Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 379

Talia completed her meal while waiting for the phone call to be returned.

Her eyes landed on her empty notifications bar which made her scoff at the incompetence she was witnessing right now.

There was a knock on the door which brought her attention away from her phone.

“Must be the waiter.” She inferred as she had also ordered for dessert after her scrumptious lunch.

Though she was worried about the task whose progress she had been waiting to be informed about, she did not compromise with her meals.

She was punctual with her meals, a secret for the fit and shapely body that she prided herself with.

An hour apportioned to the gym at home and the rest depend on the healthy diet she had each day.

“Come in.” She permitted the one standing outside to enter the room.

The same waiter who had served her for the entire meal entered the room with a circular tray in his hand.

However, there was someone else who had also come into the room after the man in the uniform.

Someone she was very familiar with and had been waiting for all along.

Talia’s eyebrows raised in amusement when she noticed who it was who had decided to grace her with their presence.

“So you finally remembered that you have your Jie?” She sneered before the person could reach the table set at the center of the room.

The waiter did not raise his head as he placed the bowl on the table before the young miss and exited the room after he had completed his work here.

The employees in such establishments knew not to stick around lest they overheard something that could get them into trouble.

Once the door was shut behind the man who exited the room, Talia turned her sights to the person who was now seated opposite her on the table.

“How could I ever forget about my pretty Jie?” The newcomer grinned while looking at Talia who was rolling her eyes.

Valerie Zheng, the newcomer, stuck her tongue out at her sister when she realized that she had made the elder sister wait longer than expected.

The pink-haired younger woman had a smile as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She was wearing a peach sweater vest with black jeans making her look taller than what she really was.

“You!” The elder sister shook her head in mock anger which resulted in the sisters bursting out in peals of laughter.

Talia doted on her younger sister but at the same time she wanted absolute reverence to be paid to her which her sister was more than willing to do for her.

This made the sisters to have a close relationship with Talia’s superiority complex and Valerie feeding into her narcissistic tendencies.

It wasn’t that all the fault laid with the elder sister, Valerie had her fair share of vices as well.

But that was a matter for another day, right now the sisters had finally stopped laughing and soon a deathly silence pervaded their room.

“Did you get it?” Talia inquired as she looked at her sister, seriousness returning to her face.

This query elicited a nod from the younger sister as she revealed a bright and wide smile.

“That was the reason for my delay.” She informed and smirked while placing her purse on the table.

Talia’s eyes sparkled after she saw her sister’s actions and an evil glint flashed through the eyes before it disappeared without a trace.

Moving her eye away from the purse on the table, she looked up and furrowed her brows at her sister.

“Did you have any trouble while procuring this?” She expressed her doubts and worries before the pink-haired lady.

In response, Valerie was quick to shake her head in an attempt to dissipate the worries that had afflicted her sister.

“Then why the delay?” Talia prodded further, not willing to let go of this matter so easily.

‘Jie cares about me too much.’ The younger sister sighed but there was a happy smile on her face after recognizing the meaning hidden in the words she heard.

However, what she did not know was that while her sister was worried, it was for a whole different matter which was not connected to her by a large part.

“The idiot we hired was late so I had to wait for him.” She informed while scoffing at the disrespectful man she had met today.

She then began divulging the events of what had taken place before she arrived at the restaurant to rendezvous with her elder sister.

“He dared to throw the package on my face, Jie!” She whined and gritted her teeth when she was reminded of the insult she had faced.

Talia nodded but the impatience on her face indicated that she was more interested to hear about the remainder of the events that Valerie had yet to reveal.

“Did you leave without attracting anyone’s attention?” The Queen of socialites inquired about the matter she needed to know at all costs.

Valerie displayed a proud expression on her face and shook her head in reply.

“I left the place without a single soul knowing about my entry and exit from that building.” She boasted about her elite skills which she was confident about.

Talia nodded in appreciation and passed the bowl of dessert she had ordered towards her little sister.

“Reward for doing a great job.” She started and chuckled when she saw the glittering eyes of her sister.

This pleased Valerie immensely as she grabbed the bowl of freshly cut assortment of fruits which Talia had ordered as her dessert.

She did not hesitate to start shoving the fresh and juicy fruits into her mouth, forgetting that she was a semi famous ex-idol and current fashion model.

If her fans would see her eating as though she had been starved for years then her image in their eyes might drop by a large degree.

However, in the safety of this private room she had no fear of being discovered and pigged out because she truly had eaten nothing since morning.

While she was eating the dessert with fervor, Talia leaned forward and pulled the purse towards her.

She seated her butt back on the cushion and held the purse in her hands, unzipping it to look at the contents inside the black purse.

Her eyes fell on the almost empty purse which held only one thing inside.

A brown envelope was folded and placed inside the compartment of the purse which she pulled out after a few seconds.

The purse was now useless after the envelope was extracted and hence was thrown on the other side of the table having fulfilled its purpose for the day.

“Is it inside?” She muttered her question but Valerie had heard her loud and clear.

She nodded and continued to eat without bothering her sister any further.

The answer pleased Talia as she tore the envelope open to take a look at what was inside it.

Even when she knew what would be inside, she could not hold herself back and had to see it with her own two eyes before she could be satisfied.

‘It is here!’ She declared victoriously as her eyes flashed with menace at what was currently in her hands.

===

A black USB drive sat on the palm of her hands, one which she had been desperate to obtain for quite some time now.

Talia looked up at her sister and found that she had finished eating by now.

“You did good, Val.” She praised her sister’s efforts once again.

The USB drive was something she deemed most useful in her plans for the future without which she could not move ahead in her plans.

Valerie Zheng smiled after witnessing the blossoming smile which had appeared on the elder sister’s face.

“I wouldn’t mind sitting in that moldy place for another hour if it was for you, Jie.” She added to impress her sister who was indeed satisfied with her dedication.

“We should thank our cousin for letting us know about that abandoned building in the outskirts.” Talia snickered as she placed the USB drive into her purse.

Valerie was on the same page as her sister on this matter since the one who had shared the information of the abandoned building was their cousin from the side branch.

This younger cousin was the one who had informed them of one such abandoned building where there were no security cameras or human souls visible for miles.

An abandoned building with such lax security and excess freedom to do anything they wished for was exactly what Talia had been looking for to set as the meeting point for a deal she had made with someone.

This deal needed to be done in such a place that wouldn’t lead the trails back to her and the suggestion she was given fit her criteria perfectly.

Talia smiled when she thought of her cousin who was young yet smart as a tack, making her succeed in everything she did.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up at her sister and scrutinized her clothing for the day.

Valerie’s peach and black clothes made her nod in approval but there was still a doubt and fear which was present in a certain corner of her mind.

‘Might as well ask her about it.’ She decided to alleviate her worries by talking to her sister about what was on her mind.

“Where did you change your clothes?” She investigated, waiting to hear the words she needed to hear.