Chapter 77 Our Boss


    Alina wore a long white feathered dress and her hair hung loosely over her left shoulder.


    Maria was acting like she was flirting with Alina. The others couldn''t help but think they were well


    matched.


    Looking at Maria''s teasing grin, Alina was stunned that she forgot to push her away.


    Lorenzo awkwardly coughed while James stood still with a poker face.


    James began to feel hostile toward Maria. ''How dare Maria flirt with my woman? She is definitely


    walking on thin ice.''


    Maria hadn''t forgotten that Alina was a woman and her cousin. She didn''t do anything out of line.


    Instead, she just approached Alina and whispered something that the others didn''t hear.


    "Remember, you owe me two ps."


    Maria wasn''t stupid to p Alina in front of James. First, she thought it was not yet necessary.


    Second, it would be more troublesome to get James involved in their conflict.


    On the other hand, Lorenzo was a bit annoyed. He couldn''t understand how a woman like Maria


    was able to work in this coffee shop for a long time. Maria let go of Alina and shook off the loose


    powder from Alina''s face that clung to her fingers. She then nced at James with a poker face and


    said sarcastically, "I envy your girlfriend so much. She''s so good at putting on makeup. Unlike me, I


    can''t even put on a sunscreen lotion properly." ''But unfortunately, no matter how expensive her


    cosmetics are, they still couldn''t cover her ugliness,'' she sneered inwardly.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    James cast her a cold nce, knowing that she was just being hypocritical.


    Maria didn''t take James'' look to heart. She turned around and left. Lorenzo snorted, "How can a


    woman like her work in such a high-end coffee shop like this?"


    The waitress, who was still covering her swollen face, turned to look at him and said, "Excuse me,


    sir. Maybe you misunderstand. She is actually our boss."


    Not only Lorenzo but also Alina was taken aback. The waitress''s words were like a bomb that


    exploded in their ears.


    The expressions on their faces dramatically changed in disbelief.


    Lorenzo, who was the first one to recover from the shock, asked, "What did you just say? Who is


    your boss here again?"


    "Maria is our boss, sir." This time, the waitress was a bit confused. She thought all the while that


    they all knew it already. Alina gaped at Maria''s back. She couldn''t believe that Maria was the owner


    of this coffee shop. She subconsciously looked around.


    The coffee shop had two floors, covering an area of five hundred square meters and located in the


    prime of the central business district of H City. It would take millions of dors to put up this kind of


    business. She couldn''t help wondering how Maria was able to have such arge amount of money.


    Alina couldn''t get over it. This coffee shop was her favorite in the whole city. How could it be


    possible that Maria owned it?


    Even James was also shocked. It never urred to him that Maria wasn''t just an employee here.


    With the arrogance that she had shown them thest time, he thought that she could be a manager


    here at most. It turned out she was the one running this coffee shop.


    ''Maria Song, you are so good at hiding yourself.''


    When she returned to the counter, Maria waited for the waitress who was pped. She gave the


    waitress a half-day off. "Go to the hospital right now and have your face checked. Don''t forget to ask


    for a medical certificate and keep all the invoices. I''ll reimburse you for the expenses."


    The waitress was touched by Maria''s kindness that she was on the verge of crying. "Thank you,


    Maria. But I''m fine. I''ll just go home and use a coldpress to alleviate the swelling."


    "No. What if you''d have a concussion? Listen to me. Go to the hospital now." Maria''s tone was stern


    and firm.


    The waitress had no choice but nodded in agreement. "Okay. Thank you again, Maria."


    It had been a while, but Alina was still in shock. James sat down opposite her and asked, "What do


    you want from me?" His voice seemed to have awakened her from a dream and brought her back to


    reality.


    She stared at him nkly for a moment. Then she blinked a few times and replied, "James, have


    you seen Maria''s attitude just now? She doesn''t take us seriously at all. She..."


    He cut her off. "Tell me why you asked me toe here." He had no time to waste on evaluating


    Maria''s attitude towards them.


