Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

On the way back, Elara sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window. Then, out of nowhere, she burst into laughter.
"What's wrong," Ruby asked.
Elara rested her chin in her hand and leaned against the car window. "What to do? Honestly, I'm starting to think Nancy was right. I kinda admire her now. At least, she's actually done something. The three of us? We haven't done a thing."
"Bullshit! She's just being unreasonable. Have you forgotten when she threw coffee at you?" Ruby shot back.
"She was right to throw that coffee at me," Elara muttered. "With Alex going through all this, I can't even help out."
"Who says it's your fault?" Ruby snapped. "Last time, Victor and Adrian begged us to delete those tweets. If Alex hadn't kept us in the dark, maybe this whole mess would've been sorted by now."
Ruby suddenly had an idea. "Hey, what if we post another tweet to expose them?" she advised.
"Are you trying to get us killed? Making up stories like that? With Adrian's methods, we won't be able to help at all. Instead, Alex will be the one saving us," Elara said.
Ruby grumbled, "What now? Adrian's such a pain. He just called Alex the other day, and now he won't even give him a chance to rethink!"
An hour later, Elara, Ruby, and Julian sat in a coffee shop, each holding a cup of coffee in gloomy silence.
"Hey, Julian," Ruby teased. "You're the golden boy of the Quinn family now. How come we still can't ride your coattails? With all your family's clout in Veritasiton, you can't find a single lawyer brave enough to take on the Heaton family?"
Julian shrugged. "If it were just the Heaton family, it would be manageable. But with the Hartley family backing them? That changes everything."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Why does the Hartley family always support the Heaton family?"
Julian replied, "Like I said, they're old family friends. They are so close that they even arranged an engagement between their kids."
Ruby's jaw dropped. "Wait, you rich families still do that engagement thing?"
Julian glanced down at his phone. "That's how wealthy families roll. It's all about merging power."
Ruby chuckled. "Come on. Engagements like that are probably just talk. If they don't even like each other, are they really going to get married?"
Julian's expression grew serious. "All I know is that the engagement between the Heaton family and the Hartley family is legit."
Ruby leaned in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "So, who is engaged? Is it Nancy and Neil? That'd be perfect. Nancy wouldn't keep pestering Alex!"
Julian shook his head. "No, it's Adrian and Josie. They've been engaged since they were kids."
Ruby's face fell. "What? Adrian has a fiancée?"
'What about Elara, then?' she wondered.
Elara had been spacing out, but when she heard that, last night's scene flashed through her mind.
She remembered Adrian saying, "Elara, you actually think I'm a good guy? Honestly, I want to have sex with you right here. Either get out now or come upstairs to the suite with me."
'What kind of man with a fiancée says things like that? He's a total scumbag,' Elara thought.
Before long, Julian got up to leave.
Ruby called out after him, "Hey! We haven't finished talking yet. You're leaving already?"
"Let's chat in the group. Got something to do," Julian said.
"What could be more important than Alex right now?" Ruby pressed.
"I'm off to handle Alex's business, meeting some rich kids for drinks," Julian said, casually tossing his Lamborghini keys in the air.
"Wait, I thought you hated hanging out with those guys?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.
Julian admitted, "I used to hate hanging out with them, but after what happened with Alex, I realized I have to rub shoulders with them if I want to get into that circle.
"I used to look down on them, but with Dylan's case, we need all the connections we can get."
He grabbed his suit jacket and left the café. Ruby and Elara watched as his golden Lamborghini sped out of the small courtyard.
"Alright, I'm heading back to Maple Street, too," Ruby said, finishing the last sip of her coffee.
Curious, Elara asked, "What for?"
"Got to keep my business running and make more cash. Alex's been spending a lot lately pulling strings. Every little bit helps," Ruby replied.
"Weren't you supposed to meet that cute guy today?" Elara teased.
Ruby shrugged. "I canceled it. Guys can wait. Alex's situation is my top priority now. Gotta go."
With that, Ruby drove off in her pink BMW, leaving Elara alone in the café.
Elara sat there with her coffee in hand, staring out the window, lost in thought.
