Ecstacy of the Heart

Silence blanketed the private room for a few seconds and the ambience was terrible.

Allison reacted quickly and grabbed the napkin aside, wiping the wine stains from Horace's suit. "I'm sorry. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean it!"

Mr. Hobart was angry. "What are you doing? Are you blind or handicapped? How can you spill the wine?"

Raising his hand, Horace was calm and gentle instead. He said in a soft tone, "Forget it, Mr. Hobart. Not a big deal."

Taking a deep breath, Allison looked at Horace and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Geoffrey. Could you come with me please? I can help you clean up. It's really my fault today. If I couldn't handle it properly, I'm afraid my manager would also blame me. Please give me a chance!"

Hearing her words, Horace looked up at her and thought for half a second. Then he nodded. "All right," as he spoke, he stood up and smiled to others in the private room, "Enjoy yourselves. I'll be right back." Then he strode towards the door. Allison followed him in a hurry and closed the door behind her.

As soon as he walked out from the private room, Horace turned around and stared at her solemnly. He asked coldly, "You are not a waitress here. What do you want from me?"

Allison was startled. She didn't expect that Horace could find it. She took a deep breath and asked with curious, "What do you mean?"

Horace answered in a deep voice, "All waiters and waitresses in JY Club have undergone professional training before working. You are absolutely not one of them."

Allison gaped when hearing his words. Much too her surprise, Horace was smarter than she had thought. If that was the case, she was worried that he might not agree to her order proposal. However, she still had another bargaining chip in hand.

Biting her lower lip, she mustered the strength and looked up at Horace. "Mr. Geoffrey, you are super smart. I'm not a waitress here indeed. I'm an assistant of the administration department in Parker Group. I came to talk business with you particularly."

"What kind of business?"

"I went to your company and talked about an order of the gift box of this month's holiday. He turned me down because he didn't agree to the price we offered. I came here to see if we still have the opportunity to cooperate."

Horace answered her sternly, "I've seen the plan from your company. Your quotation is the way too low. Besides, we have plenty of orders right now, so it's unnecessary for us to lower our price and make less profit."

"I know. That's why I still want to bring it up to you today. Besides, I have a valuable message for you."

"What kind of valuable message?"

"It has something to do with that Mr. Hobart in the private room just now. Are you working with him recently?"

Horace frowned slightly. "How did you know?"

Allison took a deep breath and told him exactly what she had overheard at the corner of the corridor. Sure enough, Horace's face became gloomy. Obviously, it was out of his expectation. Pretending to be calm, Allison asked, "Mr. Geoffrey, the value about this message should be higher than the profits you'd give us."

Horace's eyes darkened. "Why should I believe you?"

"Believe or not, as long as you know the information, I have no gain no loss. Whether you want to take our order or not, it really doesn't matter. After all, if you cooperate with Park Group for a long-run, I don't think you would suffer any loss."

Hearing Allison's answer, Horace's expression changed slightly. He was silent for a few seconds and said in a softened tone, "Mr. Hobart always dislikes me, which I've known it long ago. I didn't expect he would set me up this time. I believe what you said. As my gratitude, I agree to take your order. But if you want to cooperate with us next time, we cannot accept your current price offered."

Allison was overjoyed. She took a deep breath. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Geoffrey!"

Upon seeing that, Horace curled his lips to a smile. "But, if you want to meet me next time, don't use such awkward means," as he spoke, he took out a business card from the pocket and handed it over. Allison took it with both her hands and said excitedly, "Sure, Mr. Geoffrey. Thanks!"

"I'll ask my assistant to contact you these days. Now you can go home."

Allison nodded repeatedly and watched him go back to the private room. She heaved a sigh of relief. Much too her surprise, she made it!

If she hadn't accidentally heard someone was going to frame Horace, she might not have the chance to negotiate with him equally today. No matter what, her hard work was not in vain.

Allison carefully put away his business card and walked to the staff room immediately. She put her own clothes back on and was about to leave JY Club.

She took the elevator to reach the first floor. As soon as she walked out from the elevator, she was stopped by someone from behind. "You! Stop!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Allison became nervous suddenly. She turned around and saw the manager who asked her to send the wine earlier. He stared at her with a gloomy face.

When their eyes met, they both were stunned. Allison came back to her senses quickly and trotted towards the entrance. The manager chased after her at once. "Stop running! Who the hell are you? Stop!"

The manager was confused. He

wanted to figure out what was going

on. He asked her to send the wine to a room but the patron in that room called him again, saying they still hadn't got it after waiting for such a r long time. Now she was about to

leave the club in a casual outfit.

Hearing the footsteps that were getting closer and closer behind her, Allison didn't slow down but fastened her paces. If she were caught today, the consequences would be disastrous.

When she reached the entrance, the security guards at the door suddenly rushed up to block her way. She had to stop.

Allison was flustered. When she turned around, the manager strode to her with short breath. While striding, he said, "What did you stop? Why don't you keep running?"

She was facing the manager and the security guards were standing behind her. She had no way to escape. At this moment, she didn't know what to do.

The manager was so anger that he blushed. He stood in front of her and snapped, "Tell me. Who the hell are you? What are you doing by sneaking in here?" Allison lied nervously and casually, "I... I'm here to find someone..."

The manager pulled a gloomy face. "Who are you looking for? Do you need to put on the uniform to look for someone? What's your purpose? Are you a thief? Besides, where did you send the wine I asked you to send?"

Hearing a litany of questions, Allison couldn't answer all of that for a moment. She took a deep breath and answered in a low voice, "I really... came here to look for someone. I did that because I couldn't find a way..."

"Tell me, whom are you looking for?"

Allison squeezed her hands together tightly, refusing to tell him. If she said Horace Geoffrey's name to him, then Horace would be implicated. In that case, all her previous efforts would be in vain.

"If you don't tell me, I'll call the police," the manager snorted, taking out his phone to dial a number.

Allison trembled because of fear.

Seeing he was calling the police, she

was more panicked. "Stop! I... I'll tell

you." Suddenly there was only one person in her mind -- Alexander. If she told the manager she was looking for Alexander, would he let she go?

"Who is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Allison answered, "I... I'm here for Alexander Parker."

The manager sneered. "What did you say? Alexander Parker? Stop lying! You are so bold! You even want to fool me with his name. What a liar! definitely call the police to report your trespassing today!" As he spoke, he raised his phone again and started dialing a number.

Suddenly, a clear and cold male voice was heard. "She's here looking for me."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