Chapter 23 Are You Willing To Repay Me

Confused with Pierce's unlikely expression, he asked, "Mr. Aleotti, what are you looking at?" The deputy mayor did not wait for an answer and curiously looked in the direction of Pierce's gaze. He was looking at the woman sitting on the bar counter.

"Nothing," Pierce said coldly, brushing off his thoughts. He turned to the deputy mayor, hid his emotions, and tried to focus on their conversation.

"Well, Mr. Aleotti. Have a smoke," the deputy mayor said. He offered to light a cigarette for Pierce.

Pierce took the cigarette and sandwiched it in between his two fingers. He would hit it from time to time, hoping the nicotine would relax his nerves. Against the light, there was faint loneliness on his face.

"Mr. Aleotti, what do you think about my proposal?" The deputy mayor tried to start another conversation. He moved closer. "To tell you the truth, I'm more than willing to sell at the lowest price..." he murmured near Pièce's ear.

As Eliz was absentmindedly sitting in silence, a tall man suddenly embraced her and asked, "Hey, are you here alone?"

Horror was drawn on Eliz's face. She was so scared that she almost fell from the chair. Eliz had drunk too much and wanted to recover in silence by sitting alone at the bar counter. She was scared to death when she saw the strange man. There was extreme panic in her eyes when she stared at the man and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing?" she almost screamed.

"Who am I? Don't worry. I'm a good man," the stranger said with a smile without saying his name. "My friends are all in the booth over there. Would you like to join us?" the man asked as he gestured, pointing to a group of people.

"No," Eliz sternly refused. She shook her head and felt so helpless.

'Why do I suddenly feel dizzy? Did I drink too much?' she asked herself.

"Miss, it's boring to be alone. I promise you will be happy with me," the man murmured beside her ear. Eliz distanced herself and felt irritated when the man winked at her viciously.

"Stay away from me! Or I'll call the police!" Eliz pushed him away and threatened him. However, she felt like she was moving in circles, her head was getting heavier, and her body was strangely hot.

Unshaken by Eliz's refusal, the man said, "Wow, what a hot temper!" Challenged and irritated, he pulled Eliz's arms.

Eliz looked around for help. She didn't find any acquaintance as her colleagues were in the private room. No one here would notice her since it was normal for a man and a woman to stay together in a bar. Eliz was terrified at the thought of that.

The man was dragging her towards the bathroom. Eliz felt too feeble to even shout for help while struggling.

"Hel..." She took a deep breath. After gathering all her strength, she shouted, "Help!" Eliz was shocked by her voice.

"Come on baby." The man put his arm around her to hide her resistance. Realizing that the man was about to pull her into the bathroom, Eliz aggressively bit the man's arm with anger. The man let her go in pain. But her legs seemed wobbly, and she couldn't run as fast as she wanted.

"You bitch! How dare you bite me!" the man said angrily with such fury in his red eyes. His male ego turned him into a monster. He raised his hand, intending to give her a heavy slap. But before it could reach Eliz's face, someone pulled Eliz away from him.

The strange man almost fell to the ground. He looked carefully when he regained his balance. A handsome man was standing in front of him whose eyes were filled with a terrifying and bloodthirsty desire to beat someone to death.

His face was so expressive. The powerful man looked familiar. The stranger recognized that the man in front of him was none other than Pierce Landini Aleotti, the CEO of the Menarini Group and Petra Design LTD.

"Get out of here!" Pierce said in a low yet commanding voice. Pierce's piercing brown eyes were fixed on him.

The man was so frightened that his legs wobbled, and he struggled to walk away. He was certain that offending Pierce was not a good move.

Upon hearing Pierce's frightening voice, Eliz came back to her senses in a second. She realized Pierce was holding her in his right arm.

"It's you..." she stammered. "What are you doing here?" she asked in amazement. Eliz stared at Pierce with her eyes as wide as saucers. She didn't expect anyone to save her, much less Pierce.

"I happened to be here for business," Pierce replied. The look on his face softened as he put on his twinkling eyes and disarming smile.

"Oh..." Eliz gasped. "Thank you!" she added scantly. Eliz didn't know what to say. She was in total shock. Pierce would always appear from nowhere when she least expected. He was always there, disturbing her. Eliz reminded herself to be grateful instead of ridiculing him. After all, Pierce just saved her life.

"Are you willing to repay me?" Pierce asked frankly. His voice was bewitching. Another fear of uncertainty enveloped her.

Eliz was astonished at his question. Alarm bells rang in her head, so she feigned puzzlement, "What do you mean?" She didn't know why Pierce was being difficult.

'Why would he take advantage of my weakness?' she wondered. Still tipsy, she almost lost her balance. She would have fallen to the ground if Pierce hadn't strongly held her in his arms.

"The good man who saves others never asks for repayment," Eliz argued while pouting. She stared at Pierce in a daze. Pierce's face was so close to hers, and his handsome features became clear in front of her: his well-chiseled face, thin lips, and brown seductive eyes. She swallowed in the pleasure of being close to him as she rejected all the desires she felt.

"I'm a businessman, and I don't settle on a lost deal," Pierce teased. He effortlessly wore a charming smile as he drew her closer by her waist.

Eliz felt uncomfortable, and she struggled to free herself and cried, "Let me go, pervert!" At first, Eliz had been grateful that Pierce had saved her life. But the words Pierce said had turned her off. She found it too inappropriate and very ungentlemanly of him. Indeed he had saved Eliz but with a hidden agenda. He wanted her to pay him back.

"Yeah, I'm a pervert. Did you just realize that now?" Pierce mocked. He quickly loosened his grip on her.

Eliz immediately fell to the ground on her knees. Feeling the pain, Eliz angrily glared at Pierce and growled, "Hey, are you crazy? Why didn't you warn me before you took your hands off?"

"Why did you call me a pervert?" he retorted.

Eliz's face darkened. She slowly stood up by leaning on the wall. With a surge of heat from anger, she blushed and said, "Such a mean guy!"

Pierce crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Eliz. Seconds later, he smirked, "Hey, lady. Are you going to crawl back home on your hands and knees like this?"

Eliz frowned and said, "It's none of your business. Just stay away from me!"

"If you go on like this, you will run into real perverts," Pierce insisted with a teasing smile. His eyes were so lively as if he was waiting for something interesting to happen.

"Running into a real pervert is better than running into a terrorist like you!" Eliz was so annoyed. She pushed him away to no avail. Instead, undeterred Pierce dragged her into his arms with full strength. The smell of tobacco from Pierce made her blush. Her body felt unfamiliar waves of heat igniting her feminine senses. Pierce certainly knew what happened to her, but he wouldn't dare tell her now.