Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 80: Chapter 80

Elara was utterly dumbfounded and was about to ask what was going on. "I—"
Suddenly, someone approached and called out, "Adrian."
Adrian nodded in greeting. "Hi, Nathan."
"It's been a while," Nathan said. He had no female companion with him, and even at his age, his black suit looked sharp and commanding. He glanced at Elara and asked, "Girlfriend?"
Elara quickly shook her head. "No, just a plus-one."
Adrian remained silent, but the hand on her waist gave a subtle squeeze.
Elara frowned and glanced sideways at him.
Adrian raised an eyebrow and echoed, "Yeah, just a plus-one." Then he turned to Nathan. "Where's Yann?"
Nathan replied, "He said the offline donation system crashed, so he went back to the company to oversee the IT team optimizing it."
"That's good," Adrian commented. The traffic was so heavy it crashed the system, which meant the fundraiser was a resounding success.
Nathan's gaze returned to Elara. "Ms. Langton, are you originally from Veritasiton?"
Elara nodded. "Yeah."
Nathan continued, "How old are you?"
Adrian was surprised by Nathan's keen interest in Elara.
Elara replied, "Twenty-two."
Nathan nodded. "Good. What month is your birthday? Are your parents in good health?"
Adrian interjected, "Nathan, why are you so curious about my companion?"
Nathan gave an awkward laugh. "She just resembles an old acquaintance of mine. Nothing serious, just asking."
Adrian teased, "You don't say that to every pretty woman you meet, do you?"
Nathan hastily explained, "How could I—"
Before he could finish, several people came over to chat with Nathan, and Adrian seized the opportunity to lead Elara away.
Elara frowned, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" It was rude to walk away before the conversation was finished.
Adrian smirked, "Aren't you scared of being stared at by a dirty old man?"
Elara looked baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Nathan is a notorious womanizer. Even at his age, he still hasn't changed his ways," Adrian explained.
Elara's eyes widened. "But you seem to get along with him pretty well."
Adrian shrugged. "Aside from his philandering habits, he's actually decent. I co-founded this foundation with the Kalmien Group."
Elara felt something was off. "You say he's a womanizer, but I didn't see any women around him tonight."
Adrian leaned in, lowering his voice. "Word is, he lost his virility from overindulgence when he was younger."
A chill ran down Elara's spine. She tugged on Adrian's arm and said, "Then let's move even farther away."
Adrian chuckled at her reaction. "Chill. Even if he had the intentions, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on my woman. Besides, we've got business connections—he knows better than to cross that line."
Elara blinked. "But I'm not your woman."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter? As long as those guys think you are, that's all that counts."
Elara caught on. Suddenly, she recalled the earlier interrupted topic. "By the way, what did you mean by what you said just now?"
Adrian replied calmly, "What did I say?"
"When I mentioned the online buzz, you said you'd found someone with a lot of influence—me. What did you mean by that?" Elara asked.
Since Elara had nowhere to put her phone in her dress, she'd left it with Adrian. He slowly took it out and handed it to her. "Check the trending topics."
Elara took the phone, opened Twitter, and was stunned by what was trending. "Isn't this just a public legal seminar? How did it get so much buzz?"
Adrian leaned in closer. "We paid for some buzz."
"How much did you spend?"
"About 3 million."
Elara stared at him, dumbfounded.
Adrian added, "Of course, your popularity helped. We just added icing to the cake."
"But why spend so much money just to get more people to care about teenagers?"
"That's your take. I'm just after better fundraising."
Elara turned off the phone and handed it back to Adrian. "How much in donations can this kind of buzz bring you?"
"I can't share the exact number, but trust me—I don't make bad investments."
Elara nodded, then frowned. "Still, don't you think it's a bit rude to drag me into your publicity stunt without even asking me first?"
Even as she said it, she knew deep down—this kind of buzz was pure gold for an influencer like her.
She'd gained over two million followers, and the Dolphin Bay Hotel tweet and apology incident had been swept away by this new wave of attention. Now, not only could she use her account again, but her value had doubled, and advertisers were already lining up.
Adrian hadn't expected her to be upset and apologized quickly. "I'm sorry. After the tweet-deletion incident, your account took a hit. I just wanted to help you get back in the game and finally make some real money from your promotions."
It was true. Elara's café had been bleeding money since day one.
"You're a psychologist. This is a charity fundraiser—it's great for your public image," Adrian added.
"So, you think you went too far back then?" Elara asked. She hadn't expected him to try to make up for what happened before. She almost wondered if this was really Adrian.
He had pulled her into a private room, forced her to delete her tweet, and made her break down in tears. She thought none of that was right.
Adrian pulled her close by the waist, meeting her eyes. "Yeah. Consider this my formal apology."
'Fine. For someone like Adrian, this is already unprecedented. Besides, it isn't like I'm the only influencer he could have invited to today's seminar,' Elara thought.
"I'll reluctantly accept your apology," she said. "But next time, ask me first before you go ahead with something like this."
Adrian smiled. This was his first-ever apology to anyone, and Elara had only barely accepted it. Though he'd temporarily lost the upper hand, seeing her eyes curve with laughter sparked a budding warmth in his chest he'd never felt before.
Elara gently pushed him away, creating some distance. "Don't get so close in public," she warned. Their behavior was way too intimate for just companions.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Scared?"
Elara shot him a glare. "Please, you're an engaged man. I don't want to cross paths with the Heaton family."
Adrian's voice was low and confident. "With me around, who would dare touch you?"
Just as Elara was about to say something, her phone rang in Adrian's suit pocket. He handed it to her—the caller ID said [Mom].
'Oh no, did she find out I'm in Marisiton?' Elara's stomach dropped. She hurried to a quiet lounge, locked the door, and finally dared to answer, "Mom?"
"You're in Marisiton?" Janice asked.
Elara fell silent. She knew every time that city came up, Janice would act like a different person.
Janice's voice rose, frantic. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? How many times have I told you—never go to Marisiton!"
"Mom, how did you even know I was here?"
"Forget the legal seminar you did? Your speech is everywhere—Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok. You think I live under a rock?"
Elara massaged her temples. "Mom, I'm just here for work, not for fun. I'll leave as soon as I'm done."
"No. You need to come back right now. If you don't want to stay in Veritasiton, then go abroad. Just get out of Marisiton immediately!" Janice left zero wiggle room.
"Why? Can't you at least give me a reason?" Elara pressed as she thought,'You lived here for a few years and ended up hating the city, so I can't even visit?'
"A reason? I want you to leave. Isn't that enough?"
Elara felt utterly drained. "I'll go back first thing tomorrow morning."
"No, right now. I'll book your flight."
"Mom—" Before Elara could finish, the line went dead. She clutched her phone, completely exhausted.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Elara turned and opened the lounge door to find Adrian standing outside. He asked, "Is something wrong?"
Elara shook her head. "Mr. Hartley, I'm afraid I'll have to return to Veritasiton tonight."