Chapter 156

Chapter 156

"How did you know that?"

David's answer caught Mia completely off guard.

Mia licked her dry lips and said coldly, "Are you actually admitting you're not human?"

David nodded with a straight face. "I am."

Mia was totally thrown off. She stood there with her mouth half open for a long moment, unable to say a single word.

Seeing this, David smiled and asked, "Why so quiet?"

Mia clenched her fists and snapped, "You've got some nerve. I..."

David slowly stood up, grabbed Mia by the wrist, pushed her down onto the sofa, then walked over and picked up a cup of coffee, setting it in front of her. "Ms. Wilson, have some coffee first, then take all the time you need to yell at me."

The moment Mia saw the coffee sitting in front of her, something in her snapped.

This time she didn't keep cursing at David. Instead, she did something even she couldn't quite explain. Right there under David's gaze, Mia got up, walked to the middle of the living room, threw herself on the floor, and wailed at the top of her lungs, "This isn't fair! God, please, you have to judge this for me! Why?! What did the Wilson family ever do to deserve this?!"

David's jaw dropped. Laser nearly doubled over laughing beside him.

After about three to five minutes, David finally pulled himself together. He sat back on the sofa with a helpless smile and said, "Alright, alright, stop crying. All this over a piece of land in the South District lowlands? Is it really worth all this?"

That stopped Mia cold.

She looked up, lips pouting, wiped the tears from the corner of her eye, and stared at David with watery eyes. "So... does that mean you're willing to give me some?"

David shot back without missing a beat, "Give?"

Mia quickly corrected herself, her voice small and aggrieved. "Not give — sell. Would you be willing to sell a portion of that land to the Wilson family? Don't worry, I'll make sure the price is fair."

David gave a satisfied nod. "If that's all you wanted, you could've just said so from the start. Why come in here cursing at me, and then throw yourself on the floor like that? The security cameras caught the whole thing, by the way. Pull something like that again and I'm posting it online."

Mia scrambled up off the floor. As long as David was willing to sell them some land, she didn't care if the whole world saw that video.

"Fine, whatever. As long as you're willing to sell me some land, you can do whatever you want."

A sly smile crossed David's face. "Really? Anything I want?"

Mia didn't hesitate. "Of course. And stop looking at me like that — if that's what you're after, I can go take a shower right now."

The truth was, Mia had been thinking about taking David from Elizabeth for a while now. She'd dropped hints plenty of times, but David had never responded. Then today at the restaurant, something had shifted between them. That kiss had put her mind at ease.

It proved he did have feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he have kissed her?

The thought made her flush all the way down to her neck.

David knew what Mia was like — she came across as carefree and bold, but underneath she was actually pretty innocent. He smiled and waved his hand, gesturing for her to sit down across from him.

Once she settled onto the sofa, David asked seriously, "Alright, tell me. After all that, how much land are you actually looking to buy?"

Mia thought it over. She knew land in the South District lowlands was worth a fortune now. Buying too much at current prices would kill their cash flow. And even if they could afford it, the Wilson family didn't have the resources to develop a large plot anyway.

"Five acres. The Wilson family only needs five acres." She held up two fingers.

David smiled and teased, "And the price? How much per acre?"

Mia bit her lip, was quiet for a moment, then said carefully, "$200,000."

The words had barely left her mouth before she started to backpedal. "I know $200,000 isn't exactly top market rate, but..."

Before she could finish, David cut her off. "Forget the five acres," he said, each word deliberate. "And forget $200,000. I'll give you 25 acres for free."

He turned to Laser. "Laser, draw up a contract. Transfer 25 acres of my South District lowlands holdings to Ms. Wilson. No charge."

Laser grinned. "On it, boss."

After Laser left, Mia sat there with her mouth open, her mind completely blank.

She thought back to the rage she'd walked in with, the way she'd screamed at David, the way she'd thrown herself on the floor — and she could feel her temples throbbing.

"Why? Mr. Jones, are you serious? You're really just going to give me 25 acres?" she asked, stunned.

David nodded, unbothered. "It's just 25 acres. Why are you so surprised?"

Mia's eyes went wide. "God, do you have any idea what 25 acres means right now? The Cole Group's 7.7 square miles — that's prime South District land. Each acre is worth around $2.5 million right now. Twenty-five acres is at least $60 million, and that's just the land itself, not counting development. Once it's developed, the returns would be way beyond that."

David got straight to the point. "First, I'll admit that back when the Cole Group was selling shares, my actions influenced your decision not to buy in. Second, you're a good person — a little clueless, but in an endearing way. So consider these 25 acres a gift for putting up with me all this time."

Mia pressed her lips together. To hide just how excited she was, she picked up her coffee and took a slow sip.

She kept stealing glances at David from the corner of her eye. Once she was sure his attention wasn't fully on her, she ventured, "So... you don't have any other conditions?"

David turned the question back on her. "What kind of conditions were you hoping I'd ask for?"