A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 78 I Love You So Much

Summer's reassignment abroad was no secret. Lorenzo gave it to Maria straight. "Summer was transferred because she helped you and angered Mr. Xi." He thought Summer was really stupid, and brought this on herself.

Lorenzo wasn't lying. Summer did help her, and was punished for it. That much was true. Maria set her work aside, grabbed her phone, and walked out of the cafe with Lorenzo.

The man thought he knew Maria pretty well. According to his calculations, she'd go to HL Group and fight with James about this. He was ready for the inevitable fireworks show. Lorenzo was disappointed. Maria was led to the CEO's office. When she saw James, she leaned over his desk with a bright smile and said, "Hi, Mr. Xi. Did you miss me?"

Lorenzo didn't leave the office until he rolled his eyes in disdain.

Looking at the woman in front of him, James got down to business. "Give me Ronald's videos. Name your price."

Since he was straightforward, Maria asked more frankly, "Let's remarry?" He refused, "No way!"

"Then call off your engagement to Alina." "No!"

Maria didn't get angry. Still leaning over his desk, she propped herself up on her elbows, rested her chin in one hand and looked at the man. "So much for naming my price. Two conditions, then."

"Go ahead."

"First, I want Summer back here, working for you like usual." Summer was her best source for inside information in HL Group.

Eyes darkening, James said nothing. He knew the reason Maria wanted Summer working here. He didn't like it.

Maria heaved a sigh. "Some negotiation. You can't just automatically say no to everything I want. That's not how this works. Unless you don't really want the videos..."

"Okay, I'll transfer Summer back. The second one?" He really underestimated the bond between these two women. He resolved not to make the same mistake twice. He thought the maxim "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" to be quiet apt.

Maria was overjoyed. She was finally getting somewhere. Putting her chin in both hands, she said, "I haven't decided on the second condition. You'll be the first to know when I do."

James was now even angrier. "No. Tell me now.

She lowered her head and giggled, "Why so anxious? Having a hard time controlling yourself when we're in the same room together?"

James blinked rapidly. He couldn't believe what she said.

The woman sitting opposite smiled sweetly and her eyes narrowed, as if she were in an extremely good mood.

Maria comforted him, "Don't worry. If you think I'm being unreasonable, just turn me down. I'm used to it."

Then, she stood up straight, grabbed her purse and said, "Mr. Xi, if there's nothing else, I'm out of here. Remember to unblock me on WeChat. Pretty hard to send the videos to you if I'm still blocked."

James watched her walk out.

Maria visibly relaxed. That went better than she thought.

Her sudden change threw James for a loop. He expected her to fly off the handle and he had gone over ways to subdue her if she got out of hand.

Now it looked like that was unnecessary. Maria opened the office door. But before she left, she turned around and said, "I bet you're wondering why I'm so open to persuasion today." She looked James straight in the eye, her expression full of love, whispering, "It's just that I love you so much. I'll give you whatever you want."

After saying that, she left without looking back.

Silence blanketed the office. James was still reeling from what she said.

"I love you so much." Her voice echoed in his mind.

These five simple words made James feel uneasy and a trace of guilt tickled his heart.

Maria walked into the elevator and the door closed. Her expression turned cold once more. There was no trace of the emotions she displayed in James' office, including the deep affection in her gaze. Her suggestions that he remarry her or break up with Alina were tests.

James proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had no feelings for her and that he loved Alina deeply.

The elevator descended quickly. Looking at herself in the mirror, Maria smiled in selfmockery. Her beauty and charm meant nothing to James. James was a man of action. Before Maria even had time to walk out of the building, she received a friend request on WeChat from him.

She accepted and sent him a message. "The videos are on my laptop, Mr. Xi. I'll send them to you tonight."

After a long while, she got a simple reply from James. "OK."

Glaring at the word, she locked her phone and tossed it aside.

Qin Group took some major hits because of Stella's behavior. Fortunately, her father loved her a lot, and he wasn't as hard on her as he could be.

She felt extremely guilty, watching her father working day and night to try and save the company. She also saw how hard her father took it.

So she went to ask Alina for help. Alina had just asked James to get Ronald's orgy videos, so she couldn't ask him for another favor again so soon.

Thinking for a while, she promised that Tang Group would watch out for Qin Group in their business dealings, since she couldn't do anything else. Tang Group would throw a few juicy contracts to Qin Group to get them back on their feet.

Stella wasn't entirely satisfied but could nothing else. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Finally she blamed Maria for this. Her hatred for the woman only deepened.

If it weren't for her, James wouldn't have punished Qin Group. They wouldn't have to struggle to restructure and rebuild.

Getting a manicure, Alina was forced to listen to Stella's tales of woe, and the abuse she heaped on Maria. And it all bored her. Alina's mind wandered, and something interesting hit her all of a sudden. "Maria owns Miracle Cafe," she said.

Hearing that, Stella was floored. "Really?" she asked. "That's Maria Song's cafe? No way!"

"I wonder who bought it for her." Alina pursed her lips and didn't realize how sour her tone was.

"How could she afford to own a place that size?

I wonder if he had to do something to earn it."

Stella was convinced that it had to be a fluke.

Since James had handed down his edict, no one would hire Maria. Colby helped her out, helping her wrangle a position for herself at HM Group. She was a deputy manager in the sales department. Because she didn't need to do any work there, she didn't have any real power under this title.

James should have known about it, but he didn't want to waste time on it. As long as Colby still worked for HM Group, Maria could go ahead and keep the title.

A shrewd capitalist, Colby intended to make full use of Maria since he hired her.

He took full advantage of Maria's relationship with James to target a bid and hand the project over to her. She was now responsible for communicating with a cadre of employees from HL Group.

Colby took out a bank card and a contract for her to sign. He slid it across the table, stopping in front of her. "Maria, I know you can do it."

When she saw the black card, the smile on the woman's face widened. She pretended to turn him down. "Aww, Mr. Zheng, you're making things difficult for me. James Xi won't even meet with me. How can I secure a quote for you?"

Colby smiled, "I believe in you. If you need any help from HM Group, just tell me!"

"It's so hard to deal with the man! Will you get mad at me if I fail?" Playing with the black card, Maria didn't look like she was given an unenviable task at all.

"Of course not! After we win the bid, I'll take you to the UK. What do you think?" He knew what he asked Maria to do was not an easy task. HL Group had already had a target partner to cooperate with in the bidding. Now Colby asked Maria to change HL Group's decision.

Maria thought for a while before saying, "When you put it that way, how can I say no? On one condition: take me shopping when we get there!"