CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 30: TALIA RHODES, I’M IN OAKHAVEN—SHALL WE MEET?

Senco Law Firm’s nearby high-end Chinese restaurant, Fragrant Pavilion.

All the private rooms except the top VIP one were filled with people from Senco Law Firm.

Talia Rhodes was sitting in one of these private rooms.

"Lawyer Rhodes, you’re so extravagant, treating us at Fragrant Pavilion," a young female lawyer said with a smile. "The last time I came here was when the big boss treated us at last year’s firm annual meeting."

Jane Young jokingly remarked, "Lawyer Rhodes is young and promising, it seems you’ve earned big money over the years. With several departments in our firm having over a hundred people combined, Lawyer Rhodes is going to have a big bleed tonight."

Timothy Palmer smiled and chimed in, "Lawyer Rhodes is really capable."

A young woman spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, Lawyer Rhodes, can you really afford this? The average spend here is two to three hundred per person, and with drinks tonight, it’ll probably cost you three months’ salary. Maybe we should go somewhere else instead of putting on airs."

The woman was a lawyer from the litigation department, and Talia remembered her name, Angela Coleman.

On her first day at work today, at first glance, Talia felt Angela looked harsh, and it seems her first impression was correct; Angela is indeed hard to get along with.

Talia smiled and said, "It’s fine, I can afford it."

Angela continued with her sarcasm, "Oh, it seems Jane wasn’t wrong, Lawyer Rhodes has really made big money over the years. Do you have any money-making tips to share with everyone?"

Talia replied calmly, "What tips could there be? We’re all lawyers, aren’t we all aware? You earn more with big cases, less with small cases. Besides, I don’t earn as much as you, Lawyer Chen. I’ve been working for three years and still can’t afford a car. I heard you’ve already bought a house in Oakhaven."

She was telling the truth.

The little money she made from her job wasn’t enough to buy a decent car.

But there was no need for her to save up to buy a car.

Shawn Rhodes had bought her a Porsche 911 and a Rolls-Royce Phantom, which were kept in the Rhodes Family’s old home’s garage gathering dust, and she hadn’t driven the Maserati her cousin Oscar Sterling gave her for a long time either.

Recently, she had been driving the icy blue Bentley Continental Adrian Jennings gave her.

Of course, Angela Coleman had no idea about Talia’s family background.

She only heard the surface and assumed Talia Rhodes really couldn’t afford a car or a house.

Angela seemed to take satisfaction from Talia’s words.

She looked at Talia Rhodes with a contemptuous expression.

Pretending to be generous to impress colleagues at the firm, how vain.

This little episode ended just like that.

Talia Rhodes smiled and said, "Let’s order, everyone can choose what they want to eat."

"Then I won’t hold back," Angela Coleman picked up the menu, paused, and handed it to the supervisor, "Supervisor Jane, you order first."

She was very savvy when it came to social etiquette.

In this private room were all colleagues from the litigation department, and following the "no two tigers on one mountain" principle, there was only one leader in a room, and the highest-ranking in this room was Supervisor Jane Young.

Jane Young took the menu, remembering Selina Hughes’s words to "take good care" of this Talia Rhodes, she didn’t hesitate and pointed at the menu several times, "This one, this one, and this one."

The waiter stood by, recording the dish names.

Jane Young ordered three of the most expensive signature dishes.

Just those three dishes cost over a thousand.

After ordering, Jane Young handed the menu back to Angela Coleman.

Angela also picked two expensive dishes.

The new intern Claire Yorick, sitting next to Talia Rhodes, looked embarrassed. She blushed and gently tugged on Talia Rhodes’s sleeve, whispering, "Lawyer Rhodes, I... the expenses here are too high, I can’t afford to share."

She thought she was co-hosting this meal with Talia Rhodes.

She had panicked upon seeing the menu earlier.

If she had to share this meal, it would wipe out her earnings for the entire year.

The young girl was almost on the verge of tears.

Talia Rhodes gently patted Claire Yorick’s hand, reassuring her softly, "Don’t worry, I’m treating this meal; you don’t need to share."

"Really?" Claire blushed, "Then... thank you, Lawyer Rhodes."

Once the ordering was done, their room of ten people had ordered over five thousand worth of dishes and more than three thousand in drinks and beverages.

Talia saw the bill and slightly curled her lips.

