Watching Darnell’s triumphant smile, Areli turned her head slightly and ignored him, snorting in response.
She didn’t understand why she felt this way. She had only met Darnell today and had even wanted to chase him away at one point. Yet, seeing him surrounded by beautiful women, Areli felt a pang of discomfort, as if her toy had been taken away. However, her pride wouldn’t allow her to drive those women away.
Darnell noticed Areli turning her head away and ordered a beer, drinking it in large gulps as if drowning her sorrows. A slight smile appeared on his lips.
He chatted briefly with the women around him and bought each of them a cocktail. Then, with an apologetic look, he shrugged at them, saying,
“Sweethearts, I’d love to dance and drink with you all night, but tonight’s not the night.”
He pointed to Areli, whose face slightly darkened. “I’m not free tonight.”
The women burst into laughter almost simultaneously. “What a shame.”
Amidst their laughter, they glanced at Areli’s cold expression and sensibly went off to find other men.
As they left, they slipped Darnell a few notes with their phone numbers, asking him to contact them when he had time.
After they left with their drinks, Darnell waved the notes in front of Areli and grinned,
“Miss Fanshaw, see? Several beauties came hitting on me! Nowadays, appearance doesn’t matter much, but intelligence does.”
“By the way, why do you look so upset? Are you jealous?”
“Did you fall in love with me in just one afternoon? Am I that charming?”
Areli frowned upon his arrogance but felt somewhat relieved seeing him send the women away. It made her feel that Darnell still valued her.
However, hearing his bragging made her flare up again. She raised her eyebrows and retorted,
“Who’s jealous? Who’s in love with you? Besides the glib tongue, what else do you have going for you? You’re just an arrogant scoundrel.”
Then she glanced at the car keys on the table and scoffed, “I didn’t realize you’re quite wealthy. Why would a rich guy pretend to be an assistant?”
Darnell laughed heartily and leaned close to Areli, whispering in her ear, “Those car keys are merely a knockoff, only worth a few bucks.”
“They aren’t worth much but are great for picking up girls. With these car keys, I managed to win sixty beauties’ hearts.”
A knockoff?
Areli was stunned upon hearing this and then became furious. “What a jerk!”
She wanted to strangle this scoundrel.
Darnell widened his eyes as he defended himself. “I never said I owned a car. Can’t I take these toys with me?”
Areli cursed Darnell countless times in her heart, wishing she could expose his true nature to those women.
As she was seething with anger, the bartender pushed two cocktails over.
“Miss Fanshaw, two ‘Old Flames’.”
Before Areli could speak, Darnell picked up one glass and downed it in one gulp. Smacking his lips twice as if unsatisfied, he quickly reached for the other glass and drank it too. Smacking his lips again, he commented,
“Not bad.”
The bartender’s mouth dropped open. “Old Flames” was the bar’s signature drink, costing three hundred eighty dollars each.
“These drinks are meant to be savored slowly. How could you drink them like drinking plain water?”
Seeing Darnell waste such fine drinks and even drink hers, Areli almost went crazy. “What a waste.”
Darnell muttered, “Only good drinks deserve to savor slowly.”
“What? Are you saying these drinks aren’t good?”
Areli was fuming: “If you’re so capable, make me a drink that’s better than ‘Old Flames’, and I’ll do a striptease for you tonight.”
She was driven mad by this arrogant man.
“What? A striptease? Great!”
Areli’s words instantly piqued Darnell’s interest. He asked, “Miss Fanshaw, do I have your word?”
Areli snorted, “Of course.”
She had her plan. “If your drink doesn’t match up to ‘Old Flames’, you’ll go to the sales department tomorrow.”
Darnell laughed heartily, “Sweetheart, you’re going to lose.”
He greeted the bartender and then jumped behind the bar. His eyes scanned the liquor cabinet quickly before selecting a few bottles of spirits and glasses.
Areli frowned. “Can you do it or not? If not, come out quickly before you break something.”
Darnell ignored her taunts and focused on the glass in his hand. His long fingers moved skillfully as he stirred the ice cubes with a silver spoon without making any noise. Then he expertly picked up the spirits he had prepared and poured them slowly and evenly into the glass. When it was two-thirds full, he quickly set up the spoon over the top of the glass.
Rich and smooth cream flowed down the back of the spoon like feathers onto the surface of the drink.
Finally, he skewered a bright red cherry on a cocktail pick and placed it on top of the glass. The red cherry against the amber liquor and white cream created a visual feast that tantalized both sight and taste.
The bartender watched in awe as Darnell pushed the drink towards Areli with a radiant smile.
“Come on, take a sip. See if it’s better than ‘Old Flames’.”
“But before drinking it, you’ll need to take off your watch. Only by tasting this cocktail without any accessories can you truly appreciate its flavor.”
He pointed at Areli’s Patek Philippe watch, which was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Areli snorted, “Nonsense.”
She didn’t want to comply with Darnell’s request but found the cocktail too tempting. She also wanted to taste it, so she could criticize Darnell afterward and use it as an excuse to send him to the sales department.
Thus, Areli took off her watch and handed it to Darnell before holding up the cocktail with both hands and taking a sip.
The cream melted instantly in her mouth, bringing a soothing sensation that calmed her previously agitated mind. She felt more peaceful overall.
This wasn’t the best drink ever, but it certainly suited Areli’s taste.
She asked softly, “What’s this drink called?”
Darnell responded quietly, “Honey, I Love You.”
Areli unconsciously repeated, “Honey, I Love You.”
Darnell replied, “Darling, I love you too.”
