"No, no." Rose thought about the night market where the old lady had mistaken her and Alex for a couple. Even though she saw that the bracelets were the ones from the old lady, she didn't want to admit it.
"Yes they are." Suzan pulled over Rose's hand and slid one of them onto her wrist. "Look."
Rose glanced at the bracelet on her wrist, but she was still unwilling to admit it.
"Sir, may I ask how these two bracelets got in the car?" Suzan asked a young man while holding the bands.
"I don't know." The young man snatched the bracelets from her hands. He could tell from Suzan and Rose's conversation that the bracelets belonged to their boss and must have been accidentally dropped by him earlier. Since they belonged to their boss, they had to take good care of his belongings.
The young man was in such a hurry that he scratched Suzan's hand. She suspiciously looked at him nervously putting away the bracelets.
They must belong to Alex. Why is he so nervous? Could it be... she thought as her eyes moved slightly.
"Rose, we were lucky to have Mr. Stokes to help us this time, or else we would be in serious trouble. I really misjudged Alex. He was supposed to protect us, but it's really just as you said. He doesn't do anything. He runs away faster than anyone else!"
The expression on the face of the young man sitting in front of Suzan changed drastically.
"I told you… he's not reliable." Rose hated Alex. She went on about how Joe had told him to protect her, but he was nowhere to be found when she was in trouble. Rose hated Alex, even more, when she thought about how they had been kidnapped by Donald and Luciel.
The young man turned his head to look outside the window. He did not want to hear any more of their conversation.
"Rose, the old lady even treated you two as a couple. Tell me the truth—what do you think of Alex?" While Suzan said this to her, she secretly observed the young man's reaction.
"Suzan, why are you asking me this?" Rose asked.
Rose was ashamed. She held Suzan's hand, and, when she thought of Alex, she was filled with anger. "He rushed into the Metro Sky Bank one day, crashed into me, and hit me on the head. When my family is in trouble, he doesn't really try to help. He only says, as an aside, that my problems will definitely be solved. To put it harshly, even beggars are better than him."
The young man quickly turned his head and shot a cold glare at Rose. His fist also tightened slightly.
"What's wrong?" Rose asked the young man anxiously, but he didn't say anything.
"Suzan, tell me… why would any normal girl be attracted to scum like Alex?" Rose continued, but Suzan interrupted her and changed the topic.
Soon, the car arrived at Preston University. Suzan and Rose thanked the young men and expressed their gratitude to Mr. Stokes. They watched the car drive off into the distance before returning to campus.
"If it wasn't for Alex, we definitely wouldn't be so unlucky today." Rose looked at her torn clothes. Since she was no longer in any danger, she fell into her habit of blaming Alex.
Suzan had been thinking about something else, but when she heard Rose complain about him again, she couldn't help but pout.
"Rose… you're impossible!" Suzan sighed. "Did you not notice anything just now?"
"Notice what?" Rose was quite puzzled. "Are you talking about that Maserati? It was really comfortable. I'll get my future husband to buy one for me."
"That's not it." Suzan was rendered a bit speechless by her attitude. She touched her forehead and said, "Don't you think it's strange that the two bracelets were in the car?"
"What's so strange about that?" She didn't want to hear anything further about the bracelets. Rose became angry when she thought about Alex's shameless behaviour when the old lady put the bracelets on them.
"Didn't you notice that when we mentioned Alex, the young men were deliberately avoiding us?" Rose thought back to what Suzan had said in the car and realized what she meant. She looked at Suzan who continued, "When we were speaking ill of Alex, the young man sitting in front of us was obviously unhappy. Do you remember that I had asked him about their boss who had ordered them to save us? The young man almost said something."
"You mean..." Rose understood what Suzan was trying to explain, but she quickly rejected that idea. "How could this be possible? Don't blindly guess… how could Alex be their boss? He's just a loser with no sense of responsibility."
"Rose, stop lying to yourself. I know you must be suspecting something in your heart." Suzan saw her disgusted expression and guessed what she was thinking.
"Actually, I also have a lot of doubts. Alex is obviously just an ordinary student. How could he be somebody's boss and also be a big shot like Ken Stokes?" Suzan paused to think for a while and said, "But if it's true, he'll definitely be exposed. We'll observe him a bit more, and I believe we'll soon find out his true identity."
