Chapter 12

Naomi directed her ire at Xavier. Xavier regarded her with a cold look, displeasure clear in his eyes. "You should manage your own matters first, Ms. Collins. Your studio recently…" "Quit holding my studio over my head. I have money in my account. What are you gonna do if I just let that studio go down?" Naomi was angry that Miranda had apologized to her after Naomi scolded Yovanna some time back. So, this time, Noami went for a different angle. She knew that Miranda would get into trouble if Noami yelled at Yovanna, so she decided to go after Xavier instead. Xavier's expression turned stormy as he turned to Miranda. "Did you get your friend to rebuke me because you don't have the guts to do it yourself, Ms. Jennings?" Miranda was stuck between a rock and a hard place. How did she get into this situation again? "Just come at me if you're a man with balls. Don't you yell at Miri," Naomi immediately swooped in. "It's alright, Mimi." Miranda's head pounded as she tried to calm them down. "You should show some respect to Mr. Schneider." Josh felt nothing as he watched the situation unfold. At the end of the day, Miranda was the only one who would get hurt. "Want an apple?" he asked as he bent down to look at Miranda. He was so close that Miranda's body tensed for a moment. At last, she relaxed and nodded, smiling. Josh took an apple from the fruit basket that he had brought along. Then, he sat down and began to peel it with a knife that he took out as well. He wasn't any less handsome than Xavier. In fact, he was as modelesque as Xavier himself. However, his demeanor was gentle and kind, and women flocked to him more because of that. Seeing that Josh had begun to put his own plan into motion, Naomi backed off from insulting Xavier. She smiled as she shoved her way over to Miranda. "Hey, Miri, why don't you think about it?" Meanwhile, Xavier helped Yovanna with her hair. It had gotten caught in the buttons of her blouse. "Xavy, please be gentle. You know how much I don't like being in pain," Yovanna whimpered. Xavier smiled at her in adoration. "How childish of you." Indeed, this was childish. Her hair had gotten stuck in her clothes, yet Xavier was worried about hurting Yovanna. But what about Miranda herself? Even if she had been stabbed, she could grit her teeth and bear with the pain. Miranda was unwilling to let herself be vulnerable. So, how could Xavier possibly treat her like a delicate little flower and love her? "Miri?" Naomi asked. Miranda snapped back to reality and smiled. "I'll think about it." Josh paused, his lips curving up into a small smile as he tried to hold back his joy. At last, Xavier managed to free all of Yovanna's hair. His gaze then swept over Miranda, a wave of irritation washing over him. "We're leaving." Xavier took Yovanna's hand. "Okay." Yovanna then waved at Miranda. "Take care of yourself, Ms. Jennings. I'll come see you another day." Naomi rolled her eyes. What an actress. Now that both annoyances had left, Naomi didn't want to stay any longer and crash Josh and Miranda's alone time. "Hey Josh, I have some other errands to run. If you're not in a rush, why don't you stay here and take care of Miri?" she asked cheekily. Josh vigorously nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll do just that." "See? He's such a nice and caring guy." "Just go already." Miranda was exasperated. Naomi giggled before dashing out of the room, leaving Miranda alone with Josh. Miranda was still not all that acquainted with him, so she felt awkward around him and didn't know what to talk about. Fortunately for her, Josh wasn't as shy as he was through text. "Have you ever thought about going to a different company?" Miranda froze for a moment to think about it before shaking her head. "No." Changing jobs would mean that all her previous efforts would be for nothing. She would have to start from scratch again, and Miranda was worried that she didn't have the energy to do that. "With your skills, I'm sure you'll do great no matter where you go." Josh brought a small piece of apple to Miranda's mouth. She hesitated for a second, but she still opened her mouth and ate it. "I'm not doing very well mentally now. Maybe I'll think about it again once I've gotten myself back on track." Everyone at Evergreen knew about her relationship with Xavier. Work would not be easy, but perhaps a fresh start was not a bad choice after all. Miranda and Josh continued to chat about their lives. It was pure idle chatter, with nothing romantic at all. Despite that, they definitely grew closer. However, Miranda still saw Josh as just a friend. Josh left the hospital after dinner. While he came to visit Miranda every day after that, neither Yovanna nor Xavier made another appearance. Since all Miranda had was a mild concussion, she only needed a few days of bed rest. By the fourth day, she was ready to be discharged. However, Miranda hadn't expected to receive a call from her mother, Meryl, that very day. Meryl was quiet for a long while before she finally spoke. "Miri, could you ask Mr. Schneider for a favor? I just wanted to stand up for you. That was why I did that to those wretched Andersons! You can't let me go to prison. Your stepfather is about to hand me over…" "Mom," Miranda interrupted. "You know the true reason very well." Meryl was taken aback by her daughter's words. However, she shivered again once she recalled Adrian's order not to get on Xavier's bad side. Her expression turned ugly. "And what do you mean by that? Have you forgotten that you are my daughter? I just want you to ask him a favor. Don't tell me that you can't even do that after working with Mr. Schneider for so many years." Miranda clenched her free hand. She had indeed worked for Xavier for several years, but there was nothing between them anymore. Was she supposed to grovel at him for a favor now? After a long pause, Miranda answered, "I can do that." Before Merly could interrupt her, she continued coldly, "But you and I are no longer mother and daughter from today onwards." "You insolent girl! You're about to climb to new heights while I…" "You'd best think carefully about your choice. If you disagree, I won't help you and will step aside," Miranda cut in. Meryl seethed as she let out a snort. "Fine, cut me off then as long as you get Mr. Schneider to forgive me. I can't even be bothered to poke my nose into your business anyway!" Meryl then hung up. Miranda felt a wave of condescension toward her mother. Meryl had never once treated her like an actual daughter. That woman had always valued herself more. Even if Miranda had declined to help her, it would still fall to her to deal with the fallout of Meryl's actions. Miranda was in a foul mood as she flagged a taxi down to go to work. It was because of Xavier. As she was about to enter her office, Miranda caught sight of Adrian exiting Xavier's office. He noticed her as well. He seemed to be in a good mood. Miranda could guess why, too. Her expression turned chilly at the thought. Adrian had no intention of talking with her, but Miranda still stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Where is my mother?" she asked. "Where she should be, naturally." Adrian was not about to be nice to Miranda. "She should be punished for her transgressions." Miranda let him go. She had nothing else to ask him, after all. After Adrian left, Miranda knocked on Xavier's door. "Come in," he said languidly. Miranda opened the door and entered Xavier's office, only to see him lounging on the sofa inside. At the sound of her entrance, he opened his eyes. The way he lazily did so made him resemble a cat. "Is there something?" His tone was neither here nor there. "I want to ask for a favor." Miranda cut straight to the chase. Xavier knew why she was there, but he still pretended to be surprised. "Tell me more," he said casually with a smile on his face. Miranda knew him far too well. He was playing her. Despite this, Miranda still said her piece. "I'd like to ask you to forgive my mother for insulting Ms. Yates. Please release her from… police custody." "Do you think I would forgive her just because you asked me to?" Xavier chuckled mockingly. "You think far too highly of yourself." Miranda clenched her fists. Indeed, she did. But now, she wouldn't. She gradually let out a breath. "You may set the conditions, Mr. Schneider." Xavier's eyes narrowed. Miranda had done as he had hoped, throwing away her delusions of grandeur and knowing where her place was.