Chapter 199: Met Someone Unimportant

After leaving the café, Martina checked the time and decided to head back to her studio. Even if Adam had the courage, he wouldn't dare to cause a scene in her studio. It was clear that Adam had come to her privately because he was concerned about what Benjamin might do. Martina had a firm grasp of Adam's thought process. Unfortunately for Adam, he was increasingly finding it difficult to outsmart Martina. The current Martina was not the same as the one who used to accept everything without resistance. She had developed her own sense of rebellion, and if she were provoked, the consequences would be far more severe than mere verbal exchanges. This situation revealed why Martina allowed Benjamin to take control of it, even though she knew it might make matters worse. It was because she understood the intentions of the Paloma family and trusted that Benjamin would take care of her. Martina walked and grumbled, "What an idiot. Trying to play tricks on me this way won't work, I'm afraid." Martina entered the studio's lobby. Before she could do anything else, she spotted Leslie, who had just woken up from a nap. Upon seeing Martina walk in from outside, Leslie suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly forced himself to become alert. "Miss Martinez, where did you go? Did you leave the studio? Why didn't you let me know?" Leslie asked with a gentle tone. Hearing Leslie's soft-spoken words, it was hard to imagine that he could easily take on five opponents. Unless they resorted to underhanded tactics, Leslie could easily deal with them. Martina didn't want to disclose these matters to Benjamin through Leslie, as she believed she could handle them herself. So, she came up with an excuse. "I went out to buy some food just now, and since you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to disturb you. I'm already back now. If you're awake, why don't we go downstairs and find something to eat? The studio doesn't have much to offer, and I'm afraid it won't fill your stomach." Leslie accepted her proposal, even though he wasn't hungry at the moment. He was just a bit tired. "I see," Leslie said. "I'm glad you're okay. I was worried that if anything happened to you, I wouldn't be dead." Martina understood Leslie's intentions and didn't want to make things difficult for him. She replied, "Next time, if I go out, I'll let you know in advance. Okay?" After saying this, Martina returned to her office. She saw Elena working diligently but noticed that Alejandro was absent. Elena, upon hearing the movement, looked up and saw Martina at the door. She greeted her with a bright smile, "Martina, you're finally back! I was just about to call and ask what you were up to!" Normally, Martina mostly dined in the studio and rarely ventured out. Combined with the unusual phone call earlier, Elena had a sense that something was amiss but couldn't quite put her finger on it. What was wrong? Elena had decided to wait for ten minutes, and if Martina hadn't returned by then, she was going to call. To her surprise, Martina returned just in time. Martina wore a sincere smile and said, "I went out to have a meal and, by the way, met someone unimportant. But it's not a big deal." She wasn't lying about this. She was just presenting the situation in a different way. Elena couldn't help but become curious. "Met someone unimportant? Who was it? What's the situation? Do you need my help?" Martina didn't answer that question but instead asked, "Where's your brother? Why isn't he here? Weren't you planning to have dinner together? Did he go back?" "Actually, my brother wanted to have a meal with you, but you were busy, and he's already left," Elena said, shrugging innocently. "But it's alright. We'll definitely have more opportunities to meet in the future. After all, we have a lot of work to do." Martina got the answer she wanted to hear and simply nodded without saying much. She had just settled at her computer and put on her blue light glasses. Elena, however, playfully leaned closer as if she had something prepared. "Martina, who were you meeting? Is it a romantic rendezvous? Aren't you concerned that Benjamin might discover this?" Martina's mood immediately took a sharp turn at this moment, and she poked Elena's forehead, saying, "What on earth is going on in that brain of yours? You're thinking all sorts of nonsense. Is it really appropriate to say that? What do you mean by 'a romantic rendezvous'? Do you think I'd do something like that?" Elena cheekily stuck out her tongue. Thankfully, these two had known each other for a while, and they were accustomed to each other's personalities and ways of handling things. "Hey, I was just trying to make a joke and liven up the atmosphere. Why are you getting so mad? Ouch, you poked me pretty hard. If you break my head, I'll extort you today and make sure you can never escape from me for the rest of your life!" Martina wasn't angered and was, in fact, amused by Elena's words. "Really? Well then, you can be my lifelong burden. I could afford to feed you with salted vegetable rice porridge every day. You won't need too much from me." Elena shivered involuntarily, feeling that her best friend's smile was a little strange. "Never mind, I think I'm doing quite well as a pampered lady. If I really have to eat salted vegetable rice porridge every day with you, won't I end up starving myself?" Then Elena asked seriously, "So, who did you meet just now? Can't you even tell me? If you can't, just pretend I didn't ask." With the conversation having reached this point, Martina didn't know how to refuse anymore. She looked at Elena and said, "Actually, I just met with Adam. He came to find me." Elena's eyes widened, and she looked shocked. "What's going on? Since when did you have that kind of relationship with Adam? Weren't you fighting just yesterday?"