Naomi would not let it go so easily. Although she used to be the top entertainer at Nightfall, now that she was with Gehrmann, she was particularly sensitive to others' words. She knew Travis was not someone to be trifled with, but dealing with his woman should be no problem. "Forget it, I won't hold it against you. We're here to have fun, after all," Naomi forced down her anger and then said, "But just sitting here is a bit boring. How about we play a game?" Hearing the mention of a game, the others immediately perked up and echoed, "What game should we play?" Naomi pulled out several decks of cards from the side and placed them on the table, smiling as she said, "Let's form teams and play cards. Whoever loses takes off a piece of clothing." "Interesting," Travis's eyes flickered with excitement at the idea. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse such a tantalizing and thrilling scene and immediately nodded in agreement. The other lecherous men were even more eager to start the game.
The sound made Luana extremely uncomfortable, feeling as if she was sitting on pins and needles. She looked down at her thin dress and groaned inwardly.According to the rules, losing a round meant she would have to strip completely, which was akin to being exposed for all to see.What difference was there between her and the women who sold their bodies for a living?She understood that Naomi was probably taking out her frustration on Luana because of Travis's earlier words. Unable to retaliate against Travis, she used the game as an excuse to vent her anger.Although Luana saw through the motive, the cards in her hand were terrible.Coupled with Gehrmann's seemingly deliberate poor play, she was sweating with anxiety.Today, Cline seemed to be acting out of character, showing no mercy at all.Every time she played a card, he seemed to deliberately target her.Luana was so angry her face turned b
At this moment, even Travis, the man who claimed her as his plus-one, was staring at her with anticipation.There was not a hint of concern in his eyes, only greed and desire.It was as if she was merely an object for display, a creature without dignity, being appraised and toyed with by these wealthy and powerful individuals who looked down on her.Her heart ached with struggle, fully aware of the difficult situation she was in.If she complied with their demands, they might, in a moment of whim, let her off the hook.But if she dared to resist, with the power and means these people possessed, they would not easily let her leave this room, and the fate that awaited her could be even worse.After much internal deliberation, Luana finally, reluctantly, unclenched her tightly clenched fists.A glimmer of determination and desolation shone in her eyes.Her life was already a living death. Perhaps
At that moment, Cline suddenly raised his well-defined hand and covered the mouth of the glass.His eyes were cold and indifferent as he stared intently at Luana's face, uttering a single word in a voice devoid of any warmth, "Dirty."This single word was like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into Luana's heart.It caused her a sudden constriction in her chest. The pain was almost suffocating.Her hand couldn't help but tremble violently, her fingers turning pale from the force of gripping the wine bottle.She stood there rigidly, her eyes locked with Cline's.However, in his eyes, she saw not a trace of their past affection.The tenderness and attachment that once existed seemed to have never been, replaced now by deep contempt and disgust.She thought painfully to herself, did he think she was dirty because she was with Travis?How ridiculous!She had been with him for fi
As an Alpha, Cline's eyes radiated a coldness mixed with the unique oppressiveness of the wolf pack.That intangible force seemed to penetrate Luana's body, making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.The surrounding air appeared to become heavy and oppressive due to his aura.Travis, witnessing this, was now certain that Cline was deliberately making things difficult for Luana.Yet, he couldn't fathom why Cline would target Luana in such a way.Did they have some unknown past?Did they know each other before?Hearing the words "pour on your knees," Luana's face was filled with shock and disbelief.'Pour wine while kneeling?' Although she had been his lover, she was by no means a humble servant to be commanded at his whim.Luana straightened her body once more, her eyes showing a hint of stubbornness and anger as she addressed Cline, "Mr. Moriarty, I don't know where I've offe
The scarlet red wine slowly trickled down her hair strands, dripping onto her pale face, sliding over her slender neck, and falling onto her thin dress...It wasn't until the last drop of wine fell onto the back of her hand that she slowly lifted her eyes.Her gaze was filled with shock and disbelief, staring straight at Cline.Cline, with his eyes as cold as frost, contemptuously glanced at her and coldly uttered a word, "Cheap."As an Alpha, his words seemed to carry the unique deterrent power, making the surrounding air seem to solidify.Upon hearing those words, Luana trembled uncontrollably.She clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, biting her lower lip, and stared at Cline without blinking.It was as if she wanted to bore a hole through him with her gaze, her anger and humiliation surging like a tidal wave.Cline, however, paid no attention to her reaction
