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 silenceter, 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''te to Highside for business. His


    goal was Aidan, or to be precise, Pearson Group, and Aidan''s departure from thepany 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


    pauseter, 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 momentter, 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 mainpany''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 gs 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 thepany''s nieth-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."


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    The two men stopped talking, then the elevator doors swung open. Aidan led Leanna into the elevator


    and didn''t spare another nce 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 youing in?"


    The men stared at each other, wondering what they should do. A few momentster, 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."


    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 ce.


    Even without thepany, 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 thepany''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.