spent with Alex, while all she cared about now was playing with sex toys. He wanted to have a serious talk with her about it.
But Elara was clueless about Adrian's silent complaints. She kept pestering him for answers. "Mr. Hartley? Have you ever fantasized about me?"
Adrian sat on the couch next to her, and their faces were just inches apart. "No," he replied flatly.
Elara frowned. "What? Then whose face do you think about? Is it Josie's?"
Adrian paused for a moment and then said, "I mean, I've never fantasized about anyone."
Elara shot him a skeptical look. "Have you never fantasized about anyone, or never fantasized about me?"
"Never fantasized about anyone," he repeated.
"Seriously?" Elara asked.
"Do you think I'm like you?" Adrian shot back. He had no idea where she learned to talk about such dirty stuff.
"Come on. Mr. Hartley, you're 28 now. It's normal to have those thoughts. It's just a basic human need, both physically and mentally," Elara argued.
Adrian had never had those thoughts before. Strictly speaking, he hadn't felt any desire at all until he happened to meet her in Egeorto.
Adrian had had issues with physical contact and a mild aversion to women, so romantic or sexual relationships never interested him. It was as if he didn't even have a sex drive.
For a long time, he had thought he was naturally indifferent to sex, maybe even asexual.
Even though he had admired the 18-year-old Elara for quite a while, it was always just a simple, innocent crush. He couldn't bear to fantasize about her. He felt that even the thought of sex would taint her kindness and purity.
However, ever since that night in Landblic, he had started having those explicit, recurring erotic dreams. Those naughty, wild, and passionate scenes would play out almost every night, and the protagonist of those dreams was always Elara.
It was like Adrian, who had once been so indifferent to desire, suddenly became consumed by it. Sex was no longer a stranger in his world. In fact, it started to awaken a craving.
Every night in his dreams was like a wild party, and even his insomnia seemed to disappear. But later, just dreaming about her wasn't enough anymore.
Adrian found that the 22-year-old Elara had a boyfriend, who was also her childhood sweetheart, while he was just a blip on her radar, so insignificant that she barely even remembered he existed.
Adrian was furious at first. The fact that she had a boyfriend made him burn with jealousy and bitterness, and he wanted to confront her about it, but he didn't even have the right to say anything.
When they met again after he came back home, he butted heads with her so much that he made her cry a couple of times. But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to keep hurting her.
She was so good at crying. Her tears were irresistible to him. Thus, he took on Alex's case, treating it as repayment for Elara saving his life. He thought they would be even after that and could wish each other well from afar.
He once believed that this was the end of things between him and Elara. But Alex refused his help, dumped Elara, and got together with his half-sister instead. After that, Elara became his secretary provocatively.
Since Elara had broken up with Alex, there was no way Adrian was letting her go this time.
Adrian looked at Elara and smiled. "I'm not into fantasies. I prefer hands-on experience."
Adrian, who always played it straight, knew how to leave Elara speechless.
Elara pulled back, putting a little distance between them.
"Why don't you ask anymore, Elara?" Adrian teased.
"No," Elara replied.
"So, is it my turn to ask now?" he said.
Elara turned to look at him and asked, "What do you want to ask me?"
"How old were you when you first slept with Alex?" Adrian asked.
Elara felt speechless.
Just then, the landline in the small office outside rang. Elara jumped up from the sofa, but Adrian pulled her back.
Elara pushed him away and said, "Mr. Hartley, stop it. The phone is ringing. It's probably Mr. Thorne arriving."
Adrian finally let her go, and Elara quickly straightened up and hurried out.
She picked up the phone and heard the receptionist say, "Elara, Mr. Thorne has arrived."
"Okay. Please bring him in," Elara replied.
Elara hurried back to the office to inform Adrian that Chandler was there and then went to make some coffee for them.
Before long, a middle-aged couple came sneaking in. Justin was the one who brought them in.
Both of the couple were wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, and they clutched each other's hands for dear life, as if they were terrified someone might recognize them.
Elara couldn't help but laugh. She felt the couple looked just like a pair of bumbling, middle-aged spies in a movie.
