Chapter 283 So Annoying
"It''s already half past nine," Peggy answered. "The meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago.
Did you oversleep?"
"Yeah," Maria admitted guiltily. This was all James'' fault.
Only then did Maria realize James wasn''t in the apartment and that she was alone there. There was
no trace of the drunken man from the night before.
She would''ve thought she had dreamt the whole thing up, if it weren''t for her sore body.
"So what should we do? How about I let Mr. Qian take charge of the meeting?"
Peggy asked.
"Okay." After hanging up the phone, Maria angrily tugged at her hair. ''Damn it! James Xi strikes
again!''
But didn''t he say that if she left him, there was no turning back? Then what wasst night about?
She couldn''t help but wonder what was going on in his mind. Perhaps he was putting on an act,
pretending he didn''t want to let go of her.
Unfortunately for him, she was not a teenage girl anymore and was not about to fall for his trap.
Meanwhile, at the HL Group headquarters, James'' morning meeting had just adjourned and he
headed back to his office.
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Summer came in to report to him thetestpany data.
After she was done talking, James asked, "When was thest time you were on leave?"
Summer nced at her boss in confusion. "Not too long ago, sir. I had two days offst month."
However, two days off was a luxury for any assistant of James.
"Hand over your work to Gary and take the next couple of days off."
''What? Did I do something wrong?'' Summer panicked. "Excuse me, Mr. Xi, did I present wrong data
just now?"
James, seeing that she misunderstood him, just added in a light tone, "It''s a paid leave."
Realizing what was going on, Summer was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mr. Xi!"
"Now, get back to work."
"Okay."
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Summer hastily gathered her files and returned to her
desk happily. She sent a text to Maria, saying, "Ms. Song, thanks to you, I can have a few days off. I
got a paid leave!"
Maria, who was neck deep in work, spared Summer a second of her time and replied with a
question mark.
However, Summer suddenly needed to deal with a distinguished guest who had just arrived at the
HL Group offices, so itpletely slipped her mind to reply to Maria''s questioning text.
That evening, Maria visited Augustine again, where Charlotte strongly urged her to stay the night.
She agreed, and put her work aside to y with Bob. The mother and son finally shared a bed.
Listening to his son''s steady breathing, Maria lowered her head and gently kissed the baby''s plump
face over and over again.
She had wanted a naturalbor. Unfortunately, to her displeasure, she was forced to have a C-
section when the time came for Bob to enter the world.
Last night, James had gently traced the scar on her belly with his finger. "What happened here?"
Fortunately, Maria had been prepared for this question. "I had appendicitis."
Back when she had Arthur, she had given birth to him naturally, so James had no experience with
C-sections and consequently had no clue what kind of scar it would leave. Maria''s mind wandered
to the previous night. She still remembered his gentle kisses on her scar.
Her eyes popped open and she shook her head, as though she could physically shake off the
memory of the man from the night before. Her gazended on her baby''s dimpled face, and she
reached for his cheek and gently pinched it. "Your father is the worst. Please don''t grow up to be
like him."
However, the little guy shifted in his sleep and turned to his other side, leaving Maria with only the
sight of the back of his head.
''Is this his answer?'' she wondered.
These days, the air was getting colder and colder. Maria went shopping to buy some winter clothes
for the baby, as well as other necessities.
As soon as she was loading her shopping bags into the trunk, her phone rang. It was Sandra
calling. "Hi, Sandra. What''s up?"
"Maria, do you have a regr membership at the SOE?" Sandra asked in a low voice.
Maria frowned slightly. "I''ve bought some of their stuff. Why?" "Can I use your membership pass
please? There''s this really gorgeous limited edition bag I want, but since I''m not a member, they''re
requiring me to buy other goods together with the bag. Also, Alina Tang is here. I didn''t want to lose
to her, so I called to ask you for a favor." Maria could tell from Sandra''s tone that she was a little
embarrassed buttrusting.
Everything sold in SOE was very expensive. If Sandra was required to buy a number of products
along with the bag, she probably wouldn''t be able to afford it.
"Where are you now? I''m not busy, I can go find you."
"I''m at the International Shopping Mall on SY Road. Shall I wait for you?"
"Okay. See you soon."
A few minutester, at the SOE''s gship store, a woman wearing sunsses and an ankle-long
beige windbreaker strode in.
She had ming red lips, a pop of color against her fair skin.
"Hello, Ms. Song." The store manager greeted her personally.
Maria took off her sunsses and said indifferently, "My friend is shopping here. I''m looking for her."
"Oh, you mean Miss Shen, right? She is in the VIP reception room. Allow me to show you the way."
"Thank you!"
In the VIP reception room, there were several women sitting at the lounge with saleswomen
standing beside them, serving them champagne and desserts.
Sandra was one of the seated women, primly eating a dessert. When she saw Maria, she quickly
abandoned the dessert and waved at her. "Over here, Maria!"
In response, Maria strode over to her friend, her heels cking authoritatively on the marble floor.
At the sound of those heels, Alina, who was busy trying on some jewelry, turned around to see who
wasing.
The windbreaker made Maria look tall and slender, and she wore a pair of ck high-heeled shoes.
Her aura was as strong as ever.
As soon as she showed up, she drew the attention of everyone in the VIP room.
Completely ignoring others'' gazes, Maria strolled right up to Sandra and said, "You called at the
perfect time. I was nearby and was just about to leave."
"Were you shopping too?"
"Yeah, but I''ve already bought all the things I needed. What about you? Which bag were you talking
about on the phone?" Maria sat down beside Sandra and carefully tucked her sunsses into her
bag.
Sandra pointed to a sling shoulder bag in the hands of the saleswoman next to her. "Isn''t it pretty?"
The saleswoman handed the bag to Maria, who then took a close look at the bag Sandra was
raving about. It was a light pink suede with gold detailing in a style popr among younger girls.
She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it''s pretty alright, though I''m not sure it''s for me. After all, you kids
have different tastes from us."
Sandra pouted. "It''s worth seven hundred thousand, but they won''t let me buy the bag alone. I don''t
have enough money to buy other products with it."
Maria returned the bag to the saleswoman. The manager, who had been observing the situation
from the side, served some fragrant tea to Maria. "So you and Ms. Song are friends. I''m sure it''ll be
fine with my boss if you purchase the bag by itself, Miss Shen."
Sandra''s eyes lit up. "Thank you so much!"
"You''re wee!"
While Sandra was taking care of the bill, Maria inspected a brooch. When Sandra was done, she
deliberately passed by Alina, waving the bill in her hand. "You''re the best, Maria!"
Before Maria came, Alina had been ridiculing Sandra.
"You asked someone else to get it for you. What makes you so proud?" Alina sneered.
"At least I have someone to call for help. Aren''t you Mr. Xi''s fiancee? Why don''t you call him and ask
him to buy you the whole shop? Oh wait, never mind. I doubt he would be willing to marry a woman
who bought a fake antique for his grandfather." Sandra triumphantly returned to her seat and
happily watched the saleswoman pack up the bag for her.