The Clutches Of Hell Novel

Chapter 40

Charlotte put on a serious front and tucked the smile on her lips away, but a hint of a smile was still visible in the corner of her eyes.

“Order a new batch of uniforms for the hostesses.” Christian grabbed the teacup again but put it back down when the ceramic was only barely an inch away from his lips as Charlotte stared at him while keeping a straight face. “Delta isn’t a brothel.”

“You can’t go accusing me about this now, Mr. Thatcher!” Charlotte sighed under her breath, seeing that he hadn’t burned his tongue this time round. “A bodycon dress can show off a woman’s inner beauty the best. How is this prostitution? Look at the other clubs and tell me which of them aren’t revealing?”

“I don’t know; I’ve never been to other clubs.” Christian held the string tightly as he looked at the pendant under the light like he could see someone through it.

Charlotte was rendered speechless. At that, she quirked her brow, allowing a hint of charm to lace her face. “A bodycon dress is still alright. It just doesn’t fit Victoria well. The exposed scars look too ugly, lest she wants to scare off our customers. Why not let me make a set of uniforms solely for her?” © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

To that, Christian put the pendant away and hummed softly, considering a yes to Charlotte’s proposal.

At that, Charlotte teased, “Tsk, those oblivious might think you’re upset with jealousy because Victoria’s a hostess.”

“Fire Cameron.” Christian didn’t entertain her tease but took a sip of the tea.

“He’s been working for the club for a decade; he deserves credit for his efforts at the very least. I can’t just fire him like this. The other staff will think otherwise.” Charlotte blinked, her every move coquettish. “I’d appreciate it if you could suggest me an offense.”

“Theft of a valuable item within the club, and unauthorized altering of the club’s accounting.” Frost laced Christian’s eyes as he leaned back against the chair.

“Those are no minor offenses. If word gets out, no one will probably dare hire him again.” Charlotte took a peek at the said valuable item—the pendant—knowingly but still asked with a smile, “How did he piss you off?”

Christian rested his intertwined fingers on his knee and looked up at her with a frosty gaze.

“Forget I ever said that.” Charlotte bent over and leaned against the table with her right arm propping her chin up, her cleavage showing somewhat. “Say, Mr. Thatcher, I discovered an interesting thing lately.”

She paused at that, waiting for him to sate his curiosity. However, Christian only took a gander at her and left the room like he didn’t notice the magnificent view in front of him.

At that, Charlotte sighed regrettably as she watched him disappear through the door. “Why did I wait for him to ask when I could’ve just said it. Bad move…”

…

The following day, Victoria got a notice at 8.30AM saying there was an issue with the uniform and that she needed to return the bodycon dress. Meanwhile, she could take the day off and resume work after the new uniform had been given to her.

“So the bosses have retrieved their conscience and given you a day off, huh?” Gabrielle sighed.

“You motherf*ckers!” Daisy booted the bed a few times, creating booming noises. “It’s early in the morning, for f*cking sake! Can’t nobody get their sleep?! I’m going to f*ck you all—”

“Go on, don’t stop cursing,” said Victoria plainly as she stood by Daisy’s bed.

Daisy’s face flushed crimson as words jammed in her mouth, not daring to utter a word when she met Victoria’s gaze. At that, the grumpy woman snorted aggressively and pulled her covers over her head, deliberately making a bunch of loud noises.

“Sicko!” Gabrielle snorted and ignored Daisy, who was still fumbling noisily in her bed. “You’ve finally gotten a day off. Let’s go shopping,” she said to Victoria.

At that, Victoria looked down at her summer outfit silently.

She could’ve at least worn her two cleaner uniforms out back then, but now the bodycon dress and the two cleaner uniforms had all been returned to the club. All she had left with her was this summer outfit she wore before going into the penitentiary.

“I’ve gained a few pounds lately and can’t fit into some clothes anymore. Why don’t you take them?” Gabrielle got out of bed in only her undergarments and pulled out a khaki coat and a pair of straight-cut jeans.

Then, she glanced at the shoes Victoria was wearing and pulled out a shoe box from under her bed, taking a pair of black cashmere heels out before giving the whole set to Victoria.

Later, the pair left after getting dressed and putting on light makeup.

The second the door closed, Daisy kicked her covers away and caterwauled at the door with a ferocious face. “You murderer, you’ll f*cking rue one day!”

Still dissatisfied after lashing out, she got out of bed and grabbed Victoria’s toothbrush, giving it a soak in the toilet water before chucking it back into the latter’s rinsing cup.

Meanwhile, Victoria and Gabrielle went to the nearest mall, and by the time they bought a few outfits and shoes, it was nearing noon.

Both happened to have gotten hungry, so they decided to go to a well-reviewed Japanese restaurant.

“Can’t we eat elsewhere?” Victoria found Christian and Bella sitting at the back of the restaurant the second she entered.

Christian’s back was facing her, so she couldn’t see his expression, but Bella’s was visibly clear to her. The young woman had a hand over her lips, smiling sweetly and joyously.

“What’s wrong?” Gabrielle was checking if there would be any tables available soon. “I’ve been here a few times. The food here is really fresh, and the price is pretty affordable. Sure, it’s packed here, but you’ll certainly think it’s worth it after you try the food here.”

Seeing that Gabrielle really wanted to eat here, Victoria didn’t want to rain on her parade either. As such, she hummed a response and turned to wait for a table at the entrance with Gabrielle.

Surely Christian and Bella hadn’t noticed her when the place was packed with customers, and by the time she and Gabrielle went in, they would’ve probably been done. They’d have no chance of meeting each other.

Alas, life never always turned out the way one planned.

“We still have a couple of seats at our table. Come with me.” Lucas stood in front of Victoria, looking down at her with a split-second of disorientation beneath his eyes.

Victoria looked like the same young woman she was two years ago when she now swapped her uniform for regular clothing, like all that had happened at the club some time ago was nothing but a dream.novelxo.com fast update

Meanwhile, Gabrielle reeled with shock as she knew the man standing before them was the Lucas Spritz of Spritz Group. He knows Victoria?!

Lucas is here too?! Victoria frowned at the discovery. “No thanks. Someone like me is unworthy of sharing a table with you.”

“Do you think I’d come to you if Bella wasn’t kind enough to ask you to join us?” Lucas said impassively. “You guys still will have to wait for at least an hour. Come with me.”

Victoria locked her brows into a deep furrow, but just when she wanted to turn him down, Gabrielle said with a smile, “Well, thank you so much, Mr. Spritz.”

With that, she stood up and pulled Victoria joyously. “Come on.”

Seeing that Victoria wouldn’t move, she advised, “It’s not every day you get a break. You don’t want to waste an hour waiting for a table, do you?”

Victoria pursed her lips as a shadow had been cast above her nose when the sun beat down over her jagged bangs.

In the end, she stood up and hummed softly.

“I was fortunate enough to have met you a few times in the past, Mr. Spritz. It’s truly an honor to be able to sit down with you.” Gabrielle let go of Victoria’s hand and went merrily to Lucas’ side, making small talk gingerly.

Lucas, on the other hand, hummed perfunctorily in response as he went inside the restaurant. After taking a few steps, he stopped and looked behind, only walking further inside after he was certain that Victoria was following.

As they arrived at the table, Christian took a cursory glance at Victoria, who stood behind Lucas, and put some food into Bella’s plate with the communal chopsticks.

In her two years in the penitentiary, Victoria had lost count of the times she had told herself not to think about Christian anymore after being released. However, witnessing how sweet he was to Bella right then still made her suffocate.