Chapter 571

Hearing the cheer in the joint owner’s voice, Patrick couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. That guy must felt like he’d truly hit the jackpot.

“No need for anything fancy. Just get a chef from the five–star hotel next door to whip up a ten–course meal. As long as your diner is spotless, we’re golden. My boss is a bit of a germaphobe.”

“Sure thing, chief. But are you sure you don’t want a taste of my world–class fries?”

“Still pitching his fries,” Patrick thought. It was all about getting the cash and selling the product – adults never settled for just one when they could have both.

Patrick rubbed his forehead. “Just do as I’ve told you, alright?”

Six o’clock in the evening.

Brielle had just wrapped up her last meeting. She’d talked so much that her voice was starting to go hoarse. She took a sip of lemon water to soothe her throat and was about to dive back into the artists‘

profiles when her phone buzzed with a call from Max. “Have you eaten yet?”

Brielle had been swamped all afternoon; there was no chance for a meal break. Now that Max had reminded her, she realized she was actually starving. “Not yet. I’ve still got a few profiles to go through.”

“How long will you need?”

“Ten minutes.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you at Bite and Sip Bistro, just around the corner from your office.”

Brielle almost thought she’d misheard. The Bite and Sip Bistro catered to the local office crowd with its convenience and speed, aiming to fill stomachs, not tantalize taste buds. Sure, the hygiene standards were acceptable, but the ingredients were pretty run–of–the–mill–after all, a full meal only cost thirty bucks. They had to cut costs somewhere.

Max, at the Bite and Sip Bistro?

She stood up immediately. “I’ll be right down.”

“No rush. We’ll wait for you.”

We? Who else was with Max?

Max hung up and set his phone aside.

Sammuel sat across from him, his mind reeling since stepping into the Bite and Sip Bistro. Considering he and Max had no bad blood between them–in fact, they’d collaborated on a property deal once–it didn’t seem like Max was trying to insult him with fast food. Sammuel could keep his cool. He’d already picked up on the vibes between Max and Brielle and 10:52 couldn’t resist gossiping, “Was it Ms. Brielle?”

The smile in Max’s eyes deepened. “She works at Stellar Stage Entertainment.”

Sammuel breathed a sigh of relief. So it was for Brielle that they were at Bite and Sip Bistro. Even the high–and–mighty “The Priest” seemed to come down to earth for a woman.

Why Brielle wasn’t at Dorsey International was none of Sammuel’s business. Both men had been in the game long enough to know when to probe and when to keep quiet.

Meanwhile, Brielle was waiting for the elevator, which seemed to take forever during the rush hour. The private lift had been out of order since yesterday, and today, it was still not fixed, forcing her to use the regular staff elevator.

She impatiently kept checking her phone for the time and was about to call Max to let him know she’d be late when an irate female voice cut through the lobby. “What the hell is so special about you?!”

Brielle looked up to find the woman from Keagan’s office the day before, likely someone who had been hooking up with Keagan for quite some time.

The woman, probably in her mid–twenties, seethed with envy at the sight of Brielle. She heard rumors that this newcomer had suddenly become president, and she found it hard to believe. Now, she got the news of her own dismissal. She was a manager, after all, a position she’d secured by hooking up with Keagan, and now it was all undone so easily by this… this bitch.

“Damn it,” she thought, “how could this happened!”