Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



Then, despite himself, he took another couple of looks.

Noticing Scales' gaze, Corley looked back without a ripple, his eyes deepening.

"Please, have a seat."

"Thank you."

Mamie and Scales sat down next to Roseanne.

Corley called over a waiter, "Bring two more sets of cutlery, and ask the kitchen to whip up a couple more dishes."

"Sure, any specific requests?"

Corley glanced at the two.

Mamie said, "Something with meat."

Scales said, "No seafood."

"Got it."

The waiter left, making sure to close the door behind him.

Now, only the four remained in the private room.

Corley smiled towards Roseanne, "Aren't you going to introduce us, Anne?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Anne?

Mamie blinked. Scales also looked curious.

Roseanne's expression didn't change: "They're my classmates, Scales, Mamie."

Then, pointing at Corley, she introduced, "My friend, Corley."

"Anne never asks me out, but this is an exception. So, what kind of trouble have you guys run into?"

He said "you guys." Not Roseanne.

His insight was undeniably sharp.

Mamie and Scales exchanged looks but remained silent.

Roseanne said, "I'll explain..."

"So, you want to fund this yourselves, buying CPRT through EchoVerse Systems?" "Yeah."

Corley pondered for a moment, "Does the academy know about this?"

Roseanne shook her head: "We haven't discussed it with the academy yet."

After all, whether they could even purchase the equipment was another matter.

"If you're paying out of pocket, that's fine; CPRT from Sunlight too can be sold; but this must be disclosed to the academy, otherwise, it could become a point of contention."

Mamie was puzzled. "We're spending our own money, why should we worry about others?"

"First off, even if you buy the

equipment, it'll still be housed in the academy's lab; second, just because you're footing the bill, do you plan to let the perpetrators off the hook?"

Mamie's eyes lit up: "Is there a way to teach them a lesson?!" Corley: "Leave it to me."

Mamie was instantly impressed: "Mr. Sullivan, you're amazing!"

Corley, however, smiled at Roseanne: "Do you agree, Anne?"

Roseanne was speechless. He must be doing this on purpose!

He had thought of everything, what reason did she have to disagree?

But he still had to ask.

Corley added, "If you don't object, I'll take it a yes. As for the price of 50%

the equipment... how about a ret

discount?"

Mamie's eyes widened. "Fifty percent?! Is that possible?"

That's a savings of $630,000, enough to buy a house in a small town!

Roseanne and Scales, however, frowned in unison.

Roseanne: "You're in business too; we can't let you take a loss. We'll buy it at the market price."

Scales nodded. "That's the fair thing to do."

Corley replied, "Fifty percent is an inside deal. Don't think too highly of me; I never make a losing deal."

With business out of the way, everyone started to eat.

Mamie took a couple of bites and

her eyes sparkled: "This is!

Weird... how come I've never on Yelp?"

"It's not on Yelp, and they don't do delivery."

"That secretive?"

Hearing this, even Roseanne couldn't help but look at him.

it

Corley offered a slight smile: "Otherwise, how could it be called an exclusive dining spot?"

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal, especially Mamie, who ate the most and felt the most satisfied.

As Roseanne was about to leave the room to pay the bill, she was informed—

"Mr. Sullivan has already taken care of it."

Just then, Corley's voice came from behind—

"I thought you were headed to the restroom?"

Roseanne turned around, meeting the man's teasing gaze.

"Didn't we agree that I would treat?"

Corley spread his hands, saying, "What can I do? I never let a woman pay, especially not one I fancy."