Chapter 83 Woman''s Scratches


    Alina was so selfish. She wouldn''t lift a finger help the Qin family. Ste sighed when she thought of


    how toxic their friendship was.


    So she called Alina to piss her off. She kept her tone even. "Hi, Alina!"


    "What''s up?" ncing at the caller ID, Alina didn''t feel like talking to Ste. The Qin family was in


    dire straits. She didn''t want to irritate James by talking to someone he was angry with.


    "Do you know where Mr. Xi wasst night?"


    Alina was taken aback by the question. She didn''t live with him. How would she know his


    whereaboutsst night? "What are you talking about? Get to the point!"


    "Well, I have a friend at HL Group. Everyone in theirpany has been gossiping about Mr. Xi this


    morning..."


    "Okay...why?"


    Ste wasn''t going to keep her guessing. She pinned her hopes on Alina saving Qin Group, so she


    had to be nice to her. "Someone saw Mr. Xi start work early—like two or three in the morning early."


    Alina breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it was something serious. He usually does that, right? He''s


    is a workaholic."


    "This time was weird. His hair was all mussed. He''s usually anal about keeping itbed. The real


    shocker was what his secretary saw when she pushed his door open."


    And the circumstances surrounding this made it weird, not the fact that he was burning the midnight


    oil. From Alina knew, no one ever saw James like that. His image was too important.


    Alina''s heart skipped a beat when she heard Ste''s words. She got quite annoyed. "Ste Qin! I


    don''t have the patience for this! Get to the point!"


    "The secretary saw Mr. Xi without his shirt. Underneath, he was covered in scars. These


    crisscrossed his back, like in a moment of passion. Some woman must have scratched him with her


    nails. You really don''t know?"


    Scratches? Alina''s mind went nk. Could it be Maria?


    Maria Song! She wanted to kill that bitch!


    Although Alina believed James had been sleeping with her since she blew back into town, every


    time she heard or saw them flirting with each other, Alina boiled over in anger.


    Last time, Maria bit and broke the skin on James'' lower lip, and this time she let him go to work all


    disheveled and signed her name across his back with her nails. Alina thought Maria was doing this


    deliberately to piss her off. She was practically strangled by the jealousy and fury surging in her


    heart.


    Alina made a decision to turn this around. She gritted her teeth and ordered, "Ask your friend in HL


    Group to tell everyone James stayed at my housest night!"


    Ste went silent for a moment, then said in an embarrassed tone, "Well...here''s the problem. If Mr.


    Xi hears that you and I started that rumor, he''s going to get mad. And you know what happens


    then."


    "Just do what I said!" Alina closed her eyes and tried her best to suppress her anger. ''Damn that


    Maria Song!'' she swore inwardly.


    "Alina, Qin Group is in trouble. It''s all my fault. I went to bat for you and paid the price. I — "


    Alina was annoyed by her hesitation. She knew why Ste didn''t want to do this. She also didn''t


    care. "I''ll ask Tang Group to take care of Qin Group. Just do it, okay?"


    "Really? Thank you so much, Alina. I''ll call my friend right now!" Although Tang Group was not as


    powerful as HL Group, it was on the Fortune 500 Global list. If Tang Group got involved, then Qin


    Group might be okay.


    But Ste hadn''t been thinking too clearly. A word from James put Qin Group in financial trouble. If


    Tang Group helped Qin Group, wouldn''t it look like they were against HL Group? And wouldn''t


    James try to destroy Tang Group as well? yton did his best as Tang Group''s CEO to bnce his


    business and life priorities, but satisfying his daughter''s request might bring a world of trouble.


    Following Alina''s suggestion, Ste asked her friend to spread the rumor. Everyone believed it. After


    all, Alina was James'' fiancee so it was easy to believe. They were surprised at how wild Alina was


    in bed. But it was juicy gossip and spread like wildfire.


    After leaving Fairview Vi, Maria went back to the hotel to take a nap. She didn''t get up until it was


    near dark.


    She put on a pants suit to cover the marks on her body. Then she put on some makeup and went


    straight to Miracle Cafe.


    The burgundy-red Rolls-Royce stopped at the door of the coffee shop. At the same time, the ck


    Harkim across the wide road stopped at the door of HL Group.


    As soon as she emerged from the car, Summer saw Maria across the street. She opened the back


    door without taking her eyes off the woman.


    She didn''t open the door all the way, and James had to push it open by himself. When he got out of


    the car, he found his assistant wasn''t paying any attention to him.


    Following her gaze, he saw a woman in a pink suit getting out of a Rolls-Royce. Her long wavy hair


    was draped over her shoulders, and there was a detached expression on her face.


    After getting out of the car, she didn''t look his way. She entered the coffee shop under armed guard,


    her purse in her hand.


    Somehow, the man got the impression she ignored him. Although he was pretty sure Maria didn''t


    see him, he still felt ufortable. Maria usually looked at the office block of HL Group when she


    went to work, just before she entered the coffee shop.


    Something else bothered him too. She wasn''t wearing the dress he bought her.


    She wore it when she left Fairview Vi today.


    After Maria walked into the coffee shop, James looked away and forced himself to focus on


    business instead.


    With everyone''s greetings ringing in his ears, James strode into the CEO''s exclusive elevator.


    He stood in the elevator and looked at the scenery outside. He couldn''t help but think of the


    passionate night he and Maria spent together.


    Eventually, he found it a little difficult to breathe, so he loosened his tie with his right hand. It was no


    use. It was still too hot in there. The elevator soon arrived at the floor where the CEO''s office was.


    With one hand in his pocket, James turned around and walked out of the elevator.


    Following him, Summer could feel his change in mood. The CEO was fine, but what happened to


    shift his attitude so suddenly? She couldn''t help wondering.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    As they passed the cubicles of the various secretaries and assistants, James nced at Lorenzo.


    The assistant was on the phone. The expression in James'' eyes let Lorenzo know he needed to


    wrap up what he was doing ande to the CEO''s office.


    Lorenzo nodded, quickly ended the phone call, and followed them into the office.


    James shed his suit jacket and draped it over the back of the easy chair. Standing in front of the


    French window without looking behind him, he asked, "Lorenzo, update me on the status of project


    ''Helping Children with Cleft Lip and Pte.''"


    Lorenzo looked at Summer in confusion. James usually never bothered with small projects like this


    one. Why did he suddenly care now?


    He suppressed his doubts and answered truthfully, "Everything''s going ording to n. YL Group


    are the best guys to partner with, given their phnthropic work. They''ll send someone here to bang


    out a contract tomorrow."