Chapter 10
That night.
DS Bar.
Neon pooled over the walls, and the whole place glittered with drunken light.
Kimberly brought two young, pretty women through the crowded main hall to the private room door.
She stopped and looked them over.
“It’s warm inside. Take off the heavy coats and trench coats.”
They quickly did as told.
One wore a white T-shirt with jeans. The other wore a white dress.
Light makeup. Simple hair.
Exactly the “innocent and untouched” look Kimberly needed.
Also exactly James Anderson’s type.
Kimberly took their coats and draped them over her arm, satisfied.
“Control your behavior and tone later. That old creep doesn’t like women who are too slick. And remember, do not let him actually take advantage of you.”
The two women nodded. “Don’t worry. We have experience.”
“Good. Let’s go in.”
James Anderson, the project manager from Nova Technologies, saw the three of them and his eyes lit up instantly.
He stood in a rush and reached out warmly.
“Ms. Martinez. Long time no see.”
As he looked Kimberly up and down, his eyes kept slipping toward the two clean, pretty girls beside her.
Kimberly shook his hand with a professional smile.
“Mr. Anderson, long time no see. I brought two younger girls with me on short notice. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, not at all. If they’re Ms. Martinez’s girls, then they’re my girls too.”
James kept talking, the smile never leaving his mouth.
His gaze swept again over the two pure-looking girls, and he said with exaggerated warmth, “Come, sit, sit.”
He gestured with his right hand, then pointed at the two men standing by the couch.
“These are two of our project department guys, Zach and Linus. You all look about the same age.”
“Hi, James. Hi, everyone.”
“Hi, James. Hi, everyone.”
The two girls greeted them sweetly.
After a brief round of pleasantries, everyone sat down.
Kimberly deliberately placed the girls on either side of James and said warmly, “Mr. Anderson, these two have terrible alcohol tolerance. Please go easy on them later.”
“Come on, Ms. Martinez. Whatever the girls want to drink, I’ll give them. I never force anyone.”
Kimberly smiled. “I knew Mr. Anderson was a gentleman who knows how to cherish beauty.”
The drinks came quickly. Kimberly said, “Aline, Nina, James likes dice games. Keep him company for a while. If you don’t know how to play, ask James to teach you.”
The two girls nodded again and again.
“That’s easy.” James immediately answered, his eyes roaming over them. “Ms. Martinez, are these two really your sisters? Your family has excellent genes.”
Kimberly lifted her glass of juice toward him.
“Mr. Anderson, you flatter us. They’re cousins. They just graduated. We were having dinner together, and since I had an appointment with you and can’t drink, I brought them along.”
James clinked glasses with Kimberly, his smile broad.
“Good, good. The more the merrier.”
“As long as Mr. Anderson is happy. You all play first. I’m going to the restroom.”
Two hours later, James had drunk quite a bit. His two subordinates were already wobbling.
When it came to dice, they were no match for Aline and Nina, who worked at a club.
Kimberly watched James approach the edge of drunken impropriety and gave Aline a look.
Aline understood at once. Casually, almost accidentally, she revealed a pale stretch of thigh and leaned closer to James.
When James’s large hand landed on her leg, she pretended to be drunk and slumped against his shoulder.
Seeing that she didn’t resist, James’s hand grew bolder.
Aline took the opportunity to tug open the collar she had already damaged beforehand.
When James’s hand slid toward her underarm, Aline suddenly acted as if she had snapped awake. She clutched her neckline and cried out in a wronged, trembling voice.
“James! What are you doing?”
“Wah...”
James saw her start crying, and his alcohol-clouded mind cleared a little.
Kimberly shot to her feet and rushed over.
“Aline, what happened?”
Aline cried and pointed at James.
“He... he touched me. He tore my dress. Wah...”
Kimberly looked at the torn neckline, hurriedly wrapped Aline in a trench coat, and put on an angry face.
“Mr. Anderson! This is beyond improper. My cousin has never even had a boyfriend. How could you do this?”
James looked baffled. He stammered, “I... I didn’t. Ms. Martinez, listen to me explain...”
“Explain?” Kimberly pulled Aline behind her. “Her neckline is torn, and there’s a stain on her waist from the dragonfruit juice on your hand. What else is there to explain?”
Nina quickly joined in, aggrieved.
“Kim, he touched me too! At dinner, you said this was about work, and I was afraid I’d ruin your deal, so I didn’t dare say anything.”
Kimberly seized the moment and continued sternly, “Mr. Anderson, Carter Group does need your core technology. But how could you behave like this?”
“If you wanted this kind of entertainment, you could have told me directly. I would have paid to find someone from the bar for you. Whatever it cost!”
“But you bullied my cousins. How am I supposed to explain this to my family?”
At that, Aline and Nina started crying pitifully again.
James’s head was spinning badly. Seeing Kimberly genuinely angry, he forced himself to rub his brow.
“Ms. Martinez, I... I probably drank too much. Just now... I don’t even know what happened.”
Kimberly turned off the music in the private room and refused to let it drop.
“Don’t try to argue. I don’t want explanations. My cousins are crying like this. What do you plan to do about it?”
James looked dazed and miserable.
“I’ll pay compensation. Is that all right?”
Aline tugged Kimberly’s sleeve and sobbed, “Kim, I don’t want his money. You came here to talk business. What if you have to come alone in the future? That’s terrifying. Maybe we should call the police.”
The two Nova employees were drunk, but they understood this much.
Their Mr. Anderson had taken advantage of some young woman.
They were new hires and didn’t yet know what kind of garbage James Anderson was.
At least in that moment, the way they looked at him changed.
And when James heard the word police, he immediately panicked.
Whether or not he had actually gotten anything, if the police took him from here for questioning and word spread, what would be left of his reputation?
He staggered to his feet, moved closer to Kimberly, and said ingratiatingly, “Ms. Martinez, could we talk privately?”
Kimberly pretended to hold her ground.
“Whatever you have to say, say it in front of everyone. I don’t want you turning around later and accusing me of extortion.”
“Also, Mr. Anderson, this project was originally negotiated personally by Mr. Carter.”
