Chapter 226 Pillow Talk


    On the same floor as the CEO''s office, there was a designated area for the CEO''s assistants.


    Currently, only Lorenzo was there, along with another nameless assistant.


    When he saw Maria approaching the CEO''s office, Lorenzo got to his feet. "Ms. Song, please wait a


    moment."


    She didn''t respond, but she did shoot him a look of cold nonchnce.


    "Do you have an appointment? If not, please go to the reception on the first floor and make one."


    He was unfazed, and he carried on with his usual professional manner.


    "I didn''t know I needed to make an appointment just to see James," she replied sarcastically.


    "You are a senior executive of HM Group, which is in great trouble now. You can''t show up here


    uninvited." Lorenzo kept his tone light, but the sting was there in his words, and Maria did not miss


    it.


    Her gaze turned piercing. Just then, a ding came from the elevator, followed by the unmistakable


    sound of the elevator stopping on this floor. The doors opened and closed, and soon footfalls came.


    Maria didn''t bother to turn around and see who it was. Instead, she kept her eyes at Lorenzo and


    continued her sparring with him. "What if I say I want to see him as his ex-wife? If that still doesn''t


    qualify, we can just say I''m his sex partner. That would be rather crude though, wouldn''t it? How


    about lover then? You might not believe me capable of this, but a single bout of pillow talk with


    James could mean your doom."


    She had enough. It was high time she dealt with Lorenzo.


    Lorenzo''s face flushed with anger, but James was standing right behind Maria so he was powerless


    to give in to his emotions. "Are you threatening me?" was all he could say, and stiffly at that.


    "Obviously." A chill appeared in the area, making Maria aware of who was behind her without even


    a backward nce. She brushed the knowledge aside and keptying it on Lorenzo. "Remember to


    keep yourself in check before you speak so rudely to me. One is the general manager of the Song


    Group, while the other one is James'' assistant. You are about to be married, too, aren''t you? If I


    were you, I would definitely have long resigned from your position!"


    Lorenzo instantly understood what she meant. His eyes darted awkwardly to the man behind her.


    "Mr. Xi..."


    Maria looked back then, looking straight into James'' eyes. "I''ve been trying all day but I couldn''t


    open the bathroom door in the manor. I almost called the police. Who was responsible for installing


    these fixtures? They''ve done a hell of a poor job. You''d want to look into it, don''t you think?"


    Several people''s expressions changed at every word Maria said.


    Summer''s eyes widened, her heart caught in her throat. She had disclosed some information


    regarding the manor to Maria, information that was supposed to be confidential.


    If James did decide to investigate the matter, a lot of people would get implicated. And the first one


    to go would be none other than Lorenzo himself.


    "Summer, contact the team in charge of the interior design of the manor." After saying that, James


    strode into his office without waiting for an answer.


    "Yes, Mr. Xi," Summer said to his back.


    Maria turned to Lorenzo, who had gone pale, and sneered. ''It looks like you''re about to receive one


    heavy blow, '' she thought to herself with cruel glee. She had yet to reveal that Lorenzo and his aunt


    had stolen the three hundred million alimony that she had been meant to receive.


    The truth was that there was no problems with the bathroom door.


    Maria had juste up with the idea when she had first learned that Lorenzo had a hand in hiring


    the people who had worked in the manor''s design. James must have known her intention. Since he


    was willing to investigate, it meant he was going to deal with Lorenzo.


    Maria didn''t follow into James'' office. Instead, she turned on her heel and exited the building,


    heading straight back to Golden Mansion.


    Seated at his desk, James felt his temples throb, and he reached to rub the ache away. He had to


    give it to Maria—she truly had a penchant for making trouble for him.


    Shortly after, Summer knocked at his door and ushered a few men into his office. They had all been


    involved in the overall nning of James'' manor.


    Lorenzo had seen them go inside; they had passed by his table. He had been on edge since Maria


    had left, and sweat now beaded profusely on his forehead. He knew that this could very well be the


    end of his career, here and now, so he pulled out his phone and hurriedly called Judy.


