Chapter 76 Clients
"It's fine." Aria smiled, her hand unconsciously moving to her belly, her eyes glowing with maternal warmth. "I'm still in my early months, I'm not that tired. In a few more months, even if you wanted me to work hard, I wouldn't be able to."
After chatting for a while, she hung up the phone. Aria sat in the rattan chair a bit longer, slowly closing her eyes.
The night breeze was gentle, and the flowers in the garden were in full bloom, carrying waves of sweet fragrance.
Suddenly, a thin blanket was draped over her. Aria opened her eyes to see Arthur standing by the rattan chair, smiling at her.
She touched her belly.
Four months now. In a little while, her stomach would swell up like a balloon, impossible to hide.
When that time came, she had to leave.
But before then, she wanted to secure more orders for the studio, to give the child more security.
She got up and went back inside.
Monday morning, after finishing her work and grabbing a quick bite, Aria left with Lucy.
Lucy drove while Aria reviewed the materials they'd been sent.The company information was complete—legal representative, address, past projects. Nothing seemed off.
"Aria, something's not right about this place we're meeting at." Lucy stared at the GPS, her expression darkening. "This district isn't even on my phone's regular map app. I had to switch to a different one to get directions."
Aria looked up and glanced out the window.
After leaving the main city area, trees became scarce, buildings grew denser, and homeless people started appearing on the streets.
Further on, the streets became run-down, with trash lining both sides of the road. Homeless tents lined up in a long row along the street. As they passed through one intersection, Lucy was waiting at a red light.
A sharp siren suddenly blared from behind them, followed by a heavy impact on their rear bumper that shoved the car past the stop line.
Lucy jumped in fright. Before she could react, she saw the police car that had hit them roll down its window. A thick arm extended out and gave them the middle finger.
"Hey, they—they—" Lucy was both scared and angry, barely able to speak. After a long pause, she said, "Aria, what kind of place is this? Maybe we should call the client and meet somewhere else."
Aria was also shaken. She slowly exhaled, lifted her wrist to check the time, and said, "We're almost out of time. Where could we change to now?"
"Let's just go see first."
The car wound through narrow alleys and stopped in front of an old mixed-use building.
Aria hadn't expected the agreed-upon restaurant to be a fast-food joint. The storefront was small, with faded menus stuck to the glass door.
Lucy's face changed. "How could it be a place like this? Did I get it wrong?"
Aria also felt something was off, but still opened the car door. "We're already here. Let's go in and ask."
Pushing open the door, a heavy smell of smoke and alcohol hit them in the face. Lucy was somewhat okay, but Aria was nearly sick on the spot.
The restaurant was dimly lit inside. A few scattered customers were smoking, drinking, and talking loudly.
Aria frowned and scanned the room. She didn't see anyone who looked like a client.
"Excuse me, are you Ms. Hall?"
A man in a short-sleeved shirt came out from inside, asking with a smile.
"That's me."
"Please, please, come in." The man eagerly led the way. "Our boss is waiting for you in a private room."
Aria didn't move. "Private rooms are too stuffy. Let's talk in the main dining area."
The man came over directly to grab her hand, but Aria dodged. The man didn't get angry and kept smiling.
"Ms. Hall, you don't understand how business works, do you? Who conducts business in the main dining area? It's too noisy. Don't worry, the private room is very clean. Our boss is a legitimate businessman."
Lucy quietly tugged at Aria's sleeve. Aria understood and said, "Let me make a phone call first."
She took out her phone and dialed the contact number the other party had left. A sharp ringtone came from the nearby private room, and someone answered.
A loud voice with a Texas accent exploded from both the phone and the private room.
"Ms. Hall, you're here, right? I sent someone to meet you. Come on in!" The voice on the phone was cheerful, the kind of laugh that did sound like a wealthy person's.
Aria hung up and said to Lucy, "You go back to the car. I'll go in by myself. If anything happens, I'll text you."
"Aria!" Lucy was getting anxious.
"It's fine, I'll just take a look." Aria grabbed her handbag, which contained a small handgun. She clutched the bag tightly and followed the man toward the private room.
The private room door opened to what could only be described as a fog of smoke, with the choking smell assaulting her nose.
Around a round table sat four or five men, fat and thin, old and young.
Several opened bottles of champagne and whiskey sat on the table, with cigarette butts scattered all over the floor.
The man in the main seat was about forty years old, with his hair in small braids and a gold chain as thick as a finger around his neck.
At current gold prices, you could tell this was indeed a very wealthy man, but his demeanor was exactly like a thug.
Seeing Aria, his eyes lit up, and he patted the chair beside him.
"Ms. Hall is here? Sit, sit, sit. Don't be shy."
Aria glanced at the chair and slowly sat down.
She got straight to the point. "I understand your company's requirements. I have some design drafts and proposals here. You can take a look, and we can discuss any issues."
She took out her tablet from her bag and opened it.
The gold-chain man laughed. "Ms. Hall is in a hurry, huh? Come on, have a drink first. There's no rush for business."
A young man beside him immediately stood up, poured a glass of lower-proof champagne, and brought it to Aria.
"Ms. Hall, please."
"Sorry, I don't drink." Aria pushed the glass away. "If your company doesn't have specific intentions to cooperate, I think I won't waste everyone's time."
She turned to leave.
"Hey, don't go." The gold-chain man stood up and came around to block her path. "Ms. Hall, that's not very nice. We invited you all this way, and you won't even have one drink before leaving?"
He leaned closer, alcohol breath washing over her. "What, you think our place isn't classy enough?"
Aria backed away.
"Please move aside."
"What if I don't?" The gold-chain man grinned. "Ms. Hall, let's have a good chat. Your studio—I've heard about it. You're doing well. As long as you drink with us and make us happy, all those exhibition contracts for the second half of the year will be yours."
The other men joined in. "Yeah, yeah, Ms. Hall, do us the honor!"
Aria said nothing, reaching into her bag, but then thought it hadn't come to that yet. As she hesitated, the door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.