Studying Elise up close, Alexander found that she had applied a thick layer of foundation on her face. He never noticed before that she had on such heavy makeup. Nonetheless, he simply said, “I’m fastening your seat belt.” Feeling embarrassed, Elise quickly uttered, “T-There no need for that. I can do it myself.” After saying that, Elise hurriedly fastened her seat belt. Upon seeing this, Alexander moved away from her, then immediately started the car and drove off.
“My brothers and I are having a party tonight. Do you want to go have a drink with us?” Elise knew that the brothers he meant were all the Griffith brothers except for Matthew, so she refused without even thinking. “I’m not going. Just send me home.” Alexander slightly raised his eyebrows and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t want to hang out with us?”
Elise shook her head. “It’s not that. You’re thinking too much.” “Then let’s go have a drink together.” Alexander seemed to be hinting that he wouldn’t accept her refusal. Elise figured that she had nothing to do at night anyway, so she agreed. Brendan was the one who organized the party, and it was mainly for the brothers to get together and relax. Usually, on such occasions, they wouldn’t bring any female companions and would all go on their own.
Hence, today, when the door of the private room was pushed open before Alexander and Elise appeared together, the other three Griffith brothers suddenly stopped what they were doing and stared at Elise in disbelief. Jack was the first to speak. “Why are you here?” Danny was quite protective of Elise, so he trotted forward and asked, “Boss, you—” Before he finished speaking, Alexander said, “I brought her here.”
As soon as he said this, the Griffith brothers exchanged looks, but all of them remained silent. Elise felt that the atmosphere was a little weird, so she quickly said, “What do you guys want to drink? I’ll go get them for you.” Danny took the initiative to make a request. “I want a glass of whisky.” Elise acknowledged him, then looked at Jack and Brendan. “What about you guys?” Smiling, Brendan replied, “Whiskey.”
Jack cast her a meaningful look. “A mojito.” Elise made a mental note of each of their drinks, then finally asked, “Alexander, what would you like to drink?” Alexander’s lips twitched slightly as he replied, “Orange juice.” When his brothers heard this, their eyes widened. When did Alexander start drinking orange juice? However, none of them dared to question him, so they watched as Elise helped him order a glass of orange juice.
After she walked out of the private room, Jack hurried over. “Alexander, what’s the matter with you! Why did you bring her here? We never brought women to our brothers’ night out!” Brendan’s lips curled into a smile as he turned to Alexander before saying slowly, “We’ll never know what Alexander is thinking, but one thing is certain—he’s letting Elise get familiar with us.” Danny stared at his brother in disbelief. “Alexander, are you interested in my boss?”
As soon as he asked the question, the room instantly fell silent, and three pairs of eyes turned to look at Alexander, but he just said calmly, “Why are you making a fuss about such a small thing? I just felt like she’d be bored at home all alone, so I brought her here. Don’t think that far.” Alexander’s answer made the three of them feel relieved at once. They thought that he was actually interested in Elise! It seemed that they were just overthinking it.
At this moment, Elise pushed open the door and walked in. “I’ve already ordered everything for you guys.” The strangeness in the atmosphere earlier was completely gone. Danny smiled and immediately moved forward. “Thank you, Boss. Since everyone is here today, let’s have fun together.” Brendan welcomed Elise as well. “We’re all family, so there’s no need to be so formal. Elise, do you know how to play cards?” Elise nodded. “A little.”
So, Brendan said, “All right. Let’s play cards, then.” He called for a waiter to bring over a new set of cards, then the five of them sat down. Elise had played cards before, but her skills were mediocre; she wasn’t excellent at it, but she was still quite proficient, so after playing only one round, she had already won a lot. “Boss, why are you so good at this? You won so many chips after just playing two games.” Danny looked at the remaining chips in front of him, which were only half of what he originally had, then looked at Alexander.
“Alexander, can’t you go easy on me?” Alexander replied nonchalantly, “Playing games requires sportsmanship. If I go easy on you, then what would be the point of playing?” Danny was close to tears. He found that Alexander was eager to excel in everything, and it seemed that he and Elise were a strong team that no one could beat.
“I can’t do this anymore. Jack, Brendan, do your best.” As Danny complained, Jack and Brendan looked at each other and shook their heads. “After so many years, when have we ever won a card game against Alexander?” Brendan sounded a little distressed, so Elise couldn’t help glancing at Alexander. “Who would’ve thought that you’re actually so good at this!” Alexander’s expression didn’t change at all. “I’m just playing for fun.”
However, Elise disagreed. The five of them continued to play cards until about 11.00PM when Danny called for them to stop. “I really can’t do this anymore. I have classes tomorrow. Why don’t we end it here today?” Jack didn’t have any objections. “All right. That’s all for today, then.” Elise didn’t have any opinions either. At this moment, Brendan stood up. “Okay. Let’s call it a day. I’ll go settle the bill.” With that, Brendan walked out, then Elise set down the cards and got up as well.
Looking at the time, she found that it was rather late, so she followed Alexander out of the room, and the few of them walked to the hall while chatting and sharing laughter. All of a sudden, their footsteps came to a halt, and they watched as Matthew walked toward them with his arms wrapped intimately around a beautiful woman with a curvy figure.
This was Elise’s first time seeing Matthew after he left the Griffith Family. She hadn’t seen him for only half a month, yet it seemed as if he had changed completely. Danny was about to say something, but Jack stopped him and said, “Forget it. Don’t bother. Let’s go home.”
Danny pouted, but they understood Matthew’s current situation; they heard that in order to get the company’s resources, he went out of his way to marry a rich and beautiful woman. “He’s just degrading himself, and he’s simply embarrassing the Griffith Family.” Danny spoke with disdain, so Jack advised him, “His affairs have nothing to do with the Griffith Family anymore, and we shouldn’t interfere too much either.”