This wasn’t ordered according to the average spend; clearly, they were taking her as a fool, choosing only the expensive items.

But now that Shawn Rhodes had restored her bank card, this amount of money was nothing to her.

Just consider it money spent on social relations.

Halfway through the meal, Talia Rhodes stood up to go to the restroom.

Angela Coleman started sarcastically joking again, "Lawyer Rhodes, where are you going? Running away because you can’t afford to pay? Hahaha."

Talia Rhodes kept a straight face and replied calmly, "I’m just going to the restroom, what’s wrong? Lawyer Chen, are you so worried about me? Want to come along?"

"How could I? I was just joking, it’s your fault if you take it seriously," Angela said languidly.

Talia didn’t bother with her, opened the private room door, and went out.

Walking past the elevator on her way to the restroom, Talia turned her head and met a pair of familiar eyes.

Adrian Jennings was surprised, "Talia? What are you doing here?"

Surrounded by several men in suits and ties.

The room where Talia was having her meal was on the first floor, and from Adrian’s appearance, it seemed he had just finished eating and was coming down.

With that, Adrian Jennings walked over a few steps.

Talia smiled, "Brother Adrian, fancy seeing you here. I’m here treating my colleagues to dinner today."

Adrian Jennings knew that Talia Rhodes had joined Senco Law Firm.

He nodded slightly, his expression gentle, and asked her, "How’s your first day at work going?"

"It’s all pretty good."

Talia didn’t mention Angela Coleman and some colleagues taking her for a ride.

Adrian Jennings asked again, "Is the gathering almost over? I’ll give you a ride home."

Talia shook her head, "It’s still early, you should head back first."

"Alright then," Adrian added, recalling something, "This place is quite far from your home; did you arrange for the family driver to pick you up?"

"No, I’ll go back to that apartment nearby later."

"Okay, take care."

"Mm-hmm."

Talia said goodbye to Adrian Jennings and went back to the private room.

After the meal, Talia Rhodes went to the front desk to settle the bill.

The staff informed her that the bill had already been paid.

Who else could it have been but Adrian Jennings?

She took out her phone and sent Adrian a message.

[Thank you, Brother Adrian.]

Adrian Jennings replied quickly.

[No need to thank me.]

[Talia, are you done there? I’m waiting for you at the open-air parking lot to the left of the entrance; I just can’t feel at ease with you going home alone so late.]

Upon seeing this message, Talia felt a warmth in her heart.

[We’ll wrap up soon; I’ll come to find you later.]

After sending the message, her colleagues started coming out of the private room.

A few male colleagues were drunk, and Talia helped call cars for them.

Angela Coleman drove, so she hadn’t been drinking.

She got into her Honda Civic, rolled down the window, and smiled at Talia Rhodes, quite smugly, "Lawyer Rhodes, I’ll head off first, you get yourself a cab back, bye-bye."

Talia smiled good-naturedly, "Bye-bye."

Almost everyone had left, leaving only Claire Yorick.

Talia asked her, "Where do you live? I’ll help you call a car."

The young girl quickly shook her hand, "No need, no need, I’ve rented a place nearby, I can walk back."

Talia was a bit concerned, after all, Claire was a young woman.

"Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?"

"Yes, it’s safe with all the street vendors out at this time, and it’s not far, just seven or eight hundred meters, don’t worry."

Talia said, "Alright then, see you tomorrow."

After walking a bit, Claire suddenly turned and ran back to Talia.

"Lawyer Rhodes, thank you so much for today." The girl seemed a bit shy, "You’re really nice. I heard you don’t have an assistant yet, so if you need help with writing documents or organizing materials, feel free to ask."

Talia smiled warmly, "Sure."

After Claire Yorick left, Talia Rhodes went to find Adrian Jennings in the parking lot.

Getting in the car, Talia gave an address.

It was close by, just a few minutes’ drive.

Adrian Jennings dropped her off at the entrance of the residential area.

Talia said, "I plan to live here from now on; it’s convenient for work."

Adrian Jennings nodded, "Alright, I’ll visit you often."

"Okay, I’ll head up now, bye-bye."

Talia was about to get out of the car.

Her phone rang.

She took out her phone, glanced at it, and frowned.

[Talia Rhodes, I’ve come to Oakhaven. Shall we meet?]