Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Strangers

"Wait a minute!" A silvery voice called.

Martin turned around and saw an approaching young girl in a ponytail. She was wearing a white coat and a pair of jeans over her long legs. As she got closer, he could make out her bright eyes and long eyelashes.

'Beautiful!' Was Martin's first thought.

She was the very definition of beautiful indeed. Not only that, she was also carrying a calm temperament with her. She was like a magnet. Martin's eyes were glued to her the moment he laid his eyes on her.

The girl came over and stopped in front of them.

"Manager, I'll pay for them. Use my credit card." The girl handed a card to the manager. Her voice was soft and delicate.

"Miss, do you really want to pay for them? He looks like a liar! Don't be deceived by them!" The manager looked surprised. He didn't expect that someone would come out to pay for Martin.

"Whether I will be deceived or not is my business. All you have to do is to take my money." The girl said nonchalantly.

"Oh. All right." The manager nodded, then took the card and went to swipe it.

The girl was right. The most important thing was for the restaurant to receive the payment. Even if Martin was arrested by the police, no one would be able to pay for him. Instead, their restaurant would suffer a loss.

This scene aroused the discussion of many diners present. Most of them thought the girl was stupid for believing Martin. There are a few who silently applauded her actions while the rest just particularly didn't care.

"Miss, thank you for believing us and for helping us!" The fat man earnestly said.

"You're welcome. Everyone could have a difficult time." The girl smiled politely.

To say that Martin was amazed by her was an understatement. He was surprised that someone would want to help them. She wasn't just beautiful outside; she was very kind as well.

"Hello, Miss. My name is Martin James. If you don't mind me asking, why did you believe us even though the others thought we were liars?" Martin asked curiously.

The girl shrugged. "Well, if you were liars, then I was unlucky. But if you weren't, then I just helped someone in need. So, I thought it was worth risking it." She stated lightly as if she just didn't take Martin's breath away by her response.

Eventually, the manager had finished processing the payment.

"Miss, here's your receipt." The manager handed back her credit card together with the receipt.

Martin saw this. "Miss. I owe you for this. Give me your cell phone number. I'll give the back to you tomorrow, to let you know that I wasn't lying." He said hurriedly.

He had said before that if anyone was willing to help them, he wouldn't hesitate to repay them ten times the amount of what he owed.

The girl shook her head in refusal. "No, it's fine. I didn't help you because I wanted you to be indebted to me. I simply wanted to help." She didn't give him the chance to speak. She left the restaurant, leaving a confused Martin.

Martin thought that because the girl helped them, she deserved to be rewarded ten-folds. But she didn't want it, and she refused him when he said he wanted to pay her back.

"Martin." The fat man called.

"Fatso, let's go!"

Martin called the fat man and he hastened to leave the restaurant. They needed to chase the girl. Fortunately, they didn't have to run too far as they saw the girl's back immediately.

"Miss, wait up!" Martin shouted to get the girl's attention. "Can I at least know your name, please?"

Martin wanted to know her name. He still wanted to pay her back even if she refused.

The girl stopped walking and turned to his direction. "Stranger." She answered loud enough for him to hear. And with that, she got inside a white Audi A4 and started the car.

Before he knew it, the car had drove away before it completely disappeared from Martin's sight.

"'Stranger', huh? What a strange woman, indeed." Martin sighed.

"Martin, are we just going to let her after she helped us?" The fat man asked Martin.

"Of course, I want to repay her. It's a pity that she didn't leave us any information." Then, his eyes widened in realization. "That's right! The plate number!" Martin slapped a hand on his forehead.

The girl just left by car. As long as Martin knew the plate number of her car, he would be able find a way to find her. It was a pity that Martin just realized this now, so he didn't capture the plate number.

"Fatso, can you remember the license plate number?" Martin looked at the fat man.

"I can't, either." The fat man answered a wry smile.

"I owe her a favor today. I hope I can meet her again in the future." Martin could only look into the distance.

Martin certainly hoped to meet her again. She was such a kind girl. And he had to repay what he owed her. However, the world was a vast sea of people. He was afraid meeting her again wouldn't be an easy thing to do. Maybe, he'll never see her again.

After a while, Martin hissed angrily. "That bastard who stole my wallet better knew damn well not to let me find him again." He muttered viciously.

It was that thief's fault why he didn't have the money to pay the bill. He was even mistaken for a swindler. If it weren't for him, this wouldn't have happened.

"Yes! Let's teach him a lesson if catch him!" The fat man nodded in agreement.

