"Shouldn’t a professional outfit usually be paired with a pencil skirt?"
Ever since Felix Shepherd started sizing her up, Serena Jennings’s skin crawled.
But she acted calm. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovєlFіre.net
"I changed into pants just for you. How does it feel? Does it make you all warm and fuzzy?"
Felix heard Serena’s sarcasm, hinting he was a lecher.
"What, do you think I’m a real womanizer?"
Felix shrugged and smiled, gentlemanly pulling out a chair for Serena.
She was meeting Felix tonight because he had proactively contacted her, saying he could advise her on filing for divorce.
Serena was well aware that Felix had ulterior motives, but she still wanted to hear what Felix had to say. After all, she couldn’t be sure that if she won her bet, Caleb Lockwood would accept the outcome.
"Lust is a man’s nature... Take your husband, for example. He probably cheated because he thinks you’re not sexy, not feminine enough, lacking in excitement."
Felix drank wine while eloquently explaining.
Serena hadn’t told Felix why she wanted a divorce, nor had she revealed that Caleb Lockwood was her husband. She hadn’t even mentioned infidelity.
But lawyers always have their ways, and Serena couldn’t say how much Felix knew about her.
"I just want to know how I can divorce my husband." Serena was in no mood to hear Felix’s nonsense, so she cut straight to the chase.
Felix smiled and offered her a drink, which she downed in one go.
Seeing Serena drink so readily, Felix also responded candidly.
"If an uncontested divorce doesn’t work out, you’ll have to go the litigation route. To improve the chances of a favorable court ruling, you’ll need to provide more evidence of your husband’s wrongdoing."
Serena recalled how she’d once spent a fortune hiring a detective to follow Caleb, but had still failed to obtain solid evidence of his infidelity.
"If you can’t prove wrongdoing, you’ll have to show that your relationship has indeed broken down." Felix continued.
Serena listened intently, not noticing the gaze from another table.
Mr. Li noticed Caleb had been distracted all evening, intermittently glancing at the corner.
Curious, he craned his neck to look, seeing a man and a woman engaged in conversation.
"Does President Lockwood know Attorney Shepherd?" Mr. Li asked.
"No wonder President Lockwood keeps looking over there." Mr. Li finally understood why Caleb was so absent-minded tonight.
"Attorney Shepherd is great at lawsuits, highly competent, but I remember he never does corporate legal work, not even nominally."
"Yes." Caleb nodded again.
"I guess the woman sitting opposite him must be looking to hire Attorney Shepherd for a divorce case!"
This time, Caleb didn’t say "Yes."
"Attorney Shepherd specializes in divorce cases, hasn’t lost a single one in ten years. But don’t be fooled by his respectable appearance; he’s quite the playboy in private. Almost every woman who hires him for a divorce ends up sleeping with him. This one’s quite pretty... President Lockwood, should we..."
Before Mr. Li could finish his sentence, Caleb, who had been sitting opposite him, was nowhere to be found.
Serena was in the middle of her consultation when suddenly a man sat next to Felix.
Felix was also taken aback.
"President Lockwood, what brings you here..."
Seeing Caleb, Felix’s face briefly showed confusion, but soon he understood.
"I see, President Lockwood suddenly sat over... because he’s interested in me?"
At this point, he suddenly turned to look at Serena sitting opposite.
"Surely he’s not interested in my client here!"
Caleb neither confirmed nor denied, calmly countering:
"Did you take her case?"
"Then she’s not your client."
Felix opened his mouth but found himself unable to argue.
The atmosphere at the table became awkward, yet Caleb remained composed and coolly spoke: "Don’t mind me, carry on."
The three exchanged silent glances until Felix answered a phone call.
"Okay, okay... I’ll head over now."
After hanging up, Felix looked at both Serena and Caleb.
"My client has some issues, so I’ll be going. I’ve covered the meal, take your time chatting."
On his way out, he bent down to whisper in Serena’s ear: "We’ll get in touch later."
With that, Felix left, but Serena felt Felix was making an excuse to leave because his phone hadn’t rung once, not even vibrating.
Unless Felix and his client had telepathic powers.
Serena could tell Felix was already suspicious about her relationship with Caleb, otherwise, he wouldn’t have stared at Caleb while whispering in her ear.
After Felix left, the silence between Serena and Caleb grew deeper.
Serena had been drinking tonight and couldn’t drive, so she thought of calling for a driver.
Just as she started dialing, Caleb snatched her phone.
"What exactly do you want?"
Serena was a bit annoyed.
Caleb ended the call and returned her phone.
"Nothing. I’ll drive you home, using your car."
"No need to trouble President Lockwood, I can call a driver."
"Hiring a driver is expensive. Since you’re looking to hire Felix for a divorce case, that’ll cost a lot, I’m just helping you save money."
Caleb’s words amused Serena, who chuckled coldly, "Drivers are expensive, so is President Lockwood cheap?"
"Very cheap, two hundred a trip."
Serena was taken aback by the figure of two hundred.
She felt it wasn’t just sensitivity; Caleb seemed to still be resentful over the time she threw him two hundred as payment.
She couldn’t be bothered to argue with Caleb. Since Caleb wanted to be her driver, she let him.
Caleb drove Serena’s white BMW Series 3, while she sat in the passenger seat.
"Did you modify this car?"
Caleb asked while driving, but Serena didn’t answer.
Caleb didn’t push further but changed the subject.
"You’re looking for Felix because you’re not confident in winning the championship?"
Serena remained silent, hearing Caleb’s mysterious chuckle.
As the car neared her apartment, Serena gripped the seatbelt.
She felt slightly tense.
Whenever she was alone with Caleb, she felt nervous, especially in enclosed spaces like cars, rooms.
Serena knew Caleb always had women around.
But when Caleb wanted to vent, he still sought her out, and she found it hard to resist Caleb, both in terms of identity and strength.
"Not inviting me in for a sit?"
Caleb asked as he parked the car, turning to Serena.
"Why should I invite my driver in?"
Serena retorted, sending Caleb a red envelope.
Caleb accepted; inside was two hundred.
"Besides being your driver, I’m also your husband. If you’ve forgotten, I can show you the marriage certificate."