Chapter 178 How Do You Hope They Get Into Trouble?
The doorbell chimedagain.
"I'll get it, mustbe Alton." Steven headed for the door.
Nora observed silently from behind him.
The door opened, and as expected, it was Alton, but Chris had crashed the party. He was dressed loudly as usual, beaming as he shouted, "Hey, Steven!"
Steven frowned, "Why are you here again?"
Chris looked smug, "This place is buzzing today, of course, I couldn't miss out."
He thought it would be interesting to come see everyone together.
Steven didn't have time for him.
Chris didn't care about Steven's stony expression. As usual, he settled right in and went out of his way to greet Nora behind Steven, "Hi, Nora!"
"you're finally here!" Nora smiled back.
She stepped forward, her olive green chiffon blouse and black pencil skirt popping, making her look vibrant and lovely.
Chris was also wearing an avocado green shirt.
He noticed Nora's outfit and couldn't help laughing, "Nora, we're wearing matching outfits today."
Nora felt self-conscious.
Steven's face immediately darkened.
Alton couldn't help but laugh. He didn't mean to, but he get a kick out of it how Nora and Chris happened to color-coordinate, and Steven's expression made it impossible to keep a straight face.
Seeing Steven's cold face, Norafelt a pang of guilt, too.
What kind of strange fluke was this?
"You should take off." Steven barred Chris's path.
Chris pretended to play the victim as he shouldered his way in, "No way, I'm crashing for dinner today!"
He barged in the door.
Alton gave Steven a knowing look, "I don't envy you."
He got why Steven didn't like Chris. If it were up to him, he'd deck Chris.
"You guys sit down first." Nora didn't dare look at Steven's face and quickly ducked into the kitchen.
"Is that Alton and Chris?" Olivia asked while cooking.
She had caught the sound of voices at the door.
"Who are they?" Amelia wondered aloud.
"Two guys, my husband's friends," Nora answered, about to pitch in with the cooking.
Olivia stopped her, "Don't bother, the food's ready, just carry the dishes out and we can eat."
"Okay." Nora carried the dishes out and called out, "Dinner is ready."
Steven ignored Nora, slumped on the sofa without getting up or calling anyone to eat, looking very miserable.
Chris quickly sensed the tension between them.
He figured he could help break the ice, so he went to give Nora a hand with the silverware, "Let me help you, that's a bit of a handfulto carry alone, right?"
Nora thought he was being dramatic - she could handle a few utensils.
When Chris entered the kitchen, Amelia saw his face, and her eyes lit up.
"Wow, this one's good-looking as well!" she thought to herself. Were all of Steven's friends this good-looking?
Chris smiled and asked, "Nora, is this your friend?" He greeted Amelia, "Hi, I'm Chris Green."
"I'm Amelia Martinez, pleasure to meet you." Amelia smiled sweetly.
Chris complimented her, "You're quite a catch."
Amelia's started blushing.
Chris helped Nora carry the utensils out.
Nora was laying out the plates when Steven glared at them.
Chris pointedously asked Nora, "How should I set these out?"
"Just place a setting at each spot," Nora answered while placing spoons.
"You bet."
Amelia brought out the last dish and noticed Nora and Chris's clothes, burst out laughing, "Oh my god, you two are wearing matching outfits."
Mentioned once more, Nora's shoulders tensed as she felt that gaze behind her grow even colder.
She looked back - Steven was staring at her expressionlessly.
Chris added, playing with fire, "That's fate!"
Steven finally couldn't sit still. He got up, took Nora by the arm, and pulled her into the master bedroom.
Everyone laughed.
Amelia looked confused, "What's going on?"
Seeing her curiosity, Chris explained, "Steven's jealous."
Amelia still didn't quite get it. Olivia walked over and filled her in in her ear. Amelia finally understood, laughing so hard she could barely keep a straight face, "That's hilarious!"
"Yeah, he gets the jealous type." Olivia laughed happily, happening to make eye contact with Alton.
Alton gave her a look.
Olivia's smile faltered a bit as she turned back to the kitchen to get more dishes.
In the master bedroom.
Steven closed the door and gave Nora a sour look, "Why did you wear this shirt today?"
Nora matching with Chris made him very uncomfortable.
"How was I supposed to know he'd wear this color today?" Nora explained defensively.
The matching outfit was pure coincidence.
"So you're saying you two are on the same wavelength?"
"..Not a chance!" Nora muttered quietly, "Besides, you bought me this shirt; I didn't choose it myself."
"But you picked the cut."
"It's just matching clothes, is it really worth getting this mad? I'll change." Nora walked to the closet, pulled out a dress, put it back, and glanced at him.
Steven's was still brooding.
"You're wearing a black shirt, and I don't have many black clothes," Nora muttered.
Steven's look softened slightly.
