Ethan Grant smoked a cigarette, feeling more agitated with each puff.
He drove back to the hotel.
Opening the door to his hotel room, he irritably tugged at his tie, took off his jacket, and hung it behind the door. Looking up, he suddenly froze.
On the center of the large bed.
Vivian Coleman was elegantly lying there in a black lace camisole dress.
"Ethan, you’re back." Vivian’s gaze was alluring, and her voice seductive.
The scene was intensely tempting, causing Ethan to feel his blood rushing, his mind a blank explosion.
He was already feeling it, but tried to hold back, his expression displeased as he asked, "What are you doing here?"
Vivian’s eyes were sultry, "Waiting for you."
"Get out!" Ethan frowned, his tone icy.
"No," Vivian’s voice was incredibly seductive.
She got off the bed, swaying seductively as she walked up to him, pulling on his tie with a charming smile, whispering breathily in his ear.
"Ethan, I’m staying with you tonight."
Ethan tried to push her away.
Vivian tugged on his tie, tiptoeing to kiss him.
Ethan groaned, not resisting.
The room temperature gradually rose.
Ethan changed from passive to active, roughly lifting Vivian and tossing her onto the bed.
A tumultuous night ensued, spent in indulgence.
The next morning, Ethan woke naturally, instantly alert upon seeing Vivian’s face inches away.
With a swift movement, he sat up, angrily questioning, "Why are you here?"
Vivian blushed shyly and said, "Ethan, last night we indulged all night, you were with me so many times, have you forgotten?"
Ethan was shocked beyond words.
His gaze fell, seeing scattered clothes and torn black stockings on the floor, ridiculous images from last night flooded his mind. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Ethan cursed, annoyed, and began dressing.
"Ethan, where are you going?" Vivian hurriedly tried to stop him.
"Let go!" Ethan shook off Vivian’s hand, "I warned you, don’t try to seduce me again, my heart is only for Talia now!"
"Ha." Vivian laughed, "Only for Talia? You clearly enjoyed last night with me, why deny your feelings? You still like me, don’t you?"
Ethan smirked coldly, "Haven’t you heard that men can separate sex and love? Besides, when I was with you, all I thought about was Talia, why do you think I wanted you so many times?"
"You—" Vivian’s face turned pale instantly, "Ethan Grant, you bastard!"
Ethan pulled a clean shirt from the wardrobe and put it on, "You’ve known I’m a bastard for a while now, haven’t you?"
He laughed self-deprecatingly, with some desolation in his smile, "I wouldn’t be a bastard if I hadn’t messed around with you before breaking up with Talia. I wouldn’t be a bastard if I hadn’t lost Talia, would I?"
Vivian laughed upon hearing that.
"So you know." Her eyes flashed with mockery, "How blatantly scummy."
Adrian Jennings furrowed his brows slightly, "Any news on who took Jessica Coleman away that day?"
Assistant Mason Lynch reported, "Based on surveillance, we can confirm that the people who kidnapped Jasmine Rhodes and took Jessica Coleman are likely the same group."
"Jessica Coleman has been confirmed to have been smuggled out of the country, but the identity of the ones who took her hasn’t been discovered. Our private investigators and the police have made no progress. Every time we get a new lead, it gets cut off quickly, and the investigation stalls halfway."
Adrian pondered deeply, "Looks like the force behind them isn’t to be underestimated."
He tapped his fingers on the edge of the table, "Did you ask the Grant family?"
Mason said, "We asked, and the response was the same as before. They said the Grant family young master didn’t know Jessica Coleman was your pursuer, they were just in a platonic relation."
Lily Coleman, the litigation department head, sent a message in the large group chat.
[Tonight, there’s a department dinner, litigation department colleagues can join voluntarily, I’ll post the time and place later in the group.]
Not long after the message was sent, Claire Yorick privately messaged Talia Rhodes.
[Lawyer Rhodes, are you going tonight?]
Claire Yorick had been getting close to Talia since Talia saved her life from the criminals. The young lady was grateful and looked up to Talia, becoming Talia’s little fan.
Later, the litigation department head Lily Coleman assigned Claire Yorick to be Talia Rhodes’s assistant, and they have since become friends.
Talia Rhodes replied: [I’ll go, there’s nothing to do after work anyway.]
Victor Kenyon has been formally arrested for criminal activity.
Angela Coleman, who defamed and slandered, was sued by Talia in court. After the case was filed, Angela Coleman was too embarrassed to stay at the law firm and resigned voluntarily.
Now the colleagues at the firm are pleasant to be around, Talia quite likes them, so she will naturally attend the department dinner.
Claire Yorick quickly responded.
[Great, if Lawyer Rhodes goes, I’ll go too!]
The dinner location was set in a standard western restaurant.
After the meal, someone suggested moving to a bar to drink.
Talia thought about how many incidents had occurred recently, she had been tightly wound and very tired. Now she needed to relax, so she agreed to go to the bar for drinks.
They went to a quiet bar.
Several colleagues drank, chatted, and boasted, Talia was in good spirits and joined in drinking a few glasses.
Her tolerance was always low, after a few drinks, she was already muddled.
"I tell you all, I’m... I’m the Monkey King of Water Curtain Cave, you... aren’t you going to greet me?" Talia drunkenly blushed, stumbling as she walked.
Several colleagues were drunk, slumped on the table fast asleep.
Some with good tolerance laughed and recorded videos on their phones.
Including Claire Yorick.
To be precise, Claire Yorick wasn’t good at drinking, she simply doesn’t drink, coming to accompany Talia.
She worried Talia might get in trouble from drunkenness, so she came along to watch her.
She ended up proving right.
Talia hadn’t drunk much before she was utterly plastered.
Seeing Talia act drunk, Claire Yorick found it amusing and took out her phone to videotape, cheerfully calling out, "Greet the Monkey King!"
Talia giggled, "Let me tell you, my husband, he is... the best husband in the world. He’s liked me for a long time, did you know? Hehehe..."
Claire Yorick laughed while recording, "Oh? That’s sweet."
"I’ll tell you a secret, although my husband looks dashing, actually he..."
Another sober colleague jokingly asked, "What about him?"
A drunken Talia giggled twice, "I don’t mind your laughter, my husband seems to have... an issue in that department..."
"Pfft—" A devilishly handsome man burst into laughter upon hearing Talia Rhodes claim her husband had issues in that area.
After laughing, he took out his phone and sent a message.
[Heard you have issues in that department?]