Chapter 9 Arrogant Jerk

James had always been quick to deal with things, so his meeting didn't last long. Maria didn't have to wait long, either. Maybe ten minutes. She saw James make his way to his office. Summer was close behind him.

Immediately, Lorenzo stood up. "Excuse me, Mr. Xi..." Then he shifted his gaze to the woman standing in front of the window, struggling to explain his interruption.

James got the hint, and looked in that direction as well. He walked toward his office without stopping as if Maria didn't exist.

Silently waving to Maria, Summer took her seat. Maria nodded at her, smiling, and walked towards the CEO's office.

Seeing that, Lorenzo wanted to stop her, but Summer was too quick for him. "Excuse me, Lorenzo. During the meeting, Mr. Xi mentioned that..."

Since she was asking him something work-related, Lorenzo couldn't really interrupt her. Maria walked in like she owned the place.

She was aware of what Summer had done for her. She kept that in mind, and was grateful.

Following James, Maria entered the office quietly.

Stepping on the soft carpet, she looked around. The office was one of the biggest she'd seen. The decor was lavish as well. She marveled in her heart before coming back to her senses. She had business to discuss with James. She wasn't here for an office tour.

James was already sitting in front of the laptop, his slender fingers dancing over the keys.

Maria stopped in front of his desk and said his name softly. "James Xi."

When they were first married, she addressed him as "Mr. Xi." After they made love several times, she began to call him "James." But his full name would suffice for now.

The man totally ignored her and kept staring at the computer screen.

"Since I drank three bottles of brandy, I want access to Fairview Villa. So if you could let John know, I'd appreciate it. Don't worry, I'm not moving in. I just want to take a look." 'I just want to spend some time with the past, and find the things that remind me of my son,' Maria thought.

The man stopped typing and looked up at her. "I don't remember making any kind of deal with you. I said you weren't allowed inside Fairview Villa and I meant it. I don't care how much you drank."

Maria gazed at him. 'I know that. But I was hoping to earn some brownie points so you'd let me in. That was three bottles, and for what? Nothing? I puked up blood, you bastard!' Maria's inner voice cried.

Knowing how difficult this man was, she took a deep breath and said in a pleading tone, "Now I'm begging you. May I enter the Fairview Villa please?"

"Get out of here!" James refused her directly and ruthlessly.

Maria was so angry she felt a dull pain in her stomach. She clenched her fists and said, "James Xi, you told me I don't deserve to enter the Fairview Villa or see Arthur. But since you never intended to let me into the villa, why did you make me drink three bottles of liquor? To let Alina Tang mock me? Why?"

He gave her no response after the words fell from her lips. The only sound that could be heard was his fingers tapping the keys in rapid succession. But after he was done typing, he told her, "Because I'm James Xi."

'What an asshole!' Although Maria already knew what kind of person James was, she was still furious. These simple words sounded extremely domineering, as if he was telling Maria he could order her around like a robot, and she had nothing to say about it.

Maria took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "You know I carried Arthur for nine months, right? So who suffered the most pain after he had his accident? Since you said I don't deserve to see him, what about you? You never spent any time with your son. You only came home one or two days a month. James Xi, how did you feel when your son died? Did you feel heartbroken?"

They hadn't seen each other in person or talked about Arthur since the accident that took his life. Now several years had passed, and Maria summoned up the courage to bring up the past. The past she didn't want to talk about. The past filled with pain. But she wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them.

But he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it. He didn't care how heartbroken she was. Taking a look at his watch, James found that Maria had torn him away from work for nearly five minutes. "Are you done yet? If you are, Ms. Song, please leave and close the door behind you."

Hearing his words, Maria was astonished.

'He's such a miserable douche-nozzle!'

Maria decided to make her displeasure clear. She walked around his desk and approached him. She closed his laptop so forcefully that it made a sound. She stared at him with her watery eyes, and stressed each syllable. "I want to enter the Fairview Villa!"

The ambient temperature dropped in the ornate office.

James' arm shot up, his hand closing around her neck like a vice. Wringing her fragile neck with one hand, he stood up slowly, the other hand in his pocket. His eyes were filled with rage. "Since you bought a one-way ticket to Trauma Town, I don't mind giving you a ride."

To his surprise, as soon as his hand fastened around her neck, Maria fainted.

She fell straight into James' arms. His face darkened. He wanted to call his assistant and throw this woman out. She must be pretending, right? But as soon as he took a step forward, Maria's bony body fell to the carpeted floor. Her eyes were still closed.

James knelt down and patted her face, trying to wake her up, but he failed. He picked her up, gathering her in his arms, and stalked out of the office. As he stepped outside the door, he ordered Lorenzo to press the elevator button. He literally had his hands full just then.

Lorenzo looked at the woman in James' arms in astonishment. But he wisely decided to keep silent, and jogged down the hall to press the button to summon the CEO's exclusive elevator.

As James walked by, Summer cast a worried glance at Maria. That didn't escape James' eagle eyes. James glared at her coldly. Summer shivered and got back to work.

Maria still in his arms, James reached the parking lot. Lorenzo had followed him all the way there. The assistant opened the rear door of the black Harkim for him. At first, James wanted to ride with her, but he changed his mind quickly enough.

He shoved the pale woman into the back seat, closed the door decisively, and gave Lorenzo an order. "Get her to the Sunrise Private Hospital!"

"Yes, Mr. Xi. I got it."

After they roared off, James processed what had just happened and became extremely annoyed. He loosened his tie and took a few deep breaths. He felt somewhat better after that.

'Damn you, Maria Song!' he cursed.

James paced back and forth in the parking garage, trying to figure out a way to bleed off the rage that surged inside him. Finally, he took out his phone and dialed a number. "Don't even think of trying to borrow money from me in the next year," he said when the person on the other end picked up.

"No! James! Please listen to me!" The receiving end of his rage panicked.

James hung up the phone then, cutting off Ethan in mid-whine.

Maria returned to the ward. Shortly after that, Norman came to see her. He asked her where she went after leaving the hospital earlier. She just looked at him.

Norman decided to leave it alone, since she wasn't interested in telling him anything. After reminding her to take good care of herself, he left the hospital. If Maria wanted him there, she could always call.

Maria was discharged from the hospital in three days, and Norman wasn't there to pick her up because his hands were full. She didn't mind at all. After all, he had already helped her a lot.

Back at the hotel, Maria sent her resume to the secretary department of the HM Group via email. Then she closed the lid of the laptop after dealing with some other matters.

It was already midnight by the time she finished. She stood up, stretched, and ordered take-out. It was past dinnertime, but not time for breakfast yet.

After the meal, Maria opened the wardrobe and changed into casual clothes. Then walked out of the hotel and hailed a taxi.

Later, a fully-armed woman rolled up to the gate of Fairview Villa. Her backpack contained everything she needed for this mission of hers.

Lowering her cap, she approached the gate carefully, trying not to stand out. She pulled a small device from her backpack and aimed it at the blinking light on the camera.

Her aim was true, and the dart flew to the camera lens and stuck there, held in place by a suction cup. Now blocked from the view of the camera, the woman kept moving.

She quickly scaled the bronze gate and crept over to the villa in silence. Arriving at the front door, she managed to disable the camera lenses there the same way. Looking around to ensure her safety, she felt relieved. There were no guards in sight. If she could unlock the coded lock, she could finally enter.