Chapter 78 I Love You So Much
Summer''s reassignment abroad was no secret. Lorenzo gave it to Maria straight. "Summer was
transferred because she helped you and angered Mr. Xi." He thought Summer was really stupid,
and brought this on herself.
Lorenzo wasn''t lying. Summer did help her, and was punished for it. That much was true. Maria set
her work aside, grabbed her phone, and walked out of the cafe with Lorenzo.
The man thought he knew Maria pretty well. ording to his calctions, she''d go to HL Group
and fight with James about this. He was ready for the inevitable fireworks show. Lorenzo was
disappointed.
Maria was led to the CEO''s office. When she saw James, she leaned over his desk with a bright
smile and said, "Hi, Mr. Xi. Did you miss me?"
Lorenzo didn''t leave the office until he rolled his eyes in disdain.
Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.
Looking at the woman in front of him, James got down to business. "Give me Ronald''s videos.
Name your price."
Since he was straightforward, Maria asked more frankly, "Let''s remarry?" He refused, "No way!"
"Then call off your engagement to Alina." "No!"
Maria didn''t get angry. Still leaning over his desk, she propped herself up on her elbows, rested her
chin in one hand and looked at the man. "So much for naming my price. Two conditions, then."
"Go ahead."
"First, I want Summer back here, working for you like usual." Summer was her best source for
inside information in HL Group.
Eyes darkening, James said nothing. He knew the reason Maria wanted Summer working here. He
didn''t like it.
Maria heaved a sigh. "Some negotiation. You can''t just automatically say no to everything I want.
That''s not how this works. Unless you don''t really want the videos..."
"Okay, I''ll transfer Summer back. The second one?" He really underestimated the bond between
these two women. He resolved not to make the same mistake twice. He thought the maxim "Keep
your friends close and your enemies closer" to be quiet apt.
Maria was overjoyed. She was finally getting somewhere. Putting her chin in both hands, she said,
"I haven''t decided on the second condition. You''ll be the first to know when I do."
James was now even angrier. "No. Tell me now.
She lowered her head and giggled, "Why so anxious? Having a hard time controlling yourself when
we''re in the same room together?"
James blinked rapidly. He couldn''t believe what she said.
The woman sitting opposite smiled sweetly and her eyes narrowed, as if she were in an extremely
good mood.
Mariaforted him, "Don''t worry. If you think I''m being unreasonable, just turn me down. I''m used
to it."
Then, she stood up straight, grabbed her purse and said, "Mr. Xi, if there''s nothing else, I''m out of
here. Remember to unblock me on WeChat. Pretty hard to send the videos to you if I''m still
blocked."
James watched her walk out.
Maria visibly rxed. That went better than she thought.
Her sudden change threw James for a loop. He expected her to fly off the handle and he had gone
over ways to subdue her if she got out of hand.
Now it looked like that was unnecessary. Maria opened the office door. But before she left, she
turned around and said, "I bet you''re wondering why I''m so open to persuasion today. " She looked
James straight in the eye, her expression full of love, whispering, "It''s just that I love you so much.
I''ll give you whatever you want."
After saying that, she left without looking back.
Silence nketed the office. James was still reeling from what she said.
"I love you so much." Her voice echoed in his mind.
These five simple words made James feel uneasy and a trace of guilt tickled his heart.
Maria walked into the elevator and the door closed. Her expression turned cold once more. There
was no trace of the emotions she disyed in James'' office, including the deep affection in her
gaze.
Her suggestions that he remarry her or break up with Alina were tests.
James proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had no feelings for her and that he loved Alina
deeply.
The elevator descended quickly. Looking at herself in the mirror, Maria smiled in selfmockery. Her
beauty and charm meant nothing to James. James was a man of action. Before Maria even had
time to walk out of the building, she received a friend request on WeChat from him.
She epted and sent him a message. "The videos are on myptop, Mr. Xi. I''ll send them to you
tonight."
After a long while, she got a simple reply from James. "OK."
ring at the word, she locked her phone and tossed it aside.
Qin Group took some major hits because of Ste''s behavior. Fortunately, her father loved her a lot,
and he wasn''t as hard on her as he could be.
She felt extremely guilty, watching her father working day and night to try and save thepany.
She also saw how hard her father took it.
So she went to ask Alina for help. Alina had just asked James to get Ronald''s orgy videos, so she
couldn''t ask him for another favor again so soon.
Thinking for a while, she promised that Tang Group would watch out for Qin Group in their business
dealings, since she couldn''t do anything else. Tang Group would throw a few juicy contracts to Qin
Group to get them back on their feet.
Ste wasn''t entirely satisfied but could nothing else. The more she thought about it, the angrier she
became. Finally she med Maria for this. Her hatred for the woman only deepened.
If it weren''t for her, James wouldn''t have punished Qin Group. They wouldn''t have to struggle to
restructure and rebuild.
Getting a manicure, Alina was forced to listen to Ste''s tales of woe, and the abuse she heaped on
Maria. And it all bored her. Alina''s mind wandered, and something interesting hit her all of a sudden.
"Maria owns Miracle Cafe," she said.
Hearing that, Ste was floored. "Really?" she asked. "That''s Maria Song''s cafe? No way!"
"I wonder who bought it for her." Alina pursed her lips and didn''t realize how sour her tone was.
"How could she afford to own a ce that size?
I wonder if he had to do something to earn it."
Ste was convinced that it had to be a fluke.
Since James had handed down his edict, no one would hire Maria. Colby helped her out, helping
her wrangle a position for herself at HM Group. She was a deputy manager in the sales department.
Because she didn''t need to do any work there, she didn''t have any real power under this title.
James should have known about it, but he didn''t want to waste time on it. As long as Colby still
worked for HM Group, Maria could go ahead and keep the title.
A shrewd capitalist, Colby intended to make full use of Maria since he hired her.
He took full advantage of Maria''s rtionship with James to target a bid and hand the project over
to her. She was now responsible formunicating with a cadre of employees from HL Group.
Colby took out a bank card and a contract for her to sign. He slid it across the table, stopping in
front of her. "Maria, I know you can do it."
When she saw the ck card, the smile on the woman''s face widened. She pretended to turn him
down. "Aww, Mr. Zheng, you''re making things difficult for me. James Xi won''t even meet with me.
How can I secure a quote for you?"
Colby smiled, "I believe in you. If you need any help from HM Group, just tell me!"
"It''s so hard to deal with the man! Will you get mad at me if I fail?" ying with the ck card, Maria
didn''t look like she was given an unenviable task at all.
"Of course not! After we win the bid, I''ll take you to the UK. What do you think?" He knew what he
asked Maria to do was not an easy task. HL Group had already had a target partner to cooperate
with in the bidding. Now Colby asked Maria to change HL Group''s decision.
Maria thought for a while before saying, "When you put it that way, how can I say no? On one
condition: take me shopping when we get there!"