Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Elara was stunned into silence. It seemed she was really supposed to just take this. She glanced at Adrian, whose lips curled into a self-satisfied smirk, as if he was daring her to come up with a comeback.
But she just couldn't bring herself to back down. "So you're saying I just have to swallow this and call it a night? Even though I was seen naked for no reason, and now he's accusing me of harassment?"
The manager looked apologetic. "I'm really sorry. Please stay in another room tonight. We'll sort this out first thing tomorrow morning—"
Elara didn't want to hear more. She grabbed her phone from her bag and started dialing 911.
The manager's eyes widened in panic, and she glanced nervously at Adrian.
Before Elara could finish, Adrian grabbed her wrist and yanked the phone away. "Miss, looking at someone naked isn't a crime. Calling the police won't change that. Besides, I was in the room first. If anyone's at fault here, it's you for barging in."
His expression was cold and menacing, his eyes hard and unyielding. He had that air of someone used to being in control.
He didn't want to cause trouble for his friend's hotel, and as their regular lawyer, he knew a police report would only make things worse for him.
Adrian took another step closer, his cold gaze meeting her frightened one. His words were a clear threat. "If you call the police, I'll sue you for trespassing and harassment."
He tightened his grip on Elara's slender wrist, holding her so tightly that her skin turned red.
Elara winced, her eyes filling with tears. "How dare you—" Her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling with rage, and even the manager felt a flicker of sympathy.
Adrian's relentless approach also made the manager start to worry. She quickly stepped in. "Mr. Hartley, let's calm down. Let me talk to her first and see if we can sort this out."
Adrian released Elara's wrist, but his stern expression remained unchanged.
Elara frowned, her eyes glistening with tears as she rubbed her reddened wrist. Her usually confident voice wavered. "Give me my phone back."
Adrian tensed, thinking she might call the police. His grip on the phone tightened.
Elara lunged for her phone, her face streaked with tears. "You'll regret this." She tossed over her shoulder, her voice shaking. She spun around, grabbed a camel coat from her suitcase in the hallway, threw it on, and yanked her high heels back on. Then she stormed out.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. 'She's scared off just like that? I haven't even gotten a chance to question her yet, and she's already acting like the victim?'
Elara gritted her teeth, dragging her suitcase out of the hotel. She pulled out her phone and made a call. "Ruby, what kind of dump did you recommend? This place is trash!"
Her friend Ruby sounded surprised. "Wait, what? It's the top-rated hotel in town."
"Is it the kind where you end up getting arrested?"
Ruby, back home and sipping her coffee, frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm posting about this on my social media. This hotel is a disaster."
"Hey, don't! I'm trying to get in good with the owner. Don't mess this up for me."
"You're so blinded by this guy. You have no idea how much I've been through today."
Ruby didn't know what happened exactly and sighed, trying to smooth things over, "Can't you just let it go? You haven't seen how hot this guy is. I finally got him to agree to dinner this weekend by having you promote his hotel."
"No way. I can't take this. I'm exposing him. And I'm getting my influencer friends to share it."
Ruby laughed, "Elara, calm down. Was it bad service? Or was the place dirty? Once I've got this guy wrapped around my finger, I'll get back at him for you.
"Oh, and he's got this super-hot friend. I'll introduce you. This top lawyer guy—well, if I weren't into Victor, I'd never let him go."
"Thanks, but I'll pass. You can keep those two for yourself."
"Elara, seriously, are you just going to stick with Alex forever?"
"Hey, you're right. Alex is the hottest guy ever."
After hanging up, Elara quickly drafted a tweet, then set up her phone tripod at the hotel entrance and started filming a video. Her fingers tapped away on the screen and soon, the tweet was posted.
[Beware! Dolphin Bay Hotel owned by Montgomery Group ($3,000/night) is a scam. A creep broke in, and the manager silenced me, no cops allowed. The creep, a lawyer, blamed me for trespassing—all threats, no solutions! Avoid it, girls. It's pricey and ruins trips.]