"Okay." Rose saw Suzan's questioning gaze directed at her, so she could only nod. She was filled with suspicion and didn't want to believe that Alex had another identity. They walked toward the girls' dorm together.
**
The Maserati drove back to Ken Stokes's location, and the young men entered his office. Alex and Ken were waiting for them. They had already heard the report over the phone that Rose and Suzan were safely back at the university.
"Well done." Alex walked up to the men and patted them on the shoulders. Ken, who was behind them, also gave a satisfied smile.
"Sir, you're too kind. We're lucky to work for you," one of the young men respectfully said to Alex. He then took out the two bracelets from his pocket and placed them in front of Alex. "Sir, you lost these in the car. We kept them for you."
"Good… okay." Alex saw the bracelets and felt his empty pocket. Then, he understood and smiled calmly as he held them.
"Mr. Stokes, please take care of the things I've told you. It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now," Alex said while looking at Ken. He was referring to the search for Debbie.
"Yes, I'll do my best to search for you. Rest assured. I'll send for a car to take you back," Ken said respectfully and stood up.
Alex had already walked toward the door and said leisurely, "No need. I'll go back by myself."
He hailed a taxi on the street. After the torment caused by Luciel, it was already ten o'clock at night. Alex wanted to go back to the villa to rest.
His phone rang and a name appeared on the screen. [Angel bar, June Douglas.]
Alex was surprised to see that the Angel bar's manager was calling him, but he answered.
"Where are you? It's great that you have time to come to the bar to help. You've never once stopped by. Do you have the time now? Come to the bar and help me," June's annoyed voice came over the phone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been too busy with my studies. I can tonight. I'll go now." Alex thought that the Angel bar might be busy, so that's why June had called him to help. He had become a waiter at the bar without intending to and had promised to help when he had the time. He had no reason to refuse.
"All right… hurry up!" exclaimed June with annoyance.
Alex hung up the phone and got the driver to take him to the Angel bar.
Soon, Alex arrived at the bar. It was as he had imagined. It was filled with people, likely due to graduation. Even walking into the bar was a bit difficult.
"June, I'm here!" Alex finally found her, as she was busy toasting with the guests. He shouted at her, so she could hear him over the noise.
"Don't just stand there. Ask the supervisor for a set of clothes. Hurry up and greet the guests!" June instructed loudly and then walked over to toast another guest.
After Alex changed his clothes, he got busy with work. He was responsible for delivering drinks and snacks and for sending off the customers.
Most of the guests were students, so they quickly left after midnight. When the last person departed shortly before one in the morning, everyone finally felt relieved.
"Everybody, start cleaning up and don't be in such a hurry to leave. The boss wants to come over and see us all. We won't delay you for too long. All right, let's get started!" June said to the staff.
Alex didn't stay idle either. He checked to see if the power supply for the ice machine and other electrical appliances were in order.
When everyone was done, ten or so young staff members gathered and chatted while rubbing their aching legs.
The sound of high heels hitting the pavement came from outside, followed by an alluring figure that walked into the bar. She exuded the charisma of a mature woman. Her walk alone was enough to make one's imagination run wild. It was the owner of the Angel bar, Vivian Carter.
When they saw their boss had entered, the staff all stood up from their chairs to show their respect. Vivian waved her hands amiably and said, "Everyone sit down. We're all family. No need for formalities. June, give everyone a margarita."
"Okay." June waved at Alex and another waiter and said, "You two go pour some drinks."
They both went to the bar to pour margaritas. They each filled their trays and walked toward the group.
Everyone gazed at Alex, who handled his tray awkwardly and spilt a drink.
"It's all right. Just clean up the spill, and then bring a few more drinks over," Vivian said to him casually.
"Okay," Alex answered and cleaned up as she had instructed. He then went to bring out a few more drinks. This time, he didn't make any mistakes.
Alex found a seat and sat down. He let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Vivian, who was sitting gracefully in front of the crowd. He felt both grateful and impressed. She had resolved his embarrassment with a simple sentence.