NovelEnglish
Chapter 249
Before Leanna could say a word, Maya glanced at a necklace on the display shelf and said, "I'll take
this. I think it's not bad."
Leanna looked toward the said necklace and merely shook her head. "I don't think it suits you."
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Maya snorted. "For a person like me, I'm elegant no matter what I
wear unlike some people who can only rely on gorgeous things to embellish themselves."
"If you really like that piece, I'll give it to you as a present. It's not worth much money, anyway."
Maya was unhappy upon hearing that. "Do I look like someone who's here to take advantage of you?
Since I've already said I'll pay you, I'll pay you. Besides, I can tell from one look that your workshop has
no business. So, you can drop the pretense that you're doing well," she said, taking out a bank card
from her purse to pay.
Seeing how determined she was, Leanna raised her brows and relented. "Okay, then."
After paying the bill, Maya received a notification on her cell phone, but when she saw that only 80
dollars had been deducted from her account, she felt deeply humiliated.
Previously, Leanna had talked about hundreds of thousands loud and clear without even batting an
eyelid, leading Maya to think that the items in her shop would cost thousands, if not more.
So, she didn't expect it to be that cheap!
What a despicable woman! How dare she mock me with this thing! Maya thought.
Just when she was about to blow her top, a thirty-four-year-old man walked in.
Her eyes darted over, and she quickly paced to him. "Raymond, you're finally here. I've been waiting
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtfor you for a long time."
"I'm really sorry, but there was some traffic on the road," Raymond said, then he turned his gaze to
Leanna. "You must be the Miss McKinney that Maya always speaks about."
"Look how anxious you are," Maya said. "I haven't even introduced you yet." Then, she glanced at
Leanna and crossed her arms across her chest. "He's the man I'm always telling you about, the guy
working in my husband's company as a manager, Raymond Ford. He's capable and smart, an
outstanding man amongst thousands." And when she introduced Leanna, she pursed her lips and said,
"Well, you already know about her. Leanna McKinney, my classmate from university. She's very
beautiful, but her love life is turbulent. She had married a bad husband, and now she has her own
workshop."
Raymond extended his hand to Leanna. "Hello, Miss McKinney. Nice to meet you."
His unblinking stare made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't extend her hand and merely nodded her
head in acknowledgment, saying, "Hello."
Seeing that, Maya said, "Nobody visits your workshop anyway. You should just close it, and we'll grab a
coffee somewhere so that you can get to know Raymond better."
"No, thanks. There's no need for that," Leanna replied.
"Oh, Leanna, I shouldn't say this, but you've divorced once, so there's no need for you to act so mighty.
Raymond already lowered his status to look for you today, and you should just snap out of it. Stop
pretending to be a great catch," Maya snapped.
Nudging her arm, Raymond said, "Don't put it that way. The honor is all mine to befriend Miss
McKinney. Furthermore, I'm just a manager, not someone who's a noble."
Maya threw an unsatisfied look at Leanna. "Look how nice he is."
On the other hand, Leanna thought that she had been courteous enough that she didn't chase Maya
out of her shop, and this was the first time she met someone who was more thick-skinned than Aidan.
Taking a deep beneath, she decided to ignore Maya and said to Raymond instead, "Mr. Ford, I don't
know what Maya told you, but I've never given her my word that I'm going on a blind date, and neither
do I have plans to do so. I'm sorry that you've made a wasted trip."
He paused for a brief moment before breaking into a smile. "That's alright. Let's just take it that we're
making a new friend," he said as he took out a name card from his suit pocket and passed it to her.
On the name card, the words 'Crossley Group' was printed boldly on it.
So, this is the big company Maya kept saying that her husband is working in, Leanna realized.
After contemplation, she said politely, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ford. I think there's no reason for us to be friends
since we don't know each other to begin with."
Hearing that, Maya felt that Leanna was not giving her respect. She had been humiliated by the
incident with the necklace earlier, and now, Leanna had once again embarrassed her in front of
Raymond by rejecting him.
So, she retorted in annoyance, "Leanna, do you think you're still that little princess who Zayn loves
dearly? Come on, wake up. You're merely a divorcee that nobody wants. It's your honor that Raymond
is willing to be friends with you, and I'd advise you to know what's better for yourself."
Leanna chuckled. "That's interesting. I'm just here, minding my own business until you came to stir up
trouble, but now it ended up as my fault instead. Moreover, what's the problem if I'm divorced? Is there
a rule saying that divorced people are not allowed to live and have to find a corner to end their lives?"
Clearly, Maya wasn't expecting Leanna to be so unreasonable, and she couldn't form a coherent
response other than stammer.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmRight then, Raymond said, "You're right, Miss McKinney. There's nothing wrong with being a divorcee,
much more for a beautiful and smart woman like you. Even if you're divorced, you must have quite a
few suitors by your side."
The words had just left his lips when a man's voice echoed from behind. "Hey, Leanna."
Maya spun her head around and couldn't help but frown. "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Elijah's eyes drifted over her briefly. "I'm here to look for Leanna."
"Since when are you so close with her?"
"I'm courting Leanna," he answered. "Can't you tell?"
Instantly, Maya's expression changed into a look of disbelief as her eyes widened, and it was Raymond
who reacted first, taking a step forward.
"Are you President Parker of Constellation Tech? I'm Raymond Ford, project manager of Crossley
Group. Nice to meet you," he said, passing Elijah a name card as he bowed.
Taking the card from him, Elijah nodded in acknowledgment. "I've heard about you, Mr. Ford."
A look of delight washed over his face. "Oh, really?"
Thinking back, Maya had bragged about her husband to Elijah before. However, she had never
expected that Raymond would speak to Elijah in such a polite manner as if he held high opinions of
Elijah, maybe even higher than of her husband.
Nonchalantly, she opened her mouth and said, "All of us were ex-classmates a long time ago. Since we
all know each other, let's grab a drink together somewhere."
Turning to her, Raymond asked, "You and President Parker were classmates?"
Maya raised her chin. "Of course. We've always been close too."
It took a while for him to think before he continued, "It's not every day that we get to meet, President
Parker. Let me be the host and buy everyone a meal. What do you say?"
"No, thanks," Elijah said. Then, he turned to her and said calmly, "We're not that close with her."
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