Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Elara came out on top. Her lips curled into a playful smile; her eyes crinkling with delight. "Depends on my mood. I get to decide," she said.
Adrian paused, as if trying to regain some professional ground. "Excepting office hours," he said firmly.
Elara grinned and replied playfully, "Got it, Mr. Hartley. Work comes first. I'll be the picture of professionalism."
Seeing Elara's glistening, alluring eyes working their magic again, Adrian steeled himself and pushed aside his wandering thoughts. "Finished eating?" he asked.
Elara nodded. Watching as Adrian prepared to pay, she grinned playfully and teased. "Mr. Hartley, why not get a membership here? Maybe even go for the annual one?" 'Such a wealthy boss, what a shame not to milk him for all he's worth,' Elara thought.
Adrian wasn't one to sign up for memberships. Even at the most elite clubs, they'd trip over themselves to hand him a VIP card, never expecting him to apply for one himself.
He was surprisingly accommodating. Adrian asked, "Alright, how to get it?"
"Just give them your number to charge it to your account."
"Top it up, whatever amount you think is right. Finance will handle it tomorrow." With that, he turned and walked away.
"Got it!" Elara grinned. She chuckled silently to herself, thinking, 'Sure enough, being around the rich really pays off—just skim a little and it turns into a windfall.'
Elara drove Adrian home, noticing his unusual silence throughout the ride. She figured Adrian was sulking over her little "compensation" scheme earlier.
Once home, Adrian didn't utter a word. He headed straight to the master suite bathroom, took a quick shower, and turned in. Seeing him slip under the covers without saying a word, Elara could only sigh inwardly and get on with her own chores.
Elara put Adrian's clothes into a laundry bag to be sent to the dry cleaners. She then laid out his outfit for tomorrow, including cufflinks and a watch, at the front of the closet and left his room.
With the penthouse's ventilation system humming to life, Elara checked the readings for indoor humidity and air quality. Only when everything met her standards did she finally consider her work done.
Finally, Elara wandered through the sprawling penthouse. "Man, the life of the rich," she couldn't help but muse.
Outside the Veritasiton Hills, a red Ferrari waited across the street. Elara tossed the laundry bag into the back seat and got straight into the car.
"How would it go, Elara?" Julian asked with a grin.
Elara said, "Yeah, looks like I'm staying."
"See? I knew it. No man stands a chance against that face of yours, Elara!" Julian said.
Elara shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "Dry cleaners first." She still had to drop off Adrian's designer suit at the dry cleaners first.
"Okay, Ruby's waiting for us at our usual spot," Julian said.
"What? Alex is getting engaged? To that Nancy?"
"Outrageous! What does Nancy even have besides her money?"
"How could someone like her end up with Alex?"
"Didn't Alex say this was just pretending? How did it escalate to an engagement?"
"Elara! Then do we still need to set up the [One-Month Adrian Task Force]?"
"You want that pain-in-the-neck Nancy to be Alex's wife? Never! In her dreams!"
Midnight. The three of them sat at their usual hotpot joint, with Ruby going off like a string of firecrackers. Elara wasn't hungry after her light meal earlier, so she just ordered a lemonade.
Elara took a sip of her drink, her expression unreadably calm. "Alex went out of his way to send me an invitation, insisting all three of us show up," she said dryly.
"No way in hell we're going! I bet it's that pain-in-the-ass Nancy who's behind this!"
"If it were just Nancy asking, Alex could easily brush her off. The real problem is, Sadie himself is insisting on it too."
Julian prepared Elara's favorite sauce and added some shrimp balls to her plate. "So, are we going or not?" he asked. "If we don't, it'll be a hassle for Alex. But if we do..." Julian studied Elara's expression carefully.
Elara kept her eyes glued to her phone, casually swiping through a boring puzzle game, something she rarely did. "No," she said airily. "Let's see Nancy choke on that."
She thought for a moment, then added, "You two can just go in my place. Just tell them I'm swamped with work at Adrian's firm and can't get away. Surely Sadie wouldn't give Alex a hard time just because of Adrian, would he?
"But you two still need to be there," Elara said firmly.
Julian was stunned by her eerily calm composure. "Did Alex say Dylan might be released for his engagement party?" he asked.
"That's what Sadie promised him, supposedly," Elara replied.
Julian asked, "Now that Dylan might be released, should we still proceed with Adrian's plan?"
Elara didn't hesitate. "Of course we continue. Why wouldn't we? We still don't know if Dylan will get out. This isn't over until the acquittal verdict comes out."
Even though she was full, Elara couldn't resist the shrimp balls. She popped one into her mouth, cheeks puffed out as she mumbled. "Here's what I'm thinking. Even if Alex has Nancy's backing, is the Heaton family really that easy to deal with?
"If this were just a simple frame-up, Sadie could clear it up with a single word, and the Heaton family could just find another scapegoat. So why are they so hell-bent on going after Dylan?"
Ruby's pretty face was practically screaming at Elara. "Just say it. I can't read your mind!"
Elara popped another shrimp ball. "Here's my guess. Dylan probably knows something or maybe got some dirt on the Heaton family. Both Sadie and Alex are in on it, but since Dylan doesn't trust Sadie, he's using that leverage as his life insurance.
"Therefore, Alex needs to become an official member of the Hartley family. Once Dylan and the Hartley and Heaton families are aligned, the Heaton family will feel secure enough to release Dylan. So, this engagement party will be grand."
Julian watched Elara intently as she laid out her analysis, not missing a single shift in her expression, terrified her composure might shatter at any moment.
Elara remarked coolly. "Once I've settled in at the law firm, I'll talk to Eric again. Actually, Dylan should trust his lawyer the most, not those business tycoons, especially not the Hartley family."
Ruby couldn't believe her ears. "Elara, this sounds totally unbelievable, but the way you tell it, it's like we're in the middle of a spy thriller! How thrilling!"
Elara laughed, "Our actions are still under wraps. If the Heaton family finds out, we might be in trouble. Julian at least has the Quinn Group to back him up, but us two? We might not even see it coming. Still think it's exciting?"
"Come on, what are you worried about? Fortune favors the bold!" Ruby replied.
Elara chuckled. "From your lips to God's ears."
Julian's phone buzzed with a work call, so he stepped outside to take it. Elara set down her game, leaned in close to Ruby, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Ruby's grip slipped, sending her water glass crashing to the floor. "What?" she shrieked. Her shriek turned the heads of the few occupied tables in the restaurant.
With an embarrassed smile, Elara said, "Girl, keep it down a notch."
Ruby's face lit up with equal parts shock and delight. "Elara, it's only your first day at work and you're already pulling off something this wild?"