Chapter 22 Barking
00:50:32
Finished
The office door suddenly swung open, and a young woman rushed in like a gust of wind.
She took a few steps toward Francesca and threw her arms around her for a big hug. “You didn’t even look for me when you came back. How heartless! I’ve been thinking about yothis whole time.”
That was Nina Lowell, Francesca’s best friend since they were kids. Nina had thought Francesca was dead in the fire and had been upset for a long time.
Back then, Nina had cried and begged to come to the Anderson family’s house for the funeral. It wasn’t until Raymond told her that Francesca was alive that she finally calmed down.
Though Francesca hadn’t died, the fire left her with serious burns, and she had spent the last two years recovering quietly. This was the first time the two of them had seen each other in all that time.
“I was just about to call you. You beat me to it,” Francesca said, patting her back. “I miss you too.”
Raymond rubbed Francesca’s hair. Knowing they had a lot to catch up on, he said, “I’ve got a meeting. You two go ahead and eat.”
There was a fancy restaurant nearby, fully owned by the Brightway Group. Since Francesca had taken it over, it was now hers. She figured it’d be nice to take Nina there and show her around.
As they walked into the restaurant, arm in arm, Nina’s face immediately dropped when she saw who else were there, Ellen and Hannah.
“Ugh, what a nightmare. A walking corpse,” Hannah muttered under her breath, eyeing Francesca like she was some kind of plague.
She had heard what happened the night before. While she was shocked that Francesca was still alive, she was more bothered by the fact that Francesca had been at the party when she, as the daughter of the Landon family, hadn’t been.
“This bitch didn’t just survive, she also made Suzanna look bad. Unbelievable!” Hannah shouted at Ellen.
Ellen shot Francesca a disgusted look and said loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’ve met a ton of women like her. She thinks she’s something special just because she slept with a rich guy.
“So arrogant, so entitled, doesn’t care about anyone. When the guy gets bored and dumps her, she won’t even have a place to crash.”
Their conversation was loud, and they didn’t bother to keep it down. People in the restaurant started to look at them with annoyance.
Nina’s eyebrows shot up, clearly pissed off. She was about to storm over to them, but Francesca stopped her. “Are you really going to bark back if a dog barks at you?” Francesca said calmly.
It was a public place, and she wasn’t about to waste her time on those two. Nina could only glare at them, fuming.
Ellen and Hannah thought Francesca had backed down, and they smirked, sure she wouldn’t do anything.
After all for the three years she was with the I andon family Francesca was always the one getting nushed
1/2
12:42 Fri, 9 May
Chapter 22 Barking
00:46:89
78%
Finished
As the two of them walked by, Hannah deliberately stuck out her leg to trip Francesca. But without even glancing down, Francesca kicked it.
Hannah winced, slamming her hand on the table. “Are you blind? You stepped on my foot! Where’s the manager? Somebody, get over here, I’m filing a complaint!” She pointed right at Francesca’s face and screamed.
She was sure Francesca did it on purpose. Just thinking about it made her even angrier. Back then, that woman was too scared to speak up when she was bullied, but now Francesca had the nerve to step on her.
The restaurant had a membership system, so only approved guests could get in. The manager, not wanting to upset anyone, quickly came over to apologize.
“Are you serious? Anyone can just walk in now? Did I pay 200 thousand dollars a year for nothing? Get them out of here!” Hannah snapped, eyeing Francesca’s face with so much jealousy she practically wanted to scratch it.
The manager turned and took in the scene. He recognized Nina as part of the Lowell family, and although he didn’t know the other woman, she had a certain presence; elegant, and confident.
They clearly weren’t just anyone, as the other guest had claimed.
He suddenly remembered that his superior had said Nina would be dining with his new boss. And that hit him, this woman must be the boss. And here was a random customer, demanding that he kick his boss out.
20
