Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Jason gave Elara a knowing look, as if saying, "See? Am I awesome or what?"
Elara stealthily gave Jason a thumbs-up and mouthed, "You nailed it!"
Jason picked up the racket from the ground and moved toward Adrian. Before he could even steady his stance on the court, Adrian served the ball with force. Jason barely managed to raise his arm and swing to return it.
Elara couldn't help but chuckle softly as she noticed the annoyed look on Adrian's face. He was always this childish. The more pissed off he looked, the happier she got.
Elara found the perfect spot with a great view, sat down, and cracked open a bottle of water. Sipping it leisurely, she enjoyed watching the two men go head-to-head on the court.
Just then, Ruby's irritated voice shouted from nearby, "Victor, I don't want you to teach me!"
Elara glanced over and saw that Victor had dismissed the coach Ruby had hired, determined to teach Ruby personally.
Victor said, "Ruby, I can play too. What's wrong with me teaching you?"
Rolling insisted, "Whether you can play or not doesn't matter! I just want that coach to teach me!"
Victor asked, "Why?"
Ruby said, "Seriously, don't you think he's handsome? His dreamy eyes look like Benedict Cumberbatch's."
Victor chuckled in exasperation. He snapped, "Ruby, you've got your eyes on that coach again? You are such a flirt."
Ruby shot back, "Cut the act! We're both seasoned players. Who are you trying to fool with that innocent routine?"
Victor didn't bother defending himself. Instead, he shot back, "With your track record of getting bored with a guy in just three days, do you think you could handle some innocent guy clinging to you 24/7?"
Ruby snapped, "That's none of your business!"
Victor said, "After all the trouble I went through to bring you here to play. Is this the thanks I get? So ungrateful."
Ruby snapped, "Fine! You're the one who insisted on bringing me here. If you're not happy about it, I'll just leave!" With that, she tossed her racket aside and made her walk off.
She thought, 'Anyway, Elara's already in. Mission accomplished for me today.'
Victor caught up to Ruby and caught her wrist. He pleaded, "Don't go. I was wrong. Let me treat you to a fancy dinner tonight."
Ruby rolled her eyes. She snapped, "Oh please, since when do you ever make mistakes? It's all my fault. I practically begged you to bring me to this club."
Victor gently squeezed Ruby's slender wrist and said softly, "How could that be? Even if you were at fault, I'd still take the blame. Besides, how could you ever be wrong?"
Ruby was thoroughly charmed. She thought, 'This guy's got some serious silver-tongued skills. No wonder they say he's such a heartbreaker. He must have left a trail of broken hearts everywhere.'
Ruby didn't want to back down, but she still threw him a bone. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Alright then, what exactly did you do wrong?"
Victor grinned and said, "Guilty as charged on all counts, my princess."
Ruby said, "Not being specific means you don't think you did anything wrong."
Victor threw up his hands and said, "No, no, not at all! Alright, I admit I was wrong. I shouldn't have interrupted your man-hunting. I shouldn't have held the tennis club invitation over your head, and definitely shouldn't have called you a player.
"My bad. So, to make it up to you, dinner's on me tonight."
Ruby reluctantly agreed, "Fine, whatever. I'm exhausted. Get me some water."
Victor took Ruby by the wrist and led her to sit next to Elara. He unscrewed the cap of a bottle of water before handing it to her.
Ruby took the bottle and sipped it delicately.
Elara never would've guessed Ruby could get Victor wrapped around her finger so quickly.
She thought, 'Ruby is a little troublemaker who always causes a scene, yet Victor looks at her with such adoration, as if he'd give her the moon if he could.
'But what about me? I even went that far with Adrian, and he still dumped me. Comparing myself to Ruby is just soul-crushing. Is it that I'm just not good enough, or is Adrian the absolute worst?
'Seriously? Did fate open every door for me, only to super-glue the one to love shut? No matter what I do, it just won't budge!'
The naturally competitive Elara wasn't having it. She nudged Ruby and asked, "How'd you do it?"
Ruby shrugged and asked, "How did I do what?"