Luana, still kneeling, wore the red wine splashed by Cline like a macabre mask, the dark liquid trailing down her cheeks, highlighting the fragile beauty of her pale face.Slowly, she raised her hand to wipe away the wine, her expression composed as she calmly replied, "We've met before."As expected, Travis thought to himself, bending slightly to scrutinize Luana with suspicion in his eyes.He pressed her further, "How did you meet?"Understanding his doubts, Luana took a deep breath and spoke, "I knew I bore a resemblance to Runa, and I thought to use that to my advantage. I took the opportunity of delivering documents to Mr. Moriarty and slipped something into his drink, hoping that after he slept with me, I could rise above my station. But he didn't fall for it and unceremoniously threw me out. Perhaps that's why he called me dirty, cheap."Luana's words successfully alleviated half of Travis's suspicions.He ha
When Travis heard Luana say she could help secure the project, a flash of excitement lit up in his eyes, and his interest was piqued.The western land project was about to initiate the bidding process next month, and Travis knew the significance of this project for him.His father, the influential Mr. Elan, had made it clear that if Travis could successfully secure this project, he would hand over the position of family heir to him officially.This was an opportunity Travis had longed for, a crucial step into the heart of power.However, the competition was fierce.Their rival was the Coburn Group from Washington, a leading enterprise with substantial strength and a renowned reputation.In terms of technology research and development, capital reserves, market share, and industry influence, Coburn Group held a distinct advantage.Beating Coburn Group in direct competition in their field was an almost unimaginable challenge.That's why Travis ha
The outfit Luana was wearing had to be worth millions. Even Gehrmann had never spent that much on her.The thought made her seethe with jealousy. 'Why does she get all the good stuff when we're both in the same line of work?'Fuming, she grabbed her phone and recorded a short video of Luana, sending it to Gehrmann with a message. "Look, Gehrmann, Luana has landed herself another rich guy. This one's even wealthier—dropped millions just to give her a makeover."She had studied all the wealthy men in Los Angeles but hadn't bothered with Washington, so she didn't recognize Calvert.She assumed he was some newly minted tycoon, given how young he looked.Gehrmann was in the middle of a golf game when he received the message. By the time he finished and checked his phone, an hour had passed.The video made his blood boil.'Luana Hammond, letting Calvert buy her haute couture?'He threw his golf club aside and immediately forwar
Luana was lost in thought when Calvert suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the glass to meet hers.Without a word, he picked up his phone and sent her a message."Miss Hammond, could you please bring me a cup of coffee?"Seeing the message, Luana quickly got up and headed to the break room.Once it was ready, she carried it to the meeting room and knocked on the door.The entire room turned to look at her, including the executive who had been presenting Slides.He paused, clearly annoyed by the interruption.Luana felt a wave of embarrassment, but Calvert gestured for her to enter."Come in," he said.She walked over and placed the coffee on his table, then turned to leave.But before she could step away, Calvert spoke again. "Miss Hammond, take a seat and stay here."The room fell silent."Mr. Coburn, she's from Winward. Letting her sit in on this meeting? What if she leaks confidential in
He had just put down his phone when Stanley, standing in front of the desk, asked with a worried look, "Mr. Coburn, Miss Hammond clearly wants to get close to you under the company's name. Why did you agree to let her be your assistant?"Calvert remembered that Luana had been indifferent yesterday, but today, she was coming to host him, which was indeed suspicious.But he was more willing to believe that it was because of that photo, which made Runa mistakenly think that she and he had some kind of relationship, so she sent Luana here. That's why he just let her be an assistant, not wanting Luana to be bullied in Winward.However, Stanley wouldn't understand it. Calvert didn't explain much, just said, "I need someone."'Need someone?''Mr. Coburn brought a lot of people to Los Angeles this time.''Although he only had one assistant, Stanley could handle all the trivial matters alone.''It was obvious that he had some thoughts about that woman; otherwise, he wouldn't have saved her and
