A Vengeful Ex-Wife

Alina wore a long white feathered dress and her hair hung loosely over her left shoulder.

Maria was acting like she was flirting with Alina. The others couldn't help but think they were well matched.

Looking at Maria's teasing grin, Alina was stunned that she forgot to push her away.

Lorenzo awkwardly coughed while James stood still with a poker face.

James began to feel hostile toward Maria. 'How dare Maria flirt with my woman? She is definitely walking on thin ice.'

Maria hadn't forgotten that Alina was a woman and her cousin. She didn't do anything out of line. Instead, she just approached Alina and whispered something that the others didn't hear. "Remember, you owe me two slaps."

Maria wasn't stupid to slap Alina in front of James. First, she thought it was not yet necessary. Second, it would be more troublesome to get James involved in their conflict.

On the other hand, Lorenzo was a bit annoyed. He couldn't understand how a woman like Maria was able to work in this coffee shop for a long time. Maria let go of Alina and shook off the loose powder from Alina's face that clung to her fingers. She then glanced at James with a poker face and said sarcastically, "I envy your girlfriend so much. She's so good at putting on makeup. Unlike me, I can't even put on a sunscreen lotion properly." 'But unfortunately, no matter how expensive her cosmetics are, they still couldn't cover her ugliness,' she sneered inwardly.

James cast her a cold glance, knowing that she was just being hypocritical.

Maria didn't take James' look to heart. She turned around and left. Lorenzo snorted, "How can a woman like her work in such a high-end coffee shop like this?"

The waitress, who was still covering her swollen face, turned to look at him and said, "Excuse me, sir. Maybe you misunderstand. She is actually our boss."

Not only Lorenzo but also Alina was taken aback. The waitress's words were like a bomb that exploded in their ears.

The expressions on their faces dramatically changed in disbelief.

Lorenzo, who was the first one to recover from the shock, asked, "What did you just say? Who is your boss here again?"

"Maria is our boss, sir." This time, the waitress was a bit confused. She thought all the while that they all knew it already. Alina gaped at Maria's back. She couldn't believe that Maria was the owner of this coffee shop. She subconsciously looked around.

The coffee shop had two floors, covering an area of five hundred square meters and located in the prime of the central business district of H City. It would take millions of dollars to put up this kind of business. She couldn't help wondering how Maria was able to have such a large amount of money. Alina couldn't get over it. This coffee shop was her favorite in the whole city. How could it be possible that Maria owned it?

Even James was also shocked. It never occurred to him that Maria wasn't just an employee here. With the arrogance that she had shown them the last time, he thought that she could be a manager here at most. It turned out she was the one running this coffee shop.

'Maria Song, you are so good at hiding yourself.'

When she returned to the counter, Maria waited for the waitress who was slapped. She gave the waitress a half-day off. "Go to the hospital right now and have your face checked. Don't forget to ask for a medical certificate and keep all the invoices. I'll reimburse you for the expenses."

The waitress was touched by Maria's kindness that she was on the verge of crying. "Thank you, Maria. But I'm fine. I'll just go home and use a cold compress to alleviate the swelling."

"No. What if you'd have a concussion? Listen to me. Go to the hospital now." Maria's tone was stern and firm.

The waitress had no choice but nodded in agreement. "Okay. Thank you again, Maria."

It had been a while, but Alina was still in shock. James sat down opposite her and asked, "What do you want from me?" His voice seemed to have awakened her from a dream and brought her back to reality. She stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she blinked a few times and replied, "James, have you seen Maria's attitude just now? She doesn't take us seriously at all. She..."

He cut her off. "Tell me why you asked me to come here." He had no time to waste on evaluating Maria's attitude towards them.

Alina fell silent for a moment as if trying to organize her words. She then said hesitantly, "James...can you help me take Ron's videos from Maria? To be honest, the fate of the whole Tang Group is now in Maria's hands. And we are going to be engaged soon. If something happens to Tang Group, you may also be implicated."

Alina was right. If something happened to Tang Group after their engagement, it would be very troublesome. James couldn't just ignore it. In short, if Maria exposed Ronald's videos to the public, it would be another trouble that James had to deal with. Alina was confident that Maria didn't have the evidence of her drugging the other woman six years ago. She knew that Maria was just bluffing. But Maria wasn't lying about Ronald's videos. She really had them.

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all." The truth was, Alina had something else to say. But she didn't want to bother James too much. After all, she hadn't become his wife yet.

James stood up and said, "Go home and wait for the update."

"James, can we have coffee together?" Alina just tried her luck. She and James were going to be engaged soon, but until now, it was still difficult for them to sit together over a cup of coffee.

James just glanced at her and said, "I have an important meeting today. Let's have it another time."

"Okay." As expected, her invitation was declined. But knowing that he was always busy, Alina didn't insist.

Before James left, he said to her, "Don't hang out in this place again if not necessary."

Now that James knew that Maria owned this coffee shop, he didn't want Alina to cause more trouble. Every time Alina and Maria met, Alina would always provoke Maria. And he also knew that Maria knew how to teach Alina a lesson. It would be better if they avoided each other.

Alina nodded obediently. Actually, James didn't need to tell her. The moment Alina found out that Maria was the owner of Miracle Cafe, she made up her mind not to set foot in this coffee shop again. She didn't intend to support the business of her rival.

She would only wait until James took Ronald's videos back from Maria. After that, she could continue with the lawsuit against Maria.

After walking out of the coffee shop, James stopped and looked at the building of HL Group across the street. He then turned to Lorenzo and ordered, "Ask Maria to come and see me in my office." Lorenzo was stunned for a second. But then he answered, "Yes, Mr. Xi."

He went back inside to look for Maria. She was on the phone, so he had to wait for her at the counter.

As soon as he saw her hang up, he came to her at once. "Ms. Song, Mr. Xi wants to see you."

Maria couldn't help raising an eyebrow upon hearing Lorenzo's words. If James wanted to see her, it meant that he needed something from her. 'Every dog indeed has its day,' she thought to herself with a smile. "I'm pretty busy right now. Please tell him that I'll go when I'm in the mood." Lorenzo didn't expect what she said. After all, he had the impression that she always seized every opportunity to hit on James. Why was she playing hard to get this time? Besides, whether she was busy or not, what did it have to do with her mood?

Soon, he realized that Maria was deliberately making things difficult for him. But if he couldn't accomplish such a small task, his credibility in James' eyes would definitely decline.

"Ms. Song, you know him better than anyone else. Mr. Xi is an impatient man. He won't waste time waiting for you," he said, hoping it would convince her. Lorenzo thought that if Maria was a sensible woman, she should go with him immediately.

"You're right. James is an impatient man. So you'd better call him now and tell him not to wait any longer. Thank you."

Lorenzo was rendered speechless. If only he could hit Maria's head to vent his anger. In his eyes, she was so shameless. "Well, Ms. Song, do you know that Summer is on a business trip?"

"And what does it have to do with you?" Of course, Maria knew Summer's whereabouts. She called Summer two days ago, and she found out that Summer was on a business trip overseas. She thought that it might take a few days.

"Yes, it has nothing to do with me. But Summer is on a long-term business trip. If you go with me now, I can put in a good word for her with Mr. Xi. Maybe she can come back sooner."

Maria could tell from Lorenzo's words that things were not as simple as she thought. "How long is that long-term? And what makes it a long-term business trip?"