Areli shivered slightly before angrily grabbing a box of tissues and throwing it at him, snapping, “Can’t you be serious for once?”
Darnell caught the tissue box and returned to his seat with a smile. “Seeing your frown made me want to joke around. Don’t be mad.”
“Its real name is ‘All Is Well’.”
Areli paused. “Why this name?”
Her eyes softened instantly, and her cold face showed more warmth as she gently sniffed the glass and sighed softly,
“It’s a good name. I like this drink very much. Darnell, you do have some redeeming qualities. It’s quite surprising…”
Darnell scratched his head. “Is that praise or an insult?”
After returning her watch to Areli, he said, “Miss Fanshaw, there’s always a hint of sadness between your brows. If something is bothering you, tell me, so I can make fun of you.”
As soon as he said that, he regretted it. He should have mentioned the striptease instead.
Wearing her watch again, Areli punched Darnell’s shoulder lightly. “You’re such a scoundrel.”
She raised her wrist with the Patek Philippe watch as she stated, “Drinking while wearing this feels no different from drinking without it. You just like being mysterious.”
Darnell, however, spoke slowly, “No, there’s a big difference.”
Areli cunningly retorted, “Your drink is good but not as good as ‘Old Flames’, so no striptease tonight.”
Darnell’s mouth dropped open. “Miss Fanshaw, I can’t believe you’re so shameless!”
“Who’s shameless?”
As they bickered downstairs, several pairs of eyes upstairs gleamed brightly. The one-way floor-to-ceiling glass window on the second floor faced directly toward Areli and Darnell at the bar. Roberto and several subordinates who were also there noticed these familiar figures happily chatting below, their eyes filled with anger.
The scene from that afternoon vividly resurfaced in Roberto’s mind, the kicks from Laurel, and the reprimand from Areli…
A young man with a crew cut whispered, “Mr. Gower, Miss Fanshaw seems to have a good time with that man down there.”
Another bespectacled man echoed, “They must be celebrating signing that deal this afternoon.”
Roberto unbuttoned his collar slightly while glaring at his subordinates. “You guys are idiots.”
“Would Areli come out specifically just to celebrate signing that deal?”
“She’s seen all kinds of deals before. Would someone as proud as her bring a bumpkin along?”
He snorted heavily, “Seeing us embarrass ourselves earlier today made her happy enough to bring that man along for drinks here tonight.”
“And hiring someone useless who only knows how to talk big and fight clearly shows she’s targeting us.”
Several men nodded simultaneously, agreeing wholeheartedly and saying, “That guy must’ve been purposely arranged by Miss Fanshaw.”
Roberto stared at Areli downstairs, his eyes filled with malice, and said coldly, “I’ve worked my way up, risking everything to reach where I am today. I was supposed to be the general manager of Whiteville branch, but Areli suddenly parachuted under Spencer Matson’s order, causing me to lose my chance to make more money.”
“Luckily, I have resources and connections. Otherwise, she definitely makes things difficult for me in the company.”
“I don’t compete with her. Unexpectedly, she’s planning against us!”
“Darnell is the sign she wants to deal with us.”
Hearing these words, the crew-cut man twitched his lips and said anxiously,
“Miss Fanshaw holds power over us and is backed by Spencer. One word from her outweighs a hundred from us. If she decides to target us, we’ll be in big trouble, unable to do anything we want in the future.”
“Mr. Gower, what should we do? We can’t sit there and do nothing. We can earn a million annually, and we can’t lose this job.”
Others shared the sentiment.
“Yes, Mr. Gower, you can’t let her walk all over us. You better report our situation to Spencer.”
Over these years, they had used their position to make money, fearing serious investigation from Areli would leave them to face severe consequences…
Roberto showed slight annoyance.
“I already suggested several times, but he never listened to me. I even asked the board to help persuade him, telling him how the employees in Whiteville branch dislike her and what kind of trouble she will cause, yet Spencer always praises her abilities and efficiency. Despite her strong personality causing poor interpersonal relationships, Areli, with her great work performance and outstanding research capabilities, is still considered the best candidate currently suitable for the position.”
The crew-cut man frowned lightly.
“Seems like Spencer trusts her deeply, making it impossible to get rid of her.”
Having secretly profited greatly through work, the bespectacled man took out a tissue and wiped his sweat nervously, fearing repercussions.
“What should we do now?”
“No need to panic.”
Roberto, having seen ups and downs, remained calm.
“Although Spencer favors Areli, I heard from the board that she made a bet with them. If she loses the bet, she will have to face severe penalties, but the details are unclear. I’ve spent heavily investigating, and I believe I’ll find out soon.”
Roberto lit a cigar and continued,
“By then, we’ll find ways to oust her from the company.”
Hearing these words, everyone rejoiced, nodding in relief.
Roberto glanced at the bar counter, a malicious smile forming on his lips.
“Perhaps tonight, we can start dealing with her.”
“This is called ‘Fantasy Potion’ from Spain. Just one drop turns her into a wanton woman.”
As he said, he pulled the crew-cut man aside, took a small box from the pocket, and handed it over.
“Brian, have somebody put this potion into Miss Fanshaw’s cup, find a man to ruin her reputation, and take a compromising photo of her tonight. We’re going to expose those photos online. With that, no matter how hard Spencer tries to protect her, the board will dismiss her for the sake of the company.”
Brian and others’ eyes lit up as they praised,
“Mr. Gower, you’re so smart.”
“If possible, take down that guy too.”
Roberto waved his hand decisively and added,
“Make sure to leave no trace.”
With the final instruction given, Brian left immediately, executing orders swiftly.