Chapter 9: Mr. Green, what are you doing here?

Fifty thousand!

Nora's face stiffened. After hesitating for a while, she still managed to force a smile at him.

"I have no objections, Mr. Green. I'll go home and pack right now."

"Nora, you'll really do anything for money, won't you?"

Samuel let out a cold snort, his eyes frighteningly cold as he looked at her.

"Money is a good thing, Mr. Green. I used to be naive, but now I love it."

Nora was already accustomed to his mockery. She gave him a fake smile, then turned and left his office.

The city Samuel was traveling to for this business trip was in the north. Their business partner's last name was Porter.

She didn't know what this guy was thinking—even though it was already late at night when Nora and the others got off the plane, he still took them to a luxuriously decorated restaurant, claiming he wanted to welcome Samuel.

"Mr. Green, I'm really happy to work with Bright Capital. Cheers."

In the restaurant's private room, Mr. Porter approached Samuel with a full glass of vodka, smiling broadly.

Yes—a whole glass of vodka.

Before the trip, Nora had read the materials, which mentioned Mr. Porter's fondness for drinking. She hadn't understood what that meant then, but now she did.

And as far as she knew, Samuel didn't like alcohol—especially... not strong liquor like vodka.

Nora frowned slightly, instinctively wanting to say something to help him.

But someone reacted faster than her. Before she could speak, Kevin, seated beside Samuel, gave Mr. Porter a gentle smile.

"Mr. Porter, Mr. Green hasn't been feeling well these past few days and can't drink..."

"I see."

Mr. Porter laughed heartily and didn't push Samuel further.

But then he turned his attention to Nora.

"Then how about this beautiful lady—would you drink with me? Such a wonderful time would be so boring without drinking."

Her drink?

Nora gaze fell on the glass in Mr. Porter's hand, her face turning pale.

Samuel disliked drinking, but she couldn't drink at all.

But Samuel had already refused once. If she refused too, would Mr. Porter get angry?

Nora hesitated, instinctively looking toward Samuel. He noticed her look, but said nothing. He just lightly tapped his fingers on the table, as if lost in thought.

He must have believed it wouldn't be appropriate for her to refuse Mr. Porter either...

Looking at Samuel like this, Nora suddenly remembered something.

When she and Samuel had first gotten together, he had taken her to dinner with his friends.

At that time, his buddies thought she came from a low background and deliberately made things difficult for her—forcing her to drink.

What did Samuel do back then?

Oh, he got angry at his friends.

"Nora is someone I treasure. As long as I'm here, no one can force her to do anything she doesn't want to do."

"If you can't learn to respect Nora, then we don't need to be friends anymore."

Even now, Nora still remembered what Samuel said back then.

Time is really scary!

Five years could turn a young man whose heart and eyes were full of her into a businessman who no longer cared whether she lived or died.

Nora gave a self-mocking smile, sat up straight, and accepted the glass Mr. Porter handed her.

"Thank you. I hope the cooperation between our two companies goes smoothly."

After exchanging a few polite words with dignity, she tilted her head back and drank all the liquor in the glass.

"Great! Nora, you're so straightforward. I love doing business with people like you."

Seeing this, Mr. Porter clapped his hands excitedly and refilled her cup. "Nora, drink one more glass, and I'll give Mr. Green a ten percent discount on our deal."

"Okay, Mr. Porter, you have to keep your word..."

Before today, Nora had never drunk strong liquor like vodka. After one glass, although her body was still sitting upright in the chair, her eyes had already glazed over.

Facing Mr. Porter as he leaned closer she took a long time to recover before shakily lifting her glass again.

However, she never got the chance to drink that second glass—someone took it away from her.

"I suddenly feel like drinking again."

Samuel drank from the lipstick mark on Nora's glass, draining it completely. Then he pulled Mr. Porter's hand off her shoulder. "It's too late. Let's end this welcome dinner here. We'll discuss our cooperation in a proper setting. I don't like talking business at drinking parties."

Samuel shot Mr. Porter a cold look, left those words, then lifted Nora—her cheeks flushed, her consciousness slipping—and strode away with long, decisive steps.

"Nora, when someone tells you to drink, you just drink? Are you really that easy to push around?"

"Why don't you use that good temper to apologize to me and give in to me?"

Kevin had already booked the hotel. Samuel protected Nora all the way and carefully put her on the bed after entering the room.

Looking at the unconscious Nora, Samuel held back and held back, but finally grabbed her chin and roughly rubbed her lips with his thumb.

"Mm..."

Nora wasn't fully conscious now. Feeling someone messing with her lips, she instinctively licked that person's fingertip with her tongue.

"Nora, even drunk you don't forget to seduce people. You're really shameless!"

Samuel's breathing hitched. He withdrew his hand and was about to get up.

"Samuel..."

At that moment, a hoarse murmur suddenly reached his ears.

"What did you just say?"

Samuel slowly turned around, staring hard at Nora's face.

On the bed, Nora frowned, tears from the corners of her eyes falling like broken pearls down her cheeks, finally landing on the pillow.

"Samuel... I'm sorry... I don't know what to do anymore..."

After a long while, her sobbing sounded again in the room.

"Sleep. It's all in the past!"

Samuel closed his eyes and eventually sat back down beside her, tucking her in.

"Ugh... my head hurts so much!"

The result of the hangover was that when Nora woke up the next day, her head was sore and aching.

She lay in bed with her eyes closed, constantly tapping her head with her hands. "I'm never drinking again."

"Nora was pretty bold yesterday. I thought you could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."

Just as Nora finished speaking, a cool towel landed on her face.

"...Samuel?!"

Nora opened her eyes, she no longer care about her discomfort, and sat up from the bed with a start.

"What's going on? Why are you in my room?"