Chapter 54
Nora clenched her fingers nervously and glanced at Wilhelmina for help.
"Walter, she's new here, just finished training. She's our receptionist. Is there a problem?" Wilhelmina hurried over.
"Lift your head up!" Walter's voice was cold, showing little patience.
Nora gripped her fingers tightly and slowly raised her head.
Walter froze for a moment, then laughed. "Never mind, I got the wrong person."
Wilhelmina breathed a sigh of relief and signaled Nora to leave quickly.
Walter said nothing more and walked away.
Nora let out a breath. Five years had passed—Walter must have forgotten about her by now.
After Walter left, Yasmin came over, still trembling. "That guy's presence is something else. So intimidating."
Nora's legs felt weak too.
Yasmin smiled and steadied Nora. "Were you scared? I thought Mr. Wood had taken an interest in you. That would've been terrifying."
Nora smiled awkwardly.
"Did you hear what Mr. Wood's assistant said?" Yasmin led Nora to the front desk. "This year's business association dinner is being held at our club. Our club is the biggest one in Silverlight City—even receptionists need good credentials. You got in because they're hiring a lot of people right now."
Nora nodded. "I heard."
"Do you know who comes to the business association dinner? Have you heard of the Smith family from Emerald City? They're even more powerful than Walter." For people in business circles, they were top-tier.
Nora's fingers stiffened, and she suddenly felt anxious.
If it was the business association dinner, James and Aiden would definitely be there.
"Can I take that day off?" Nora asked quietly.
"No way. Wilhelmina said everything is for that day. No one can take time off." Yasmin shook her head.
Nora nervously clenched her fingers, thinking about what to do.
Staying here meant risking being caught and taken back.
If they caught her, there would be no way out.
"Nori, room 3688 upstairs needs a fruit platter. The dining staff is swamped, so go help out." Wilhelmina came over and told Nora to go.
"How about I go? Nori isn't familiar with things yet." Yasmin offered to go instead.
"No need. It's just delivering a fruit platter. I need you for something else." Wilhelmina said casually.
Nora nodded and walked toward the dining area in her uncomfortable high heels.
"This bottle of wine costs over a million dollars. Please be extremely careful." The dining staff pointed to the wine in the ice bucket.
Nora nodded nervously and pushed the cart into the elevator.
Before, a million-dollar bottle of wine meant nothing to Nora, but now it was an astronomical sum.
"Sir, your fruit platter and wine." Standing outside the door, Nora knocked.
No response from inside.
Seeing the door wasn't closed, Nora pushed it open and went in.
Inside the room, Walter sat on the sofa, talking with several business executives.
Nora kept her head down, first placing the wine bucket on the table, then arranging the fruit platter.
Moving quietly, Nora turned to leave.
"Walter, this club really is different. Even the servers are prettier than celebrities. Isn't it a waste for a woman like her to be a server?" Ronan, the man Savannah had pulled away earlier, looked at Nora with bright eyes.
Her legs were eye-catching—long and straight.
Walter glanced at Nora but said nothing.
Nora felt flustered and tried to leave with her head down.
Ronan stood up and blocked her path. "What's your name?"
"Ronan's taken a liking to this woman."
"Let me tell you, catching Ronan's eye is your lucky day."
The other men laughed and told Nora not to be foolish.
Nora's palms started sweating slightly, unsure how to handle this.
This was her first day on the job after three days of training, and she didn't want to cause trouble for Savannah.
"A college student?" Nora looked young and had a great figure—no one could tell she'd had a child.
Ronan's hand was about to touch Nora's leg.
"She won't do." After a long silence, Walter spoke in a heavy voice.
Nora nervously dodged and stood still with her head down.
Ronan paused, then Walter spoke again. "She's had a child."
Nora nearly dropped the tray, her heart racing. Walter had recognized her after all.
Ronan and the others were shocked. "Do you know her, Walter? She's had a child and still has such a great figure?"
"Had a child? That makes me like her even more." Another executive said with a laugh.
Nora's face flushed—not from embarrassment, but anger.
These men looked at women like they were picking vegetables at a market.
It was humiliating.
"Her? She's very hard to pursue." Walter smiled slightly, his words meaningful. "You gentlemen will need to show your skills."
"From what you're saying, you've tried before?" The men asked with laughs.
"Yes, pursued her for three years. Never succeeded." Walter said half-jokingly.
Nora's ears turned red from frustration. She just wanted to escape.
She could already imagine what would happen next—Walter would definitely take this chance to humiliate her.
"That hard to get? Won't even give Mr. Wood face? Is she playing hard to get, or is the money not right?" Ronan laughed mockingly and reached for Nora's wrist. "One million dollars for one night—that's top dollar."
Nora dodged in panic—avoiding men's touch was a reflex.
A tray hit Ronan on the head, and in that instant, Nora almost fell to her knees.
She didn't mean it, she really didn't.
It was just an unconscious action, her body not under her control. Nearly in tears, Nora choked out, "I'm sorry."
Ronan was stunned, touching his forehead—the skin was scraped a bit.
The others gasped. This Nora really didn't know her place.
"That's pretty disrespectful." Ronan's voice dropped, looking at Nora angrily. "If it weren't for your looks, you wouldn't even have the chance to stand here."
As if stirring up the men's competitive spirit, another executive spoke with a smile.
"I'll offer two million dollars. Mr. Wood, I'm taking her with me."
Walter kept watching Nora with interest and smiled. "Back then, I offered up to eight million dollars."
Nora stood there trembling.
Six years ago, James and Aiden had taken her to court, saying she had extorted eight million dollars from the Adams family and the Smith family.
Eight million dollars was the number Walter was using to provoke her.
That year, Walter had approached her, saying if she was willing, he could help Nora pay off the eight million dollars.
"Eight million dollars? Are you crazy? For a woman who's had a child?" The executive looked at Nora in shock. "How much would it cost me to get a young celebrity? Just some resources."
"At current rates, eight million dollars." Ronan was clearly targeting Nora now. "Shouldn't I inspect the goods first?"
Nora turned to leave but was grabbed by Ronan and thrown against the wall. "What about you hitting me? I'm going to check my injuries and see how much you owe me—deduct it from your eight million dollars!"
Ronan had never seen a woman dare to hit him. For the sake of his pride, he had to take Nora with him today.
"Ronan, this woman's had a child. How is she still worth eight million dollars now? Right, Mr. Wood?" Someone nearby asked with a laugh.
Walter looked thoughtful and said lightly, "What if the child she had was mine? Wouldn't that make her worth even more?"
As soon as Walter finished speaking, Ronan instinctively let go of Nora, looking at Walter with near horror.
Had he just touched Walter's woman?