Chapter 9 Unexpected Turn

Griffin's POV

She was furious, but I was even more enraged. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to pull out my cock and shove it in her face, proving just how wrong she was about its size—it was longer than her face!

I had explicitly told her not to tell anyone, yet she couldn't even keep quiet for a single day!

And she had the audacity to criticize my taste!

"Shut up!" I snapped. "How much? I'll pay for the damage. Say another word, and I'll throw you out of this car!"

At the mention of money, Aviah's anger instantly vanished. She smiled sweetly and said, "At least eight thousand dollars."

"I'll compensate you," I agreed. "But you drank my alcohol—three thousand dollars per glass. So I'll only give you five thousand."

Hearing this, Aviah put on a pitiful expression. "Three thousand dollars for one drink? Come on, Raven, you're better than that. You wouldn't shortchange me, would you? I only have one friend in all of Lakeview, and it's you."

I looked at her skeptically. "Friend?"

"Yes! You have no idea—I was just harassed by my manager and felt like the whole world was against me. I thought I was utterly alone. Then you showed up willing to help, and I was so touched." Her eyes widened hopefully. "So, can you reimburse me the full eight thousand dollars?"

I stared at her shameless expression, grinding my teeth in frustration. This insufferable woman made me want to teach her a lesson.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly irritating?" I asked.

"What?"

I was about to continue when I suddenly caught myself. What was happening to me? Why was I experiencing such intense emotional reactions?

Even this morning when she caught me in the bathroom, I'd remained relatively calm. But after only a few minutes of conversation, my emotions were all over the map.

This infuriating woman somehow broke through all my defenses.

I changed the subject. "I'll call you a cab. Go home, and I'll have someone take care of the car tomorrow."

"Raven, can you share half of what you earned tonight with me? We had an agreement, remember? It's already past ten o'clock."

A vein pulsed in my forehead as I stared at her. "I had two clients tonight, both disrupted by you. I just signed a two hundred thousand dollars tab for you, and I'm about to pay for your taxi. And you're still asking me for money?"

Aviah scratched her head sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. Can you at least give me fifty dollars? I need to take a cab to work tomorrow."

I was done talking. I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet and tossed it at her face.

Aviah quickly caught it. "Thanks, Raven."

Soon, the taxi arrived. After watching Aviah leave, I stood there as her cab disappeared into the distance. Reflecting on the evening's events, I couldn't help but laugh.

Especially when I recalled her face lighting up as I handed her the money—that hundred dollars was worth every penny just to see that expression.

Aviah's POV

When I arrived home, Edna was still sitting on the couch. As soon as she heard the door, she opened her eyes and walked over.

"You're back? Have you eaten? I saved you some dinner," she said.

I shook my head. "Edna, I've eaten. Why aren't you in bed yet?"

"You didn't come home all evening, and you weren't answering your phone. I was worried sick about you. I was about to call the police if you didn't return soon."

Touched by her concern, I sent Edna to bed, then checked on my children. Seeing all three of them sleeping peacefully, I finally went to my room, showered, and collapsed exhausted onto my bed.

The day had been filled with dramatic ups and downs.

I couldn't help thinking about Raven. He truly seemed like my lucky charm. Since meeting him, I'd gotten a two hundred thousand dollars bar tab signed, and he'd even agreed to give me half his wages.

And after crashing my car, he'd agreed to compensate me.

Thinking about asking him for eight thousand dollars made me feel slightly guilty. After all, the car was second-hand and wasn't even worth that much when I bought it.

I reassured myself that I would pay him back eventually, which made me feel a little better.

My thoughts drifted as sleep overtook me.

The next morning, I asked Edna to take the kids to school by taxi, paying the fare in advance before taking a cab to work myself.

As soon as I arrived at Skyline, Jeremy summoned me. He led me to the bathroom and pointed at a toilet. "Is this how you clean? Look at this mess."

I stared in horror at the filthy toilet bowl, clearly deliberately soiled after I'd cleaned yesterday. "Someone did this on purpose! I made sure everything was spotless before I left yesterday."

"I trust what I see for myself," Jeremy sneered. "You have fifteen days left this month. If I catch you being this negligent again, you'll forfeit your entire month's salary. Now clean it up."

I couldn't hide my disgust—the toilet was absolutely revolting. This was a high-end corporate building where people typically had decent manners. The janitorial staff usually just emptied trash and mopped floors.

This mess was obviously Jeremy's way of humiliating me.

God, if someone could rescue me right now, I'd be forever grateful.

As I struggled with this thought, Jeremy pressed on. "You have three minutes. If it's not clean by then, you're fired!"

I wrestled between earning money and sacrificing my dignity. I clenched my fists, seething with anger.

Just as I was about to give in, someone entered the bathroom—I recognized him as the security officer who accompanied Griffin yesterday. I'd seen him with the CEO in the executive elevator.

"The person responsible for cleaning Mr. Ravenscroft's private bathroom called in sick today. Have you arranged a replacement?" the security officer asked.

Jeremy immediately responded, "Of course. I'll have Aurelia handle it."

"Let her go. Aurelia is in charge of coordination after all."

"That's not appropriate. Aviah has other responsibilities."

"Do you have a problem with my suggestion?"

"No, no, not at all."

"Good. Mr. Ravenscroft's floor needs attention now. Come with me."

As he turned to leave, I could barely contain my excitement. I shot Jeremy a triumphant look that clearly said, "Dream on if you think I'm cleaning that toilet!"

If the situation had been different, I might have laughed out loud.

As I followed the security officer toward the door, he suddenly stopped and pointed at the toilet. "What's that?"

Jeremy hurriedly explained, "It's the new janitor's fault. She didn't clean properly. I was just about to make her fix it."

Hearing this explanation, I felt a surge of anxiety. I feared the security officer might blame me and force me to clean it after all.

Sure enough, my fears materialized when he asked, "She's that careless?"

Jeremy nodded eagerly. "Exactly. She's too careless to clean for Mr. Ravenscroft. Let her handle this area instead."

The security officer let out a cold snort. "What kind of recruitment director are you if you can't even properly vet janitorial staff? YOU clean this up!"

"What?" Jeremy and I both exclaimed in shock.