Chapter 02 Mr. Harper, Will You Come or Not?

Mr. Clerk didn't expect her to really not pay, so he hurriedly called after her. "Rachel, hold on! I've figured it out. You purposely came here to cheat me out of a free meal. Everyone knows that blind dates are supposed to be split evenly, and you not paying, what is this? Taking advantage of me? Am I that naïve? My aunt even told me that you work at a big company and is both stylish and capable. Turns out you're just one of those women outside, always trying to squeeze money out of men! So, tell me, how many victims have you cheated before me? Yvonne dodged to the side, and the piece hit a glass vase, resulting in a crisp cracking sound. "Dad, sister spoke carelessly. It's your birthday today, please don't let it affect your health!" Grace hurriedly went to rub George's arm.

Mary wanted to get angry, but with Elijah present, she restrained herself and said, "Yvonne, can't you be a little more considerate on your dad's birthday? As his daughter, don't you feel guilty?"

"Sorry, I really don't feel guilty. After all, I came for Mr. Brooks's birthday and even brought a gift. Whether he appreciates it or not, that's up to him." Yvonne smiled casually and gave Elijah a meaningful glance before leaving.

Elijah was playing with a few chess pieces and showed no sign of emotion.

On the way back to her rented house, Yvonne's thoughts about winning Elijah over grew stronger.

When she was seven, her birth mother left her and went abroad, while Mary brought in little Grace, who was three months younger than her.

Since then, her good days completely came to an end.

With Grace's arrival, Yvonne had to quit her piano and painting lessons. She attended public schools throughout elementary, middle, and high school, while Grace went to Winslow's most expensive private school from elementary to high school.

Her bedroom, which used to be the spacious and sunlit one on the second floor, was taken away by Grace the day after she arrived in the Brooks family.

Luckily, she worked hard and managed to get into Seattle University through her own efforts during the college entrance examination year, while Grace ended up at a community college in Winslow.

After graduation, she had planned to stay in Seattle, but she was forced by George to come back to Winslow and join the Brooks Group. Later, Grace joined the Brooks Group as well and became her immediate superior.

She was George's biological daughter, so why did she always have to be suppressed by Grace?

She had pondered this question for many years but could never figure it out.

Now she was too lazy to think about it anymore. She only knew that Grace liked Elijah. If she sleeps with Elijah, it will definitely disgust Grace.

Aren't Grace and Elijah getting engaged next month? She really wanted to know if their engagement ceremony would still take place once she slept with Elijah.

Yvonne had arranged a date with Elijah in front of Grace, but her chances of sleeping with him tonight were slim.

Not being able to sleep with him didn't matter. What mattered was how to drive Grace to desperation.

Back at the rented house, Yvonne took a hot shower and searched through her wardrobe but couldn't find any satisfying clothes.

Either the neckline was not wide enough or the skirts were not short enough.

Yvonne went through her wardrobe again and stared at a knee-length black coat for a while. Suddenly, a bold idea emerged!

She put on a red bra and underwear and draped the coat over herself without buttoning a single button. She only tied the belt into a knot.

Yvonne's skin was radiant and fair. The clash between the black coat and the faint crimson peeking through her chest created a decadently splendid feeling, and her long white legs looked pure and enticing.

She believed that most men in the world would be attracted to her current style. Even if Elijah didn't like it, he wouldn't dislike it either.

Before leaving, Yvonne checked her makeup in the mirror again. She felt her lipstick wasn't vibrant enough, so she found that outrageously expensive "Vixen Red" in her makeup bag and applied it on her lips to feel satisfied.

At seven fifty, Yvonne walked into room 2222 of the Winslow International Hotel.

After closing the door, she sent a text message to Elijah: [Mr. Harper, are you coming?]

She waited for more than ten minutes, but Elijah didn't respond.

She tried adding him on WhatsApp and sent three friend requests, but he didn't accept any of them.

Yvonne looked at the ticking clock on the wall and thought that this precious time shouldn't be wasted.

She dialed Elijah's number, but there was no answer.

Yvonne was not an easily discouraged person. She took a selfie with her phone camera and sent it to Elijah via MMS.

In the photo, Yvonne was lightly biting her red lips, and her eyes were filled with enchantment and allure.

Seeing no response from Elijah, she sent another text message: [I've even prepared the bathwater for you...]

She intentionally used suggestive ellipsis, but after half an hour passed, it felt like Elijah had evaporated into thin air.

It was impossible for him not to check his phone for such a long time. She could only think of two possibilities; either Elijah was pretending to be aloof or he was gay!

If he was still a man, he would be moved, even if just a little bit.

At that moment, the lock on the door rattled, and the door was pushed open from outside.

Yvonne thought Elijah had arrived!

She quickly sat on the bed, assuming what she believed was a seductive posture.

However, the person who walked in was not Elijah, but two female service staff wearing uniforms.

"Sorry to disturb you, miss. The front desk received a complaint from a gentleman, saying that there was solicitation happening in the room."

Yvonne quickly pulled her windbreaker to cover herself. "Solicitation? What do you mean?"

