Chapter 54 Cannot Be Soft-hearted Again

Seeing Yvonne there, Elijah immediately turned around and walked away.

Philippe quickly followed him. "You came just to leave? Who offended you?"

"No one offended me." Elijah's handsome face tensed up. "I suddenly feel like I'm wasting my time here. It's better to go back and work overtime."

"You didn't say that on the phone just now." Philippe blocked his way and glanced at the private room, with a mischievous smile. "Did you have a falling out with Yvonne?"

Elijah neither admitted nor denied it. He leaned against the staircase, lighting a cigarette.

"She didn't avoid anything. Do you really have to act like this? Since you're already here, can't you be more generous?" Philippe, also lighting a cigarette, tried to persuade him.

Elijah stubbed out his cigarette forcefully in a plant pot and spoke in a low voice, "There are some things that can't be resolved with generosity."

"What happened? Tell me, let me judge." Philippe had a gossipy expression.

"You guys continue, I'm leaving." Elijah didn't even look back as he went downstairs.

He drove around the streets aimlessly, not wanting to return to Rhode Hills. The 'Four Treasures' chat group was lively.

There were several voice and video messages. Elijah casually clicked on one and unexpectedly saw Yvonne and Mason binge drinking. Yvonne downed three bottles of beer while Mason begged for mercy after just two bottles.

Elijah scrolled down and selected another video featuring Yvonne. She was leaning on Philippe, smoking a cigarette and laughing heartily, while Mason appeared despondent.

Elijah's heart inexplicably became restless.

He parked the car on the side of the road, turned on the hazard lights, adjusted the seat, and lay down, closing his eyes. Yvonne's face appeared again. She truly was a poisonous woman!

Despite only being with her a few times, she entangled him day and night.

This uncontrollable emotion was not what he desired. Since he had made a decision this time, he couldn't be soft-hearted anymore.

As Elijah was lost in his thoughts, he fell asleep. He was awakened by Philippe's phone call. He checked the time - it was half past one in the morning.

"Elijah, Yvonne drank too much, and we can't find out where she lives. Can you take her away?" Philippe exclaimed loudly, with Mason mumbling something in the background.

"I'm sleeping." Elijah feigned reserve.

"Just tell us if you're coming or not. If you don't come, I'll take her to my place!" Philippe's voice had a hint of intoxication.

The refusal lingered in Elijah's throat for a long time, but in the end, he discarded all reserve and drove to the Zero Club.

When he saw Yvonne, she was already thoroughly drunk. Philippe and Louis carried her to the backseat of Elijah's car.

Although Yvonne was heavily intoxicated, her mouth never stopped uttering incomprehensible words.

Elijah struggled with where to take her. He wasn't planning to let her back into Rhode Hills. After much consideration, he decided to take her to Sunshine Community.

After parking the car, Elijah opened the back door. Yvonne's cheeks were flushed as she lay slanted, her misty eyes filled with moisture.

At this moment, all her astuteness and worldliness had disappeared, replaced by a hint of tenderness that instantly grasped Elijah's heart. Approaching her, his desire to possess her surged once again!

But soon, he regained his composure. Facing the gust of cold wind, his heart gradually calmed.

"Get out," Elijah said using the coldest tone possible, afraid of having improper thoughts again.

She lay flat on the seat, biting her red lips lightly and giggling as she shook her head. "I'll say it again, get out!" Elijah said while pulling her arm.

Her body was lifted from the car, but she lost her balance and nearly fell. Fortunately, Elijah acted swiftly and held her in his arms.

"Baby, you forgave me, didn't you?" She hooked her arms around Elijah's neck and pressed her scorching lips against his.

Elijah, repulsed by the smell of alcohol on her, turned his face away. But her initiative ignited something in him.

"Can I kiss you?" Yvonne, under the influence of alcohol, leaned in again to kiss Elijah's face.

Elijah twisted her hand and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Be obedient. Let's go upstairs first, and then we'll talk."

Yvonne's alcohol-induced headache made her frown, and she started tearing her clothes.

"Drinking this much is practically suicide," Elijah scolded as he carried her into the elevator.

Her head rested against Elijah's chest, and her hands couldn't stay still, roaming all over him.

It took a lot of effort for Elijah to get her into the room.

He tried twice but couldn't throw her onto the bed.

She was like a koala, clinging to his waist while undoing his shirt buttons. "Do I annoy you that much..."

Elijah's heart softened, and then his hands followed suit.

Both of them fell onto the bed simultaneously.

She closed her eyes tightly and moaned in comfort against Elijah's body.

Elijah remained still, quietly watching the woman in front of him.

Her body was burning hot, and she was already asleep.

Her fair skin revealed tiny blood vessels, and her eyelashes were long. Her whole being had become gentle and reliant due to the effects of alcohol.

In that moment, all the rules and restrictions he had set for her collapsed.

Elijah gently brushed away the strands of hair from her face and planted a kiss on her forehead.

After much effort, he persuaded himself to leave the bedroom and went to the kitchen to boil some hot water.