    James inspected the men


    as he put down his pen and waved his hand. "Go ahead then," he said casually.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    Those few words were enough to make the men tremble, so great was the weight of pressure in his


    voice.


    Two of the workers exchanged a look before one of them stepped forward. He swallowed nervously


    and opened his mouth. "Mr. Xi, with all due respect, I may just be a construction worker, but I have


    been in this industry for more than a decade. My work speaks for itself, and I assure you that I


    wouldn''t have been hired by yourpany and offered a high-paying contract if I were ipetent


    in any way. I can give you my personal and professional guarantee that when I installed the doors in


    the manner, I didn''t ck off one bit. I never left a screw loose or a nail un—"


    "Well, it turns out that something is now wrong with the bathroom door. What do you think is the


    problem?" James asked.


    The man turned red with embarrassment. He was caught between a rock and a hard ce. It only


    took him a second, however, to recognize which was the more dangerous option. He knew clearly


    who he was facing today, and he wanted to keep his job. "The quality of the doors... do not match


    the standard for the rest of the manor."


    Surely, a man like James Xi understood what he meant without him having to spell out the shameful


    facts.


    The person next to him spoke up. This other man was the person who had specifically handled the


    door frames. "Mr. Xi, I had nothing to do with this either. Our task was the instation of the fixtures.


    We had no say on the quality and design of the materials used throughout the construction."


    Another person stepped forward. "I was the one who purchased the doors. But it was Lorenzo who


    told me to buy those doors." It looked like this worker was part of the procurement team. Everyone


    was desperate to escape from having to take responsibility for the problem.


    Fortunately for them, their stories all corroborated with each other, and the answer became rather


    obvious after a while.


    His expression remaining cold and nk, James pressed the button of his internal line and called


    Lorenzo to the office.


    "You wanted to see me, Mr. Xi?" Lorenzo had gone back to his normal self.


    "Go on." James nodded to the other people in the room, and someone took over the reins. "Mr. Lan,


    you knew it when the doors for Mr. Xi''s manor were being manufactured. We ordered them


    ording to the price you offered."


    Lorenzo''s voice died in his throat.


    That single statement alone was incriminating enough, and James had no need to keep listening to


    this garbage.


    He sent everyone away until it was just him and Lorenzo in the room.


    The moment Summer got back to her desk, she dialed Maria''s number. "Hey, Maria! Listen to this,


    you wouldn''t guess just how bold Lorenzo is! He actually had the audacity to gain a kickback on Mr.


    Xi''s property!"


    Maria smiled wryly from her end. "Oh, he''s much bolder than you could think." Take the alimony for


    example.


    "Well, I don''t think Mr. Xi will let this slide this time around."


    Maria didn''t say anything. She knew for a fact that James would not let this slide.


    Lorenzo had always been against her, but this was not important. The most important was that he


    acted as a stooge for Judy and Alina. James had also wanted to deal with him for quite a while now,


    so he just might take advantage of the mess she stirred up and use it to get rid of a traitorous


    subordinate.


    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Vi, Judy paced back and forth in the living room as she gnawed on her


    thumb.


    Something had happened to her nephew, and she didn''t know how to help him. Should she just


    stand by and watch James fire Lorenzo?


    If that happened, not only would she lose her spy in HL Group, Lorenzo would also be unable to


    stay in H City anymore.


    ''Maria Song! Maria Song! It''s all because of that damned Maria Song!'' she cussed inwardly.


    In the end, she decided to call Sebastian, who was in the middle of a meeting with a client.


    "Sebastian! Something happened to Lorenzo!"


    Before her call ended, she saw another iing call from Alina.


    Judy hurriedly nagged at her husband to help Lorenzo before answering the other call. "Hello, Alina.


    What''s up?"


    "Auntie Judy, I have something important to tell you. Are you free right now?"


    "Is it super important?"


    "Yes, it is!" Alina was very excited to share the news. It might spread throughout the city soon.


    Judy wasn''t in the mood to go out at first, but Alina seemed hyped for some reason, and the girl did


    say it was important. So they decided on a ce, and she took her purse and rushed out of the


    vi.


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