Chapter 40

We soon arrived at the hotel entrance. Alex got out of the car first and thoughtfully walked to my side to open the door and escort me out. There were plenty of people who had been waiting to chat with Alex to build connections. When they saw the scene, a good number of them immediately surrounded me. "Miss, what's your name?" I was caught in the middle of the crowd. Most of them had quite a bit of perfume and cologne on, and all those high-end fragrances clashed and combined into a pungent smell that made me want to sneeze. "I'm Serena Ashford," I replied with a small smile. "Ms. Ashford, what's your relationship with Mr. Hastings?" "Yes, Mr. Hastings seems so gentle with you." "In the past, Mr. Hasting's female companions always had to get out of the car themselves." The group chattered incessantly, not concealing their speculation about me at all. "I'm someone Alex hired," I answered truthfully. The crowd fell silent. After a long while, someone broke the awkwardness wit