"That gentleman said there was someone engaged in explicit live streaming." The service staff spoke while giving Yvonne a contemptuous look.

"Do you have the wrong room?" Yvonne jumped off the bed and exclaimed, "Get out quickly, or I'll report you!"

"The room is 2222, and the complainant used their real name. His surname is Harper..." She was about to say more, but the woman next to her nudged her with her elbow, silencing her immediately.

Harper?!

Yvonne suddenly realized that Elijah had played a trick on her.

If he didn't come, that would have been fine, but now he accused her of engaging in explicit live streaming!

She would remember this.

Yvonne's mind worked quickly, and she smiled as she handed a banknote to each of the two staff members.

"My boyfriend loves cosplay. He just said on the phone that he wanted to give me a surprise. Please leave us alone for a while. What a surprise! I didn't expect it to be so exciting! Thank you both for your cooperation in the performance, here is your acting fee."

The two waiters looked at each other, unsure whether to accept or decline the money.

"Look at the room carefully, there isn't even a phone stand in the room. How am I supposed to live stream even if I wanted to?" Yvonne deliberately frowned.

"Young people these days really know how to have fun." The waiter tactfully tugged at her colleague's clothes, and the two of them left.

Yvonne forcefully closed the door and started typing a message on her phone to send to Elijah. "You son of a bitch."

But then she thought, if Elijah reported her for doing erotic live streams just to prank her, wouldn't she be falling right into his trap if she appeared angry and frustrated?

She deleted those words and typed another sentence: "Baby, if you don't come, how can my live stream continue?"

There was still no response, no ripples.

Yvonne glanced at the clock on the wall, it was already 11 o'clock.

Today, from Elijah's law firm to the Brooks family, and then to the hotel, everything had been going wrong. Yvonne was filled with anger.

Even if Elijah came over, she wouldn't attend to him!

When she went to the front desk to check out, she was charged one hundred dollars for not being able to return Elijah's room key on time.

Including the room fee and the two hundred dollars she had given to the service staff, she lost five hundred dollars in one night!

Money was everything to Yvonne. No one dared to mess with her life. She wouldn't let it slide.

In the underground parking lot, Yvonne saw Grace's car.

Grace's car wouldn't be here for no reason. Could it be that Elijah also came to the hotel?

Yvonne became even more intrigued and dialed Elijah's number.

Soon after, she heard a ringtone nearby.

Elijah was standing diagonally across from her!

The dim light in the basement reflected on the man, giving him an aura of purity and aloofness that was untouched by dust.

Elijah stared at Yvonne, his eyes seemingly calm but holding some indescribable feelings.

Yvonne casually walked over, smoking a cigarette. "Mr. Harper, you're late. I've already checked out of the room."

"Did I say I came to find Miss Brooks?" Elijah smiled faintly, leaning against a black car.

"Mr. Harper likes to deceive himself, but I can't do anything about it." Fortunately, Yvonne wasn't afraid of awkward situations, otherwise she might not know how to respond to him.

Yvonne was less than a meter away from Elijah, wearing a heavy yet delicate makeup. The black windbreaker complemented her porcelain-like fair skin that seemed to radiate light, immediately capturing his gaze.

Yvonne raised her arm to take a puff of smoke, revealing a hint of a red strapless top beneath the low-cut neckline, looking even more enchanting and captivating.

Elijah wasn't a lustful person, but the woman in front of him made it hard for him to breathe.

And at that moment, Yvonne took another step closer, and the white smoke ring entered his lungs with every breath.

His eyes flickered with a touch of crimson, and his Adam's apple tightened.

Yvonne didn't notice his change in expression at all and reached out to him, saying, "Give me back the room key."

Elijah forcefully pulled Yvonne toward him, pressing her against the car body!

Yvonne was thinking about the one hundred dollars charged by the hotel. She flicked away her cigarette butt and reached into his jacket pocket, only to find it empty.

She tried searching the other pocket as well, but she found nothing.

"Where's the room key?"

Yvonne looked up at Elijah and realized their faces were less than three centimeters apart.

To her surprise, the usually aloof lawyer Elijah had a burning gaze in his eyes!

Yvonne wasn't foolish. She immediately smiled and hooked her arm around Elijah's neck. "Do you regret not coming to find me?"

"Where did you see any regret in me?" Elijah's low and sultry voice was incredibly tempting, but his entire demeanor remained unusually calm, halting any further intimate interaction.

Yvonne could clearly feel the man's arm around her waist growing tighter.

Though his gaze had stripped her naked, he insisted on pretending to be calm and cold!

Yvonne boldly held Elijah's face with both hands. She was about to tiptoe when Grace's angry voice came from behind.

"Yvonne, you're once again seducing Elijah!"

Yvonne's heart suddenly sank, and Elijah, unsatisfied, let go of her.

Yvonne smiled brightly, gently patting Elijah's face. "Mr. Harper, until next time."

"Until next time, Miss Brooks." Elijah smiled deeply and watched Yvonne get into the car before averting his gaze.