"Lillian, I told you to be kind the last time I spoke to you. Obviously, you didn't take my words seriously at all. You brought it to yourself. You have no reason or right to hate anyone," Christine looked at Lillian and said with blunt hatred in her eyes.
Christine then looked at Gloria and continued, "Gloria, you don't need to help her. She deserved it."
Lillian cried hard. She was no longer as arrogant as she had been before when she faced Gloria. Grabbing Gloria's clothes in both hands, she begged, "Gloria, please! Help me. This is the first time I've ever asked you for anything."
Gloria stood in situ expressionlessly. She was amused by Lillian's words.
She said, "That's right. This is the first time. Because the boss of Fittro Club won't believe you this time even if I play along with you and help you lie."
"Gloria, you're here to twist the knife, aren't you?"
Lillian's face was full of grief and indignation. She looked like she knew Gloria for the first time. She said, "I didn't expect you to kick me when I'm down! You are nothing but a despicable woman!"
Lillian asked Gloria for help. After not getting what she wanted, Lillian started insulting Gloria. Then, Christine stood up angrily and pushed Lillian.
Lillian was pushed to the ground, but she dared not express her anger at Christine, which made Christine look down on Lillian even more.
"Kind people treat the world with kindness, yet the mean ones think everything is nasty. You are like a mirror. What you see represents yourself." Gloria chuckled. She was a little helpless, though not knowing what she was helpless about.
Lillian looked at Gloria with resentment.
Gloria continued, "I know exactly what kind of person you are, but I will still save your ass this time, though I don't really want to."
The reason why Gloria made this decision was not that she wanted to be a kind person, but because she held a belief.
Lillian looked at Gloria in disbelief. Her eyes were full of surprise, but not gratitude.
"Leonard, take me to him," said Gloria. She somehow still had a feeling that she was defeated.
The passageway led straight to the elevator. She didn't know whether it was in her mind playing tricks or something else. Anyway, right now, she felt that the passageway was studded with nails, and every step she took seemed to be stepping on them.
Gloria followed Leonard in silence.
The elevator was right in front of them. Leonard paused, made an inviting gesture to Gloria behind him, and said, "Miss Carter, please."
Gloria hesitated for a second. She was not a nosy person, but she still glanced at Leonard and asked, "Aren't you going up with me?"
"Miss Carter, Mr. Hammond only asked for you," Leonard replied.
Leonard was still holding onto Lillian's arm. Seeing that the elevator doors were about to close, Lillian hurriedly cried out, "Gloria! You've got to help me! You're the most forgiving person I know. You won't turn a blind eye as I suffer, right?"
Leonard glanced at Lillian in annoyance. Then he turned to look at Gloria, who was already in the elevator, and said, "Miss Carter, you don't owe her anything."
He was implying that Gloria didn't have to beg Patrick for the sake of such a cheeky woman at all.
The moment the elevator doors closed, Gloria said earnestly, "I know."
Lillian watched as the elevator doors closed, and she still wanted to go forward. She muttered to herself, "I wonder if she will say something nice for me. I don't think a woman like her would be so kind. If she speaks ill of me, I'll definitely get back at her."
Leonard had never been so repelled by Lillian as he was now. Involuntarily, he applied more force to his hand, causing Lillian's arm to ache. She frowned and gasped in a low voice.
"It hurts. Let go of me." Lillian shook her arm. She wanted to shake Leonard's hand off, but she failed.
"Shut up!" Leonard said in disgust.
"You're going too far!" Lillian was seldom rejected by a man like this. Most men would sympathize with her when they saw how pitiful she appeared to be.
"If I were you, I would shut up," Christine said coldly. "Leonard isn't a guest here. He won't go easy on you."
Lillian had no choice but to do as she was told.
While watching the screen in the elevator as it went up, Gloria thought of what Leonard had just said to her.
Leonard said that she did not owe Lillian anything.
She knew very well that Leonard was right. She did not owe Lillian anything.
Lillian wasn't the reason why she begged for mercy from the man she did not want to face.
However, she did not want to explain anything to anyone.
When the elevator doors opened, she took a deep breath and then exhaled deeply. As she stepped out of the elevator, she glanced out of the corner of her eye into the elevator mirror and saw her pale face.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, she came to Patrick to beg for mercy for someone, which wasn't a big deal.
However, for Gloria, it was more painful than being insulted by him.
"Mr. Hammond, I'm here," she said as she walked into the apartment on the top floor.
She didn't know why, but all the main lights in the living room were off, and the room was lit by only a few wall lamps, which were emitting cold, dim light. The man was sitting on the leather sofa next to the French window. His arms were lazily placed on the arm of the sofa, and between his fingers, the crimson glow of the cigarette kept flashing.
She suddenly had the urge to escape.
And she did take half a step back subconsciously.
Meanwhile, Patrick chuckled. He said, "Sit here."
Patrick pointed at the sofa opposite him.
Gloria was a little surprised. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She stood there silently.
"I thought you were here to plead for someone," said Patrick.
"Yes," Gloria answered, slowly walked over, and sat down opposite Patrick.
"You sat here, just because I asked you to?" said Patrick suddenly, as he saw her sit down.
Gloria thought, 'You're the one who made me sit here. And now you're saying this? You're clearly picking on me and making fun of me.'
She said, "You are the boss. I'm on your payroll. So, I need to do as you say."
Patrick almost chuckled when he heard Gloria's words.