Chapter 10

For a moment, the room fell silent. Then, Lichter intoned, “Damn, Yemory, you really called in.”

Taney hadn’t brought Alice tonight. Instead, he had a hostess by his side. Men had a certain pack mentality—everyone here had invited a hostess. Not having one would have made him look out of place and reduced his credibility. So, one should never believe a man’s claim that he was the only one who restrained himself when all his friends did it. Men would never want to be the odd one out.

Alien Yancey saw Grace; a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes before settling into a smug expression. He tremulously set down his glass. “Grace, don’t you ever get tired?”

She had already caused a scene here several times in the past, and now she was even dressing up as a staff member. Each time, she just made herself look even more pathetic.

Grace bowed slightly, picked up the most expensive bottle of Romanée-Conti, and flashed a practiced smile. “Who ordered this? Would you like me to open it?”

She had heard their conversation from outside, and her heart ached… But when she stepped in and saw this group of spoiled, rich young men, she realized they were nothing but walking moneybags. She could make enough tonight to cover that hundred-thousand-dollar debt. That bottle alone was worth a million dollars.

None of their men were strapped for cash, and right now, they were very interested in watching her make a fool of herself.

Hendricks nudged Sloan Sidler with his elbow, his gaze flicking to Grace’s figure. “Damn, those legs are something else, aren’t they?”

Both of them were Yancey’s friends. They had spent years mocking Grace, and Yancey had never once stopped them. After all, having a stunning woman so obsessed with him made him look good.

Sinan, however, felt only disgust. No matter how pretty, to him, she was just a pathetic mess. “Grace, we’ll open as many bottles as you can drink today.”

Beside him, Yancey wanted to stop him. While they had money, those bottles were a million dollars each. And with Grace’s alcohol tolerance…

“Sloan, she’s quite the drinker.”

Before he could finish his warning, Grace had popped open the bottle and smiled. “Deal. You won’t go back on your word, right?”

Sloan hated her to no end. He couldn’t wait for her to make a fool of herself in her drunken state. He leaned back with a smirk and said, “Yes, it’s a deal. Go ahead and start drinking, Grace, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Yancey doesn’t like you. Everyone in this room despises you. If you end up in tomorrow’s headline after drinking yourself stupid and getting taken home by some random stranger, no one here’s going to clean up your mess.”

Everyone knew Alice was the family’s favorite. Grace was nothing but unwanted trash.

Grace grabbed a tall glass, filling it to the brim, then downed the first bottle. She then proceeded with the second bottle, then a third.

At first, Sinan was amused. Then, he started shifting in his seat uncomfortably. Grace didn’t look even tipsy, and it looked like she could down a few more bottles.

Three million dollars had gone up in smoke just like that. Even if they were rich, they couldn’t go on like that.

The noisy room fell silent. Afraid that Sloan would be left in an awkward spot, someone tugged at Yancey’s sleeve, urging him to intervene.

Yancey conceded and shot Grace a warning glare. “That’s enough. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

Grace emptied her fourth bottle and smiled. “And you are?”

The moment she said that, someone immediately sneered, “Come on, drop the act. You came here for Yancey, didn’t you? I gotta say, your tactics are getting bolder. At least now you remember you.”

Grace opened the fifth bottle, and Sloan’s expression darkened completely.

Vandey got up and grabbed her wrist. “That’s enough. Do you really want to be the laughingstock?”

Grace twirled the glass between her fingers and focused her gaze on Sinan. “If you can’t afford to pay, maybe someone else can help you out.”

Main’s face reddened with fury. He had never been humiliated like that before. “Nate, this unreasonable behavior of yours is exactly why no one wants you. You’re nothing compared to Alice!”

Grace slowly finished the last glass and raised an eyebrow. “So, you like Alice?”

Skan stiffened, immediately glaring at Yancey. Yancey’s expression soured, and he shoved Grace. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“If it’s wrong, why don’t you look at your good friend’s face! Might as well investigate if he and Alice are having…”

As she said that, she gathered the five empty bottles and lined them up.