Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Ruby choked on her lemonade and quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth. She nudged Elara gently, leaned in, and whispered, "Keep it down."
Elara said, "If they try to dig up dirt on me, I'll just spill everything myself and watch them lose it."
Ruby looked at her in awe, saying nothing.
Sadie just smiled after hearing Elara's words. She paused and said, "No wonder you two stayed in the car for quite some time that day."
Elara despised Sadie's behavior and she was sure that Sadie wouldn't be able to get far in the Hartley Group.
She said, "Oh, we did nothing. Forty minutes isn't nearly enough for anything fun, right?" Elara said with a smirk, staring at Alex and Nancy. Her smile was utterly genuine, betraying no hint of pretense.
Noticing Nancy's grim look, Elara took a deliberate sip of her slightly sour lemonade and said, "Why, Ms. Hartley? Isn't it normal for Adrian to sleep around? Does it bother you?"
Sadie chuckled lightly. "Of course not. Adrian has always been very independent since childhood. No need for me to worry about him."
"Good. For a second, I thought you were here to lecture me," said Elara.
"Of course not," Sadie replied smoothly. As she spoke, she sized up Elara carefully. She found her very pretty but had a proud streak and a sharp tongue.
Sadie thought, 'She blurted out her relationship with Adrian right away. Well, I guess she's not as patient as I think. Don't mind her.'
With composed ease, she took a sip of her wine and let the matter drop.
The dishes were served, and Ruby and Elara immediately dug in without ceremony. They were totally wrapped up in their food, not paying Sadie the slightest bit of attention.
Watching them chow down like that, Sadie and Nancy just sat there speechless, not sure what to say.
Elara nudged Ruby and grinned. "Hey, try the cheesecake. It tastes really good." She shared that delicious cheesecake with Ruby, totally ignoring whether anyone else wanted a piece.
Ruby was starting to feel a bit tired of the rich cheesecake and wanted something to wash it down. Seeing her frown, Elara called over the waiter. "Could you get her a glass of water? Thanks."
Soon, the waiter came back with a glass of water.
Elara asked Ruby with concern, "Is there anything else you need? Don't hesitate to ask."
Ruby shook her head and said, "I'm good. Thanks."
Deep down, she was amused, thinking, 'Girl, you're just unbelievable. You're playing host like it's your place, even though someone else picked up the bill.'
Alex knew Elara was doing this on purpose. He knew she had been independent since childhood, and anyone who pissed her off always got played. She just responded better to a gentle approach than a tough one.
Therefore, the only one who could ever really handle her since childhood was Alex precisely because he always spoiled her.
Alex knew that Elara had only agreed to this dinner for his sake. She was afraid Sadie would give him a hard time. 'Does this mean she still cares about me?' Alex thought.
Elara took a bite of the salmon, frowned, and said, "This doesn't taste right. I need to talk to the manager here."
Sadie rubbed her forehead, feeling speechless.
The manager hurried over. "Ms. Hartley, is there anything I can do for you?"
Elara looked at him. "This salmon smells and tastes off, and this shrimp doesn't look right either."
"Yeah," Ruby mumbled through a mouthful of cheesecake, playing the perfect sidekick.
The manager panicked. After all, they were with Sadie, so he wouldn't dare offend them. He said apologetically, "I'm so sorry. Let me bring you a new one."
Restaurants like this often engaged in discriminatory service practices—serving lower-quality food to customers they thought wouldn't notice, and only swapping in fresh stuff when someone called them out. It was a common cost-cutting trick.
Elara knew all about these shady practices, but she stayed silent, waiting for Sadie to decide what to do. And naturally, Sadie told them to bring them a new one.
The restaurant brought out several plates of fresh sashimi as a gesture of apology. Elara and Ruby had planned to eat sashimi tonight, and now they were enjoying the freshest cuts in a luxury restaurant for free. This just made them overjoyed.
Nancy had planned to humiliate them with Sadie, but turned out her plan didn't work. Upset, she pursed her lips and shot Sadie a pleading look, hoping for backup.
Sadie sighed. She thought, 'Why is Nancy so obsessed with Alex? Now I have to deal with these two girls even though it's bothering me.'
Sadie looked at Elara and asked, "Elara, do you have a boyfriend?"
The sauce hit Elara hard, making her eyes water, but to her surprise, she was somehow into it. She mumbled through a mouthful of salmon, "Ms. Hartley, are you expecting a yes from me?"
Sadie said, "That's your own business. What I'm saying is Alex already has a girlfriend. He should be spending more time with her.
"After all, Nancy is the one whom he'll spend the rest of her life with. Well, I guess you'll get it when you're in a relationship."
Elara raised an eyebrow and shot back. "Do you honestly think so, Ms. Hartley?"
Sadie gracefully sliced a small piece of steak with her knife and fork. "Of course. A smart woman knows how to keep a proper distance from a guy who's already taken."
"Ms. Hartley, are you married?" Elara asked pointedly.
"I am," Sadie said calmly.
Elara said, "Really? I've certainly heard quite a few things about you. They say you married your husband young, but for certain reasons, you've both been living your own lives for ages. Is that true?"
Sadie was stunned, realizing that Elara was using her marriage as a convenient target.
Elara said, "Many media sites reported last month that you were secretly meeting with a male model from the Hartley Group, but the trending topic disappeared in no time. Well, your PR team is seriously impressive.
"Still, people online have plenty of photos of you two spending a night in a hotel. Ms. Hartley, you should know well whether those photos are real or not."
Elara poured Ruby another glass of wine and said, "You lecturing me about staying away from guys with girlfriends is ridiculous. Didn't that male model publicly say he had a girlfriend? That sure didn't stop you from sleeping with him.
"You think you can tell people how to behave, huh? Please. Try not to be a mess yourself first next time."
"Elara, how dare you say that to Sadie?" Nancy snatched up the glass of lemonade beside her, ready to hurl it at Elara.
Just then, someone yanked Elara back. She was pulled into his protective embrace, and the entire glass of lemonade splashed across his arm and shoulder.
Water splashed across his designer black suit. Adrian frowned in cold impatience as he faced Nancy, his voice icy and menacing. "Don't you know any manners?"
Elara's ears were still ringing, but she recognized the voice instantly.
Adrian had just yanked Elara from her seat into his arms to shield her from the lemonade. She slammed right into his chest, and the impact left her head spinning.
Elara blushed as she broke free from Adrian's embrace, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.
Adrian looked down, noticing the tears in her eyes. She was actually tearing up from the sauce, but it sparked his protective instincts.
Adrian said seriously, "Sadie, are you seriously going to humiliate these two innocent girls just because of Nancy? You're an adult, and you should know what you're doing."
Elara and Ruby were only 22, while Sadie was already 35. Indeed, Sadie's behavior was disgraceful.
Sadie took a leisurely sip of her wine. "Adrian, I'm your elder sister, and you shouldn't be so rude to me. We're both part of the Hartley family."
Ruby took a bite of the steak, clearly relishing the drama. "Nancy is part of the Hartley family too. Aren't you worried her rude behavior might embarrass your whole family?"
Nancy stomped her foot and jabbed a finger at Ruby. "Shut up. Just leave if you don't want to stay."
Ruby was about to snap back, but Adrian cut her off. Fixing Sadie with a cold stare, he said, "Sadie, don't forget the rules we agreed on from the start."