Chapter 135
"Come with me, Mr. Smith is furious." David sighed and motioned for Nora to follow him.
Nora wiped away her tears, trying hard not to give herself away, and followed behind David with her head down.
"What's wrong with you? Why did you run off last night? Got a guilty conscience?" As soon as they entered the hotel, the receptionist from last night spotted Nora and rushed over angrily. "That work ID was fake, wasn't it?"
Nora said nothing, keeping her head down.
David frowned, about to ask what happened, when he saw Michael coming out of the elevator.
The receptionist quickly went up to greet him. "Mr. Smith, did you rest well last night?"
Michael's face was dark, his eyes fixed on Nora the whole time.
Nora didn't dare look up at Michael, standing there somewhat at a loss.
Michael ignored everyone and walked straight up to Nora.
Nora nervously bit her lip and took a step back.
She clenched her fingers in panic.
Under everyone's surprised gazes, Michael reached up and brushed Nora's hair aside.
Nora felt the spot where his fingertips touched her burning hot.
She tried to dodge in alarm, but Michael grabbed her wrist.
"Why are you running?" Michael's voice carried a threatening tone.
Nora's eyes reddened, feeling wronged but not daring to cry.
His gaze fell on the bite mark on the back of Nora's neck. Michael raised an eyebrow and spoke again. "Last night, where did you go?"
Nora kept her head down, her voice hoarse. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't find you, it's all my fault."
Nora was crying in desperation. She didn't dare let Michael know, so she could only lie. "I'm sorry, can you please not fire me?"
Nora tried hard not to cry, but she was scared.
Scared that Michael wouldn't want her anymore.
She really needed Michael right now.
"Why would I fire you?" Michael said quietly, his previously dark expression visibly clearing up.
Not only that, he even seemed a little... relieved?
David was dumbfounded. What had gotten into Michael?
"I couldn't find you last night." Nora was still crying as she explained.
Michael wasn't angry at all. Instead, his voice was gentle. "Alright, go upstairs and get yourself together."
David's mouth fell open. Was he hearing things? Why was Michael speaking so gently to Nora?
Nora nodded and tried to leave.
Michael suddenly grabbed Nora's wrist again. Without caring about anyone watching, he reached up and touched Nora's forehead to check her temperature.
His expression darkened again as Michael looked at Nora's flushed cheeks. "Go upstairs and sleep for a bit. I'll have someone bring breakfast up."
"But..." Nora looked nervously at the time.
"No rush, we'll head over at two in the afternoon. It's only seven-thirty now." Michael explained very patiently.
David touched his own forehead, feeling like he was running a fever too.
Michael had just been set up, and David thought he'd be in a murderous mood right now.
But why was this so weird?
This was even scarier than wanting to kill someone.
"Go buy cold medicine." Michael turned around, his voice ice cold.
David shuddered. There was the familiar Michael.
But why did he speak so coldly to him with that murderous look, yet so gently to Nora? Where was the justice?
The receptionists at the front desk were all scared stiff, nervously looking at each other. So this Nora really was Mr. Smith's assistant?
Then why did their manager tell them to stop her last night?
Nora wiped her tears and walked to the front desk with her head down. "My work ID."
The receptionist was terrified and quickly handed the work ID to Nora. "Sorry."
Nora said nothing and walked into the elevator, swaying a bit.
Her head was so dizzy.
As soon as Nora entered the elevator, Michael's gentle gaze instantly turned ice cold.
David pinched himself. It wasn't his imagination.
"Mr. Smith."
"Why was Nora's work ID at the front desk?" Michael asked in a low voice.
"Ms. Adams, last night..." The receptionist hesitated.
"Sorry Mr. Smith, we mistakenly thought Ms. Adams was..."
"Was what?" Michael frowned, losing patience.
"A prostitute." The receptionist said nervously. "Mr. Smith, it really wasn't our fault. We really didn't know that Ms. Nora Adams was your assistant."
Seeing Michael's cold stare, the two receptionists turned pale with fear, their voices trembling.
"The manager gave us a photo and told us to stop her, saying she might be a prostitute." The receptionist nervously kept her head down.
Michael laughed coldly.
Aria really had some nerve.
Not only did she scheme against him, she even dared to bully his people.
"Investigate. Fire who needs to be fired, sue who needs to be sued, and blacklist across the entire industry who needs to be blacklisted." Michael glanced at David and turned to walk out of the hotel.
"Mr. Smith!" David gasped, knowing that last night's incident had truly crossed Michael's line.
Industry-wide blacklisting meant that the hotel management would not only face unemployment, but also lawsuits and permanent ban from the hotel industry.
"Mr. Smith, your dining area is on the second floor. Where are you going?" David chased after him nervously.
"To buy medicine." Michael looked anxious, as if worried.
"I can go." David still hadn't caught on.
"No need, you handle the hotel matter." Michael pointed at David in warning. "Investigate thoroughly. Anyone who gave Nora a hard time last night, deal with them accordingly."
David couldn't process it for a moment. The CEO of the Smith Group was actually going to buy medicine for his assistant himself?
"Mr. Smith, last time we went on a business trip together, I was sick as a dog, and I didn't see you buying me medicine." David muttered jealously.
"What? Are you my wife?" Michael gave David a disgusted look and quickly left.
David stood there, too shocked to snap out of it for a long time.
If Michael hadn't mentioned it, David would have almost forgotten that Nora wasn't just Michael's assistant, but also his contract wife.
---
The room.
Nora took a hot shower and walked out of the bathroom feeling dizzy, her head spinning badly, barely able to stand.
"Hello, your meal delivery." Outside the door was the hotel staff with the meal bell.
Nora opened the door with weak breathing and saw the service staff wheeling in a lavish breakfast.
"Mr. Smith." Nora was startled. Michael was also outside the door.
Seeing Nora unsteady on her feet, Michael instinctively stepped forward and caught her in his arms.
It was that familiar scent. It was definitely her.
"You can leave." Signaling the staff to go out, Michael picked Nora up and carried her back to the bed.
Nora was so nervous she didn't dare breathe, her heart racing.
"Where did you freeze for half the night?" Michael was a bit angry, not understanding why Nora ran. Would he eat her or something?
She even lied. If he hadn't been smart enough to bite her last night, was she planning to sleep with him and then not take responsibility?
Nora sniffled and hid under the covers, covering herself completely, only her eyes showing.
Because of guilt.
"Take the medicine." Michael scolded while using hot water to prepare the medicine for Nora.
Nora looked at Michael through blurry vision.
Why was he being so nice to her?
"Nora, take the medicine, and let's talk about six years ago..." Michael stirred the cold medicine powder, originally planning to settle the score with Nora, but when he turned around, he found that Nora had already fallen asleep.
She was too tired and too sleepy.