Chapter 26 A Scheming And Childish Man


    Since Maria said this in a gentle way, which was pleasant to hear, Mr. Qi had to show respect for


    her charm. He nodded. "Ms. Song, please go ahead."


    The smile in Maria''s eyes faded a little. "I think as a sessful entrepreneur who has made HL


    Group what it is today, James has every right to act arrogant and self-righteous."


    Nobody expected that she would stick up for James. Mr. Qi looked embarrassed, and even the


    other man whoined that James was arrogant earlier kept silent.


    Colby looked at Maria, lit a cigarette, and didn''t say anything. He just listened quietly.


    "Self-righteousness is akin to self-confidence. Someone who''s constantly down on himself, a


    cowardly person whocks confidence, can never be self-righteous. So someone without those


    qualities can never be sessful. Because they wouldn''t have the courage or charm to lead a


    company to glory, and they wouldn''t be able to keep apany going."


    On her way over to fetch the business card from Mr. Qi, Summer heard the debate as soon as she


    was about to open the door. Of course she loved Maria''s sharpments. She pushed the door


    open quietly and saw that Maria was staring at Mr. Qi, who passed her the business card earlier


    and expected to cooperate with HL Group in the future.


    With a smile, Summer closed the door silently. She didn''t want the business card now. There was


    no need to cooperate with a person like Mr. Qi.


    Maria''s words had their predicted effect. The people in the room squirmed ufortably.


    Mr. Qi understood what Maria meant and loosened his tie. She was calling him cowardly,cking in


    confidence, and down on himself. He asked Colby unhappily, "Mr. Zheng, what''s wrong with your


    date? Why doesn''t she watch her mouth?"


    Colbyforted the man with a smile, "Take it easy, Mr. Qi." Then he turned to Maria and said


    seriously, "Maria, propose a toast to Mr. Qi and apologize." He wouldn''t offend Mr. Qi because of


    Maria.


    Maria raised her ss and stood up.


    Mr. Qi''s face softened when he saw her stand up with a ss of liquor. But he was gobsmacked by


    what came next.


    Maria addressed Colby. "Mr. Zheng, I''m sorry I offended your friend today. In fact, I have a big


    shoring, that is, I always stand up to injustice, so I always offend someone. I didn''t expect to


    get you into trouble today, Mr. Zheng. I''ll drink this ss of liquor as an apology. Please ept it."


    After gulping down the liquor, Maria put down the empty ss and left with her handbag, and all the


    business bigwigs sat there after she left. The room felt somehow emptier.


    In this dinner party, Maria offended two business tycoons so she could defend James Xi. If Colby


    didn''t forgive her, that would bring the total to three.


    Coming out of the private room, Maria stood still and sighed. She med herself for being too


    impulsive.


    It was not easy for her to get close to Colby. And now she had offended his friends for James '' sake.


    She was afraid that Colby thought much less of her now.


    Suddenly, her phone rang. She took it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Summer. She took a


    deep breath and answered the phone, "Yes, Summer?"


    Outside the hotel, the Harkim''s engine started. It held position outside the front door on the


    roundabout. Summer jogged to the back seat of the car. She heard the gentle buzz of rear window


    being rolled down. "Get in the car," said James.


    Feeling a little guilty, Summer shook her head and said, "Mr. Xi, I''m meeting with a clientter. I''ll


    wait for them here. By the way, when I went back to get Mr. Qi''s business card, I heard Maria


    defending you..."


    Summer repeated everything she overheard.


    The man didn''t say anything after hearing her report. His slender index finger and middle finger


    tapped on the armrest of the seat. Atst, he uttered just three words as a reply. "Okay. I see.


    He didn''t give anyment.


    "Anything else?" he asked.


    Quietly ncing at the entrance of the hotel, Summer looked anxious. ''Why hasn''t Mariae out


    yet?'' "One more thing, Mr. Xi. What do we want to do about Mr. Qi?"


    James took a look at her and foundplex emotions in her eyes. She looked guilty. It was also


    obvious she was expecting someone to walk out of the hotel.


    ''So what''s her game? Is that really how it went down? And who is she waiting for?'' he wondered.


    He put that out of his mind. Summer had never lied to him. She knew better than to do that.


    It was not until he heard the ck of high heels that he realized why his assistant felt guilty and why


    she was buying time.


    "James Xi, stop!" Maria rushed out of the hotel in her high-heels. James looked away. He said to


    Summer, "We''ll talk about it tomorrow." Then he ordered the driver, "Drive." The rear window rolled


    back up.


    Just as Maria was about to reach him, James'' car started. Summer was a little flustered, but Maria


    was faster than her.


    She wasn''t about to waste the opportunity that Summer had won for her. The woman ran a few


    steps on her high-heels, and just before he drove off, she whipped open the front passenger door


    and got in.


    Everyone was astonished.


    The driver was also flustered, but after a moment of panic, he exined to the man in the back


    seat, "Mr. Xi, I thought Summer was going to get in the car, so I kept the front door unlocked."


    Maria took a deep breath andforted the driver, "No worries. It''s not your fault."


    The driver quieted down.


    James also couldn''t find the right words. ''Seriously, Maria? He''s my driver, not yours. It''s not your


    ce to tell him that!''


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Maria suppressed her quickened heartbeat, looked back at the man in the back seat, and


    questioned, "You did it on purpose, didn''t you?"


    Without answering her question, James said, "Get out!" "Answer my questions first. Did you kick my


    shoe to your side on purpose? And then ask everyone to stand? You deliberately hid my shoe,


    didn''t you? And when I finally found it, you stepped on it to stop me from taking it!" Maria had never


    thought this man would be so hateful.


    She knew that James was cold and ruthless, but now she had more words for him —he was also


    hateful, scheming, and childish!


    "No, yes, no and yes,"


    James answered.. Hearing that, Maria was confused.


    ''What was my first question? I asked him whether he kicked my shoe to his side on purpose. He


    said no...''


    "So, my shoes somehowy beside your feet. Then you proposed a toast, knowing I''d have to stand


    on one foot. You didn''t deliberately hide my shoe. But you stepped on it intentionally when I found it.


    Right?"


    "Yes," replied James in a graceful manner.


    Maria sat there in silence, unable to find the right words. She was really pissed off. She unfastened


    the seat belt, took off both shoes, and stepped on the raised area between the driver''s seat and the


    passenger seat with stocking feet. She was going to jump into the back seat.


    It was toote for James to stop her when he realized what she was about to do. The next second,


    she threw herself into his arms, stopping him from saying anything else.