Chapter 169 - The Little Devil (2)
Ximena heaved a sigh of relief when she successfully delivered the make up set, finally evading trouble she would be in if she was late. She happily ordered food from a restaurant she frequented so she would not have to cook dinner.
Just as she settled down to take a bite of her food, her house telephone rang.
Not many people knew her house telephone number, so she frowned. Zaria would always call her personal cell phone and she didn't have many friends in Olphire. Could it be that her parents had stalked her and found out her address?
"Hello?" She answered the call with suspicion in her voice.
"Ximena Morel." A male voice said her name with a triumphant snicker.
Her heart skipped a beat. Who was it? Before she could ask, it suddenly made sense. It had to be Liam Preston! How under the sun did he get her house telephone number?!
She cursed under her breath and thought of what to tell him.
"Sir, are you looking for Miss Ximena? She has not returned home yet. Would you like to leave a message?" She slightly pitched her voice so it sounded adorable and innocent.
"Ximena Morel! Don't put up an act with me." Liam roared on the other end, making Ximena tremble slightly.
"What do you mean? I'm obviously an adorable little maid." She laughed dryly, knowing that she had already been caught and there was no need to continue pretending.
"You still owe me a car." He demanded unreasonably. If he hadn't found out that she was the little devil who threw a rock at him in the past, he might have been more reasonable. However, he was not going to let her off.
"Give me about five years. By that time, I'm certain that Morel Beauty will be one of the most popular cosmetic brands. I will get you the latest bugatti and make you forget all about your Voiture Noire." She countered.
"Are you saying that my car is worthless?" Liam was irritated.
"That's not what I said." Ximena maintained her calm, knowing that yielding would only make this unreasonable man make her life more difficult than it already was. "It is not up to me to decide the worth of your car, Mr. Preston. You can call it a scrap metal if you want to." She almost bit her tongue as soon as her words were out. Why couldn't she control her words just one damn time?
As expected, he was angered. "Very well, since you are ready to buy me a new car, I will be waiting for it tomorrow in the evening at Preston and Fort Group."
She cursed when he hung up. How crazy! Did he think she had that much money?
…
Zaria had just arrived from her dinner with Natalie. She was slightly dizzy from having drunk a little and was about to take a shower when a panicked Ximena bolted in.
"What happened to you? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.
"No I'm not! My life is over." Ximena exaggerated as she slumped onto the couch helplessly and drank the water that Zaria brought her.
"What happened?" Zaria asked curiously. There was rarely anything that could bother Ximena. It had to be something serious if it had her racing about.
"I rear-ended Liam Preston." She dropped the bomb.
"What?"
"And he wants a new car tomorrow. I'm freaking dead." Ximena explained what had happened to Zaria.
Zaria massaged her temples. "Did you have to pretend to be a maid, though?"
"All I wanted was to get away, okay?" Ximena cried.
Zaria shook her head at her friend's bad luck. She took out her phone to check her account balance. She had used most of the money she earned from her contract with Desmond to revive F&P Media and buy the villa. Her current savings could only be enough to repair the damages.
"How about you repair his car and give it back to him? As long as the job is done perfectly, it will be good as new." She suggested.
"The idiot only wants to extort me. He will not accept that. He ordered me to buy a new car and take the old one if he is satisfied." Ximena slapped her forehead.
Zaria frowned. Who would have thought that Liam could be so childish?
"I don't have enough money… How about I ask Desmond for help? You can repay him when you.." She was still speaking when Ximena interrupted her.
"Zaria! You cannot do that for me. I wasn't asking for you to help me out." She only wanted someone to rant to. She knew that Zaria could not afford such an expensive car at the moment.
Zaria shrugged. "But you don't have a way out. If you are uncomfortable using Desmond's money, I can ask Zeus instead."
She was yet to tell Ximena that Zeus was in fact Lucy's alias so she hoped the latter would not ask.
As expected, Ximena was puzzled. Why would Zaria and Zeus be suddenly that close? She would never guess their real relationship but she didn't ask too many questions. She only hugged Zaria. "Thank you for being willing to help me out. However, I'm not planning on spending that much money to buy something I cannot even buy myself. I just need to think of a way out."
Zaria chuckled. Old habits die hard. Ximena would never truly take responsibility for what she did.
After thinking for a while, her eyes suddenly lit up. " That's it! Liam said that I had to get him a new car—but he didn't mention at any point that the new car had to be a Bugatti La Voiture Noire."
"Are you going to get him a different Bugatti model?" Zaria asked and started thinking through the old models whose price had dwindled over the years.
"Of course not." Ximena rolled her eyes. Old or new, it was still a Bugatti nonetheless. She grabbed her phone and under Zaria's curious gaze, did a search.
"Cheapest car in the world."
Zaria burst into laughter when she saw the images of the car she had selected. "You are not going to buy that."
"Hell yes I am." Ximena checked out to communicate with the dealer.
Hence the following evening, a spectacle broke out at Preston and Fort Group when a First Generation Toyota Corolla pulled up with Liam Preston's name on it.
Since selling his shares, Liam only dropped by the company when there was a board meeting. Today, he dropped by under the guise of inspection when all he wanted was to wait for that devil who was to deliver a brand new Bugatti. He was waiting to see whether she would really afford it.
He left the building with a smirk only to catch sight of a lively gathering of employees… staring and taking pictures of a white car.
The car plate had been covered by a temporary one that had both of his names written on it in bold font.
He took a deep breath and tried not to rush to the woman inside and snap her neck into pieces.
Ximena left the car with a smile when she saw him. "Good evening, Mr. Preston. I completed my part of the deal and bought you a replacement car."
He clenched his fists. "Get out!" Was this woman's forte infuriating him?
She looked shocked by his tone even though he knew that she was pretending. "But Mr. Preston, you haven't done what you promised yet. You owe me a Bugatti La Voiture Noire." She looked up at him and blinked her eyes innocently.
"Did you hear what I said?" He was on the verge of exploding. "Who gave her access to the company's parking?"
"It was the CEO's assistant, Miss Williams." The receptionist answered with a tremor in her voice, afraid of getting caught up in this fight that was none of her business.
Liam frowned. Zaria. Of course it would be Zaria. He had investigated and Ximena's best friend was Zaria, and they had known each other for years. Was she also the one who gave Ximena this sick idea?
"A promise is a promise, sir." Ximena brazenly insisted. "There has to be a surveillance video from yesterday…you clearly threatened me and made me pool in all my money to buy me a new car. You promised to give me your damaged one in return. I couldn't even repair my own car because the money wouldn't be enough." She deliberately spoke aloud, as though she was afraid that the employees would not hear what happened between her and Liam.
"Are all rich people so ruthless? You are taking advantage of your position and bullying the weak." She dramatically sniffled.
Behind them, Zaria facepalmed and covered her mouth while laughing. Enough already, Xim.
Liam gritted his teeth so hard that veins almost popped at his temples. "What is your real intention of coming here?"
"I just want my car, as promised." She blinked in all innocence.
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