Chapter 19

The meeting wrapped up after a couple of hours. With Veda and James finally seeing eye to eye, even the folks who initially doubted Veda were starting to come around. Emily didn't really care about that.

Back in the design department, Nora and the crew came over to congratulate Veda.

"Ms. Johnson, you're incredible! How'd you manage to deal with someone as tough as Mr. Smith?"

"No wonder you snagged first prize in jewelry design back in college. You're way better than some of those airheads."

"From now on, it's Ms. Veda Johnson for us."

Veda felt a bit bashful with all the praise, blushing as she smiled and said."As long as the design's good, Mr. Smith's not that hard to handle.Tonight's on me. Let's hit up the Skyline Club for some fun."

The Skyline Club was a swanky spot, only for the rich and famous. Even the cheapest private room would cost at least half a million bucks for a night. This was truly a money pit!

They were all just regular folks, making maybe fifteen grand a month at best. Hearing Veda's offer, they were all pumped to check out such a fancy place.

Veda soaked up the compliments, enjoying every bit of it. She turned to Emily with a confident smile. "Emily, let's go out tonight." Emily,leaning on her desk with her eyes half-closed, casually replied," Sure,let's do it."

At the Skyline Club, Veda handed her card to the waiter outside.

The waiter took one look at it and respectfully led them in, taking them to a huge private room loaded with all sorts of entertainment.

The massive swimming pool had everyone gasping in awe.

"Ms. Johnson, your family's something else. You even have a membership here."

Veda smiled modestly. "It's not from my family, it's a gift from my boyfriend."

She glanced at Emily, hoping for a reaction, but Emily's face remained indifferent, leaving Veda feeling a bit let down.

Someone asked Veda curiously, "Ms. Johnson, who's your boyfriend? Can you introduce us?"

Veda replied shyly, "He doesn't like crowds. He's been swamped with work lately, so he probably won't make it tonight."

Nora looked at Emily and suddenly asked, "Ms. Johnson,you always call Emily so affectionately. Are you two real sisters?"

Veda smiled and shook her head, starting to say, "Emily wasn't around much when she was young..." Emily couldn't be bothered to explain and instead said, "Since Veda impressed James, how about we celebrate with a drink?"

She handed the tablet for ordering to Veda.

Veda smiled and said, "Order whatever you want."

The electronic menu was all in English with no prices listed. Some couldn't understand it, so it ended up back in Emily's hands without anyone ordering.

Raising an eyebrow, Emily asked, "Don't you guys want a drink?"

Veda replied calmly, "Emily, you go ahead and order."

Emily then placed the order and handed the tablet back to Veda with a smirk. "Let's see if you can afford it."

Veda was caught off guard. Just as she was about to take the tablet, Nora chimed in, "Emily, who are you to belittle others? Ms. Veda Johnson can definitely cover a few drinks."

Everyone joined in, praising Veda, who felt a bit smug and didn't take the tablet. Instead, she said, "Emily, don't worry. Dad gave me his card."

Emily narrowed her eyes, thinking, 'Is Veda trying to show off?'

After a few rounds of drinks, the table was littered with bottles, and a couple of girls even ordered male escorts. Everyone was having a blast,ordering more drinks with the escorts keeping them company.

By the time they were done, it was almost three in the morning,and it was time to-settle the bill. When the manager brought the bill, Veda's eyes widened. Thirteen million dollars! She instinctively looked at the manager, asking, "Why is it so expensive?"

She hadn't drunk much, buit she was a bit stunned at the moment.

She thought it would be at most six hundred thousand dollars. The pocket money Aiden and Mia gave her was more than enough.

But she never expected it to be this much, and it made her feel dizzy.She took the bill and almost fainted on the spot.

Thirty bottles of wine cost nearly six million dollars, along with some food,male escorts, and the private room for the night, all added up to two million dollars.

Veda instantly looked at Emily, who was leisurely drinking, her voice trembling. "Emily, why did you order such expensive things? Why did you embarrass me?"

This reverse accusation made Emily laugh. Anyone could see that Veda couldn't afford it.

Nora directly said, "Emily, even if you are jealous of your sister,you shouldn't deceive her like this, righnt?"

"Yeah. Going for so many pricey things,that's pretty vain of you."

"Have you never seen money before?"

Spending over ten million dollars in one night was equivalent to burning money. Emily lazily leaned back on the sofa, continued drinking, and with a mocking smile, looked at Veda, "When you brought us here, you were so confident. Why blame others now that you can't pay? I showed you the menu, but you didn't look at it yourself. And now you blame me.Sorry, I don't accept your moral blackmail."

Veda bit her lip lightly, feeling a bit wronged, her face also turning somewhat pale.

Nora stiffened her neck and said, "Ms. Veda Johnson is your sister.Shouldn't you help your sister? Do you have any humanity at all?"

Emily smiled faintly. "We're not real sisters, so why should I help her?"

Nora was left speechless by the rebuttal.

Someone unwillingly said, "Even if you're not real sisters,you've lived together for over a decade. Don't you have any sympathy at all?"

Emily smiled, but her tone was cold. "Since you all care so much about her,let's go Dutch. After all, you all enjoyed it too."

As soon as they heard about going Dutch,everyone fell silent.

Going Dutch meant that each person would have to pay over a hundred thousand dollars, which was worse than just killing them!