Too Late, Mr. Billionaire: You Can't Afford Me by Thedora Birnir

Chapter 202 Don’t Know What He’s Thinking

Hadley smirked, just as she had anticipated.

Fortunately, she had a backup plan up her sleeve.

Although she had made a pact with Linda, she made sure to be careful.

Earlier that morning, before passing Elissa’s phone to Linda, she had made a subtle shift. She recorded the video

Elissa had captured of Linda tripping her.

In this age of advanced smartphones, any hint of uploading or transferring could easily leave traces behind...

how could Linda not notice?

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That was because Hadley didn’t sent the video to her phone directly; she recorded the video anew using her own

phone instead! She had also tucked it away in her cloud drive.

Taking a deep breath, Hadley picked up her phone, opened the video, and placed it in front of Eric.

“Could you take a quick look at this?”

“What's this about?” Eric asked, feigning nonchalance as he stared at the screen.

His brows knitted together sharply... Linda actually pushed Hadley! Was it true?

Was Hadley hurt? Where were her injuries?

“You”

But before he could voice his thought, Hadley cut him off.

she tucked her phone away. “Flynn Group owns East Entertainment Media. | trust you can imagine the fallout if

this video sees the light of day. If you release Elissa, | promise to destroy the video.”

What?

Eric was momentarily taken aback.

So she wasn’t showing him the video to play the victim! She was leveraging it to coerce him into freeing Elissa?

No wonder she hadn't asked for his help outright-she had this ace up her sleeve!

Quite clever indeed.

“Did you use this to convince Linda to drop the lawsuit yesterday?”

“Yes.” Hadley nodded, nearly certain he felt cornered.

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Chapter 202 Don’t Know What He’s Thinking

How could he jeopardize Linda’s reputation and future?

Hadley’s lips curled into a sly smile. “As long as Elissa is released, I'll keep my part of the bargain and-"

“Why should 1?"

Suddenly, Eric leaned in closer, closing the space between them as if he intended to hold her.

The cold glint in his eyes revealed his displeasure!

“Threatening me, are we? Hmm?”

Hadley opened her mouth, her expression hardening. “Do you want to safeguard Linda's reputation and future.

or do you want Elissa to pay the price for Linda's wrath? The choice is yours!”

She steeled herself, lifting her chin and meeting his gaze without flinching.

“I don’t want to resort to this, but since you're so invested in Linda, this is my only course of action...”

“Enough!”

Eric suddenly raised his hand, pressing his thumb against her lips to silence her. Her mouth kept moving, failing

to utter the words he actually wanted to hear.

She kept insisting he cared about Linda, even learning how to threaten him! so clever, yet why couldn't she see

that everything he did was for her? It was maddening!

Feeling suffocated, Eric suddenly loosened his tie, gasping for breath.

Hadley blinked her large eyes, bewildered. What was happening now?

WAS

As they reached a stalemate, Eric's “new girlfriend” in the passenger seat turned her head, pouting in silent

grievance

Yet she dared not voice her anger, softly reminding him, “Mr. Flynn...”

“Be quiet!

The woman flinched, on the verge of tears. “Mr. Flynn, we've arrived.”

It turned out the car had cto a stop.

Phillips knocked on the window twice, also chiming in, “Mr. Flynn, we're here.”

“Got it!

Fueled by frustration, Eric had no choice but to relent, releasing Hadley and stepping out of the car.

The moment Erie’s new girlfriend reached out, her hand trembling as it brushed against his arm, Eric cast a

fleeting glance downward, causing her to flinch.

Yet, to her relief, Eric didn’t scold her or push her away!

As they strolled ahead, Hadley hurried to keep pace. “Eric, what's your take on what | mentioned earlier? Deal

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Chapter 202 Don’t Know What He’s Thinking

or no deal?”

“Heh.” He chuckled softly.

Eric cto a halt, his hands buried in his pockets, his eyelids lifting slightly. “Letmull it over.”

With that, he ambled off with his new girlfriend, not sparing a backward glance.

What? Hadley hadn't expected that response-he needed tto think? When it cto Linda, was there really

any hesitation?

But how long would this deliberation last?

The longer he pondered, the more Elissa would suffer. If he took too long, it could even jeopardize Elissa’s job at

the dance troupe.

What was she to do?

“Hadley.” To her surprise, Phillips turned around, extending his arm toward her. “Mr. Flynn suggests you wait

inside. Con.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Hadley nodded, clinging to hope.

She knew Eric couldn't possibly be indifferent to Linda. Keeping her in suspense, not giving an immediate

answer, was likely a way to release sof Linda's frustration.

The banquet hall buzzed with familiar faces for Hadley, yet none were truly hers.

She found a quiet corner, occasionally glancing up to catch sight of Eric.

Now she got a chance, she squinted, taking a closer look at Eric’s new girlfriend. Something about her seemed

familiar.

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Had she seen her on television? Like Linda, was she a celebrity?

If she were a wealthy heiress, she wouldn't be so deferential in Eric's presence.

Which celebrity could she be?

Hadley didn’t have much tto watch TV shows or follow the glitterati, so the neluded her.

Discreetly, she pulled out her phone, opened the camera, and zoomed in on the new girlfriend. Click!

With the photo captured, she initiated an image search.

“Got it!” Hadley muttered to herself, “Ayla Ramirez. Only twenty? So young! Mr. Flynn really has a penchant for

younger companions...”

Exiting the search engine, she turned to Twitter and typed in Ayla’s name.

It turned out Ayla was an artist under East Entertainment Media, meaning she was one of Eric's own.

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Chapter 202 Don’t Know What He’s Thinking

Though a newcomer, Ayla had been gaining quite a bit of exposure lately.

Hadley recalled Nyla mentioning that Linda had scaled back her workload to care for Ernest, likely focusing on

family for the foreseeable future.

So, it seemed Ayla was being groomed by East Entertainment Media to step into Linda’s shoes.

Hadley pursed her lips, “Who knows, this successor of Linda’s could end up being her sister-in-law...”

“What are you whispering about?”

Startled, Hadley felt a presence close to her neck, the voice sending shivers down her spine!

It was scary to be crept up to by someone like this.

Jumping in surprise, her phone slipped from her fingers, plummeting toward the floor.

But Eric was quick on the draw, his long arm reaching out to catch the device.

The screen still glowed, revealing... Ayla’s image? Hadley was looking into Ayla?

Heh.

Eric raised an eyebrow, his mood brightening instantaneously...

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