“Huh?
‘Be a good girl’?”
Hearing Adrian Hawthorne’s unfamiliar tone, Leah Sterling felt like she had just seen a ghost.
Had he lost his mind lately?
But she had no time to ponder that now.
“But I have my conditions!” she continued.
“Let’s hear them.”
“About investing in my friend’s project like you mentioned,” Leah said.
“The funds need to be transferred immediately.”
Adrian seemed to sigh on the other end.
“You really are something.
You can’t even wait until the next business day for your payout.”
Leah knew she was being a bit too mercenary, but it was better than letting Adrian use some other excuse to threaten Charlotte Quinn.
Adrian agreed.
“Alright.
The thirty million we discussed for her early-stage investment will be finalized right away.”
Leah secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After ending the call, she looked at Wendy Scott sitting opposite her.
Wendy’s face was already as pale as a sheet; she was trembling even more violently now, her lips quivering slightly.
Leah stood up, pulled two tissues from the dispenser, and gently pressed them into Wendy’s hands.
“Like I said, you just needed to give me thirty million.”
Wendy trembled.
How could she have known that Leah wasn’t just speaking out of anger earlier, but was actually dead serious!
“I’ve paid the bill.
Take your time,” Leah said, turning to leave.
How could Wendy possibly stay?
She hastily wiped the coffee from her hair and fled in a panic.
After they left, a laugh came from the adjacent booth.
“Wow, that was quite the drama just now.”
In that booth sat a young woman blinking her big, quirky eyes.
A professional-looking smartphone gimbal was set up on the table in front of her.
The screen clearly showed an ongoing live stream titled: [Yvette Explores New Cafes]!
The live stream from her phone was also cast to a nearby laptop screen, making it crystal clear.
The viewer count was steadily climbing, and the comment section was exploding with activity!
[Oh my god, this is too thrilling!]
[How is this any different from staying in a hotel and hearing an intense battle next door?]
[The legal wife is so calm and restrained!
I love it!]
[Is this the aura of the matriarch of a wealthy family?
She’s so dominant!]
[Are we sure this isn’t a scripted TV drama?
Throwing around thirty million like it’s nothing while I only make three thousand a month.]
[Am I the only one wondering if the ‘Adrian Hawthorne from Corvin’ they mentioned is THE Adrian Hawthorne of the Hawthorne Group in Corvin?]
[Streamer—DANGER!]
[Predicting the Hawthorne Group’s PR team will arrive at the scene in five seconds.
Five, four, three, two, one…]
When Yvette Sinclair saw that last comment, she just thought her fans had overly active imaginations.
Even if this streaming platform was a business under the Hawthorne Group, she was just a small-time streamer.
It shouldn’t come to that…
Just as the thought crossed her mind, her camera went black.
Stunned, Yvette shifted her gaze in shock.
“You…”
A pair of fair, slender fingers tapped gently on the screen, shutting off the live stream.
Yvette bit her lip, looking sheepishly at Leah, who had returned.
After the stream was off, Leah finally moved her fingers away from Yvette’s camera lens.
It was obviously impolite to abruptly shut off someone’s live stream, and Leah was just about to apologize.
She had caught a glimpse of a few comments on the screen and realized her confrontation with Wendy might have been broadcasted, which was why she came back to check.
But before Leah could speak, Yvette beat her to it.
“I’m so sorry!
I didn’t mean to record you guys.
I’m a cafe-hopping streamer, and while I was reviewing this place, my mic picked up your conversation from the next booth.”
Leah raised an eyebrow, looking at the large and small plates of the cafe’s signature dishes covering Yvette’s table.
It seemed she was telling the truth; she was just doing a review, and this was purely a coincidence.
Leah didn’t say much else.
She nodded and said, “I’m sorry for abruptly turning off your stream.”
“No, no, it’s fine!
I completely understand,” Yvette replied.
She couldn’t help but think how beautiful and elegant Mrs.
Hawthorne looked in person.
After hearing her toss coffee in someone’s face earlier, Yvette had expected her to be incredibly sharp and intimidating.
Who knew she would be so easygoing?
Just as Leah turned to leave, Yvette called out, “Stay strong, Mrs.
Hawthorne!
I’m rooting for you.”
Leah smiled helplessly.
“Just be careful.
Your fans were right in the comments—the Hawthorne Group’s PR team is not easy to deal with.”
Yvette bit her lip, a clever thought forming in her mind.
Blinking her big eyes, she rubbed her hands together and looked at Leah pitifully.
“In that case, could I get your contact info?”
Streamers in the independent media space these days were certainly bold.
“If the Hawthorne Group’s PR team really comes after me, you can testify for me, Mrs.
Hawthorne!
I swear it was an accident!”
In truth, if that really happened, she could just tell the PR team to ask Leah, but that would leave her too passive.
That was why Yvette made the request.
Leah thought about it and didn’t see any harm.
She nodded, gave Yvette her number, and finally left the cafe.
Little did she know, Yvette’s sudden black screen and abrupt end to the broadcast had thrown her fans into an absolute uproar!
The streamer really was in danger!
Could it really be the Hawthorne Group’s PR team?!
As a result, the search term ‘Hawthorne Group PR’ quietly climbed the trending topics list.
As its popularity continued to grow, the ranking inched higher and higher.
Leah remained completely unaware of this.
After leaving the cafe, she stopped her car at a red light and dialed Charlotte Quinn.
“Stop worrying.
The funds will be transferred shortly.”
Charlotte paused for two seconds on the other end, her voice low.
“They’re already here.”
Hearing this, Leah was taken aback.
Adrian’s efficiency was truly impressive.
“That’s wonderful.”
“Did you agree to Adrian Hawthorne’s demands?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes.” Fearing Charlotte would blame herself, Leah quickly added, “Wendy Scott just came looking for me.
She provoked me to my face and urged me to get a divorce.
I got a little angry, so I just decided to agree to it.”
Despite hearing this, the heavy seriousness in Charlotte’s voice didn’t fade.
“You’re not just saying that on purpose to make me feel better, are you?”
“Of course not.
It’s nothing like that.”
Not long after, however, Charlotte learned that Leah hadn’t been making it up—it was entirely true.
The incident from Yvette’s live stream was rapidly gaining traction, climbing to a high spot on the trending list.
The news eventually made its way from the Hawthorne Group’s PR department to Robert Rhodes.
After a meeting concluded, Robert reported the situation to Adrian.
The audio clip of the conversation between Leah and Wendy had already been extracted from the video on demand of Yvette’s stream.
As Adrian listened to the recording Robert played, his sharp, handsome eyebrows twitched slightly.
The corners of his lips curled into a faint smirk.
“I underestimated this woman, Leah.
She’s provoking me.”
Robert had assumed that Wendy’s meeting was a ploy to push Adrian into divorcing Leah.
Who knew Adrian would point the finger at Leah?
“You’re saying Mrs.
Hawthorne is provoking you, sir?”
Adrian gave a noncommittal hum and casually asked, “How is the PR department handling this?”
Robert answered truthfully, “Because it involves your privacy and to prevent any negative impact on you, the PR department has temporarily suspended the streamer’s account.”
This response practically had ‘guilty conscience’ written all over it.
Adrian lifted his gaze and shot Robert a cold look.
“Those useless fools in the PR department might as well go home and sell potatoes.”
And these people were supposed to be one of the top PR teams in the industry?