Chapter 197 Guiding Her Hand All the Way Down
Cordelia also sensed everyone's mood.
She knew that if Alaric got angry today, Harry would most likely cancel the bar outing to avoid offending him.
People in the entertainment industry are all perceptive.
She had specifically organized this gathering today and had also told Herschel about it.
Besides, Harry had a busy schedule. If he didn't go this time, there might not be another chance.
Cordelia wasn't very good at handling this kind of situation.
Seeing that no one was answering, she immediately looked at Alaric and spoke up.
"Hannah's right, let's go."
Alaric stared at her with deep eyes, as if trying to determine if she really meant what she said.
Cordelia pressed her lips together and met his gaze calmly.
After a few seconds, Alaric looked away and said in a low voice, "Let's go."
With his approval, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
After leaving the hotel, Cordelia got into Alaric's car.
Hannah got into Harry's car instead—she no longer had the courage to ride in the same car as Alaric.
Watching Cordelia follow Alaric, Harry couldn't help but ask quietly.
"Hannah, what's the relationship between Cordelia and Mr. Hughes?"
After making sure Alaric couldn't hear her, Hannah said very quietly.
"Ex-husband and ex-wife."
Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise. Good thing he wasn't interested in Cordelia, otherwise his career might have come to an end.
Alaric walked to the car and opened the passenger door.
Cordelia bent down to get in, not forgetting to tell Hannah, "I sent you the address."
Hannah nodded. "Don't worry, I can find it."
Cordelia responded softly, and Alaric closed the door.
After he got into the driver's seat and saw that Cordelia hadn't fastened her seatbelt yet, he leaned over, pulled down the seatbelt, and fastened it for her.
The action only took two or three seconds.
But Cordelia's heartbeat suddenly stopped for a moment when he leaned close, then started racing.
Alaric started the car and asked, seemingly casually.
"Seems like you really like Herschel."
Cordelia didn't like socializing, so when many people mentioned the Stone family's daughter, they only thought of Evelyn.
Now she was actually organizing gatherings to bring business to Herschel.
She realized Alaric had misunderstood her relationship with Herschel and instinctively wanted to explain.
Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang.
Cordelia glanced at it—it was a call from Herschel.
She answered it right away.
"Mr. Trevino."
Hearing her gentle voice, Alaric's grip on the steering wheel tightened, and his expression darkened instantly.
"We're already on our way."
"Please make arrangements for us. There's Harry and a few of his friends, plus my colleague. Security must be tight—after all, with Harry there, people might post on social media, and then a lot of his fans will probably show up."
Alaric noticed that Cordelia mentioned Harry and his friends, and even Hannah, but not him. His expression, which had just calmed down, turned cold again.
Cordelia talked with Herschel for quite a while before ending the call.
After all, Harry had such a large fan base that without proper security, something might go wrong tonight.
Cordelia just wanted to bring business to Herschel, not cause any accidents.
Before her call with Herschel ended, Alaric's phone started vibrating.
Seeing it was a call from Janet, Alaric's eyes grew even colder, and there was even a hint of irritation.
He glanced sideways at Cordelia and saw she was still on the phone with Herschel.
With a cold expression, he swiped to answer and even put it on speaker, his actions filled with a sense of spite.
"Alaric, save me."
"I've been—"
Before Alaric could say anything, Janet's voice came through asking for help, then the call was cut off.
Cordelia's hand holding her phone paused.
Herschel on the other end also heard the commotion from Cordelia's side.
"Cordelia, what happened over there?"
Cordelia's mind was full of Janet's voice just now, and she didn't hear Herschel's words.
Alaric frowned tightly and immediately picked up his phone.
Robert's call came through as well.
"Mr. Hughes, Mark just called saying he's kidnapped Ms. Martin and wants you to come over. If you don't go, he'll jump off the building with Ms. Martin."
Hearing this, Alaric's eyes darkened sharply.
"I'll be right there."
Mark was the former president of the Hughes Group's private bank.
Alaric had found out that he used his position for personal gain and even embezzled public funds, so he fired him.
Mark had been working at the Hughes Group since Alaric's father was still alive—he was a longtime employee.
Considering that Mark had worked for his father for many years, he didn't pursue legal action.
He never expected Mark to become desperate.
Janet was innocently caught up in this, so naturally he had to handle it.
"I'll be right there."
He hung up after saying that.
Cordelia also put down her phone, her tone calm. "Just drop me off by the roadside. I'll take a cab."
As soon as she finished speaking, Alaric pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Cordelia opened the door and got out. Just as she closed the door, Alaric stepped on the gas and drove off.
Watching the car disappear from view in less than a minute, Cordelia felt slightly conflicted.
Sure enough, he still cared a lot about Janet.
After all, she was his first love.
Cordelia waited by the roadside for a few minutes before getting a cab to the bar.
Since Harry was a celebrity and couldn't stay at the bar entrance too long for fear of causing a commotion, Herschel took everyone inside first to get settled.
Hannah waited at the entrance for Cordelia.
When she saw Cordelia get out of the taxi, Hannah walked up to her.
"Where's Mr. Hughes?"
Cordelia answered quietly, "He went to save Janet."
Her tone was very calm as she walked toward the bar's interior elevator.
Hannah paused, then cursed under her breath, "That Janet really knows how to stir things up."
Cordelia didn't respond.
Hannah followed her into the elevator, reaching out to link arms with Cordelia. "It's actually better that Mr. Hughes left—at least the handsome guys can relax now."
Alaric's presence was too overwhelming. During dinner earlier, he had already scared these young men.
Hannah saw it all and felt bad for them.
Cordelia looked at Hannah, whose lustful nature was fully exposed, and smiled.
"Control yourself, you're practically drooling."
Without Alaric there, Harry and the others had a great time.
As Cordelia expected, with Harry there, people naturally posted on social media.
So by midnight, the bar was packed.
Many people asked Herschel for tables, keeping him extremely busy.
Cordelia had a few drinks, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Hannah had a better alcohol tolerance than Cordelia and drank more.
She directly asked Herschel to call the bar's male dancers to their table to perform.
Already somewhat drunk, Hannah's true nature emerged. She reached out to touch the dancer's muscles, moving her hand upward.
Not content with touching him herself, she grabbed Cordelia's hand and placed it on the dancer's chest.
Just as Cordelia was about to pull her hand back, the dancing man grabbed her wrist and guided her hand downward.
His movements were provocative, and he looked at Cordelia seductively.
Cordelia pulled her hand back without any improper thoughts.
The first thing that came to her mind was that the feel was okay, but not as nice as Alaric's.
She still preferred the feel of Alaric's muscles.
Julian stood in the top VIP room upstairs, took out his phone to capture this scene, and sent it to their six-person friend group chat.