His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 281: Face to Face

** Harper **

For all the years they were neighbors, Harper had only met Eli’s father once, and that was almost a decade ago. She would’ve barely recognized him, if not for the obvious resemblance between the father and son.

Emory, on the other hand ...

The girl’s presence at the gala was a complete surprise. Thanks to the barbie doll face, she hardly looked old enough to be of legal drinking age, so Harper had never thought of mentioning the gala to her at all during the past weeks, despite the two of them growing quite close at work.

At this moment though, looking at Emory in her black evening gown, Harper had to admit that she started questioning her first impression of the intern’s age. The midnight tulle high-low dress covered in sparkling diamonds — which were probably real, considering her net worth as an heiress — lent her a shockingly sophisticated air, and the casual ease with which she joined her father’s conversations proved that it wasn’t her first time at social events like this. Only the bored look on her face and the bold accessories she chose, such as a spiky metal belt and a pair of oversized earrings dangling well past her shoulders, revealed a hint of the young and free-spirited girl behind that mature pretense.

As Harper idly studied the father and daughter, Emory happened to glance back her way, and their eyes met across the piano at the center of the hall.

Oops. Hopefully that didn’t come off as impolite staring. Harper returned a haphazard smile to her intern, lifting the champagne flute in her hand in lieu of a greeting. But Emory, instead of being offended by the stare, seemed to have only chirped up at the sight of Harper. With a few quick words to her father, the girl excused herself from the small business crowd, heading straight over to Harper’s table.

Oops ...

Eli was just talking then, and Harper didn’t have a chance to warn him before Emory was already at their side. "Mind if I join you guys?" she asked, casually setting down her drink between Eli and Chelsea.

Chelsea and Tyler, in their career networking mode, nodded with friendly smiles. Eli darted an uninterested look at the newcomer next to him, then did a double take.

"I’m Emory, and I work with Harper. She’s my boss, actually." Emory gave the whole table a straightforward introduction.

"Ohh. Harper darling, you never told me that your new promotion went straight to boss level already?" Chelsea gasped. "And since when is Miracles full of beauties like you two? I hope there are more of your coworkers out here to let me satisfy my eyes."

Surprisingly, the unsophisticated comment that didn’t quite fit in the gala’s vibe actually made Emory laugh. "Well, sorry to disappoint, but I haven’t seen anyone else from the office this evening. We are not in finance after all, and I myself am only here because of family connections."

Harper glanced in Eli’s direction at the words "family connections".

"Nothing wrong with family connections. I’m Harper’s brother, by the way. Tyler." Tyler, probably interested in chatting more with his sister’s employee, shook Emory’s hand first.

"I’m Harper’s best friend, Chelsea. Oh, and now that I noticed, this table really resolves around Harper, doesn’t it?" Chelsea stated a timely discovery as she nodded at Eli. "The one across from you is—"

"My brother, actually." Emory smiled harmlessly before Chelsea could say "her boyfriend". Turning to Eli, the girl cocked her head, looking a bit wicked with a wry expression that somehow complimented her all-black outfit. "Hey, good to see you again. Are you still not saying hi this time now that you know who I am?"

The look on Eli’s face turned ... a bit complicated.

Chelsea, not knowing enough about Eli’s family members, blinked at the strange statements that probably made no sense to her. Tyler, knowing all too well that Eli wasn’t supposed to have a sister, looked at Harper in confusion. Harper, glancing between Eli and Emory, found the current situation a bit too unexpected.

Emory had always been an easygoing girl at the office, smooth in conversations and never stirring up any type of trouble. It was a bit strange to see her getting straight into a tricky topic like this, and Harper wasn’t sure what she was trying to get at. Did Emory somehow share that complicated grudge toward her half-brother? Had she picked today out of all times to let it out?

"You were the one who left in a hurry last time at the arcade." Eli smiled back at Emory and reminded her, though Harper could tell that the smile didn’t reach his eyes. "We didn’t get a chance to talk because of it, but I’m glad you’re here tonight" — he darted a slanted glance in the direction Emory came from, spotting his father in the distance — "and enjoying your company."

Now the rest of the table fell into an awkward moment of silence.

"Ah, who would not enjoy their company at such a splendid gala? I, for one, can’t wait to actually get started mingling." Tyler, surprisingly being the first one to realize that he should get out of the upcoming crossfire, nudged Chelsea on the elbow. "Chelsea, you promised to show me around the circles you know. Shall we get started?"

"I—" Chelsea hadn’t had a chance to reply when Tyler was already walking away from the table. "Hey, wait! How are you planning to get introduced without me?" Picking up her drink in a hurry, she waved a "see you later" to the rest of their small group and quickly caught up with her plus-one.

Hmm, maybe Tyler was actually the sensible one this time. Given how this conversation between Eli and Emory started ... it was quite likely that the two could use some time alone for a real chat. And they probably should, now that they finally had a chance to meet each other after so many years, face to face and adult to adult.

After a fast moment of reasoning, Harper decided to join her brother. "I think I’m curious to see Chelsea’s hidden knowledge about those inner circles as well." She gave Eli a meaningful smile. "Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to find some juicy secrets from there that surprise you? Guess I’ll go with them for a bit, and see what useful intel I can dig up for you to use for future references."

With that, she slipped away from the table as well, ignoring Eli’s call of protest behind her.