Chapter 926 Teased by a Woman
“Aww, that’s so sweet! Did you eat some sweet stuff on the sly again?” Narissa bent down. At first, she wanted to pick Alexia up, but as her dress hindered her from doing so, she merely pinched the little girl on her plump cheek. “You’re such a lovely sweetie, Lexi!”
“Hehe!” Alexia winked her big eyes in a deliberate show of cuteness, which made everyone laugh gleefully.
Narissa led her inside by the hand before turning to look at Elise. “Why didn’t you guys come to me at the Cuber Residence right away when you arrived? My place has plenty of rooms, so why stay so far away instead?”
“It’d be inconvenient to do that. We brought our whole family with us, after all.” Elise made up an excuse before veering away from the subject. She asked, “And may I ask who this gentleman is?”
“Oh, this is Gale, whom I talked to you about. He’s now working at BJ Biotech,” Narissa replied.
Gale nodded by way of a greeting.
Elise stepped forward before extending her hand to shake hands with him. “Mr. Myres, thank you for the drug last time.”
Gale calmly avoided the awkward thank-you segment. “It’s nothing. I’m glad to be of help, anyway. Let’s get seated first,” he replied while walking to the dining table before pulling out the chair for Narissa in a gentlemanly manner. “Come and sit here, Narissa.”
Naturally, Narissa seated herself there.
While ordering food, Gale asked for her opinion first before telling the manager to have a tableful of dishes served according to her palate. “That’s it for now. Serve the wine once it’s decanted,” he said before dismissing the waiter.
While he was ordering food, Elise and Narissa whispered to each other. Elise asked, “Is Jamie not with you two?”
Narissa was completely baffled. “Jamie Keller? Is he coming as well?”
“He’s here already. Didn’t he go looking for you?”
“Nope. I never saw him.”
“That’s odd…”
Their mood was interrupted when Gale suddenly chimed in, asking, “What are you two chatting about?”
“Nothing.” Elise smiled a faint smile. “Just some private stuff between young ladies.”
Alexander seized the opportunity to claim a share of the man’s attention, saying, “Mr. Myres, I hear that your company has lots of other novel drugs under development, and I wonder if you need support in terms of funding. As it happens, Smith Co. has some spare cash, so feel free to tell me if you need it.”
Times were changing rapidly, and BJ Biotech’s drugs were presently ranked among the first in the world. Inevitably, Smith Co. had to rely on the drugs it produced to keep expanding. Rather than negotiating prices again and again, Alexander would prefer to become one of BJ Biotech’s shareholders to make it easier for him to use these drugs in the future. Of course, his selfish ideas extended far beyond that. If he could completely acquire BJ Biotech’s drug manufacturing technology for his own use, he’d no longer have to be at the mercy of others.
Gale’s reply was tactful; he neither accepted Alexander’s offer nor turned it down. “Narissa’s friends are mine, too. I’ll ask about the company’s future plans for development when I get back. If there’s such an opportunity, I’ll invite you to join us, Mr. Griffith.”
Alexander didn’t intend to get women involved in this, though. “This has nothing to do with Narissa, so please don’t give us special treatment. Business is business, Mr. Myres.”
“Sure.” Gale lifted a corner of his mouth slightly with no intention of continuing the subject.
Smart as they were, everyone in the room cleverly dropped the subject.
Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming awkward, Elise hurriedly broke the silence, asking, “What’s taking Danny and Ariel so long?”
“I’ll go out and meet them.” Gale stood up, buttoned up his suit, turned around, and stepped out of the room as though he were the host.
“I’ll go with you.” Alexander followed suit.
As soon as the two men reached the hotel’s entrance, they saw Danny and Ariel step out of their car. “Hi, Alexander.” Danny waved his hand, tossing the car keys to the bellboy while he was at it.
Gale’s eyes involuntarily lit up when he saw the car’s plate number. “Do you two also know Mr. Abbott in person?”
“You can say that. We just met him for the first time today,” Ariel replied vaguely. She didn’t want to disclose her relationship with Camren, nor did she want to ride on his coattails.
“I see.” Gale nodded before turning sideways to make way for the couple. “This way, please.”
Not intending to dwell too much on the subject, Ariel picked her feet up and stepped inside.
Danny was just about to catch up with her when Alexander dragged him and caused him to fall far behind her. “Who is Mr. Abbott?”
“It’s a long story…” Danny replied before giving Alexander a brief introduction of Camren.
Thanks to Gale’s stubbornness, the dinner turned out to be a simple one, and it actually ended in less than an hour. Initially, Elise was hosting the dinner, so Alexander was supposed to pick up the tab for it. However, Gale had dropped his credit card at the front desk beforehand on a trip to the restroom.
Surprisingly, the instant they asked for the bill, the door to the private room swung open from the outside.
The manager cringed in fear as he came in after an intimidating young woman in her twenties. The woman was dressed in low-key yet snazzy clothing, which fit her flamboyant personality very well. She came closer and looked around the dining table before finally fixing her gaze on Danny and Ariel. “You’re that cousin of mine who popped up from nowhere, aren’t you?” She eyed Ariel with scrutiny.
Danny thrust his hands into his pockets and stood up angrily to defend Ariel. “Who the heck are you?”
The woman stared at him for a couple of seconds before walking up to him. After looking him up and down for a while, she gave him a meaningful smile, asking, “You’re Danny Griffith?”
“Yeah, that’s me. So what?” Danny jutted out his chin defiantly. That was just the way men were—the cockier the other party acted, the more they’d refuse to be outdone.
“How surprising…” The look in the woman’s eyes suddenly became amorous as she stared unblinkingly at Danny’s attractive sideburns and the faintly visible outlines of his chest muscles. “My cousin’s got a good eye for men, eh?” she commented. Before Danny realized what was happening, she suddenly stretched out her hand and pinched his gorgeous left hip before quickly letting go of it.
“Hey! What are you—” Danny instantly broke out in goosebumps as a shudder ran through him. He glared at the woman, wanting to chide her, but he was too embarrassed to know where to start. I actually got teased by a woman! How am I supposed to seek justice for this?
“What is it?” The woman pushed her luck, thrusting her breast against him as if she had no sense of shame.
“Drats!” Danny staggered in fright and fell into his seat in complete discomfiture.
“Hehe…” The woman laughed with her hand over her mouth. Stretching out a fair and slender hand, she slid it down his chest and fondled him. “Don’t worry, I won’t eat you.”
Before her voice could fade, a hand suddenly shot out from the side, seized her wrist, and dragged her away.
“Who the hell are you?” Ariel looked rather displeased. Just because I trust Danny’s strong willpower doesn’t mean other women can tease my man as they please!
“Aaah!” The woman bit her lower lip coquettishly in a seemingly innocent demeanor. “You’re hurting me, Ariel. Why get so angry? I was just joking. We’re a family, after all—”
Ariel tightened her grip on the woman’s wrist. “I’m asking you one last time—who are you?”
“Ouch!” The woman screamed in pain and had no choice but to give in. “I’ll say it! I’ll say it, alright? Let go of me!”
