Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

For the next few days, Adrian stayed away from the café, giving Elara and Ruby the chance to focus entirely on running the place.
Tiffany Café was a small, independent shop that Simon opened in Edansia without chain stores.
Simon, who was approaching sixty, remained surprisingly fit and energetic, probably because of his regular exercise and healthy eating. He looked much younger, more like someone in his forties.
Elara had seen pictures of Simon from his younger years. He was strikingly handsome, with a charming Edansian face and a warm smile.
Tiffany was Simon's beloved wife and ten years younger than him. They shared many beautiful moments in the café, but she passed away before him.
Tiffany was from Veritasiton, and Simon was an Edansian. It was a cross-cultural marriage, so when Elara and Ruby mentioned their dream of opening a café back in Veritasiton, Simon fully supported them.
Ruby and Elara spent six months in Edansia, where Simon patiently taught them how to brew coffee and select beans. He also showed them around the beautiful country.
Simon provided most of the funding for the cafés Elara and Ruby opened back in Veritasiton, while they contributed a smaller share. They managed the daily operations of both shops, and profits were split evenly among the three.
Simon had become very fond of the two girls. He once confessed that his greatest regret was that he and Tiffany never had children.
They opened two Tiffany Cafés. One, managed by Elara, was on Glory Street, just outside downtown, while the other, run by Ruby, was on Maple Street, a prime location in downtown Veritasiton.
Both cafés shared the same décor style, and Simon imported all their coffee beans from Edansia.
The shop on Glory Street was a bit more spacious due to its less central location and lower rent. Elara had specifically chosen it with a courtyard to create a pleasant atmosphere.
Elara loved these quiet moments, sitting in the café, sipping her coffee, and enjoying the sunlight.
Ruby said Elara had changed a lot. Elara used to live for thrills, racing cars, learning to surf, and even getting her pilot's license. Now, she actually wanted a laid-back lifestyle.
Elara couldn't really say when or why she had changed so much over the years. Maybe it had just happened one day without her even noticing.
At least those past few days had been pretty peaceful, especially since she hadn't run into Adrian, that troublemaker. Honestly, life had felt a lot more comfortable without him around.
Over the weekend, Elara and Alex went house-hunting and bought a 2,150-square-foot apartment with three bedrooms and a living room. It was located between the Hartley Group's office and the café on Glory Street.
The down payment was over 300 thousand dollars, and Alex put the apartment solely in Elara's name, saying he wanted her to feel secure until he settled Dylan's case.
At first, Elara hesitated to have it in her name alone, but Alex insisted. Since she had already decided to spend her life with him, she eventually stopped arguing.
'Everything is going smoothly,' Elara thought, 'except for this café that bleeds money every day.'
"Maybe the location of your café is why the foot traffic is so low," Ruby said.
In their group chat, Alex sent a message. [Sort out the bills and share them here. I'll go over them once I'm done.]
Elara sent a simple "okay." Then she spent the entire afternoon sorting out the café's accounts on the laptop.
'Wow, doing the accounts is harder than getting my degree,' she thought. It was the first time she had truly felt completely clueless and overwhelmed.
Elara scanned the ledger, cross-checking figures on her laptop while occasionally biting her lip in thought. "Is our coffee priced too low?" she muttered to herself.
Ruby brewed her a cup of coffee and teased, "Why don't you let Alex handle this for you?"
"No way. He's already dealing with tens of millions of dollars in investments at work every day. I can't ask him to help with these small amounts," Elara said.
"Who would've guessed? Alex handles so much money at work, yet his girlfriend at home can't even balance a few thousand bucks," Ruby said.
Elara shrugged. "Guess I'd better hurry up and make more money. Then I can hire an accountant."
Just then, someone suddenly splashed Ruby's freshly brewed coffee in Elara's face, splattering it all over the paper ledger and her laptop keyboard.
Elara barely had time to see who did it. She scrambled to grab tissues, desperately wiping coffee off the ledger and laptop.
Nancy snapped, "Elara, you got Alex to buy you an apartment? Have you no shame?"
Elara rolled her eyes as she realized it was Nancy.
Ruby rolled up her sleeves and shoved Nancy without hesitation, sending her crashing to the floor.
Nancy winced in pain and snapped, "Ruby, did you seriously just push me?"
Ruby retorted, "Damn right I did!"
Nancy sneered, "Do you even know who you're dealing with, you shrew?"
Ruby was dressed in a purple dress today. She stood over Nancy with her hands on her hips. "Oh, I know exactly who you are. You're the universally despised, spoiled princess of the Hartley family."
Nancy scrambled to her feet, her hair now a mess, and she sneered, "Don't think you're something special just because you run this shabby café. I could have my father shut this place down in a second."
Elara thought wryly, 'Don't even bother. At this rate, it'll be out of business thanks to my management.'
"Nancy, stop throwing tantrums! Haven't you bullied Elara enough over the years?" Ruby demanded.
Nancy sneered, "She's got nobody to blame but herself for clinging to Alex like a lovesick puppy. You and Julian aren't any better, always glued to him."
Ruby said, "Hey, we've been buddies with Alex since we were kids! You're the one who came along later. You are the real tagalong here."
Nancy retorted, "Who cares if I knew him later? As long as I'm good to Alex, that's all that matters.
"Unlike you three, you're nothing but trouble for Alex. One of you is a rebel. One falls in love too early, and the other always picks fights. What have you ever done for him?"
Crossing her arms and glaring with her eyes wide, Nancy continued, "He's working at the Hartley Group now, making over 600 thousand dollars a year. What other company would pay him that much?"
"He only returned from abroad because I asked my oldest sister to help him. And what about his dad's case? Have any of you cared from the start? Have you ever tried to find him a lawyer?"
Ruby retorted, "That's because Alex is exceptional! A headhunter approached him directly about the Hartley Group. What does that have to do with you? Companies are fighting for someone like him. He doesn't need you to pull the strings."
Nancy pressed on, "Then tell me. Isn't he working at the Hartley Group now?"
Elara wiped the coffee off her face with a wet wipe. "Nancy, I can't stop you from liking Alex, but what did you mean by that just now? Are you saying that everything Alex has is because of you, not his own abilities?"
"Of course, Alex is exceptional," Nancy agreed, eager to flaunt her influence. "But with me by his side, I can help him climb the career ladder faster than he could on his own."
Elara nodded, acknowledging Nancy's influence. "Fine. But in the future, watch your words. Don't make Alex sound like some social climber who owes everything to you."
Nancy couldn't stand Elara's lecture. She pointed an accusing finger at her and sneered, "Who the hell are you to criticize me? Don't act like you're any better!
"I begged my brother Adrian to help Alex. If it weren't for you, would Alex have turned Adrian down? You're no help at all, just always causing problems!"
Ruby shot back, "Dylan's case is just a minor civil dispute. What makes you think Adrian would take it on just for you?"
"A civil dispute?" Nancy scoffed. "You three are nothing but clingy brats. His dad's been locked up for a month, and you still think it's just a minor case?"
"What do you mean?" Elara asked.
Nancy replied, "What do I mean? Listen up. Alex's dad has been accused of murder. The victim is the wife of the principal at Veritasiton Middle School."