Chapter 177 Her Purpose


    People said that every woman was a young girl deep inside no despite her age, and Maria was not


    an exception. However, she didn''t dare to expose this side of her. After all, she was almost thirty


    years old.


    The dolls were all limited editions that she brought back from France.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    There were also those little dolls in the showcases that belonged to the Princes Khaki series. Ethan


    was to be med on this one. Because if he hadn''t given Maria a blind box from the Khaki series


    last time, she wouldn''t get hooked into it.


    Consequently, she bought hundreds of blind boxes, which cost her millions of dors. But when she


    opened all of them, she wasn''t able to find any hidden edition again.


    James was at a loss. Putting his hands in his pockets, he didn''t know whether tough or to cry.


    Indeed, one could really not judge a person by physical appearance.


    It was almost incredible that the seemingly strong Maria had such a childish and adorable side.


    When Maria saw the amusement in James'' eyes, she flushed and pushed him out of the room. "Get


    out! Go!" If she had known it earlier, she wouldn''t have left all the dolls here. But she didn''t expect


    that James would suddenlye back and catch her in the guest room.


    The gloom in James'' heart these past few days disappeared because of this small incident.


    Instead of going out of the room, he turned around and grabbed Maria''s hand. "I''m hungry." "So?


    You can keep up being hungry then," Maria said crossly before closing the door.


    James'' eyes darkened at once. "Don''t you have something to ask from me?"


    Maria gaped. ''How does he know? Was I acting too obviously?''


    Unwilling to admit it easily, she opened the door, walked past him, and went downstairs. "I can only


    cook noodles. Nothing else," she said.


    "That''s all right," James replied from behind.


    Maria walked to the kitchen without saying anything.


    She made him a bowl of noodles with chicken and mushrooms and two poached eggs on top.


    James sat at the dining table and ate in silence.


    Maria cleaned up the kitchen first before sitting opposite him. She rested her elbows on the table


    and cupped her chin in her hands, watching him eating elegantly. From the way he looked, it


    seemed that he wasn''t eating noodles, but a pleasing top-notch meal.


    "Speak up if you have something to say," James said without raising his head.


    Maria blinked. "It''s getting cold in here. Let''s talk about it in my bed."


    James paused for a while upon hearing her words. But he said nothing.


    With her chin still resting in her hands, Maria asked with a ttering smile, "James, which do you


    prefer, every first of the month or end of the month?"


    James then realized that she was flirting with him. This time, he looked her in the eye and


    answered, "Neither. I prefer every day."


    Maria was rendered speechless. She wanted to give him a thumbs-up sign. He was indeed


    experienced in this aspect.


    But what she didn''t know was, he was wondering why she suddenly behaved like this. He was


    thinking about what could be her purpose.


    Maria was neither cold nor warm to James before. But all of a sudden, she became so passionate,


    throwing all kinds of sweet words to him. Who was she plotting against this time? "I''m giving you


    onest chance. If you miss it, you won''t have another chance," he said impatiently.


    "All right. All right." Maria stood up. "Take your time. I''m going to take a shower first." She then went


    upstairs without waiting for James to answer.


    Only in bed could she feel a bit confident.


    James continued eating his noodles silently.


    When he went upstairs, Maria had note out of the bathroom yet.


    He stood on the balcony and lit a cigarette while reading Alina''s message on WeChat. "James, are


    you busy now?"


    "Yes," he replied.


    "Okay. I won''t disturb you then."


    James didn''t reply anymore. He suddenly thought of something, so he called the general manager


    of HL Group. "Give me an estimate of how much loss HL Group and Tang Group will suffer if we


    terminate the contract of the current project with them. If the loss is too high, find the nearest


    termination time that''s eptable to HL Group."


    If the project was terminated, he would be responsible for the losses of bothpanies. The


    premise was to minimize the losses.


    The general manager couldn''t help asking, "Mr. Xi, the project has just started. What are you


    nning to do?"


