A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Chapter 158 Full Of Grievances

Summer, who was following behind James, also heard what the models said. She was about to tell him she would go over there to deal with them, but James walked towards them on his own.

"Hey, isn't that Mr. Xi?"

"It's really Mr. Xi. He's coming here!"

"Ah! I only saw from a distance before and thought he was so handsome. Now, from up close, he's even more!

Unlike the excited women, the man had a scowl on his face as he stared at one of them and said coldly, "There's nothing wrong with wearing a perfume made for bad girls. It's way worse to stink as one without putting any perfume on."

Except for one woman, the models present were quite thrilled to see James in person, not to mention that he came over to talk to them. As the girls were about to scream with excitement, the woman who had captured James' attention sensed there was something wrong and didn't feel like celebrating at all. Instead, she asked gingerly, "Mr. Xi, are you referring to me?" She hoped not.

Staring coldly at her, he retorted, "Who else?"

"I'm loyal to my boyfriend. I'm not a bad woman!" she explained hurriedly.

"The way I see it, you're scum!" She was disgusting for gossiping behind Maria's back.

As she heard what James said, blood drained from the young model's face.

Without giving her a chance to respond, James told Summer, "I don't want to see this woman in the modeling business again." Ignoring the crowd's reaction to his order, he turned around and walked away.

Summer nodded, trying hard to suppress her laughter. "Yes, Mr. Xi." 'So now he has become Maria's defender!' she thought, overjoyed.

The next second, she picked up her pace to catch up with James while calling someone to deal with the young model's matter.

By the time James got back to his car, Summer had completed her task. The sponsor had already fired the young model.

As she received a text message, Summer glanced at her phone and reported to the man in the back seat, "Mr. Xi, Ms. Judy Lan is waiting for you in the company."

Promptly, James told her, "Let’s go back to the company then."

"Okay."

James and his younger brother had always been respectful to Judy. After all, she had looked after her husband's two children for twenty years. Even if she had never made any huge contribution to the family, she had worked hard to be a good step-mother.

When the Harkim finally stopped at the entrance of HL Group, James got out of the car and glanced at the coffee shop across the street, wondering if Judy had already met Maria.

On the CEO's office floor, Judy chatted briefly with Lorenzo before leaving him to avoid disturbing his work. Then she went to sit in the lounge and browsed on her cell phone while waiting for James.

Once she heard James was back, she put her phone away, stood up, and walked out of the lounge. "Hey, James," she greeted her step-son as soon as she saw him.

James nodded at her and turned to Summer. "Make a cup of green tea."

"Yes, Mr. Xi."

Green tea was Judy's favorite.

Judy was delighted to realize James remembered this small detail about her. Looking at the man who walked her way, she said lovingly, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all. Please come in." He turned and pushed the door to his office open for her.

Judy walked in and looked around. It had been almost half a year since she came to his office last time. Except for some new electronic equipment, nothing had changed.

James sat down in an armchair, while Judy sat opposite him and explained, "I’m not here for any special reason, to be honest. I was just passing by and decided to come up. It has been a long time since I last came to see you in the company."

"I see. Where are you heading to?"

"A brand store called yesterday and told me they got some new handbags released for the season. I'm going to have a look."

"I'll ask Lorenzo to accompany you then." In other words, James would pay the bill for her.

Judy thought about it for a moment and then said with a smile, "Sure if you're not too busy. Lorenzo and I haven't talked for a long time. I'll borrow him from you just for a couple of hours, I promise." "Okay, I'll arrange it." At that moment, Summer knocked on the door and came in with a cup of tea. As she put it in front of Judy, she said, "Excuse me, Ms. Lan. Here's your tea."

"Thank you!"

James then told Summer, "Lorenzo will need to go out. I'll send you to meet the manager from M City instead."

"Yes, Mr. Xi," Summer answered respectfully before leaving with a smile.

Judy looked at her as she walked away and asked thoughtfully, "How long has Summer been working with you?"

"Nearly nine years." Summer started working in HL Group as an intern. Due to her excellent performance, James offered her a position as his special assistant after the internship was over.

Two years ago, James sent Summer to the United States to get her Ph.D. degree.

"Oh, so she's here a year longer than Lorenzo."

After that, Judy didn't say anything else about Summer, nor did she mention Maria. With the excuse that she didn't want to disturb James' work, she stood up to go.

Before leaving, however, she added, "James, take the time to bring Alina home for dinner soon. I'll be waiting for you.¹'

James was silent for a moment, but then he nodded. "Of course."

"Okay, I'm leaving now!"

"Bye, Auntie."

Since Judy wasn't accepted by the elders of the Xi family, both James and Cooper addressed her as "Auntie" instead of "Mom."

On the surface, Judy pretended not to care, but deep inside, she did. Nevertheless, there was nothing she could do about it.

After Judy left James' office, Lorenzo followed his aunt out of HL Group and went with her to a brand shop not far away from the company. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

In the VIP room, Judy listened to him talking about Maria while trying on a new bag. However, as a shopping guide was present, Lorenzo didn't dare to mention the woman's name. "She tried to extract information from me. Although I didn't admit anything, I'm sure she figured it out. The weird thing is that she didn't tell about it to Mr. Xi, or he would definitely look into the matter."

'Maria didn't tell James?’ Judy thought. She couldn't understand what Maria was planning. It seemed she needed a backup plan for her nephew and herself. "I'll ask someone to apply for a bank card in Cooper's name and transfer the money to it. But don't touch the money until that woman leaves H City. If James finds out about it later, you can tell him to come speak to me."

Since Lorenzo was her inside man in HL Group, she would try her best not to get her nephew in trouble.

"Ok, I see," Lorenzo answered obediently. He really admired his aunt. She could always remain calm in the face of such adversity.

"Anything else?"

"In fact, there is. It's about this rivalry between her and Ms. Tang. Whether Ms. Tang is just unable to defeat that woman or Mr. Xi is protecting her, I don't know. But every time Ms. Tang goes to Mr. Xi, she leaves full of grievances."

Upon hearing this, Judy retained a new piece of information. As it seemed, James was protecting Maria. The situation was far more complicated than she thought.

Judy decided it was best to think things over before making any move. Then she turned to Lorenzo again and asked, "What did James tell you when you left the company?"

"He asked me to pay for everything you take."

Suddenly, Judy's mood improved. James was so rich and generous. Pointing at a row of bags she had tried, she told the shopping assistant, "Pack them all!"

"Yes, ma'am." The shopping assistant knew Judy was a big spender and had already anticipated she would get a large commission from the sale.

In fact, every time Judy came to their shop, she would take several bags with her.

While she waited for her things to be packed, Judy sat next to Lorenzo and said in a low voice, "As for that Summer, if you have the chance..." It was needless for her to finish the sentence. Lorenzo would get what she meant by just one look at her.

Also, he had already thought about this long ago. "I got it, Aunt Judy." After all, Summer took Maria's side.

"Good."

Meanwhile, James recalled something Judy said before she left, and called Summer into his office again. "Go pick up some new arrivals of the season."

"Mr. Xi, what exactly do you refer to?"

"Outfits, shoes, jewelry, and accessories. All of them."

Summer asked in confusion, "Are you going to give them as gifts to someone?"