"Maya, how about this! You give us a striptease and I’ll pay the bill." At this time, a girl stepped forward, volunteering to pay, but only if Maya performed a striptease.
Maya listened to the girl’s demand, and her mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
Ha! So this is what they’re waiting for her to do! They want her to strip in public. Elia, you crafty one, using others to do your dirty work .
Fine! Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being unkind.
After a slight smile, Maya quickly took out her phone and dialed Henry Reid’s number, ready to have him come pay the bill and then have a good show of affection with him, making Elia think twice about setting her up again.
Elia wasn’t stupid. She saw what Maya was trying to do when she reached for her phone, grabbed it, and hung up the call.
Then, pointing at her face, she cursed, "Maya, don’t you have any shame? Does Henry owe you anything? Why do you always look for him in trouble?"
"He doesn’t owe me, but you’ve provoked me. How can I let him stay at peace!"
Then she continued, "You should pay for it. I’ve already made the call; even if Henry didn’t pick up, he’d come running, so why don’t you wait here with me?"
Elia listened to Maya’s threat, nearly infuriated to the point of exploding. She believed Maya’s words but was still unhappy inside. Seeing the man she cared about paying attention to another woman, how could she be happy?
So she said, "You call him back, tell him you dialed the wrong number, and I’ll pay."
"You pay, and then I’ll call."
Elia looked at the woman who was acting high and mighty, her teeth grinding in anger. Just stripping her clothes wouldn’t suffice — she wished she could skin her. But after the incident in the woods last time, Hannah had warned her not to cause trouble again.
So she held back, angrily pulling a credit card from her purse.
In fact, Maya hadn’t dialed any number at all; she was just pretending. It wasn’t even Henry’s number.
Although she wanted to use Henry to act and provoke the woman in front of her, she wasn’t so shameless as to use him like that, nor did she have the desire to treat him as a pawn.
She merely used Henry’s name to bicker with Elia, and that alone was enough to frustrate her.
Elia never expected to try to outsmart but end up paying in the end herself.
Just as she was about to settle the bill, the private room door suddenly opened, and a man excitedly announced, "Miss Maya, the bill has already been settled."
Maya heard the familiar voice, startled and raised her head, seeing Elijah Reed standing at the door with a welcoming smile.
Instantly, Maya turned to look at Ella Turner, who was smiling back at her foolishly.
After holding back for a while, Maya reluctantly thanked Elijah, "Thank you!"
The bill was paid, the gathering dispersed, and Elia’s plan to make someone do a striptease not only failed but also made Maya more dazzling, dispelling rumors.
Rumor had it that Maya and her third brother had fallen out, and that the third young master looked down on his illegitimate sister, yet Elijah’s appearance disproved all these rumors. After this commotion, no one dared to mess with Maya.
The girl who wanted Maya to strip at noon broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that it was lucky Maya hadn’t taken her clothes off, or she’d be in real trouble.
On the way back to school, Elijah carried a birthday cake that Ella had left for him, full of joy, thinking he had done a great deed today and sure that the boss would reward him, unaware that the boss disliked nosy behavior.
After Elijah left, Maya pulled Ella aside and earnestly said, "Ella, in the future, don’t let Assistant Reed interfere with my affairs. He doesn’t owe me anything, and I don’t want to harm him."
"Maya, what do you mean by that? Doesn’t your third brother like you a lot? How is Assistant Reed helping you bad for him?"
"Don’t mention that man anymore. We had a falling out."
"Ah! It’s only been a few days! How did you fall out? Who’s at fault?"
The two girls, chatting back and forth, strolled leisurely towards their classroom, while Elijah joyously knocked on Liam Spencer’s office door.
"Boss, a birthday cake!" To show his loyalty, Elijah offered up the birthday cake given by Ella, hoping the boss would be generous and overlook the previous mistakes, canceling his self-imposed penalty of one quarter’s salary.
"I don’t eat cake." Liam Spencer didn’t like sweets.
"Boss, this is Miss Maya’s birthday cake!" Unfamiliar with the situation, Elijah continued to please.
Liam heard the words "Miss Maya" and "birthday cake," his anger flaring up. He looked up, eyes sharp, directly at Elijah.
Seeing this, Elijah hurriedly explained, "Miss Maya was set up by Miss Elia at noon, forced to treat everyone to a meal, and since she had no money, her classmates pressured her to do a striptease to pay the bill. Luckily, I arrived in time."
"Elijah, in the future, you are absolutely not allowed to interfere with Maya’s affairs. Her life and death have nothing to do with you." Finally, Liam lost his temper and exploded at Elijah.
Elijah never anticipated that doing a good deed would still lead to rebuke, truly losing out twice. Not only did he not get rid of the penalty, but the deal cost him tens of thousands, leaving him speechless. Terrified, he quickly responded.
"I understand, Boss."
"Elijah, if it happens again, you can get out of my sight."
"I understand, Boss."
Liam’s inexplicable anger left Elijah bewildered. He didn’t know what he had done wrong. What had Miss Maya done wrong? Why was the boss so furious? Thinking of the ultimatum from Liam, Elijah’s heart grew cold.
He thought, from now on, without anyone protecting Miss Maya, what will happen to her?
After Elijah left, Liam’s anger remained, grabbing the birthday cake on his desk and smashing it into the trash can.
The whole afternoon, he was irritated. Looking at the cake in the trash, he wished he could crush Maya.
That afternoon, during the last class, Liam couldn’t stay put in the office, so he wandered around the campus.
However, by a stroke of bad luck, Maya didn’t have class, and she and Ella were also wandering.
When the two girls reached the football field, who should they see coming toward them but Principal Spencer.
Suddenly, both girls tensed up, with Ella clutching Maya’s hand asking, "Maya, what do we do now? Your third brother’s up ahead."
"Isn’t that too obvious? Too blatant."
Maya lifted her head, glanced at Liam, who she hadn’t seen for four days. Seeing him again was still so disgusting and infuriating, yet powerless to confront him. All she could do was avoid him.
As Liam stepped closer, she turned to hide but found it was too late and it would embarrass Ella.
PS: 1. Recommend a new book from a friend [Hidden Marriage Strong Love: Husband, Addicted to Flirting], feel free to dive in!