Chapter 23
At the bar, Alice trailed behind Esme, weaving through the packed crowd to the second floor.
Upstairs, in a private room near the stairs, James was having the time of his life.
James had a killer physique—broad shoulders, narrow waist, ripped abs, and short hair. He looked sharp and clean. His features were chiseled, and his eyes were deep-set. When he grinned, he had this wicked charm.
Esme pushed the door open, and there was James, surrounded by a bunch of girls, shirtless, with rings on several fingers, holding a mic and belting out a tune.
"Esme!" A friend of hers waved, and Esme dragged Alice over to sit down.
"What the heck is going on here?" Esme asked.
Esme was obviously talking about the clothes scattered everywhere. Were they nuts, having this much fun?
The friend chuckled, "You know James. He's always been a party animal."
Esme glanced at James, thinking this was way over the top. Was he gonna strip next?
Alice had been leaning against the sofa since she walked in, eyeing James from his hair to his shoes, totally different from Felix and David.
Felix and David were kinda similar, but James? Apart from the last name, he had nothing in common with them.
Maybe it was the age thing. Felix was 30, David 26, and James was just 22, still young.
A high-energy song ended, and a hottie handed James a bottle of water. He took it and chugged several gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing, sweat sliding down his neck, making the girls scream.
At that moment, James noticed two new faces in the room.
He knew Esme, bumped into her occasionally, but who was that chick giving him the stink eye?
James put the water bottle and mic on the table and strolled over to Alice.
Esme was still griping about James to his friend, but halfway through, James suddenly walked over.
Esme's heart skipped a beat.
But James plopped down right next to Alice, slung his arm behind her, and smirked, "Hey there, what's your name?"
The room went dead silent, and all eyes were on Alice.
"Alice Bailey," she replied.
"Alice," James repeated, touching his chin with a grin, "Nice name."
Then, as if a light bulb went off, James's smile froze, his eyes widened, and he jumped up, backing away three or four steps.
"Holy crap, Alice Bailey?"
Alice raised an eyebrow, surprised, "Mr. Tudor, you know me?"
James's face suddenly turned sour.
How could he not know her?
Last time she went to the Tudor Family for dinner, he skipped out and got chewed out for it. He'd been holding a grudge, planning to settle the score someday. He didn't expect her to walk right into his trap today.
Esme asked, "Mr. James Tudor, you know her?"
James glanced at Alice, licked his lips, "Sort of. She's the baby of the family, super spoiled. Last time, I got chewed out by my grandpa because of her."
Alice didn't even flinch, which just pissed James off more.
James thought, 'Does she think that just because David's got her back, I won't mess with her?'
James grabbed a bottle of wine, popped it open with a bottle opener, and handed it to Alice, "Alice, everyone who steps into my private room has to down a bottle. If you don't wanna drink, you can bounce now."
"Holy crap." Esme wasn't having it, stood up, and blocked Alice, "James, don't bully my friend."
James shot back, "Every time you bring someone, you say they're your friends. How many friends do you have?"
Esme snapped, "You jealous I got a lot of friends? Then why didn't you go to college? If you did, you'd have just as many friends."
James put the bottle on the table, grabbed a cigarette, lit it, and blew out a puff of smoke slowly. "What's the point of college? I got two brothers. Isn't it sweet being a carefree playboy?"
Esme was stumped, couldn't argue with that.
The Tudor Family seemed to have a knack for business, like it was in their blood.
Felix took over Apex Technologies Group. David started his own gig without leaning on Apex and did pretty well, and James? The bars he ran were raking in cash too.
Alice pulled Esme up, walked over to James, and picked up the bottle to check it out.
James, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, watched Alice inspecting the alcohol content. He sneered, "This wine won't get you wasted."
Alice sniffed it. It had a fruity aroma, so it was fruit wine.
She smiled, "If I get drunk, you'll be in trouble."
If Alice got drunk, it would indeed be a hassle.
James didn't really have beef with Alice, he was just salty because Gavin chewed him out because of her. Besides, he was a few years older than Alice, why bother with a kid?
"Alright, I was just messing with you." James took the fruit wine away and set it aside, pulled out a menu from under the table, and placed it in front of Alice, "Order whatever you want. If you're bored, go out and explore. I'll take you home later."
After that, James went back to the girls.
Alice looked at the prices on the menu and once again marveled at how the rich lived it up.
Esme plopped down next to Alice, feet on the sofa, leaned over to check out the menu, and asked, "What's the deal with the guardian thing?"
Alice was puzzled, "What?"
"I mean, what's up with saying David is your guardian?"
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