Chapter 90: He Must Be Punished

Ouch! Nope, not dreaming.

Ethan called to apologize, and Eliana's heart raced, but she played it cool.

"That day, I hadn't explained what happened yet, and you were already mad at me, Mr. Wilkinson. I figured you were drunk, but I still threw tea at you, so let's call it even."

She had favors to ask, and since he was offering her a way out, she had to play along.

His voice sounded lighter on the other end. "What'd you need when you came to me? Something about your friend?"

"Yeah, it's about a good friend of mine..." Eliana explained the situation briefly.

Then Ethan promised to look into it right away and get back to her.

"Alright, thanks a lot, Mr. Wilkinson."

"Wait for my call."

After hanging up, Eliana quickly drank some water to calm her nerves.

She had to be calm. She didn't want Mr. Wilkinson finding some bogus reason to come after her later.

Eliana didn't have to wait long before the CEO called back.

"I've sorted things out. The venue was indeed leased to your friend. I've instructed the mall staff to contact you and make arrangements for your fashion show as scheduled," his voice was serious.

Eliana felt a sense of justice served. "Thank you so much, Mr. Wilkinson. From now on, you'll be the epitome of fairness and reason in my heart."

"Are you saying I wasn't before?" His voice was serious, without any hint of anger.

"I didn't mean that... You've always been so impressive to me." With his unpredictable temper, he was someone she couldn't mess with.

Eliana thought the conversation would end there, but he unexpectedly added, "No work, no pay. I've done something good, so Miss Griffith, what do you plan to give me in return?"

A reward? She hadn't thought about that.

Lyn had already paid him to rent the venue; it's not like she was asking for his services for free.

Hadn't he made enough profit already?

But Eliana didn't dare to speak rashly. She couldn't afford to offend him; otherwise, everything would go down the drain.

"I've already treated Mr. Wilkinson to a meal. I'm not sure what else would be appropriate?" Eliana asked back.

"I've heard that the autumn scenery in LA is breathtaking. I've always wanted to see it with my own eyes," the man's voice was deep, devoid of emotion.

The implication was clear.

"Alright, no problem."

This time, Eliana hung up as she wished. When she stepped out, she saw Lyn on the phone.

After Lyn hung up, she jumped up from the sofa, excitedly hugging Eliana. "The mall manager just called and said I can rent the venue as scheduled! That's great!"

Eliana marveled at Mr. Wilkinson's efficiency in handling things. She smiled and explained what had just happened.

"It seems that Mr. Wilkinson isn't such a bad guy after all. He still has a conscience," Lyn said, relieved. With everything resolved, she felt much better.

Austin came back from the balcony, seeing that things were almost settled. It was his turn next.

"Eliana, let me show you a photo."

He opened his phone and showed Chase's tall figure standing in line. His lean and sturdy figure stood out in the crowd, and upon closer inspection, Eliana recognized that Chase was queuing at a famous roast chicken shop in the city?

Why would he go to such a place at this hour?

Could it be...

Seeing Eliana's expression soften, Austin seized the opportunity, "I told him you wanted roast chicken from that store, so he went to buy it to appease you. He's so considerate, don't you think he cares a lot about you?"

Eliana's heart warmed up...

"Hurry up and call him back. It's so crowded at this time, you shouldn't let him go. Who knows how long he'll have to wait?"

Austin put away his phone, serious. "Don't feel sorry for him. He made you angry, so he must be punished."

"But it's not necessary..." Eliana didn't think it was a big deal. After all, she had started the whole thing.

How could she just blame Chase?

Seeing Eliana genuinely worried, Austin thought the two of them were a done deal.

He smiled, "Eliana, you've seen him punished, so you should feel relieved. When he comes back later, can you... not make things difficult for him anymore?"

Eliana thought his words made sense and nodded, "Alright then."

"It's a deal. I'll call him on the balcony and tell him to buy a few more, and we can have a drink tonight?" Austin suggested.

"Drink again?" Eliana was fed up. If she got drunk and did something to that guy again, it would be a disaster.

"Okay, you guys go ahead. I'll stick to juice."

"Sure, suit yourself."

Eliana nodded and went into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for them to eat later.

Austin sat on the sofa checking messages, while Lyn had been watching him closely for a while, feeling that this man was too frivolous.

"Wow, you're quite the smooth talker. Do you often help Chase with these things? Or maybe you're always deceiving girls like this?" Lyn couldn't help but speak up.

Austin's temper flared instantly at being spoken to like this. Deceiving? That's called speaking from the heart!

He turned to the round-faced girl in front of him, who still had short hair, making her look like she hadn't graduated from high school.

"Miss, why do you think of me like that? I'm just matchmaking for them. Do you want to see them quarrel?" Austin retorted.

"That's their business. You're just an outsider meddling." Lyn was a little angry, thinking that Lena was so smart; she could handle her relationship issues on her own.

It would be bad if she was deceived by those cunning men.

Austin was taken aback, leaning closer to Lyn. "Were you deceived by men before, so you're afraid of men?"

"I..."

"You seem to have been fooled by many men before. Be smarter in the future. If you have any problems, you can ask me. I can give you some advice."

Lyn turned her head away disdainfully, "Who cares! And don't get too close to me!"

Just as the two of them were arguing, the doorbell rang.

Eliana heard the sound and hurried out of the kitchen to open the door.

Standing at the door was indeed a familiar face. Jeremy had arrived.