Chapter 34
“Stop slandering me!” Melissa was flustered by Avery’s words “When have I ever spread rumors about my uncle?
Avery smirked as she pulled out a recorder from her pocket and waved it in front of Melissa. “It’s all recorded here, crystal clear. Would you like to listen to it, Ms. Smith?”
“You’re a break!” Melissa stomped her foot in frustration. She never expected Avery to carry a recorder with her. If her words got back to joshua, she could be in serious trouble.
She had always been treated like a princess by her parents, and the thought of being punished like Clyde was unbearable to her.
“Melissa was just being a bit impulsive. I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm toward Mr. Smith,” a soft voice interrupted.
Avery turned to see Teresa stepping out of the crowd, walking straight to Melissa’s side.
Melissa’s eyes brightened when she saw Teresa “Tess!”
Teresa smiled gently at her and burned her attention to Avery, who was still holding the recorder.
“Ms. Sinclair, Melissa is still young and tends to speak without thinking. It was an innocent comment. Are you really going to take it to Mr. Smith? That seems like a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?”
Just then, one of Melissa’s companions chimed in, “only women like her, who have no real standing, would make a fuss and go tattling like a child. Besides, Mr. Smith is so busy that he probably doesn’t even have time to meet with someone like her
Melissa couldn’t help but feel validated by their words. Of course! Joshua was always busy, and even getting an appointment to talk business with him required a reservation There was no way he would spare time for Avery.
With that, she became more confident throwing a contemptuous look at Avery “Some people just don’t know their place.”
She laughed, and Teresa and her companion followed suit, laughing along with her
Avery, however, remained calm, simply watching them quietly,
Melissa, expecting Avery to be furious, was surprised when she didn’t react. After a briet pause, she laughed even louder.
What’s wrong! Did you lose your voice? I thought you had mince to say. You wanted to go tell Uncle Joshua on me, right? Why not go now, then?
“Sure,” Avery responded casually, packing away the recorder. She burned to James, giving him an apologetic smile “I don’t think I can participate in the contest today. After all, it wouldn’t look right if I just walked away since they’ve said all that.”
“It’s fine,” James said with a small smile. “In that case, take me with you. I was hoping to get a taste of the new tea at Mr. Smith’s place, anyway.”
Earlier, when he spoke to Avery on the phone, she mentioned that Joshua was busy, and it wasn’t certain that she would be able to meet with him.
Avery went alone, Joshua might not see her. If they didn’t meet with him today, Melissa might cause even more trouble for her in the future.
Even though there wasn’t much chance that they would meet with Joshua, it was still better than going alone. After all, the Smith and Alston families had business dealings. Teresa, sering that Avery was truly abour to go, suddenly felt a wave of unease.
The reason she had supported Melissa earlier was partly because of her dependence on her. She had finally managed to get Melissa to treat her like a sister, and now she was hoping to show more of her good side to her once more
