Chapter 46
Louis walked over and opened the car door. "Welcome, Miss Maria."
Maria hopped out of the car, beaming. "Mom, Dad, Arthur, Josie, and Avery—you’re all really here! I was so worried I might’ve gotten into a sketchy car and was being scammed." She rubbed her nose sheepishly and added, "But then I thought, who’d bother scamming someone like me? I guess I was just overthinking it."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you say you couldn’t get the night off? How did you manage to come here?"
Maria shot a grateful glance at Louis. "He called me and said his boss wanted to treat our family to dinner, and it wouldn’t be the same if I wasn’t there. I told him I had to stay at the shop, so the driver he sent bought out all the fruit tea. The manager let us close early after that."
When Louis called her, the luxury sports car he’d sent was already waiting outside the fruit tea shop. The driver had been incredibly polite, even buying every drink in the store, causing a small commotion and earning plenty of envious stares. Maria had never been treated like this before; it felt like something out of a drama, and she could hardly believe it was real. It wasn’t until Louis video-called her and showed her that her parents were indeed with him that she finally felt safe enough to get in the car.
The Carter family turned to look at Alexander, their expressions softening a little. Avery smiled and said to Alexander, "Thank you for bringing her here."
Alexander responded politely, "It was my pleasure. This way, please." He guided everyone into the club, pressed the elevator button for them, and led them to a private room on the top floor. Inside, a table full of delicious food was waiting, the dishes still hot and fragrant, clearly just prepared. This perfectly timed meal was another sign of Alexander’s thoughtful planning.
Alexander even pulled out a chair for Avery, with the air of a gentleman. "Miss Carter, please take a seat."
The Carter family exchanged looks. Though they still weren’t fully on board with Alexander, they had to admit he was treating Avery with genuine respect. Avery, a bit flustered, sat down. "Oh, thank you."