"Liam Williams, you are being completely unreasonable!" Emma Johnson gritted her teeth, hung up the phone in a huff, and started gathering her things.
Liam pocketed his phone, giving her a few seconds to get moving.
Once she got home, he'd figure out how to deal with her.
Elijah Clark saw the fury written all over her face. She had just sat down, but now she looked ready to bolt. He was puzzled. "Who got you this upset? You haven't even touched your meal. Are you really leaving without eating?"
Emma looked at him apologetically and lowered her voice. "Elijah, please have dinner with Mia. I have something urgent to take care of. I need to go now."
"I'll drive you. You seem to be in a hurry." Elijah stood up too, ready to head out.
Emma frowned and glanced at Mia Lewis. "It's fine. You two enjoy your meal. The food here is excellent."
Mia gave her a knowing wink. "Yeah, Elijah, I think Emma has something important to handle. We shouldn't hold her up."
Since she put it that way, Elijah couldn't insist. He just nodded lightly.
Emma grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs as fast as she could.
Even though it had only been a minute, Liam was already losing patience. He kept glancing back at the entrance of The Waterfront.
After checking several times, no one had come out yet.
That woman... she wouldn't dare ignore his orders, would she?
Just as Liam was about to open his car door and storm into The Waterfront, he suddenly spotted a small figure running toward him.
The moment Matthew Clark saw Emma, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been waiting forever, and finally, the young lady had shown up.
Liam pulled his hand back from the door handle. His cold, aloof demeanor radiated toward her.
As soon as she stepped out, Emma spotted the high-profile SUV, and her anger flared up again.
She took two quick steps, opened the car door, and slid in next to Liam. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Liam's bloodshot eyes showed no sign of softening. He pressed his lips together and then said flatly, "Drive."
Emma placed her light yellow bag between them, feeling suffocated by the tension.
What was wrong with Liam?
He hadn't even exploded, yet he was already giving her the cold shoulder.
For some reason, Emma caught a strong smell of cigarette smoke.
Smoking in the car!
Emma had known Liam for a long time, but she had never seen him smoke in front of her. So, she assumed it was Matthew who had been smoking.
Furious, she directed her anger at the driver. "Matthew, how could you smoke in the car? That's such an uncivilized thing to do. Do you have any idea how harmful secondhand smoke is for us? What if something happens because of it?"
Liam's fingers stiffened slightly. He had been smoking in his office earlier, and the smell had clung to his clothes.
His face darkened, his eyes still unmoving.
If she paid close attention, the whole car reeked of smoke.
After hearing her outburst, Matthew was stunned but didn't answer right away.
After a long pause, he whispered, "Ma'am, I never smoke..."
In fact, Matthew wanted to add, "Ma'am, you two are having a quarrel, but could you please not use me as a shield? It's hard enough making a living at my age."
What?
He didn't smoke? Then where was the smell coming from?
Emma was shocked. She leaned closer to Liam and sniffed. The smell of smoke was strongest near him. It was him again!
Emma snorted, reached up, and rolled down the window.
A cool autumn wind rushed into the car, making the cold atmosphere even more unbearable.
Outside the window, the car had unknowingly driven toward the sea of Phalaenopsis orchids. Looking at the spring-like scenery, Emma felt like she was trapped in a frozen wasteland!
Bored and suffocating, she glanced at Matthew, who was driving. "Matthew, let's play some music. It's so dull in here."
Matthew also felt the temperature in the car had suddenly dropped, and the atmosphere seemed tense. Just as he was about to press the music button, he habitually glanced at Liam in the rearview mirror.
Big mistake.
Liam was staring coldly at Matthew's hand, as if he could pierce through the finger that was about to turn on the switch.
Matthew quickly pulled his hand back. Fine, no music. He could listen to songs anytime, but if he lost his life, he'd only hear funeral dirges sung by others!
Emma saw Matthew's hesitation and turned to look at Liam. "I'm not afraid of making a scene! Yes! Play! The! Music! Matthew..."
At that moment, Matthew felt his blood pressure spike. The music was neither on nor off.
He couldn't help but cry inside. "Ma'am, we're almost there. It's not a good idea to cause trouble right now!"
Emma realized her words had no effect at all.
How ridiculous. What was wrong with all the servants in this house?
She, the young lady, had been yelling here for ages, but no one listened to her.
But look at Liam. He didn't have to do anything. With just a cold face and a stiff posture, the driver knew exactly what to do!
This was too much!
Emma's face turned green with grievance. She shouted at Matthew at the top of her lungs, "Stop the car! I want to get out! I can't take it anymore! I can't even eat in peace, and now I can't even listen to a song? Is there no justice? Is there no law?"
Even though she was yelling for Liam to hear, it still made Matthew flinch.
Matthew thought, "Ma'am, we have things to do. Can you please wait until we get home to get out of his car?"
When Liam heard her outburst, he raised his eyelids and said, "Play the music."
His patience was almost at its limit. Didn't she want to listen to music?
Fine. Let her listen. That was Liam's bottom line.
Matthew swallowed hard, feeling like he could finally breathe again.
Just as he reached for the switch, Emma's voice floated over again. "Don't bother! Hmph! I'm not in the mood anymore! I just want to get out of this car!"
Matthew felt like crying when he saw Emma like this.
"Ma'am! The drama is over! It's over!
Please don't make any more trouble, okay? I'm just a poor man with an eighty-year-old mother and a four-year-old grandson.
If this keeps up, can I still work happily?"