Chapter 139
"Mr. Smith." Outside the hotel, Isaac drove over to pick them up.
Aria stood by the car, looking nervously at Michael.
Michael didn't even glance at Aria. He took the laptop from Nora's hands and opened the car door for her. "Get in."
Nora was surprised by this attention. She knew Michael was doing this on purpose, using her as a shield.
But this was exactly where her value lay.
"Michael, can we talk?" Aria's voice was choked with tears. "Last night, you had too much to drink. I was just taking care of you. Michael, please, won't you believe me?"
Michael signaled David to close the car door.
"Ms. Clark, how about we talk about this after the Shadow City project is finished?" David coaxed softly.
Aria stood there with red-rimmed eyes, watching helplessly as Michael closed the car door.
"Ms. Clark." Isaac opened the passenger door, letting her get in.
Aria reluctantly got into the passenger seat.
"Are you thirsty? You should drink more water when you have a cold." In the car, Michael was so gentle with Nora.
David sat to the side, his legs trembling.
Michael was being way too obvious. He was clearly putting on a show for Aria.
Last night, Aria had crossed Michael's line again.
But there was nothing to be done. David didn't dare tell Michael that the news about him and Aria entering and leaving the same hotel suite had spread online and was now trending at number one.
This marriage alliance between the Clark family and the Smith family was now inevitable.
Even if Michael wasn't happy about it, there was no way around it.
For the sake of both families' dignity and reputation, Michael had no choice but to go through with the engagement.
Sighing, David looked out the car window, afraid that Aria had gone too far.
Michael hated being manipulated and used more than anything, and Aria was being way too obvious.
How could the paparazzi at the hotel just happen to catch them? Someone must have arranged it in advance.
"Are you hungry? You didn't eat at lunch, and the dinner party might not be comfortable either." Michael, ignoring everyone else, gave Nora a piece of chocolate.
Nora looked at Michael in surprise. "Where did you get that from?"
She hadn't seen Michael bring any chocolate.
"Magic," Michael said with a raised eyebrow.
Nora blushed and looked away, staring out the car window.
Michael's face was just too handsome.
Even such a casual joke was so charming.
Taking a nervous deep breath, Nora didn't dare look back at Michael.
Aria sat in the passenger seat, her face dark.
Michael was deliberately trying to upset her.
Upset that she had schemed against him.
So what?
He still had to marry her.
Thinking of Nora, she gritted her teeth. Aria wished Nora would just die.
She had to find a way to make Nora disappear completely.
Not just disappear, she wanted to ruin Nora's reputation again, drive her out of Emerald City, and make sure she never came back.
She had to make Michael feel disgusted at the sight of Nora.
"Mr. Smith, would you like to review the project proposal again?" David carefully handed the proposal to Michael.
Michael took it with one hand, while his other hand secretly held Nora's, forcefully prying her fingers open.
When she was nervous, she liked to clench her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms.
Michael seemed to see through these self-harming habits of hers.
Where no one could see, Michael kept holding Nora's hand, preventing her from hurting herself further.
Nora stared out the car window with stiff breathing, her ears burning red.
Michael shouldn't keep giving her false hope.
Or maybe he was this attentive and caring with every woman.
Nora, you need to stay clear-headed. This is Michael we're talking about.
"Mr. Smith, our people at the venue say Luna and James arrived early. They look confident, like they've got this in the bag," David said quietly.
Michael completely ignored David.
Confident? With James's abilities?
The car stopped in the parking lot.
David got out to open the door for Michael.
Michael got out but kept waiting for Nora to get out.
He even helped shield her head, worried she might bump it.
David cleared his throat softly. Seeing Aria standing with Isaac with red-rimmed eyes, he spoke quietly. "Mr. Smith, that's probably enough. Ms. Clark is crying."
Michael glanced at David. What did that have to do with him?
"Besides, with all these reporters and media watching, aren't you putting Nora in a bad position?" David was worried about Nora.
Michael thought for a moment and decided David had a point, so he walked straight toward the venue.
David breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Nora aside. "Mr. Smith is only doing this to show Ms. Clark. Don't read too much into it. Our Mr. Smith may be handsome, but you can't get any other ideas. Getting emotionally involved would be very troublesome, and you'd be the one who gets hurt in the end."
David was just reminding Nora that they only had a working relationship, and she shouldn't get confused and cause trouble later.
Nora bit her lip, her nose tingling as she nodded. "I know. I'll remember my place."
David breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Nora with approval. "I think highly of you, and Mr. Smith appreciates you too. Even if the contract ends early, Mr. Smith will probably keep you at the Smith Group. Your good days are ahead. Work hard, let's cooperate well. As long as we have Mr. Smith, we'll have good days."
Nora lowered her head and nodded hard.
David nodded like an old official. "Come on, let's go into the venue."
This bidding event was organized by Lyle. It wasn't just about the project cooperation. There was also a party.
Before the bidding, business leaders from everywhere would gather together, mainly for networking.
After all, everyone knew in their hearts that this project would definitely go to the Smith Group in the end.
Whenever the Smith Group got involved in a project, it was hard for other companies to compete.
But networking was important to them, so they still had to come.
More people came for Michael.
"Mr. Smith is so young and accomplished. It's great to finally meet you in person." A boss who had never met Michael before came forward to chat.
"Michael, this is Zander."
Someone made the introduction.
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." Michael smiled, clearly in a good mood.
David was shocked. In the past, Michael was so cold he might as well have had "stay away" written on his face. Today he was being welcoming and smiling at everyone.
This was great.
David silently prayed that Michael would keep this up, just keep it up.
If Michael had had this attitude in earlier years, would James and Luna have had any place at the Smith Group?
"Hello, I'm Mr. Smith's assistant. I hope I can get your business card for future business cooperation." Nora smiled and stepped forward, proactively exchanging cards. She had to leave the best impression on Michael.
Zander was pleasantly surprised and happily handed over his card. "Michael, your assistant is excellent. Anyone who can work with you must be talented."
Zander really appreciated Nora and laughed heartily. "Mr. Smith, if you ever hire new people, you can recommend this assistant to me."
"I prefer consistency," Michael said with a smile.
"Good, that's a good principle. That makes us even more confident about working with the Smith Group!" Zander had a straightforward personality and a loud voice, attracting attention from people at the venue.
Everyone looked at Michael in shock. Those who knew Michael knew he was cold and proud, hard to approach. What had gotten into him?
"Nora!" From the crowd, a man walked over with ill intent, calling Nora's name with a smile. "This is incredible. Haven't seen you in years, and now you're Mr. Smith's assistant? Does the Smith Group have such high standards for hiring assistants now? They specifically look for prostitutes?"