Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Lauren snapped, "Elara, you've got a foul mouth!"
Zoe stared at Elara in surprise. She asked, "Elara, you own this place?"
Elara could see Zoe was already fuming, and she had no qualms about turning up the heat.
She replied, "Yep, it's mine. The business has just been so-so, and I was thinking of shutting it down. But today, Adrian wired me 600 thousand and even topped up a 160 thousand membership card at my place.
"He said that as long as I want to keep it open, he'll cover any losses. No big deal."
Elara tossed her long hair back, wearing a triumphant smile, and continued, "Oh well, I didn't even want it, but Adrian just had to go and wire me the money anyway."
Lauren gritted her teeth and snapped, "As if! 600 thousand? You think you can just bat your eyelashes and flirt your way into Adrian's wallet?"
Zoe said, "Lauren, don't talk about Elara that way. Adrian probably just wanted to help. Elara has been working hard to keep her shop afloat, and it's only natural to lend a hand, especially since she's Susan's good friend."
Lauren sneered, "Who knows if she's even telling the truth? She's probably just using Adrian's name to get a rise out of us."
Elara asked, "Don't believe me?" She hadn't planned to show them, but right now, nothing would satisfy her more than rubbing it in their faces.
With a smug look, Elara unlocked her phone and pulled up the recent transfer messages.
Lauren snatched the phone, her face turning livid at the messages. She snapped, "What kind of scam did you pull to get Adrian's money?"
Elara scoffed, "You think Adrian's some dumb, rich playboy that's that easy to fool? He gave it to me willingly."
Lauren snapped, "Willingly? Don't give me that crap! You're nothing but a con artist!"
Elara laughed in exasperation. She said, "Lauren, do you even hear yourself right now? Me, scamming Adrian? Are you doubting his intelligence or his professional skills? Seriously, who in their right mind would try to con a top lawyer?"
Lauren stood there speechless, fuming with rage.
With a frown, Zoe took the phone from Lauren and examined it.
Lauren whispered, "Zoe, is this a transfer from Adrian?"
Lauren was stating the obvious. After all, Adrian's name was displayed on the transfer.
Zoe's heart twisted painfully. She thought, 'Could Adrian be involved with Elara? No, this can't be. Not!' She checked the messages again and noticed the memos: grocery money and service fee.
A smile crossed her face as relief washed over her. She handed the phone to Elara and said to Lauren, "Lauren, you've misunderstood. This money is just Adrian paying Elara for groceries."
"Groceries?" Lauren asked.
Elara thought, 'I'm screwed! I forgot he'd left a note. Now, with Zoe being the queen of passive-aggressive remarks, she is sure to use this to tear me down with some snide comment.'
Zoe explained, "Yesterday, I bumped into Elara at Adrian's place. She brought loads of fresh ingredients and cooked for him. I suppose Susan must have asked Elara to help out.
"Since Adrian dislikes having strangers at home, he probably just hired Elara to handle his daily meals."
Elara let out a derisive chuckle and said, "Oh really? Since when does anyone pay 600 thousand for groceries?"
With a sweet, understanding smile, Zoe said, "Adrian has always been incredibly generous with those around him. Just recently, for my brother's birthday, Adrian gifted my brother a Porsche Panamera.
"If he's that lavish with gifts, of course, he'd pay handsomely for groceries too. But Adrian is quite particular about his food, so do make sure you buy only the finest, freshest ingredients, or he simply won't touch it."
Her words were a veiled warning: don't even think about skimming from the grocery money.
Elara couldn't swallow this insult. She shot back, "Oh, and by the way, Adrian just loaded 150 thousand onto my café's membership card."
Lauren quickly seized the opportunity to retort, "So what if Adrian helped out your failing café as a favor to Susan? Don't make it sound like you two have some special relationship."
Elara said, "Adrian and I share a special connection, you know. Zoe, your brother is a partner at the law firm. So what's the big deal about Adrian giving him a car? He wouldn't just do that for anyone.
"Has Adrian ever given you or Lauren a few thousand dollars? Has he ever bought you a car or a designer bag, Zoe? Sure, Adrian's rich, but he's no sucker."
Lauren shot back, "You think we're as shallow as you? All you ever see is dollar signs!"
Elara sneered. To save face, she began to spout nonsense, "Sure, call me a gold-digger, but Adrian's still head over heels for me. We're hitting the mall tonight. Hermès just dropped their new blue-gold crocodile bag, about 150 thousand.
"Only two in the whole city. One top celebrity snagged one, and as for the other one..."
Elara was still rambling on when she noticed Zoe and Lauren had lost all their earlier bravado, their heads drooping like wilted flowers. She felt something was off.
She turned around. Just a step away, she found herself face-to-face with Adrian, his expression dark as thunder.
Elara thought, 'How did he sneak up so quietly? When did he get here? Please tell me he didn't hear everything I just said.'
Impeccably clad in a designer suit, Adrian stared down at her, his gaze icy and unreadable.
Elara felt a shiver run through her bones. She muttered, "Mr. Hartley."
Adrian raised an eyebrow and teased, "Weren't you just calling me Adrian so casually? What's with the sudden Mr. Hartley now?"
Elara forced an awkward chuckle and replied, "Adrian, what brings you here?"
Adrian said, "Weren't we going to the mall to get you that bag? I'm here to pick you up."
Elara was completely caught off guard. She thought, 'Why's he playing along with my lie? What's he scheming now?'
Zoe and Lauren froze in panic at Adrian's words, rooted to the spot and too stunned to speak.
Adrian shifted his gaze to his two secretaries. He sneered, "Out here having coffee on a workday?"
Noticing the reproach in Adrian's tone, Lauren quickly explained, "Mr. Hartley, we were just running some errands nearby and happened to stop by this café for a quick break."
Adrian asked, "Since when did running errands include coffee breaks? Was this privilege granted by Chris or by me?"
Lauren waved her hands and said, "No, no, sorry, Mr. Hartley. We were just tired from running errands and thought we'd sneak in a quick break."
"Really?" Adrian said, his tone sharp with impatience.
Just then, Zoe spoke up, "Mr. Hartley, please don't blame Lauren. This was all my idea. I heard you haven't been eating or sleeping well, and I was so worried about you.
"When I saw you'd loaded 150 thousand here today, I figured you must love their coffee and food, so I insisted on bringing Lauren to get some for you.
"We indeed handled personal matters during work hours, but I was the one who made Lauren come. If you must punish someone, please punish me."
Elara scoffed inwardly, 'This 'innocent girl' act is truly next-level.'
Lauren, ever the loyal friend, stepped forward to take the blame. She insisted, "No, Mr. Hartley, I was the one who dragged Zoe out. If anyone should be punished, it should be me."
"Such sisterly devotion, always covering for each other," Elara muttered under her breath.
Adrian declared, "Twenty percent of your September salary will be deducted, and you'll receive a public reprimand in the company group chat. Do your job and get back to work, now."
At this, Lauren hurriedly snatched up her bag and dragged Zoe out of the café.
Watching the two of them scurry off, Elara felt a wave of satisfaction. She hadn't expected Adrian to be so supportive. With a bright, teasing smile, she asked, "So, what brings you here?"
Adrian's face fell instantly. His tone turned razor-sharp as he sneered, "How else would I know you've been going around posing as my girlfriend, using my name to bluff and deceive people?"