"Mrs. Grant, President Langley has been waiting for quite so ti. Please." The secretary said.
Juliana Jacobs entered the private room.
"Sorry, President Langley, I’m late."
The man turned his head, his profile exquisite, his brow exuding a familiar intensity that sent shivers down the spine.
But he wasn’t that Mr. Langley.
"This is my fault. I thought soone of Mrs. Grant’s status would have a mbership card here, so... I was inconsiderate."
The tone was polite, yet his words dripped with sarcasm.
Juliana smiled lightly, sat across from him, and took out a box of jewelry.
"This is part of the jewelry I want to resell, please have a look. There are also several properties, I can send you the addresses. Also..."
"Mrs. Grant," he interrupted, "I can offer you two hundred million for these. You can handle it with my secretary later."
Juliana scrutinized him, "Then, what does President Langley want to do for you?"
President Langley smiled, his humble gaze concealing unfathomable depth.
"Mrs. Grant is truly perceptive. I’ve heard of President Grant’s affairs, and I really sympathize with your situation. I don’t think you’re soone who can endure disgrace, but those rumors and slanders don’t harm him much unless..."
"I know what you’re going to say."
Juliana interrupted him, putting the jewelry samples back in her bag.
"I’m not interested in the grudges between you. I can’t provide the information you want, either. I think the middleman might have misunderstood; I’m just here to sell jewelry and property."
After speaking, Juliana stood up to leave.
President Langley smiled and called after her.
"The two hundred million offer can be increased. Mrs. Grant, don’t rush into a decision, go back and consider it before replying to ."
He handed her a business card.
Juliana took it. The design was very simple, with no position nor company na, only a na and phone number.
His na was Jared Langley.
Juliana rembered that Evan Grant also had two kinds of business cards.
One with embossed gold, featuring his title and position, but the phone number wasn’t his; the other simply printed with a private number, black on white, seen by fewer than five people.
And soone of Jared Langley’s status should be no exception.
Juliana pocketed the business card.
Lost in thought, she turned a corner and bumped into a waiter carrying a stack of tin tea trays.
The tal edge scraped her forehead, drawing a bit of blood.
The waiter’s tray fell to the ground.
"Can’t you watch where you’re going?" The waiter said angrily.
Juliana was about to apologize when a figure stepped in front of her.
"It’s business hours, and you’re carrying sothing dangerous in an area where guests pass through, injuring soone, and you think you’re in the right? Where’s your manager?"
Juliana was surprised. The person she just t this morning was here at the teahouse again, and more importantly, speaking up for her.
Her heart involuntarily fluttered.
She rembered when she ended her wandering life, on her first day of school, a small group of classmates tried to set rules for her.
Back then, Aidan Linton stood in front of her, leveraging the other’s weaknesses to scold them.
"Listen up, this is my sister. If you try bullying her like others, I’ve got ways to make you regret it."
After that, none of the misfit groups dared to bother her.
Aidan protected her until she was 22 but mysteriously disappeared by the river on a rainy night. The police found his left shoe and phone, but their search was fruitless. Three months later, he was declared dead.
What was happening now overlapped gradually with those mories, and Juliana’s nose tingled.
"Vice President Langley, I’m sorry, it’s the waiter’s fault for being negligent."
The manager quickly arrived.
The fake smile vanished, turning sharp when he looked at the waiter.
"Why didn’t you use the staff passage for moving things? Your team leader will dock your bonus this month, and you’re fired."
Vice President Langley snorted, "Is that all there is to it?"
"Oh, right, I’ll take this lady to the hospital for a checkup right away. Don’t worry, we won’t shirk responsibility."
"No need, I wasn’t paying attention, it’s nothing serious."
Juliana, preoccupied, wanted to leave.
But he insisted, "You should go to the hospital first; otherwise, it might leave a scar."
Juliana grew impatient, "We don’t even know each other; why are you so helpful?"
He paused for a mont, then pulled out a business card, smiling, "I have a license to practice law, and if this teahouse doesn’t follow through, you can contact anyti."
The manager’s eyelids twitched: the third young master of the Langley Family as a pro bono lawyer was unheard of.
Juliana took the card, again black on white, but the na and number were different.
His na was Adrian Langley.
So, he wasn’t Aidan?
Juliana pocketed the card, touched her forehead, "I’m fine, it’s alright."
Adrian was about to speak when Jared approached.
"Third brother, do you have business here?"
Adrian saw his brother, smiling without warmth.
"Father sent to deliver a docunt to you."
Jared laughed, "Even assigning assistant duties to you, Father must be ’focused on nurturing’ you."
Adrian simply smiled without responding.
"Mrs. Grant is my guest; let take her to the hospital." Jared said.
"Having your guest get injured shows how busy you are, brother. Why not let help share the burden?"
"No need, let’s attend to our own matters."
"No need to be so serious, brother."
Juliana found their argunt headache-inducing.
"You two gentlen continue your chat. I have matters to attend to, so I’ll be going."
Jared and Adrian simultaneously paused.
Juliana left without looking back.
Once in the car, she called Sumr Shaw, "Find a few more people interested in jewelry and real estate for ."
"No deal?" Sumr asked.
"It’s never wise to put all eggs in one basket."
Sumr approved of her idea.
"Exactly, that’s how business should be done."
"Help investigate soone." Juliana said.
"Who?"
"The third son of the Langley Family, Adrian Langley."
Sumr got excited, "Did you take a fancy to him?"
Juliana didn’t explain, "I need all the information on this man."
Sumr: "Wait. Even if I have to beco a paparazzo, I’m going to dig up everything on him for you."
"Sis, you’ve got so nerve, using the Langley Family against Evan Grant."
Juliana made no reply.
After hanging up, she still went to the hospital.
After all, the injury was on her forehead, and she didn’t want it to scar.
Arriving at rcy, she registered for outpatient surgery.
About fifty patients were ahead of her in line, and she was hesitating whether to cancel the appointnt when Chase Miller approached her.
Walking over, he tucked his phone into his pocket.
"How did you get hurt?" he asked.
"I accidentally bumped sothing."
Chase looked at the long queue, "It’s crowded today. Wait outside for ; I’ll get the dication and treat you sowhere."
Juliana initially wanted to refuse, but realizing she’d have to wait just as long at another hospital, she nodded.
With the heat outside, and knowing the treatnt wouldn’t take long, Juliana agreed to Chase’s suggestion and got into his car.
Chase turned on the air conditioning while Juliana sat in the backseat, and he cleaned her wound.
"It’s a superficial wound, not too serious. Proper care will prevent a scar."
He took out a spray bottle and spritzed it over her head.
A few seconds later, Juliana felt dizzy.
Chase reclined the front seat, climbed into the back, and held her in his arms.
"What are you trying to do?"
Juliana felt weak all over, her heartbeat inexplicably quickening.
Chase picked up the spray again, giving her face another spritz.
"Don’t be scared; we just need to put on a show. The effects will wear off soon, it won’t harm your body."
Speaking, he undid the buttons on her collar and his shirt, though he made no further move.
"Why are you doing this?"
Juliana struggled to speak, grabbing his hand.
Chase’s eyes held a bitter edge, "I’m sorry, if I don’t do this, I..."
The next second, the front passenger window was broken, revealing Evan Grant’s stern face.
His eyes bore a chill deeper than the darkest winter night, yet his lips curled with a hint of a smile, "The two of you sure have a unique way of having fun."
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