The M.I.L.F Rebate System: Every Woman I Spoil Makes Me Richer!

Chapter 91: An Run-In! [FIXED!]

The conversation lasted a little over twelve minutes.

Liam had expected less—Mrs. Harriet guarded her time like currency—but she gave him twelve minutes of genuine attention. He covered the phone call. The voice, the framing, the specific information the caller had referenced about their agreement. She listened without interrupting, building the complete picture mentally before responding.

When he finished, she was quiet.

"My husband did not call you." Mrs. Harriet dismissed this firmly.

"I didn’t think so." Liam figured it already and was glad he denied any involvement with her.

"Richard doesn’t make calls like that." She looked at her notepad without writing anything down.

"The information the caller had access to is a separate concern." Mrs. Harriet added.

"It suggests the source is closer than outside the firm." Liam said in a very suggestive tone because they both knew who was responsible for it.

She didn’t confirm or deny it. She didn’t need to—the fact that she didn’t dismiss it was its own answer.

"Get me more," she said. "Whatever else surfaces—call me directly." She recapped her pen. "I’ll be more responsive."

Liam stood. She was already reaching for her phone, the next meeting arriving at the front of the queue. Twelve minutes, concluded with everything discussed and addressed. If the people she was having meetings with had this ability, she would have been done with them earlier that day.

-

Bob waited at the far end of the corridor, folders stacked, wearing the same expression he always had.

He looked up when Liam emerged, his face producing immediate warmth—quiet hope that things had gone well.

Liam caught his eye and nodded once.

Bob’s response was a thumbs-up delivered with the full commitment of his entire arm. No subtlety. No professional reserve. Just a middle-aged family man with a folder stack and genuine investment in the outcome.

Liam almost laughed as he kept moving.

-

The lobby received him with the same ambient coolness it had offered on the way in. He crossed it without making eye contact with anyone who didn’t deserve it and pushed through the front entrance into the afternoon air.

He was three steps from the door when he heard it.

"Liam?"

He turned.

Vanessa Cole stood at the building entrance in a fitted blazer and tailored trousers, bag over one shoulder. She was both shocked and surprised she ran into Liam here considering he was no longer an employee.

She wasn’t supposed to be at this branch. She worked out of the other office. This was purely the city doing what cities did. After all, it was a small world.

"Vanessa." He looked at her. "If I’d known you’d stalk me here I would have stayed awake last night."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you did sleep. I thought you ghosted me."

"Ghosted?" He raised a brow. "Are you wishing death on me?"

She stared at him. "Please tell me you’re joking."

"I’m joking." He nudged her shoulder. "I’m old but not that old."

She rolled her eyes like someone who had been waiting to do just that. "You’re insufferable."

"If I was so insufferable, why did you follow me on Instagram?"

"That was an accident!" Vanessa barley let out the words.

"Of course it was." Liam responded with a sarcastic undertone.

She pointed at him. "It was!"

He held both hands up, the picture of innocence, and turned toward the car park. Behind him, the small shift of weight—someone with more to say, deciding whether the situation warranted saying it.

"Liam." Her voice was easier this time. "I still haven’t received that proposal. We could discuss it over coffee if you have time."

He stopped. Liam had no interest in her, at least not now as he had to focus his time on Mrs. Harriet for his rebate to reap its full reward.

Vanessa right now was the least of his interest and if Vanessa was here, it meant it was for Mrs. Harriet.

Mrs. Harriet was in a meeting. The building was right there. Vanessa worked at the firm—had access to corridors he no longer walked, conversations he was no longer in the room for. HE needed Vanessa now more than ever as a matter of fact and this time, it wasn’t for her body.

He turned back.

"You know what—I’d love that." He glanced at the building. "Mrs. Harriet’s in a meeting so we have time. You free right now?"

The smile crossed her face faster than she intended. "I would love that."

She fell into step beside him. Liam opened the passenger door. She got in with no hesitation despite their shared history in the short time they had known each other.

Groundwork Coffee sat four minutes from the firm—narrow, warm, an independent shop that had survived the area’s gradual corporatisation through sheer quality and loyal regulars who treated the corner table like a second office.

They ordered at the counter—Liam an Americano, Vanessa a flat white—and took the window seats.

She wrapped both hands around her cup and looked at him.

"So," she said. "Instagram."

Liam smiled into his coffee. "Instagram."

"I was looking at your profile." No apology. He respected that. "My thumb moved."

"For how long were you looking at my profile before your thumb moved?"

She opened her mouth but no words came out because she knew Liam had her right where he wanted.

"That’s not relevant," she said.

Liam laughed out loud. "I figured it was something like that when I saw the notification."

"You could have said something."

"And miss finding out how long it takes you to bring it up in person?" He shook his head. "Not a chance."

Vanessa looked at him with genuine warmth. Then she smiled despite trying her best not to.

"You’re different outside when you aren’t onguard," she said.

"Better or worse?"

She considered it with more honesty than the question probably deserved. "Just different," she said again, which was its own answer.

Liam didn’t push because he didn’t need to but he was taking his time bringing up Mrs. Harriet for now.