Then, he poured a full cup and placed it on her bedside table before leaving the Sunshine Community.

Yvonne woke up the next day at noon.

Her cell phone showed two missed calls from Owen.

Oh no!

This time, it wasn't about being late; it was about skipping work!

Rubbing her still throbbing forehead, she guiltily called Owen back, explaining that she had a fever and only woke up now.

Owen hesitated and said that according to the rules, three days' worth of her bonus would be deducted.

She smiled and replied, "I was at fault, so the deduction is warranted."

After hanging up the phone, she felt extremely thirsty. She grabbed the water from her bedside table and drank it all at once.

Fragments of memories from last night told her that Elijah had brought her back, but she couldn't find any trace of him in the entire room.

She found Philippe's number and dialed it.

"Yvonne, you drank too much last night. Are you okay now?" Philippe asked with a smile.

"I'm fine." Yvonne also smiled awkwardly. "Who brought me back last night?"

"Who else but Elijah? I wanted to, but he didn't give me the chance." Philippe chuckled and hung up the phone without another word.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Elijah wasn't completely heartless toward her.

After freshening up and grabbing a bite to eat, she thought of picking up her car from the Zero Club's parking lot, but she couldn't find her car keys.

She remembered very clearly that she had put the car keys in her coat pocket last night, but she couldn't find them anywhere now.

So, there was only one possibility- it must have fallen onto Elijah's car!

She tried dialing Elijah's phone, but she was still blocked.

She had no choice but to call Philippe again.

"What's wrong now?" Philippe asked impatiently.

Helplessly, she said, "It's highly likely that my car keys fell onto Elijah's car. Can you ask him for me? If they're really there, please ask him for the address so I can go get them."

"No way, are you two relying on me to be the middleman for communication?" Philippe sounded excited as if he had discovered a new continent. "Yvonne, what did you do to offend Elijah? Tell me, I'll help you patch things up."

"Shut up. Just help me, I'm waiting to go out," Yvonne retorted.

In fact, Yvonne's car keys did fall onto Elijah's back seat.

Philippe called Elijah.

'Hey, do you have Yvonne's car keys?'

'Yes,' Elijah responded. 'I'm at the Harper Group. Tell her to come here and get them.' Elijah's tone was cold.

"You blocked her number. How will she contact you when she arrives at the Harper Group?" Philippe asked.

Without hesitation, Elijah said, "I'll send you the office landline number, you can forward it to her."

"Is it really necessary for you two to go through all this trouble?" Philippe felt exhausted. After the call ended, Elijah sent a landline number through WhatsApp.

Thirty minutes later, Yvonne arrived at the Harper Group's underground parking lot.

She dialed the landline number Philippe had sent.

It took a while for Elijah to answer in a lukewarm tone. "Hello?"

"It's me," Yvonne said politely. "I'm in the parking lot - "

"Wait for a while. I'll finish my work and then come downstairs." Elijah's tone was devoid of warmth.

"I'm waiting to go to work, you can send someone down - " Yvonne's words were interrupted by a busy signal on her phone.

Ten minutes passed, and Elijah still hadn't appeared.

Yvonne waited patiently.

Twenty minutes later, Yvonne dialed the landline again.

"Hello - " Elijah's tone this time was much gentler than before.

She asked impatiently, "When are you coming down?"

"In a little while, I'm busy." Elijah showed no signs of urgency. "There's a meeting that I need to attend. Just wait a bit longer."

"Are you deliberately messing with me?" Yvonne was annoyed. "Don't bother coming down. Just let the front desk know, I'll come and find you directly!"

"I'll come down instead." Elijah's voice came with the sound of a moving chair.

"Thank you!" Yvonne hung up the phone in a bad mood.

Two minutes later, Elijah walked out from the elevator.

He was dressed in a stylish royal blue suit today, complemented by a white shirt, exuding a more youthful aura than usual.

Yvonne couldn't help but stare at him.

Elijah opened his car door and took out a keychain with a plush pendant from inside.

Yvonne caught it when it was thrown toward her, and turned to leave.

Elijah didn't expect her to leave so decisively. He kept staring at her fading figure, feeling a sudden sense of loss.

He unlocked his phone and removed her number from the blacklist.

After a few seconds, when he calmed down, he dragged the number into the blacklist again.

At that moment, his phone rang sharply.

The secretary's respectful voice came through. "Mr. Harper, I have already made the sponsorship payment to RD Events on your behalf."

Elijah murmured in acknowledgment.

"As far as I know, Star Company's Edward also made a substantial sponsorship payment," the secretary spoke cautiously, "but it was rejected by the RD organizing committee."

"Understood." Elijah turned back to his CEO office.

As he picked up a document to sign, his phone rang again.

It was Mason.

"Elijah, Emily has arrived in Winslow. I'm planning a welcome banquet for tonight, remember to come."

Elijah hesitated, "I have to work overtime, I can't go."

"Actually, Emily asked me to invite you," Mason confessed directly, "just come."

"If you mention 'Emily' in front of me again, we won't even be friends!" Elijah coldly threw his phone on the table.