Trouble in Paradise

The once hot-headed youth had become more sophisticated. He was now capable of exacting revenge on me by laying a trap for four years.

My gaze swept over to Silas, who sat calmly and seemed unsurprised by the relationship between Pete and me. It was clear that he had known all along, which further confirmed my suspicions.

Pete crossed his arms, pouting his lower lip to blow away his bangs that were starting to poke into his eyes.

He smirked and asked, "Do you admit defeat now? If you're unwilling to admit that you've lost, no problem. Drink these two bottles of vodka, and I'll let you go. We'll have a battle of our wits again next time."

In the past, I might have thrown the vodka in his face and walked away without a care. But now, my hard-earned job opportunity would be jeopardized if I displeased Pete.

I needed to make money!

I no longer had anything to fall back on to retaliate against him. I was neck deep in 87 million dollars of debt, so I had no choice but to be pragmatic.

I smiled and said, "I admit defeat. I never said I didn't. If I drink this, will you let me join Mr. Harmon's firm?"

50 percent vodka was no joke. Downing over

spread from my tongue to my stomach.

I raised the glass to toast Pete. "I'll drink this now. Watch closely, Mr. Shelman."

And so, I played the role of an obsequious people pleaser to perfection. Pleasing Pete wasn't scary; I would be worse off if I didn't have any money and freedom.

With those words, I tilted my head back and drank the vodka. The way the alcohol stung my throat made it feel like I was swallowing shards of glass. I choked and spluttered noisily.

Pete probably didn't expect me to take it seriously. His intention was likely just to give me a hard time while I was job hunting. I could see the surprise on his face.

He didn't speak. Silas didn't seem inclined to stop me either. He stood back with his arms crossed and watched things play out. Pete's chair scraped loudly against the floor as he shot up from his seat.

Pete sneered and taunted, "Drink up, then. If you finish these two bottles, I'll let you join Silas' firm. Drink another two bottles, and I'll make Silas step down and give you his position! No matter how you perform, and even if you mess up a case worth 100 billion dollars, I'll accept it."

I listened to his taunt and gripped the glass tightly. Then, I relaxed my hold.

Before I came for the interview, I had studied Silas' latest case. It involved a company being accused of money laundering. Hundreds of billions of dollars were instantly labeled as illicit

funds.

Handling such a case could net the firm tens of billions, and even a small share for me would cover a quarter of my debt to Nicholas.

I shrugged and said, "Forget it. I might not even live to take up. work if I drink more than two bottles. So, two bottles will do. Please keep your word, Mr. Shelman."

Silas stood up and pushed down my glass gracefully. He smiled and said, "Ariana, Pete was just teasing you. Admitting your loss will work better than downing all the vodka."

I shook my head vigorously, as I wasn't one to beg. Pete was my lifelong nemesis. Getting him to keep his word was already. hard enough.

Thus, I set down the glass and smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach my eyes as I started drinking straight from the

bottle.

Pete smirked. "My goodness, drink slower. Let me take a picture to post on social media!"

Silas tapped his fingers on the table while advising Pete," That's enough. Don't blow things out of proportion."Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Pete hated being given advice. When we were children, everyone sided with me because I was a girl. He, on the other hand, bore the brunt of all the scoldings and punishments. He snapped a quick picture and posted it on social media without even looking up. "She can go ahead and drink all she

wants. If she dies, I'll take care of her funeral."