Chapter 12 - Brunch

"Sorry, miss, that motorcycle just cut in out of nowhere," Lara heard the chauffeur say, and she sighed in relief.

She placed one of her hands on her chest and felt the fast beating of her heart.

"Thank God" she muttered to herself.

"Thinking about it, I didn't check on that young man from yesterday"

She then called Mr Wyatt, her father's assistant, and inquired about the man.

He assured her that the man was in good condition and will be discharged in about three weeks.

A small smile graced her lips as she thanked him for his efforts and instructed that a sum of Le20k be given to the man before he gets discharged.

Mr Wyatt said that he understood and soon ended the call.

Having that settled, her heart was already calmed from the fright earlier and she leaned back to relax in the car.

Half an hour later they arrived at the restaurant, where she was supposed to have brunch with the other socialites.

No doubt it was a five-star Michelin restaurant which was in a four-floored building.

The ground floor was the open restaurant and also a ballroom, the first floor had private rooms for silver, gold, and platinum membership owners; the more defined the membership, the more distinguished the room.

The second floor had exclusive rooms for diamond members. It also had private rooms for a special group of people.

The third floor had hotel rooms, where some members who had too much to drink were admitted.

Finally, the fourth floor had an indoor garden with very beautiful flowers placed thoughtfully and strategically, and each flower brought its charm. This fourth floor was one of the most sought-after locations for intimate ceremonies like weddings, engagements, or just birthdays. The only flaw isat it limits the number of guests at a time.

This fourth floor was where the socialite, who was the host this time, chose to gather as a way to show off her prestige.

Lara stood in the elevator and watched as the numbers changed until, finally, she was on the fourth floor.

She met a waitress by the door, and after a few exchanges of words, she showed her where their brunch was set.

It's not like this is the first time Lara has come to this floor, but an entire floor designated to be a garden will make it very easy for people to get lost if not guided.

Lara arrived at their little corner and saw the hostess was already there, and so were Amira and a couple of others.

"A bit early for brunch, isn't it?" she said as she neared the ladies and flashed them a smile.

"Oh hello!" Amira said and immediately got up to give Lara a tight hug; having fully prepped herself whilst coming up the elevator, she became fully engrossed in her act and hugged Amira back.

The other ladies smiled at her and she took a seat, although by this time she would love to sit as far away as possible from Amira but if that happened everyone would start to have doubts, Amira included, so for the sake of her revenge she needs to keep the nauseating feeling at bay and sit besides Amira and be the best friends they are.

   Lara faced the other ladies and gave them a curt nod, and in turn, they did the same.

 "Miss Brown didn't think I'd see you here today," a petite lady seated from across her said.

"And why not, Miss Kanu?" She asked back a playful smile on her face. 

"I love your bracelet, where'd you get it from?" Another lady cut into their conversation by lifting Amira's left hand. 

"It was a gift" Amira answered and removed her hands from the lady's hand, no doubt not wanting to talk of it.

How could she want to talk of it, that bracelet was one of the many 'gifts' she had gotten from Lara.

One calls it a gift, but it was just another one of Lara's things that she had taken a fancy to and immediately took it as her own.

Lara looked at the bracelet properly and recalled that it was one of the gifts Lucas had sent her. 

She did remember Amira praising how pretty it was but not when it got taken.

"What a fool I was," Lara thought.

She clenched her hands beneath the table and forced a smile on her face.

She remembered correctly more than half of Amira's private jewelry collection was taken from her.

Lara continued to clench her hand beneath the table every time her eyes passed on the bracelet on Amira's hands. 

The ladies soon forgot about the little episode about Amira's bracelet and were now discussing the latest trends and news.

One even bragged about how she had this season's special edition dress and how she was planning on wearing it to the next party if it fit the occasion.

Another lady bragged about how she was gifted a multimillion-dollar necklace that was won from an auction by a certain CEO.

 Just when the servers bought in their fruit platter, one of the ladies exclaimed and showed them her phone, it turns out one of the female celebrities had a scandal.

"Too bad, this might just ruin her career if she doesn't have a strong enough team," the lady said, shaking her head with pity.

"You also work in the entertainment industry. Do you know her?" Miss Kanu asked, facing Amira.

"I've seen her once or twice, but that's all," she replied, turning her attention elsewhere. 

 "Right, Amira, an entertainment celebrity, will be in a deep hole if her scandals come out, but considering that she's backed by Ed. 

Amira had a strong team, but a few scandals here and there would build up enough to overwhelm her and boom.

Why didn't she think of this earlier, celebrities hate scandals the most and Amira had a ton of them that the reborn Lara was clear about.

Thinking of this, Lara's face had a happy smile; seeing none of the other ladies were paying her heed but rather focused on talking about the unfortunate celebrity, she used food to hide her scheming smile.