Chapter 131
"I hit it off with Mr. Warner right away, so I'll ride with you," Michael said with a smile, proactively opening the passenger door for Lyle.
Lyle was confused. How did Michael just take over like that?
Nora secretly glanced at Michael. Was it her imagination? Why did she feel Michael's smile looked so cunning?
Before Lyle could react, he was already bewildered by Michael's initiative to open the car door for him, and his body obediently got into the passenger seat.
Meanwhile, Michael proactively closed the door, opened the back seat door, and gestured with his eyes for Nora to get in.
Nora looked at Michael. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was the host.
When Michael smiled and gestured again for her to hurry up and get in, Nora felt a strong sense of threat.
Trembling, she got in the car and habitually shrank into the corner.
Aria was a bit anxious and wanted to say something, but Michael had already gotten in and closed the door.
He didn't leave her any room at all.
"Driver, you can start now. Take it slow on the road, my assistant is a bit airsick." Michael said casually, taking the concept of being a guest acting like a host to the extreme.
Aria stood by the roadside, watching Lyle's car drive away, her face twisted with anger.
"Ms. Clark, we should get going too." The secretary drove up to take Aria there.
Aria's eyes were red as she gripped the wine box tightly in her hands. "Is everything ready?"
The secretary nodded. "The one on the right has the drug added. Mr. Smith doesn't touch beer, only drinks a little red wine, and Mr. Warner isn't used to red wine, so he's prepared other drinks. You can rest assured."
Aria took a deep breath and clenched her fingers tightly. "Let's go."
Upon arriving at the destination, Aria reminded in a low voice, "Don't forget to have the reporters waiting at the hotel in advance tonight."
She had waited six years. She thought she had nothing to do with Michael anymore, but suddenly, Michael came looking for her, asking about what happened six years ago.
Six years ago, she had indeed bribed the hotel staff and deliberately gotten drunk and entered Michael's room early, but Michael never returned to the room that night.
But six years later, Michael came to her house on his own initiative, asking if she was the one who had sex with him in the hotel room that day.
Of course, she admitted it, because she was the one who had sex until dawn in his room that night.
But thinking about it carefully now, if Michael didn't return to his room, who was the person who actually had sex with him?
Whose room did he enter?
Looking at Michael's attitude toward her now, he definitely didn't know the truth yet. He was just bothered by the fact that someone had schemed against him back then.
Although Aria explained how she entered his room, Michael obviously didn't believe her.
Aria didn't expect Michael to have any feelings for her now. She had to get this man first, then love would come after marriage.
She was confident that after getting married, she would definitely make Michael fall in love with her.
"Help me check who stayed at the Emerald City Ripple Court Hotel during the Emerald City Chamber of Commerce dinner six years ago," Aria called her private detective.
She was getting a bit panicked now, afraid that Michael would find out the truth someday.
She had to find that woman first, either bribe her or make her disappear.
---
At the club, in a private room.
Michael didn't talk about work from beginning to end, which left Lyle with a very good impression of him.
Nora didn't like to talk much, only speaking when Lyle asked her something.
"Nori, I heard you finished all your coursework in your sophomore year and planned to pursue a double degree. Did you end up studying management or...?" Lyle was very curious about Nora's later development.
"I..." Nora took a deep breath and didn't hide anything. "Mr. Warner might not be aware, but I ran into some problems, so I didn't complete my studies."
Aria sat next to Nora and intimately held her hand. "Lyle, please stop asking. Nori was doing labor reform in prison. After she got out, she's been working hard to turn over a new leaf and work diligently. She's so hardworking that it makes people feel sorry for her."
Lyle was stunned for a moment, clearly unaware that Nora had been in prison.
Nora clenched her fingers tightly and subtly withdrew her hand, saying nothing.
What Aria said was all true. She couldn't explain.
"Nori, since you're out of prison, you need to work hard. If you want something, you have to earn it with your own abilities and hands. You can't be like before. There's no gold falling from the sky. You've already enjoyed twenty years of a wealthy life, and this kind of getting something for nothing eventually has to be paid back." Aria sighed, looking like she had Nora's best interests at heart. "There are no outsiders here, we're all family. I really like you."
Nora remained silent and said nothing.
Lyle held his wine glass and looked at Michael.
After all, Nora was his assistant.
"Nora was swapped at birth when she was still a baby. She probably didn't have the ability to prevent it. Besides, if you're walking down the street and get hit by gold falling from the sky, isn't it the fault of the gold and the person who threw it? Isn't the person who got hit quite innocent?" Michael put down his wine glass and looked sideways at Aria. "Ms. Clark should study law more. Your common sense is somewhat lacking."
Aria was left speechless by Michael's retort. She opened her mouth, her face flushed red with frustration.
She was smarter than Evelyn, smart enough to know when to advance and retreat.
"I've also heard about the real and fake heiress situation, but I didn't ask about it in detail. Nora is such an excellent child, I thought the Adams family would keep her by their side out of sentiment and raise her together. I didn't expect..." Lyle felt somewhat regretful. "Nori, why didn't you contact me back then? I would have definitely helped if I could."
"Life always has many regrets. In this regard, I'm the same as Mr. Warner. I regret not knowing her back then and not being able to help her." Michael picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and changed the subject. "This wine is good. Aria has good taste in choosing wine, but wine is like people - you need to taste it yourself, you can't just rely on hearsay."
Nora looked up at Michael, her eyes very red.
Sniffling, Nora looked up and smiled at Lyle. "Mr. Warner, what happened in the past is all behind us. I hope we can maintain a long-term cooperation in the future."
Some things, if Michael didn't say them, it showed his class, but as an assistant, she had to mention them.
Lyle sighed, his eyes full of regret and sympathy. "Mr. Smith's abilities are highly recognized in the industry. Nori, follow Mr. Smith well, and call me if you have any difficulties."
Michael propped his head up with one hand and smiled at Nora.
Nora smiled back.
That smile was no longer a cautious fake smile, but a smile from the heart.
And it was a smile only for Michael.
Michael felt his heart tighten, and he coughed lightly and looked away.
Was there something wrong with this wine? Why did Nora's smile look even better than with a filter?
Aria took a deep breath and clenched her fingers tightly.
She thought she would be the protagonist of this meeting, but unexpectedly, Nora still stole the spotlight.
But it didn't matter. Michael had drunk quite a bit of red wine.
After reaching a preliminary consensus on cooperation, Lyle personally saw Michael out of the club.
Once in the car, Michael rubbed his temples with a headache. He had noticed something was wrong earlier.
Was there something wrong with the wine?
"Nori, Michael is also a bit sensitive to alcohol. Go buy some medicine, we'll wait for you here." Aria took the opportunity to hold Nora back and have her go buy medicine.
Seeing Michael uncomfortable, Nora quickly nodded and ran to the pharmacy to buy medicine.
But when she came out with the medicine, she found that Michael's car had already driven away.