    James looked in the direction of the bathroom and answered, "Nothing. Just do what I say."


    "Okay, Mr. Xi. I get it."


    James had his own ns and schemes. But he had never expected that he would cross paths with


    Maria again.


    Now, it seemed like he only had two options. He could either break up with Maria totally or cut ties


    with Tang Group.


    Maria was not that easy to deal with because he knew that she wouldn''t give up on him. So he


    could only start from Alina.


    When Maria, who didn''t know anything, came out of the bathroom, the manager of HL Group called


    James back. "Go ahead,” he said after pressing the answer button.


    "Mr. Xi, I asked the factory just now. We need to wait for at least half a year before we can terminate


    the project. If we terminate it right now, all the investment and efforts we have spent in the early


    stage will be in vain. I''m afraid that we even need to pay double for thepensation."


    The twopanies had invested over ten billion dors in the early stage, and HL Group ounted


    for the majority. If they broke the contract before they withdrew their funds, they would lose at least


    twenty billion dors.


    On the other hand, if the contract continued, bothpanies could gain over ten billion dors


    profit.


    James fell silent for a moment. The estimation of the factory was the same as he had thought. After


    a while, he said, "I see. Stop the estimation, then. Continue the project."


    ''James, you can''t be so selfish to let HL Group suffer such a big loss because of a woman,'' he


    warned himself inwardly.


    "Okay, Mr. Xi." Obviously, the general manager breathed a sigh of relief.


    Maria was already in her pajamas and leaning against the headboard. When she saw that James


    put away his phone, she said coquettishly, "Hey, honey,e here. Let''s have some fun!"


    James turned around and stared at her for a few seconds before he made a move.


    Maria was confused by theplicated emotions in his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    she asked.


    "What can I do for you this time? Just tell me." James was not in the mood to y with her right


    now.


    Seeing the stern look on his face, Maria stopped teasing him. She crossed her arms across her


    chest and answered earnestly, "There is and in the south of the city. Can you show some interest


    in it?"


    James remained silent, so she added, "You don''t need to buy it. Just pretend that you''re interested


    in it." It was really unfair. James had the ability to drive the economy of H City with just a little


    performance.


    "Location." He couldn''t just do whatever she told him to do. He had to ask someone to investigate


    first.


    "The one near the orphanage."


    There was no need to investigate. James knew thatnd, too, and he had already asked his men to


    look at it.


    It was actually a problematic piece ofnd, and the soil quality was not suitable for building houses.


    "Let me think about it." He had a hunch that Maria had a dangerous idea behind this.


    ''How cunning he is!'' she thought. Since James didn''t give her a definite answer, Maria thought that


    she hadn''t done enough. With this, she walked over to him, held his waist, and said, "Didn''t you


    want me to apologize to you? If you agree, I will apologize to you. Is that okay?"


    The familiar scent of tuberose tickled his nose. And because of what she did, James, who was not


    in the mood, was gradually aroused.


    He pressed Maria against the wall behind her and clung to her tightly. His hoarse voice rang in her


    ears. "It will depend on your performance."


    Maria rolled her eyes secretly. She knew what he meant. She had to serve him well in bed and


    make him happy.


    Well, if she wanted her n to work, she had to do her best.


    After all, she didn''t have any bargaining chips in front of James. Maria didn''t mind using her beauty


    and charm as long as she could achieve her goal.


    Maria took the initiative the entire time. It was already midnight when James finally let go of her. She


    was almost dying while he was panting heavily.


    He was right that her n was not simple this time. Otherwise, how could she give in to him so


    easily?


    James had an important meeting the next morning. So after taking a shower, he went to the


    company as usual, leaving Maria alone in Fairview Vi.


    With James'' backing, Maria, who had stayed in Fairview Vi for more than ten days, was finally


    willing to step out of his territory.


    Jonathan had been looking for Maria recently. He even sent some people to know her whereabouts.


    When they finally saw her appear at the door of Miracle Cafe, they immediately called Jonathan to


    inform him.