Joan stared at Luana's retreating figure, grinding her teeth in anger and cursing, "Luana, we're not done yet!"Luana pretended not to hear it and walked straight into the restroom.The humiliations she had endured in the past were all vented out today.She couldn't quite describe how she felt, but she knew she should have done this long ago.She turned on the faucet, intending to wash her face, when Sabrina walked in.Sabrina had just left to buy coffee for everyone in the CEO's office and happened to witness Joan cursing at Luana, so she hurriedly followed Luana into the restroom."Luana, are you okay?"Sabrina wasn't clear about what had happened, but seeing Luana's expression, she guessed that Joan must have said something unpleasant.She knew Luana had always been rather soft-spoken and thought that Luana might have been bullied badly by Joan just now.Luana saw Sabrina's worried face and felt much more comfortable then. Her originally irritable heart gradually calmed down."I'm
When she initially borrowed $200,000 from Winward, the penalty for breach of contract at six times the amount would be $1.2 million.She couldn't come up with such a large sum of money, so she had no choice but to compromise.Seeing that Luana had become "reasonable," Runa's demeanor became increasingly arrogant as she said, "It's simple. Just treat Mr. Coburn well, and once he returns to Washington, I'll approve your resignation."Luana could barely accept not being allowed to resign, but the idea of serving Calvert was utterly repugnant to her.She immediately objected, "Mr. Coburn may not want me to serve him."Runa's lips curled into a meaningful smile as she replied, "I've looked at that photo several times, and the way he looks at you is far from simple, so Mr. Coburn will definitely want you."Luana wanted to retort, but Runa suddenly turned stern and impatiently said, "Just do as I say."Clearly, Runa believed that Luana and C
Runa's words were quite clear. To marry into wealth, good looks alone were far from enough.One also needed a matching family background, or at the very least, a high level of education.Truly, Runa, who possessed both wisdom and beauty, could insult someone without using any dirty words, yet still precisely strike at the deepest insecurities within one's heart.Luana clenched her hands and said, "Miss Ortega, whether I have thoughts of marrying into wealth or not is completely unrelated to my application for resignation. Even if you are the CEO, you have no right to interfere in my personal affairs, do you?"Runa didn't expect Luana to indirectly mock her for being nosy, and her expression darkened.She replied, "Of course, I can't interfere. I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. If you insist on giving up such a good job opportunity to pursue something that's not yours, and then regret it later, don't come back to Winward crying."Seein
It turned out that half a year ago, the Coburn family had intended to ally with the Moriarty family through marriage.The marriage candidate was Cline's cousin, who was also Gehrmann's sister, named Melissa Moriarty.Melissa was currently studying in Italy and would return to the States to get engaged with Calvert after graduation.Previously, she had deliberately blocked all news related to Calvert, so she was completely unaware of this.Now, seeing this information, she didn't feel much of an emotional stir.She and Albion could never go back to the past, and it didn't matter to her who Calvert married.Luana put down her phone, took some medication for her heart failure as usual, and then set the alarm volume to the maximum before falling into a deep sleep.The alarm rang for a long time before Luana faintly heard it and slowly regained consciousness.She reached for her phone and saw that it was nine in the morning. It wasn
Luana felt as if she had been struck by lightning, rooted to the spot in shock. Cline knew about Albion?"You've called out this name in your sleep, many, many times," he said as if he had long harbored resentment towards this name.He had investigated this person before, but it was as if Albion had been deliberately erased by some mysterious force, leaving no trace to be found, so he had stopped pursuing it.But now, he was suddenly extremely curious about who Albion was, someone she couldn't forget even in her dreams.Luana never expected that she would call out Albion's name in her sleep.Her thoughts immediately drifted back to when she first signed the lover's agreement. At that time, after their sex, Cline would still stay with her until she fell asleep.But it didn't last long. He stopped doing that.She had naively thought it was because Cline despised her.It was only now that she realized it was because she had called
His tone seemed to blame her, but his actions became increasingly distant.Luana understood in her heart that he despised her, but she didn't understand why he was acting this way.Perhaps it was the alcohol affecting his mind, causing him to act impulsively and get close to her.She couldn't figure it out and didn't want to waste her energy trying to understand, so she just replied, "Mr. Moriarty, we've broken up. Isn't it normal for me to act this way?"He blamed her, but it was he who had discarded her like a worn-out shoe. Why should he expect her to remain faithful to him?Upon hearing this, Cline's body became even more rigid, and the cold aura around him intensified. Luana felt the chill to the bone and couldn't stop shivering.She instinctively shrank back, not daring to lift her eyelids, fearing that she might provoke his anger and suffer a beating.When a man reaches the peak of disgust and disdain for you, he often shows no