On such a bright sunny afternoon, golden sunlight streamed through the large windows, casting a warm glow over the tranquil courtyard. The coffee in Elara's hands had grown lukewarm, yet even this peaceful scene failed to quell her restlessness.
Elara used to find peace just by soaking up the sun and sipping coffee. But now, out of nowhere, she was itching to hit the road and floor it.
The café had a few customers, and the air was thick with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The occasional hum of the espresso machine broke the quiet.
Suddenly, Elara thought, 'Wait, didn't Susan send me a file about Adrian's habits and preferences a while back?'
Elara refilled her coffee and returned to her seat. Opening the file, she studied it closely. It read: [Adrian Hartley, 28, graduated from Veritasiton University with a major in finance.]
She thought, 'So he didn't even study law. It was finance. Guess that means he wasn't Alex's senior after all. Who knows? Maybe even my mom knows him,
'Oh, a double major. Not surprising. He's the Hartley family's sole heir, after all. He'll have to return and take over the family business someday. One for duty and one for passion.
'Back in college, I majored in several subjects but focused on psychology. Sometimes, I really regret not studying business management. Maybe then I wouldn't be struggling so much just to keep this little coffee shop afloat.'
Elara thought of her hobbies. After watching a racing movie, she got her racing license. A flight school film led her to earn a pilot's license. But the excitement always wore off quickly. Next came motorcycles, followed by skydiving and bungee jumping.
She used to crave novelty and thrills, but Elara soon realized that every time she got what she wanted, the excitement would fade almost instantly.
So in the end, she realized it was better not to even start. Whenever that craving for something new hit her, she would try to rein it in by just sipping some coffee and taking in the view.
Honestly, keeping this up for two years worked out pretty well.
She thought to herself, 'At least this version of me is the one that truly suits Alex. Looking back, I've changed so much for him, maybe more than I ever realized.'
Ruby once asked Elara why she couldn't let go of Alex since she always craved novelty.
At the time, Elara analyzed it psychologically, thinking it was because she always wanted what she couldn't have.
Elara continued reading the file. It read: [He's highly focused during work. Don't disturb him unless urgent, or he's prone to snapping.
He arrives at the office at 9 a.m. on time and needs a cup of pure black Mandheling coffee at 185°F. In the afternoon and evening, he allows milk in his coffee, but the milk must be less than one-third.
If the coffee in his cup cools below 122°F, it must be replaced. Regardless of whether he's finished it or not, freshly brewed coffee should always be ready at hand.]
Elara really knew her coffee. Owning a café meant she was well-acquainted with Mandheling. This variety boasted a rich aroma and bold bitterness, rounded out by just a hint of acidity.
Those who loved Mandheling didn't drink coffee just to satisfy cravings. It was about a deeper passion for coffee itself.
To take the finest coffee beans, brew them to perfection, and serve them at the perfect temperature was a pure, unadulterated passion for coffee.
Elara thought, 'Only drinks Mandheling, at most adding a splash of milk? How monotonous. Insists on pour-over, always preferring the original flavor? How pure. Sticks to one variety and one taste but never tries new things? How conservative.
'Conservative? Really? After the way he talked yesterday, he sure didn't seem like the conservative type.'
The file revealed more, reading: [He prefers dark colors. His suits are exclusively black or dark gray, with only subtle differences in pattern or solid color. He's only particular about the details: buttons, cuffs, ties, and watches.]
'So dull, so gloomy, and so boring,' Elara thought to herself.
It read: [He dislikes having outsiders present during his personal time. Housekeeping is scheduled only after Adrian leaves home, and the organization of personal items, such as returning watches to their cases and storing suits, is handled exclusively by his personal assistant.
He refers to silence, maintains strong personal boundaries, values personal space, and avoids physical contact.]
'Deeply insecure. He must have had some traumatic past, and he trusts no one,' Elara thought.
It read: [Slightly misogynistic, and he hates stupidity.]
'Oh, no wonder he never has a kind word for me. Just classic paranoia. Possible reasons? Family of origin and lack of maternal love. But with such a huge, powerful family, could he really miss a mother's love?' Elara wondered.