......

Meanwhile, inside the Audi A4, the girl who helped Martin to pay the bill had already forgotten the deed she did.

Her phone rang. She moved to answer the call. "Hello, Dad."

The voice of a middle-aged man came from the phone. "Kelly, tomorrow's event is very important. It's a matter of life and death for our company. You mustn't be late. You must arrive on time."

"I know, Dad. Don't worry. I'm sure I won't be late." The girl assured. She paused. Her pretty face was full of worry now. "Dad, I'm worried. Our company is small we barely have an advantage from the others. I don't think we could compete with those big companies. It will be difficult for us to get a deal."

The middle-aged man on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, but when he spoke again, he spoke earnestly. "Yes, we don't have a lot of advantages. We can only show our complete sincerity and let the Gold Group see that. I hope there will be miracles."

......

For most people, today was just an ordinary Saturday. But for Martin, today was the day the company would hold a cocktail party. It was a small party where various companies that had a cooperative relationship with Gold Group would gather in Ocean Hotel.

Ocean Hotel was one of the largest hotels in C City. It was only natural for a large company such as Gold Group to host a cocktail party there.

Martin arrived early. In the VIP lounge on the second floor of the hotel, he decided play games in his mobile phone in the meantime.

As a college student, although Martin was studying well, he still knew how to play games. There were very few male college students who didn't play games these days. Martin would also play games occasionally in his spare time.

It was then that the door of the VIP room was pushed open and a middle-aged man came in with a smile on his face. "Hello, Mr. James. I'm Pete Owen, Chairman of Ocean Hotel. I'm here to welcome Mr. James." Pete greeted politely.

Although Ocean Hotel was very well-known in C City, it was still a far cry from the Gold Group, which was considered as the largest company in California. Moreover, Gold Group had a great reputation all over the country.

Even if Martin was only a chairman of a branch, he still belonged to Gold Group. And Pete just got the news from Michael that Martin was the grandson of Mr. Gracie!

Pete had to be respectful towards Martin for this reason alone.

"Hello, Pete Owen of the Ocean Hotel. I've heard your name before." Martin looked up at Pete.

Because Ocean Hotel was very famous in the City, it was needless to say that its owner was famous as well, so it was true that Martin had heard his name before.

Pete smiled widely when he heard this. "Yes, I am that Pete Owen. I have heard of the young hero that is Mr. James many times before. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Please, Mr. Owen. Those people are just exaggerating things." Martin said politely.

Back then, Martin could not even imagine that he would enter a five-star hotel like Ocean Hotel. And Pete Owen was also a figure that Martin had looked up to before. To think that he was in front of him now was astounding when back then, he only heard of Pete's prestige in the mouth of others. Now, the owner of the Ocean hotel had to be respectful in front of him.

"Mr. James, this is the diamond VIP card of our hotel. It is a gift to Mr. James. If you come to our hotel in the future, we'll make sure you will be able to enjoy the best treatment." Pete respectfully presented a membership card with both hands.

"I appreciate it a lot, Mr. Owen." Martin didn't bother to pretend to deny and accepted the card wholeheartedly.

Pete saw Martin accept the card and a happy smile appeared on his face, because it showed that Martin thought highly of his hotel. "Then, I won't bother Mr. James anymore. I will go first. If you need anything, please feel free to call me." And with that, he left.

It was ten o'clock in the evening and several executives who were invited arrived at the hotel one after another. Michael, as the general manager of the company, stood at the door of the hotel to welcome them all.

It was then that a Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of the hotel, and a bald middle-aged man and a young man walked out of the car.

If Martin were here, he would recognize the young man immediately, because he was Martin's classmate, Regan Jeremy.

"Welcome, Mr. Jeremy!" Michael came forward with a smile and shook hands with the newly arrived guests.

Regan's father, Mandel Jeremy, smiled and hurriedly shook hands with Michael. "Mr. Bess, that's very kind of you. I must congratulate you first. Congratulations on defeating the Joseph family and for being promoted to general manager. Let's take good care of each other from now own." Mandel said. There was a hidden message in the last part of his words

Said message didn't go unnoticed by Michael. "Mr. Jeremy, I don't dare to take care of anyone on my own. The new chairman said I shouldn't be greedy." He answered politely. There was a hidden answer behind Michael's words as well, albeit it was quite more obvious. 'I only listen to the new chairman. I would only cooperate with you if the new chairman told me to do so.'

"I understand, Mr. Bess." Mandel nodded with a smile on his face.