CHAPTER 79: CUTE AND FIERCE MARIA

"Don’t worry, there will be proof."

Luis took out his phone, answered a call, and said, "David, did you hear that? It’s a pretty petty dispute."

"I’ll be there in five minutes. I’ve already parked."

The person on the phone responded in Spanish, sounding slightly annoyed. Manager Connor was momentarily stunned and instinctively asked, "Who are you calling?"

Luis ignored him. He led Maria, who was biting her lower lip and quietly crying, to the side. Patting her back to comfort her, he said, "Don’t cry. Today, I’ll make sure he pays you every cent you’re owed."

Then he looked up and sneered, "Sometimes authority trumps rules. For flagship stores like yours, formal complaint channels are often too tedious for ordinary people to bother with. But there’s always someone who can put you in your place."

"You..."

Manager Connor had a sinking feeling.

Just then, a dark-haired man with sharp brown eyes rushed over furiously. He was impeccably dressed, yet cursing, "¡JODER...!"

Manager Connor’s scalp went numb, and his voice trembled as he said, "David, Mr. David."

Manager Connor greeted them in broken Spanish. David rushed over and fist-bumped Luis. The moment Luis opened his mouth and spoke fluent Spanish, both Manager Connor and Maria were stunned.

After a brief exchange, David didn’t bother questioning the other employees and went straight to check the store’s surveillance footage.

Manager Connor was sweating bullets by now. He had just been promoted to manager, and it was David who had promoted him after arriving.

David was a mid-to-high-level executive in this region. His authority over local flagship stores was almost absolute. In fact, with just one report, he could directly fire a store manager.

This guy, Connor, was only the sales manager here, newly promoted and not yet firmly established. He never dreamed that Luis would call his ultimate boss with a single phone call.

In fact, it was a coincidence. That night at Aunt Fatty’s barbecue stall, they had run into this very David. Luis had glanced at his business card and vaguely remembered he was a mid-to-high-level executive in Apple’s division.

Luis had a good habit of saving every number he got, and it had come in handy now.

"FUCK..."

After watching the surveillance footage, David returned and chewed out Manager Connor mercilessly.

Manager Connor’s face turned pale and then flushed, looking as if he had just lost his mother. He probably had never been this meek even in front of his own father.

"Brother, what did that foreigner say?"

Maria was just a temporary worker. She had vaguely seen this foreigner before but didn’t really know who he was. She only knew that whenever he showed up, the entire store went on high alert and became extremely nervous.

Luis found this amusing. Looking at her tear-stained, pitiful face, he took out a tissue and gently wiped her tears.

The intimate gesture, combined with him pinching her nose earlier, made Maria lower her head shyly while stealing glances at him. Her heart raced, and she felt incredibly embarrassed.

"David confirmed that you are indeed an employee here."

"But there are strict employment rules here. According to the regulations, every employee must have a labor contract. Even handing out flyers needs to be done through a qualified outsourcing company."

"That bastard Connor pulled a dirty, disgusting move. If this got exposed, it would be really bad for the brand. So David is chewing him out now and stating clearly that their company never had any budget for temporary workers or summer jobs."

"David told this bastard to fix it himself. If he doesn’t handle it properly, he can pack up and get lost."

Maria listened in a daze, then bit her lower lip and said with admiration, "Big brother, your Spanish is amazing! Are you a translator?"

"Me? I’m just unemployed!"

Luis laughed self-deprecatingly, patted her shoulder, and motioned with his chin. "He’s coming over to apologize. Don’t hold back—vent your anger. If I hadn’t been here today, he would’ve taken advantage of you for free."

The way he said it... Maria’s face flushed, but her earlier grievances turned into anger, and she gritted her teeth.

Manager Connor walked over with a sour expression, looking very reluctant. He gritted his teeth and said, "Maria, your wages are 1,723 dollars. I’ll give you 1,750, and let’s call it even. Here, take it."

As he spoke, he picked up his phone to transfer the money. Luis sneered and said, "You’re making it sound so light. An extra 27 dollars? Are you treating her like a beggar?"

Manager Connor said in a low voice, "Sir, we have no grudge between us. There’s no need for you to be so aggressive."