Justin led the couple over to the sofa and had them sit down. The two of them nervously took off their sunglasses, and the middle-aged woman asked cautiously, "Are you Adrian Hartley?"
Adrian sat there, took a sip of his coffee, and replied seriously, "Yes, I am."
Justin said, "Mrs. Thorne, I've gone over the basics of your case with Mr. Hartley, and he has read through all the files. With his approval, Anchor Law Firm is ready to handle your case.
"If everything looks good, you can sign the contract today, and we'll set you up with the best lawyer to help you."
Cecilia asked, "Can't Adrian do that?"
Justin scratched his head and explained, "Fraud is a criminal case, and Mr. Hartley only takes on big financial cases. I can arrange someone else—"
"No. My father said it has to be Adrian," demanded Cecilia.
Justin blinked in surprise. "Mrs. Thorne, may I ask who your father is?"
Chandler, beside her, quickly answered, "Mr. Jackson Kalmien."
Jackson was the former Commander-in-Chief of the army, navy, and air force in Veritasiton. He retired a few years ago and kept a low profile. He and his wife moved to a secluded villa in Veritasiton and were hardly seen in public.
Back in his day, Jackson racked up a string of legendary victories and became a living legend on the battlefield. Even after all these years, people still treated him with respect.
Honestly, Jackson's achievements put Matthew from the Heaton family to shame.
Adrian set down his coffee cup and asked, "Are you Mr. Jackson Kalmien's daughter?"
Cecilia nodded. "My father said this case has to stay confidential, so we can only have someone we trust handle it."
If people found out that Jackson's daughter got scammed out of more than 10 million dollars online, the Kalmien family would become a laughingstock.
"So, Mr. Jackson Kalmien knows who I am?" Adrian asked.
"He said you're Mr. Matthew Heaton's future grandson-in-law," Cecilia replied.
Jackson and Matthew were old friends and comrades-in-arms, but they were different. Jackson always kept a low profile, while Matthew, even after all these years of retirement, was still active in Veritasiton's elite circles.
Therefore, not many of the younger generation knew much about Jackson. Most of them had only heard about the four great families, especially the Heaton family and the legendary authority of Matthew.
Jackson came from a family of high-ranking officials. When he was young, he married the only heiress of the richest family in Marisiton, and they had a son and a daughter.
Their son, Nathan, had no interest in politics, so he moved to Marisiton to take over his mother's company and assets. Their daughter, Cecilia, didn't care about politics or business either, but she was a born writing genius. She had published several legendary mystery novels.
However, this mystery novelist from a general's family had been scammed out of 10 million dollars online.
Jackson never in a million years imagined that his daughter could be this stupid. With anti-fraud apps everywhere these days, Cecilia still got scammed out of 10 million dollars. Jackson felt very humiliated about it.
Even though the scam ring had been tracked down, Cecilia still had to go through the legal process to get the money back, which meant she needed a lawyer.
That was why Jackson asked Matthew for a recommendation and was pointed to Adrian.
Adrian and Nathan were pretty close, but as for Jackson, Adrian had never even met the man.
Elara had read Cecilia's books back in middle and high school. When she was in high school, she was really into her mystery novels. She had even gone to one of Cecilia's signing sessions.
But now, Cecilia had put on some weight. If Elara hadn't seen her name on the plaintiff's information, she wouldn't have recognized Cecilia at all.
Elara couldn't believe that Cecilia got scammed out of over 10 million dollars. Elara was completely baffled by how this could happen.
Adrian saw Elara perking up her ears to eavesdrop, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile. He asked, "Mrs. Thorne, can you tell me again how you got scammed?"
Cecilia looked totally mortified. "Mr. Hartley, didn't we talk about this on the phone yesterday? Do I have to go over it again?"
Adrian knew Elara couldn't resist a bit of gossip. Thus, he kept it professional and said, "Let's go over it one more time. Maybe we'll catch a new clue."
Chandler encouraged her, too. "Since Dad picked this lawyer, he must know what he's doing. Just walk him through it again."
Justin said, "Mrs. Thorne, since you want us to handle your case, the first step is trust. You need to tell us everything you know in detail. Only then can we fight for your greatest interest."
With no other choice, Cecilia started recounting the whole story once more.