    Alina fell silent for a moment as if trying to organize her words. She then said hesitantly,


    "James...can you help me take Ron''s videos from Maria? To be honest, the fate of the whole Tang


    Group is now in Maria''s hands. And we are going to be engaged soon. If something happens to


    Tang Group, you may also be implicated."


    Alina was right. If something happened to Tang Group after their engagement, it would be very


    troublesome. James couldn''t just ignore it. In short, if Maria exposed Ronald''s videos to the public, it


    would be another trouble that James had to deal with. Alina was confident that Maria didn''t have the


    evidence of her drugging the other woman six years ago. She knew that Maria was just bluffing. But


    Maria wasn''t lying about Ronald''s videos. She really had them.


    ''''That''s all?''''


    "Yes, that''s all." The truth was, Alina had something else to say. But she didn''t want to bother James


    too much. After all, she hadn''t be his wife yet.


    James stood up and said, "Go home and wait for the update."


    "James, can we have coffee together?" Alina just tried her luck. She and James were going to be


    engaged soon, but until now, it was still difficult for them to sit together over a cup of coffee.


    James just nced at her and said, "I have an important meeting today. Let''s have it another time."


    "Okay." As expected, her invitation was declined. But knowing that he was always busy, Alina didn''t


    insist.


    Before James left, he said to her, "Don''t hang out in this ce again if not necessary."


    Now that James knew that Maria owned this coffee shop, he didn''t want Alina to cause more


    trouble. Every time Alina and Maria met, Alina would always provoke Maria. And he also knew that


    Maria knew how to teach Alina a lesson. It would be better if they avoided each other.


    Alina nodded obediently. Actually, James didn''t need to tell her. The moment Alina found out that


    Maria was the owner of Miracle Cafe, she made up her mind not to set foot in this coffee shop


    again. She didn''t intend to support the business of her rival.


    She would only wait until James took Ronald''s videos back from Maria. After that, she could


    continue with thewsuit against Maria.


    After walking out of the coffee shop, James stopped and looked at the building of HL Group across


    the street. He then turned to Lorenzo and ordered, "Ask Maria toe and see me in my office."


    Lorenzo was stunned for a second. But then he answered, "Yes, Mr. Xi."


    He went back inside to look for Maria. She was on the phone, so he had to wait for her at the


    counter.


    As soon as he saw her hang up, he came to her at once. "Ms. Song, Mr. Xi wants to see you."


    Maria couldn''t help raising an eyebrow upon hearing Lorenzo''s words. If James wanted to see her,


    it meant that he needed something from her. ''Every dog indeed has its day,'' she thought to herself


    with a smile. "I''m pretty busy right now. Please tell him that I''ll go when I''m in the mood." Lorenzo


    didn''t expect what she said. After all, he had the impression that she always seized every


    opportunity to hit on James. Why was she ying hard to get this time? Besides, whether she was


    busy or not, what did it have to do with her mood?


    Soon, he realized that Maria was deliberately making things difficult for him. But if he couldn''t


    aplish such a small task, his credibility in James'' eyes would definitely decline.


    "Ms. Song, you know him better than anyone else. Mr. Xi is an impatient man. He won''t waste time


    waiting for you," he said, hoping it would convince her. Lorenzo thought that if Maria was a sensible


    woman, she should go with him immediately.


    "You''re right. James is an impatient man. So you''d better call him now and tell him not to wait any


    longer. Thank you."


    Lorenzo was rendered speechless. If only he could hit Maria''s head to vent his anger. In his eyes,


    she was so shameless. "Well, Ms. Song, do you know that Summer is on a business trip?"


    "And what does it have to do with you?" Of course, Maria knew Summer''s whereabouts. She called


    Summer two days ago, and she found out that Summer was on a business trip overseas. She


    thought that it might take a few days.


    "Yes, it has nothing to do with me. But Summer is on a long-term business trip. If you go with me


    now, I can put in a good word for her with Mr. Xi. Maybe she cane back sooner."


    Maria could tell from Lorenzo''s words that things were not as simple as she thought. "How long is


    that long-term? And what makes it a long-term business trip?"