Alyssa's eyes clouded over as she smirked. "Interesting. They are testing my limits. They won't learn their lessons if I don't put them in their place."The setback didn't demotivate her. Losing an important client was not the focus right now. She needed to find out the mole in the hotel or risk losing more."Ms. Alyssa, what should we do with the box of desserts?" Sean appeared upset.She decisively tossed the box into the trashcan and walked away without a second glance. She reasoned, "A gift is only meaningful if the recipient accepts it. Now, it's just trash. I never reclaim what I've given to others. Let's go."A tall and hunky figure emerged from the shadows when the two left. Jasper's eyes flickered as he stared at Alyssa."It looks like Madam will be busy hunting down the mole! It's no easy task." Xavier sighed. Jasper wordlessly walked to the trashcan and picked up the box without concern about hygiene."Mr. Beckett, s-stop! It's dirty!" Even the adaptable Xavier was g
The following day, Xavier hurriedly knocked on Jasper's office door at the Beckett Group, announcing, "Mr. Beckett, you wanted me to look into—Argh!"Xavier trailed off with a scream. It was too late to stop Jasper, who was seated on the table and casually lifting a pastry out of the dirty box.With a satisfied crunch, Jasper took a massive bite of the pastry and scrunched up his eyes in enjoyment."Oh god! How could you eat the food you picked from the trashcan?" Xavier warned him."Only the box is dirty. The pastries are fine," Jasper replied nonchalantly as he took another bite.The pastries tasted delightful, but too bad they weren't for him. Bitterness welled up inside him. He had once been dismissive of Alyssa's daily efforts in crafting these desserts. Now, he found himself rummaging through the trash can just to get a taste. How did he get to this point?"Go ahead. How's the investigation?" Jasper put away the remaining pastries and questioned leisurely."Ahem. After u
Xavier fell silent once more.Jasper took a deep breath and lowered his gaze. "I'll make it up to her, little by little."…Jonah and Silas rushed to Alyssa's private villa that night when they heard of her business setback.Silas was drenched in sweat as he sat in the study. His fingers typed furiously on the keyboard to track down the user information from the leaker's account that Alyssa gave her.Meanwhile, Alyssa lounged on the couch and clinked glasses with Jonah, savoring the high-quality red wine he had brought along."Hey, that's too much!" Mouth dry, Silas protested, "Am I here at night to work for free? Look at you, drinking wine and enjoying life. Is this how you treat a prosecutor?"Silas realized they showed no sympathy, so he added meekly, "Please save some for me.""Silas, stay focused on your work. If you succeed, I'll reward you with everything from my wine cellar," Alyssa quipped."Hmph! I am a moral and principled civil servant. You'd better not attempt to
"Well, it's not 'The Ring' anymore. It's straight up some 'Insidious' shit." Jonah took a sip of the red wine, still in the mood for a joke. With him and Silas around, Jasper wouldn't dare pull anything—unless he wanted to be crucified."Is that bastard knocking on your door? Screw him! Grab your weapons!" Silas cursed but continued to type away on the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen."What weapon? Your keyboard, you mean?" She shook her head and rose with a frustrated expression. "He's come for me, so I'll be the one to show him the door. I'll go downstairs and check out the situation."She went to the entrance alone and pressed the intercom button. Jasper's indifference immediately showed up on the screen."Why are you here?" Her eyes held no emotion, as though she was staring at a complete stranger. "Aren't there other places to visit in Solana City? Why do you keep coming to my place?""Alyssa, come out. Let's talk," he said, brushing off her taunt."Why can't we tal
"Good job, Silas, although it was a little slow," Alyssa complimented him merrily."This is pretty speedy, alright? Why didn't you get Axel to work on this? He's best at everything illegal. Got to find the right person for the job.""I reached out to Axel a few days ago, but he's on an important mission. I don't want to take up his time.""Lyse, you're pretty good at hacking—almost at Axel's level. You'd have settled this yesterday if you had worked on it," Jonah expressed his puzzlement.She merely yawned and explained, "I'm lazy."Silas was dumbstruck after learning that he had been used.Alyssa looked through the Twitter account he found and smirked. "A reporter with a strong sense of justice, isn't she? Instead of reporting on her own news, she goes ahead and leaks the photos of the wedding site at my hotel, sticking her nose into other people's business.""Are you saying that someone's behind her actions?" Jonah wondered."No. She wasn't working under orders or getting pai
Why was Jasper still out there? What was he trying to get at?Was that an attempt at winning her sympathy? Alyssa would never fall for such an off-putting move!Fueled by anger, she stormed into her bedroom, only to come to an abrupt halt.The rain in fall was not as mild as the summer showers. In Solana City, the nighttime temperatures during fall could plummet below freezing.She pondered. Jasper had been standing out there for hours in a thin outfit. If he stayed put …It'd be a huge hassle to deal with the police if he dropped dead at her gates!At the thought, she hurried back to her room and dialed his number. She was dismayed to learn that his phone was turned off.She was completely baffled by his move. She might not have felt sympathy for him, but her curiosity got the better of her. Hence, she left the villa with a large black umbrella.Jasper had been standing in hunger and the rain for too long. He even momentarily mistook Alyssa's petite figure as an illusion.He
As Alyssa was no longer in love with Jasper, she shed off any pretense of a demure lady and doubled over in laughter. "Why would I be upset over nothing? I'm a Taylor. It's hard to faze me. Don't you think you've underestimated me?""That's good to hear." Jasper looked glad."Why did you come all this way to tell me that?" Alyssa wondered, never once considering that he might have done so out of love for her.After all, he had had many chances to fall for her in the three years of marriage. It didn't make sense for him to suddenly develop feelings now. That would be a ridiculously delayed response."Alyssa, at the end of the day, I am indebted to you. Ours might have been a paper marriage, but that was no excuse for my poor treatment of you," he tried to explain his behavior. "So, if there's a chance, I'd like to make it up to you.""Make it up to me? Sure." She cast him an indifferent glance. "How about you promise to keep out of my sight and stay out of my business? That's all
The day after the KS World Hotel scandal, Betty dressed up nicely to meet with Ada at the presidential suite of Berenike Hotel.It was clear to her that Betty fell short in comparison to Alyssa in terms of fashion sense, class, and eloquence. In ordinary circumstances, Ada would never have considered associating with such a superficial person were it not for the fact that Betty was a Beckett."Madam Ada, KS World's contractual breach has led to the postponement of your wedding. Even I was worried when I heard the news. Their handling of the situation was amateur and careless."It was highly unprofessional of them to expose client's information online. This case will no doubt be the perfect cautionary tale in the industry," Betty indignantly bashed KS World Hotel, oblivious to the sullen look on Ada's face.She went on, "Had you chosen Berenike Hotel, you wouldn't have gotten into this mess.""Are you implying that I was bad at decisions?" confronted Ada, who took a sip of the bl