Elara said, "Victor. Isn't he rumored to be a notorious playboy? Swapping girls every three days? How did you manage to wrap him around your finger like that?"
Ruby leaned in with a mischievous grin and whispered, "I bet Victor's still a virgin. Crazy, right?"
Elara nearly spat out her water in shock. She asked, "Seriously? What makes you say that?"
Ruby said, "Well, there was this one time I was drinking with him and some friends at the Aurora Club. We were playing Truth or Dare, and I lost, so I picked Dare. Then, I kissed him."
Elara leaned in, eyes wide with curiosity. She asked, "And then?"
"Then he just wouldn't leave me alone," Ruby said with a smirk.
Elara stared at Ruby in disbelief. She said, "Wait, just one kiss and now he's hooked on you and won't leave you alone?"
She complained inside, 'I've locked lips with Adrian, who knows how many times! And now, instead of clinging to me, he won't even look my way.'
Elara let out a sigh, feeling down. She glanced at Adrian, who was still using the game to settle personal scores.
Justin was just trying to help Elara get her job back out of kindness, but Adrian took brutal revenge on him right there on the tennis court.
Adrian had the kind of ripped physique one only got from years of training. His arms packed a serious punch. Justin might have had abs, but he was much leaner and nowhere near Adrian's level on the court.
Adrian practically used Justin as a human punching bag, pelting him with a relentless barrage of shots. After just thirty minutes, Justin was so beat up he barely recognized his own body.
Elara felt sorry for the battered and exhausted Justin. The moment he stepped down, she rushed over and handed him a towel and some water, her concern plain to see.
Adrian stole a subtle glance at them before looking away and taking the towel Zoe handed him.
Elara said guiltily, "Sorry for putting you through this, Justin."
Justin replied, "It's no big deal. His shoulder took quite a beating, too."
Jason knew Adrian had lingering effects from an old shoulder injury. He thought, 'After playing such an intense match with so much force, his shoulder is bound to act up. So he must be feeling pretty miserable right now.'
Jason was genuinely surprised. He had expected that Adrian would at most give him a verbal warning or win a few extra points to make him lose face. But Adrian went all out, aggravating his shoulder injury just to vent his anger.
Hearing this, a flicker of concern surfaced in Elara's mind, one she hadn't even realized was there.
The previous day, Jenna was supposed to give Adrian a therapeutic massage, but she tried to take advantage of the situation, so it never happened.
Susan had told her that Adrian needed long-term massage therapy for his shoulder and should avoid putting too much strain on it.
Elara was lost in thought for a moment. When she snapped back to reality, she realized Adrian was no longer on the court. She turned to ask Victor, only to learn Adrian had gone to change.
Adrian and Victor each had a private lounge at the club. The moment Adrian entered his, Elara quietly slipped in after him.
Adrian had just taken off his shirt when he spotted Elara. Recalling that she said last night that she wanted to use him to piss off her ex, Adrian's anger flared. He snapped, "Get out!"
Elara ignored him. She approached him, her voice soft with concern as she asked, "Does your shoulder hurt?"
Adrian replied coldly, "What does that have to do with you, Ms. Langton?"
Elara said, "Seriously? Even though you're in pain, you still went that hard on Justin? He's black and blue all over!"
Adrian smirked and said, "What? Think I'm too rough? Feeling sorry for him?"
Elara thought, 'How did someone with such poor comprehension skills even pass the bar?'
She snapped, "Can't you tell I'm concerned about you? I, Elara, am asking if your shoulder hurts, Adrian. How did you twist that into me worrying about Jason?"
Adrian sneered, "You think I give a damn about your concern? Get out."
With a sheepish grin, Elara said, "My bad! I was blackout drunk last night. Did I call and yell at you? I'm so sorry. I was totally out of it, and everything I said was just thoughtless nonsense. Please don't take it to heart."
Adrian scoffed, "Oh really? Funny, I thought everything you spouted last night was damn calculated. Otherwise, how'd you hatch such an elaborate scheme?"