Chapter 344 Promotion


    A maid approached the crib nervously under Norman''s watchful eyes. Overly conscious of his gaze,


    she identally lost her grip on the baby, and Bob slid out of her hands andnded on his butt on


    the crib with a soft thump.


    Fortunately, he seemed fine. It was a shallow fall, anyway.


    Despite the baby not making a fuss, Norman still witnessed what had happened. He recalled what


    Maria had said about wanting a reliable maid to look after the child.


    His eyes narrowed before he said coldly, "Take your sry and leave."


    The truth was, Bob was barely hurt. He seemed perfectly fine, staring up at them with his curious


    eyes.


    While Norman wanted to make trouble for James, he wasn''t insane enough to put the baby''s safety


    at risk.


    The maid''s eyes widened in panic. "Mr. Shen, please forgive me! I didn''t mean to drop him!" She


    couldn''t bear to lose this job. After all, it paid much better than her previous one.


    "Don''t let me repeat myself." His lips were set at a thin line.


    Soon another maid approached silently. She carefully picked up the little boy in the crib and took


    him aside.


    Minutester, the maid who had the misfortune of dropping Bob left the vi in tears, her things in


    tow.


    That night, while Maria was in the middle of a dinner party, James called her. Apparently, he was


    about to meet some distinguished guests, and wished that she would join him. Without the slightest


    hesitation, she left the dinner party and rushed to James.


    If James said he was going to meet some distinguished guests, it meant they were too important to


    miss.


    When she arrived at the restaurant, she found a few people seated in the private lounge already. All


    of them looked foreign, except James.


    Maria''s body went slightly stiff. Her English wasn''t great, and she knew this.


    When he saw here in, James stood up and strode over to her. He took her hand in his and


    pulled her to the table affectionately.


    "This is Maria, my girlfriend. This is Mr. Alfa, the world''s number one dessert master. Mr. Smith and


    Mr. Pitt here are the top two coffee masters in the world."


    They all stood up to greet her, shaking hands with Maria warmly.


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    Since James was fluent in English, talking to them was a breeze for him. Maria, on the other hand,


    couldn''t understand a thing they were talking about. "Slow down, my English isn''t good!" she


    whispered.


    He smiled at her meaningfully and made her sit closer to him. "Don''t worry, I''ll do the talking. Why


    not eat something first?"


    Then he turned around and continued talking with the top culinary masters. asionally, they


    would nce at her and nod politely.


    Maria was not in the mood to eat anything. Instead, she trained her ears on their conversation,


    despite not being able to grasp what they were saying.


    Later, James exined to her what they had discussed. Apparently, he had invited these world-


    renowned masters to her coffee shop.


    Maria''s eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I just wanted to hold a simple event! How could you invite


    such important people? Don''t you think that''s a little too much?"


    Despite herints, he just smiled at her lovingly and winked.


    On the day of the event, Maria found that it wasn''t only the three distinguished guests who had


    shown up at her coffee shop.


    In addition to some TV stations, news media reporters, there were also some renowned ingredients


    suppliers specializing in coffee and desserts present.


    All of these ingredients were imported from all over the world, and only the best were selected for


    her shop.


    The truth was, the entire event was sponsored solely by HL Group. Undoubtedly, it was all for


    Maria.


    The coffee shop was brimming with people. At some point, Maria was so tired she could barely


    breathe, yet she kept a bright smile stered on her face. After all, two huge cameras had been


    trained on her. She was forced to wear a professional smile, looking elegant yet dignified.


    Finally, it came to the grand finale of the entire event: the auction of a luxurious cake made by eight


    chefs under the lead of the dessert master, Mr. Alfa. The huge cake sat on a delicate tray of pure


    gold, emphasizing its beauty.


    The starting bid price of the cake was five hundred thousand dors.


    Because the auction was online, it only took James a few taps on his phone to double the bidding


    price to a million.


    While the event had attracted thousands of people all over the world, the auction was limited to


    those in H City because the cake needed to be consumed within a certain amount of time.


    Staying with Bob in his vi, Norman wasted no time.


    With a swift tap of his finger, the price instantly went up to two million.


    The tension and excitement in the shop was so tangible, Maria felt like she was going to choke.


    Never before had she ever heard of a two-million-dor cake!


    Meanwhile, Ethan had just finished operating a kitten. Pulling off his gloves hurriedly, he quickly


    checked his phone for the status of the event. To his surprise, the price of the cake was


    astonishingly high.


    However, he just chuckled and bid on the cake, too. The cake was now valued at four million!


    In the coffee shop, Sandra clutched her phone tightly. She had wanted to help Maria, but there was


    no way she couldpete with that price.


    Once he was done with work, James showed up at the event. He made no moves to avoid the


    cameras and appeared in many photos with Maria by the bar counter.


    Heeding the cameramen no notice, Maria showed him her phone and eximed excitedly, "Gee,


    four million now!" She couldn''t believe that one simple cake would be reach such a ridiculous price!


    "Mr. Xi, can I borrow your luxury carter?"


    He gave her a toothy grin. "Which one? I''ll have the driver bring it here."


    "Of course, it has to be your most expensive one." Maria pouted coquettishly. James'' most


    expensive car was the one he drove every day: the Harkim. After being customized, its value


    exceeded one hundred million.


    "No problem." He agreed without batting an eysh.


    "Tell me, how could I possibly thank you?" Maria asked with a smile. Now that her Miracle Cafe was


    known worldwide, she figured she would never have to worry about its future.


    Obviously in a good mood, James threw his head back andughed heartily. "Coffee. Oh and, you''ll


    need to make it for me personally."


    Recalling how he had been there with Gabri thest time, Maria pretended to be offended.


    Sticking out her lower lip, she shook her head defiantly. "I won''t! You didn''t even finish your cupst


    time. Obviously, you don''t like my coffee. What if I ask Mr. Smith for help?"


    "Hey, I promise I''ll drink it up." James felt wronged. After all, he had drunk half the cupst time.


    "Do you really want to drink my coffee?" She snickered mischievously.


    He nodded seriously.


    "Well then, it''ll be a million per cup! I''ll be sure to make it with love and deliver it to you personally,


    Mr. Xi."


    "Deal!"


    As they were talking, a reporter happened to pass by and overheard Maria''s asking price.


    The rumor that a cup of coffee from Maria''s cafe cost one million started to spread. Those who


    didn''t know the context took the rumor seriously, wrinkling their nose in disgust at such an exorbitant


    price.


    Ethan, who had had his eyes set on the cake ever since the beginning, was upset to find out


    someone bid one million more than him at the veryst minute.


    The winner of the cake was unknown; no one had heard of that person before. Whoever it was


    wanted the cake to be delivered to a high-end mansion in H City.


    After the staff had carefully packed the cake, Maria''s gazended on Ethan, who had just entered


    the cafe.


    In that moment, she realized that he was indeed a handsome man. An idea suddenly urred to


    her. "Ethan!"


    At the sound of her calling him, Ethan perked up and trotted over to her. "Hey Maria, sorry about


    today. I know I told you I''d help you, but I never expected a kitten would need me at the most crucial


    hour!" "Don''t worry about it, really. But I want to ask a favor from you."


    "Anything!"


    "Well, how about this cake be delivered by none other than you, in James'' Harkim? What do you


    say to that?" Maria smiled at the young and handsome man, her eyes sparkling with joy.


    Ethan nodded generously. "Sure thing! Just leave it to me!"


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