At least she knew to pick something the same color as his.
Nora scoured the closet and finally found a black sweater, smiling, "I'll wear this black sweater, same as you, okay?"
"Go ahead." Steven's tone was flat, but his mood had clearly brightened.
Nora changed into the black sweater and linked her arm through Steven's, "Let's go eat, don't stay mad, or it'll give you an ulcer."
Her voice was soft, sweet-talking him.
Steven's cheered up completely. He tapped his cheek.
Nora kissed it.
Steven smiled.
They walked out together.
At the dining table, the other four were already seated.
Seeing them both in black, Chris let out a chuckle, "You went in just to change into matching outfits?"
Everyone laughed again.
Nora felt a bit embarrassed, her face flushing.
Steven glared at Chris, annoyed by his noise.
The two last two spots happened to be by Chris.
Nora was about to sit down when Steven pulled her back, "I'll sit in the middle, you sit on the outside."
He wasn't going to let Nora sit next to Chris anymore.
Chris held back a laugh.
Alton gave Chris a thumbs up, meaning you're really something for getting Steven this worked up.
Everyone sat down to eat.
"Steven ordered this king crab tonight, everyone eat up." Nora, as hostess, invited everyone to dig in.
Chris put a crab leg in Nora's bowl, "This one has lots of meat, Nora, for you."
Seeing Steven staring at her, Nora quickly transferred the claw to Steven's bowl, "Honey, this crab claw is for you."
Steven was finally satisfied, smiling slightly before glaring at Chris again.
Chris stopped talking and focused on eating his crab.
He figured he'd helped Steven and Nora make up.
After dinner, Amelia had to leave first.
Nora walked her to the elevator.
Amelia remembered something and told Nora, "Nora, yesterday when you guys came to the office, I took a short video of Willie pulling Olivia's hair. I sent it to your phone. Give it to Olivia - if she gets divorced, this video might help."
"Okay, thanks, Amelia." Nora hugged her.
Amelia hugged back, smiling, "Your husband's pretty great. I approve of you two. You should treasure him."
"I will." Nora was in a good mood as she watched her catch on the elevator, then turned back home.
The others were sitting on the couch, chatting.
Nora walked over, about to sit next to Olivia out of habit, when she saw Steven wave at her, "Come here."
He wanted her next to him.
Nora paused, then walked over. Steven put his arm around her waist and had her lean on his shoulder.
Nora felt warm and sweet inside, quietly resting against Steven as she listened to them talking.
"This is Willie's financial disclosure." Alton handed a document to Olivia. He was dressed formally with a refined manner.
Olivia was a bit surprised.
She hadn't expected that after everything that happened, Alton would still help her investigate Willie's assets.
Olivia took the document, feeling a bit guilty, and said sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Bridges."
"Don't mention it." Alton's gaze rested on her face. "If you can't understand the asset statement, you can contact me."
"Okay." Olivia agreed.
Actually, Alton knew she probably wouldn't reach out to him again.
He suddenly felt a bit disappointed.
But he was a gentleman - he wouldn't force a woman who wasn't willing.
After ten, everyone went home.
The lively house suddenly became quiet.
Olivia sat on the couch looking at Willie's asset statement.
Nora turned on the robot vacuum and walked over to ask, "Olivia, how did it go when you met Willie today?"
She'd wanted to ask all evening but hadn't had a chance.
"Willie said tomorrow's Sunday, and everyone's free, so we should meet at a restaurant to discuss the divorce." Olivia had seen Willie today, and his attitude seemed civil.
But Willie hadn't told her about his undisclosed wealth.
Over the past two years, he'd made over three million dollars from some investments, plus three rounds of financing totaling about ten million dollars.
He hadn't mentioned any of this. Olivia had a hunch tomorrow he'd bring up the financing - meaning his debts.
"Should I come with you tomorrow?" For something as important as a divorce, the family should be there.
Olivia shook her head, "No need, I'll handle it myself."
They'd talked once yesterday without issues, so tomorrow should be fine too.
Since Olivia wanted to handle it herself, Nora respected that, only saying, "Call me if anything comes up."
"Okay, get some rest."
"You too, Olivia," Nora said and went back to her room.
Steven was on his phone in bed.
Nora lifted the covers and got in.
Steven pulled her close, and she naturally leaned into his embrace, eyes open as she said, "Tomorrow, Olivia's meeting Willie to discuss the divorce."
"Are you going?" Steven looked down at her.
"No need, Olivia wants to handle it alone."
"Then honor her choice." Steven gently stroked her hair.
Nora rested against his chest, saying softly, "I hope Olivia can get divorced smoothly and get the money she deserves. As for Willie and his family, the farther away from us the better. It would be even better if they got what they deserve!"
Steven thought for a moment and asked seriously, "If you were in charge, what would you want to happen to them?"