Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Adrian continued, "Using me as your punching bag? Dreaming of marrying into the Hartley family? Well, tough luck. I'm just not interested in you.
"You think being my secretary—making coffee and bringing breakfast—qualifies you to be my woman? You've got quite the nerve, haven't you?"
Elara didn't reply.
"You're the only damn person in all of Veritasiton who dares mess with Adrian—and has the audacity to do it this blatantly! Elara! You've really got some nerve!"
Adrian sneered, "What? Cat got your tongue? Too ashamed to speak?
"Fine, not saying a word, huh? Elara, you're fired."
Adrian saw that she wasn't responding and stopped, breathing heavily, expecting her to defend herself. The room was quiet in the early morning, and he heard her steady breathing over the phone, realizing she had fallen asleep.
Adrian realized, 'So she got drunk, used me as her emotional punching bag, felt better after venting, and then just passed out cold.'
Adrian hung up in frustration and fired off a text to Elara, [You're fired.] Without another thought, Adrian blocked Elara on WhatsApp.
Still not satisfied, he texted Chris, [Post a job opening for a senior secretary tomorrow. Until we hire someone, the junior assistant will cover the duties.]
Adrian drained the whiskey in his glass, clutching his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white, a cold, ruthless fury seethed within him.
Adrian hadn't slept a wink since Elara left. He got up and buried himself in paperwork until the early hours. When her call came through, he was genuinely surprised, never expecting to hear her pour out her heart like that.
'And to think I just recommended Elara's café to my food blogger friend. Who would've thought even I could be this fucking delusional for once,' he thought.
At eleven in the morning, Elara woke up. She forced herself up, her limbs weak and body aching all over. When she pulled back the covers and spotted bloodstains on the sheets, she let out a sigh because her period had come.
Clutching her cramping abdomen, she dragged herself to the bathroom. After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, her mind finally kicked into gear.
After 22 years without a job, Elara suddenly jolted awake. "Shit! I still have to go to work!" Frantic, Elara rummaged through the tangled blankets on her bed until she finally fished out her phone and checked the time.
"It's already twelve!" Ruby was jolted awake by her scream. Rubbing her sleepy almond-shaped eyes, she glared at the frantic Elara tearing at her hair. "What the hell are you doing at this hour?" she grumbled.
"I skipped half a day of work! Adrian's probably itching to wring my neck and ship me off abroad by now!"
Still unaware that she had already been fired, Elara quickly pulled on her business suit, didn't even have time for makeup, and dashed out the door. Ignoring today's sudden drop in temperature, she just threw on a thin cardigan and rushed out.
While waiting for the elevator, Elara finally had time to check her WhatsApp. She was about to ask Adrian for leave when she saw a message he'd sent at some point, [You're fired.]
Elara instantly realized Adrian must be furious. [Sorry, Mr. Hartley, I wasn't feeling well this morning and had a slight fever, so I got held up. I'm heading to the office right now.]
She hit send, hoping Adrian would see her message. [You are no longer friends with this contact.]
The elevator doors slid open, but Elara stood frozen in shock, momentarily forgetting to move. When she finally snapped out of it, she stepped inside and jabbed the button for B1. A Koenigsegg shot out of the underground garage in a frantic rush.
By the time she arrived, the lunch break was more than half over. She swiped her work badge for the executive floor elevator. Finding the reception desk unmanned, she quickened her pace and headed into the law firm.
Elara didn't even knock; she barged straight into Adrian's office. "Mr. Hartley, this morning I—"
Elara was about to launch into her explanation when she realized the office wasn't empty. Seven or eight men in tailored suits—department heads she recognized, each responsible for a different type of case at the firm—sat rigidly on the black leather sofa.
It was clear from the scene that he was in a meeting. She remembered there was a quarterly summary report at 11 AM today, and it was still ongoing, indicating Adrian wasn't satisfied with the departments' performances.
People in the office fell silent and all eyes turned to Elara, including Zoe pouring tea for Adrian and Lauren seated taking minutes.
Adrian's expression darkened as she barged in. "Get out." His tone was icy, leaving no room for argument.
"Mr. Hartley, I'm really sorry. I wasn't feeling well this morning, so I couldn't come in. It wasn't on purpose, I—"
"Get out!" Adrian barked, his voice razor-sharp—a warning growl, like a storm about to break.
But Elara refused to budge. "Mr. Hartley—" Before she could finish speaking, a sudden forceful shove sent her stumbling toward the door.
She glanced over and saw that Lauren had somehow appeared beside her. Suddenly, Lauren gave her a hard shove, causing Elara to stagger and nearly lose her balance.
Elara snapped, "Lauren, what do you think you're doing, shoving me like that?"
"You really think you can just waltz into Mr. Hartley's office whenever you want? You should be grateful I haven't called security to throw you out," Lauren said.
Elara shot back. "You're just a third secretary. How dare you shove me, Mr. Hartley's senior secretary, in his own office?"
Lauren burst out laughing. "Elara, are you sleepwalking or what? Zoe is Mr. Hartley's senior secretary now. You've already been fired."
"I was only gone for a morning, and now she's acting as his senior secretary? Does she even know what that means? Can she make coffee? Can she organize files? Can she communicate smoothly with overseas clients?
"She got in through her brother and only has a degree in flower arranging? She's not fit to be Adrian's secretary." After saying that, Elara immediately realized she'd gone too far with that personal jab. But damn it, Lauren had really pushed all her buttons!
Lauren jabbed a finger at Elara, and sneered, "Don't believe me? Why don't you go check the HR notice in your company email yourself? Oh, wait, you've already been fired, so you don't even have access to your work email anymore, do you?"
Stepping forward, Lauren yanked the work badge from Elara's hand. "You can't have this either!"
Elara snapped, "Lauren, give me back my badge!"
Lauren scoffed. "You're not even with Anchor Law Firm anymore. What right do you have to keep this badge?"
Seeing the two locked in a heated argument, Zoe stepped in, seemingly to mediate, but her feigned concern only fanned the flames.
Zoe looked at Elara with a smug smile and said, "Elara, I know you've got issues with me. But today, Mr. Hartley didn't want coffee. He actually really enjoyed the tea I brewed for him."
'Huh, aren't you just two-faced?' Elara thought.
"Look, I used to work closely with Susan, so there really won't be any problems working with Mr. Hartley. You honestly don't need to worry. We're still in the middle of a meeting, making a scene like this is only embarrassing yourself."
"Oh, really? No problem at all? Did you even know the meeting with SmartWin in Landblic was moved up to today? Have you confirmed the exact time with their Special Assistant to the President?
Elara asked, "The entire meeting will be in another language. Do you honestly think you can take proper minutes? Or maybe you, Lauren, think you can handle it?"
The reason Adrian's senior secretary needs such high qualifications and professional competence is precisely because of situations like this. Zoe was speechless. To everyone's surprise, Adrian stepped in to bail her out.
Adrian snapped, "I've already called Mr. Lynn to confirm the time for the SmartWin meeting. Justin will take the minutes. Our work is progressing just fine without you.
"Elara, don't flatter yourself thinking Anchor Law Firm can't function without one secretary! Who do you think you are? Get out now! Don't make me repeat myself!" Adrian said.
Elara's voice trembled with frustration and hurt. "Mr. Hartley, I—" She could barely get the words out; her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
"Zoe, call security and have her dragged out," Adrian said.