A murderous look flashed in James' eyes, and he leaned in close to Maria. "Do you know the consequences of saying that? Lawrence has been investigating Norman recently. If he finds out about all this and manages to get his hands on Norman, can you imagine what he'll do?"
Maria swallowed hard.
She knew clearly that Lawrence was a straightforward man, a man of integrity. If James said something to Lawrence, it would bring a lot of trouble to Norman.
Moreover, she didn't know for sure that Norman hadn't murdered anyone in the past. If he had, he would have to face dire consequences.
Besides, what she had told James just now was pure nonsense. There was nothing going on between her and Norman. She had only said that to piss James off.
After weighing the pros and cons in her mind, she finally decided to give in. Wrapping her arms around James' neck, she said in a much lighter tone, "Don't you know that I said that just to piss you off? As you said, I'm your woman. How could I have a relationship with Norman? Besides, I've always thought of him as my guide. Don't get the wrong idea." Then, she touched his cheek, which had reddened after her slap. "Does it still hurt? Let me blow on it for you."
The corner of Summer's mouth twitched in amusement. 'Maria, why did you give in so soon?' she thought to herself.
Raising an eyebrow at Maria, James sneered. "Maria, don't you have any sense of shame?"
Hearing this, she almost wanted to scoff out loud.
What did he know about shame?
If she possessed even half of his wealth and power, she wouldn't have left him alive for this long, let alone given him a chance to insult her.
The car drove steadily down the asphalt road, nearing their destination. Suppressing her thoughts, Maria kissed his cheek and said sweetly, "I'm sorry, James. I was too rash just now. I'll be nicer."
He grabbed her hand and looked at her seriously. "I can forgive you this time, but only on one condition."
"What is it?"
"You can't work for Norman anymore."
The smile slid right off Maria's face, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you want me to be an ungrateful person?"
"Let me talk to him," James said firmly. Did Norman really have feelings for Maria? He wanted to clear this up.
After all, if Norman was in love with Maria, why would he ask her to do such dangerous things?
"No, thanks. The truth is, he didn't ask me to do anything. I'm the one who asked him for a favor tonight," Maria explained, leaning back a little. "Someone offered fifty million to cripple Mr. Huang's legs. I stood to get a generous commission, that's all."
A commission out of fifty million? James didn't believe it.
"You risked your life committing a crime for the money? Are you that desperate for money?" he asked through gritted teeth. Had she forgotten that in the past, she had been hospitalized almost a month?
Maria shrugged, as if his words had no effect on her at all. "Mr. Xi, have you forgotten what you did to my company? You intercepted all the orders of DS Group. In order to survive, I had to make some extra money.
Is there anything wrong with that?" James pursed his lips unhappily. This woman was really good at reasoning. "So, it's my fault again?" he asked.
"That's right. If you could guarantee that I'll make a lot of money every day, why would I risk my life for money?" Maria retorted.
Tapping the seat with his slender fingers, he took a deep breath and replied, "Okay. I promise that you'll make plenty of money every day...if you promise to draw a clear line between you and Norman from now on."
Maria shot him an impatient look. "You just can't let it go, can you?"
"I can't."
"Fine!" She shifted around completely to face him, showing him that she meant serious business. If he wanted to keep stirring up trouble, so would she. "Let me ask you, Mr. Xi, why do I still have to be your mistress when you've already broken off your engagement to Alina?" No matter how she tried to convince herself, she couldn't get over it. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
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