"I called David all the way here, and you think it’s only worth 27 dollars?"

Luis coldly laughed. "Listen, kid, I wouldn’t care if someone made money by risking their life, but making money by being unethical—that’s something I can’t stand."

"If I weren’t here, would you have just stolen this little sister’s entire summer job wages? Now you talk like it’s nothing, not even offering an apology, and expect it to be over??"

"Your face isn’t that big."

Mentioning David again made Manager Connor’s stiff expression wilt. He gritted his teeth, bowed to Maria, and said, "I’m sorry. This was indeed my fault. I was greedy and tried to cut corners."

"As compensation, I’ll transfer 4,000 dollars to you. Consider the extra as a token of my apology. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against someone like me."

The attitude was decent enough. Luis thought this guy was something—able to bend and stretch—so there was no need to push him too hard.

But then Maria, who had always seemed gentle and obedient, suddenly turned fierce. She swung her hand and slapped him across the face.

The slap was crisp but not particularly hard. Manager Connor’s glasses flew off, and his face tilted slightly to the side. He covered his cheek in disbelief, visibly angry as he straightened up.

Luis immediately stepped in front of Maria, surprised that this seemingly meek girl had such a fierce side—not just the pitiful image she projected.

"Maria, you’re going too far."

Manager Connor’s eyes were turning red.

Being slapped in front of everyone, with his employees watching, was utterly humiliating.

Even Luis frowned, feeling it was a bit excessive. Just as he was about to say something, Maria hid behind him, cautiously poking her head out, and spat:

"How is it too far? Was it not too far when you slapped my ass? I’m not even close to you."

"Don’t think I don’t know, you tried to take advantage of me and got rejected. That’s why you deliberately withheld my pay."

Manager Connor’s face turned even uglier. Hearing this, Luis no longer thought it was excessive. Sexual harassment in the workplace, targeted at a summer intern who wasn’t even earning much—this guy was downright scum.

"Then we’re even now, right?"

Manager Connor covered his face, speaking in a gloomy, low tone without pressing further, his eyes nervously darting again and again toward David.

"We’re even!"

Maria didn’t want to push it further either.

"Go change out of your uniform, then leave!"

Manager Connor breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she didn’t pursue it, David would act like nothing happened. The cost of over two thousand dollars and a slap wasn’t actually high.

One could only say that student girls were easy to satisfy. If it were a woman who had seen more of the world, she would have extorted him until he was financially crippled.

"Big brother, don’t leave yet. Wait for me!"

Maria was quite familiar with him already, probably afraid that Connor would try something shady. As she ran into the changing room, she pitifully added, completely treating Luis as her lifeline.

Only then did David walk over. Manager Connor quickly explained that the matter had been resolved and promised he would be more careful in the future.

"Luis, I’m leaving in a couple of days. Are you sure you won’t have a drink with me?"

David said irritably, "I’m sick of that idiot translator they found for me. I rarely get to travel for work and wanted to experience local cuisine and different customs."

"That moron took us out for steak yesterday, saying he was afraid we wouldn’t be used to local food. Then at the bar, he ordered a tasteless thing. FUCK..."

Luis couldn’t help laughing. "Alright, but let me finish shopping first."

"Manager Connor, three iPhone 14s, and two of the highest-configuration iPads!"

Manager Connor was momentarily stunned, then quickly agreed and went to get the items. Maria changed back into her own clothes and walked out—well-fitted jeans and a blue top.

With her hair tied in a ponytail, she looked refreshingly elegant. She was quite pretty with good proportions—no wonder Connor had harassed her. At first glance, she wasn’t stunning, but the more you looked, the more attractive she seemed.

Luis had already swiped his card and collected the gift bags. He turned to David and said, "I have something to take care of first. I’ll see you at dinner."

"Okay, I’ll wait for your call!"

David made a phone gesture with his hand.

Just after getting off the elevator, Maria looked at Luis with a smiling face and asked, "Big Brother, what’s your name? What’s your phone number? Let me add you on Whatsapp right now."

"Sure!"

After exchanging contact information, they reached the mall entrance. Maria bit her lower lip and asked, "Luis, thank you for today. But why was David willing to help me??"