Xo Novel
Chapter 695
Chapter 695
Chapter 695 No Real Feelings
The moment Leanna got into bed, Aidan pulled her into his embrace. She looked at him. “What is it?”
“I did tell you that you can buy any jewelry you want, didn’t I?”
“W…” Oh, I see. A moment of silence later, she said, “So you know.”
Aidan grunted. “There’s going to be an auction at the charity dinner for the celebration, and the ring’s on the list.”
Leanna froze. “But I thought the ring was in Joseph’s hands.”
“He’s trying to strike a deal with Pearson Group.”
Leanna frowned. “He did ask me to put in a good word with you, but I refused. I can’t believe he still got what he wanted.”
“He came to you because he knew I wouldn’t agree to work with him.”
“But Justin agreed.”
They stayed silent after that. Joseph’s goal was obvious. He didn’t come to Highside for business. His goal was Aidan, or to be precise, Pearson Group, and Aidan’s departure from the company gave him the chance he needed. One’s a Woodley, and the other is a victim of that fiasco. Leanna said, “Should you tell Justin about Joseph’s…”
Aidan closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around Leanna. “He knows what he’s doing.” A momentary pause later, he said, “I’ll tell Jonathan to at least leak the Woodley scandal to Justin during his investigations. He can decide what to do with that information.”
Leanna had no idea what to say to that. A moment later, Aidan said, “We should get prepared for the celebration.”
Leanna nodded. “Sure.” No matter what was waiting for them, and no matter what happened, they had to make the trip. The ring was just a catalyst for them to show up.
…
Zoe had been cooped up at home for a few days and she couldn’t take it anymore, so she went back to the studio and started working. Before she came back, Leanna told the people in the studio not to bring up anything about Zoe’s hospitalization and the baby. Work went on like usual, and everyone chatted happily.
Zoe felt better the moment she went to work, and her bad mood was turned around. Still, there was no news about Daniel.
In no time, the day of Pearson Group’s celebration arrived.
The event would start at seven-thirty, but the hotel’s entrance was already filled with tons of reporters at six. They were trying their best to take tons of photos as the celebration this time was the grandest of them all. Aside from the main company’s employees, everyone from the subsidiaries was invited as well. The guests here were either bigwigs of Highside’s business and political world or celebrities attached to Pearson Group. There was no roster of guests grander than this.
Not even the other year-end galas could gather people like this. Thanks to that, the reporters had been staking out the hotel a day before so they could get the best spot to take pictures. At six-thirty, the guests were starting to show up, and it was an even grander scene than any red-carpet event.
Leanna and Aidan arrived at seven, but they entered the hotel through a side door. The moment they walked into the lobby, they heard discussions all around.
“Not even the company’s ninetieth-anniversary celebration was as grand as this. This is crazy.”
“Duh. Don’t you know? The president just got switched out. Of course, he wants everyone to know he’s the legitimate heir.”
“Yeah, but I heard that Justin and Aidan used to be on good terms, so…”
“And I heard Aidan was the one behind Sienna’s death. Do you really think they can still be on good terms after that?”
“True. Neither can live while the other survives.”
“Maybe Justin’s been hiding his lust for power under a facade of serenity. Now that he’s taken over, he wants everyone to know he’s the boss. He doesn’t care about his brother. Family means nothing in the world of aristocrats while power means everything.”
“Honestly, I wonder why Aidan let someone else take over. He beat the Pearsons up so badly, they went into a decline.”
“I wonder if he’ll show up today.”
“Yeah, right. He’s just a Pearson in name only. There’s no way…”
Someone appeared beside the person who was gossiping and pressed the button for the elevator. The two of them stopped discussing and turned around, but when they saw who it was, they froze.
Aidan pulled his hand back and looked at them. “I know chatting’s fun, but remember that you have an event to attend, so don’t get lost.”
The two men stopped talking, then the elevator doors swung open. Aidan led Leanna into the elevator and didn’t spare another glance at the men. When the doors swung shut, the men heaved a sigh of
relief, but then the doors slowly opened again.
Aidan looked at them coolly. “Aren’t you coming in?”
The men stared at each other, wondering what they should do. A few moments later, Aidan lost his patience. “Come. In.”
The men quickly went inside and stammered, “T-Thank you, sir.” The doors closed again, and the men felt like they had stepped into hell. Cold sweat poured forth on their foreheads as silence hung in the air.
Just when they thought Aidan wouldn’t say anything, he did. “And don’t call me sir. I’m not this company’s president anymore.” Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
The men felt their throats getting crushed, and fear kept them from talking. Even though Aidan had stepped down as president, he still inspired fear. He was a fearsome man himself in the first place. Even without the company, he still inspired fear, but without him, Pearson Group could never stay on top.
Justin was a gentleman loved by everyone, but that was the sign of the company’s downfall. A company on Pearson Group’s scale needed a president that inspired fear and respect, not someone who was well-loved and gentle.