Chapter 494
It was nearly noon by the time Leanna got to the studio. When she reached, she found Zoe sprawled
over the front counter, and she could hear Zoe let out a few sighs as she walked over. “What’s wrong?”
she asked gently.
Zoe looked up and stared at Leanna with a nk look in her eyes. “It’s nothing much. I’m just tired,”
she said.
“Do you want to head home and rest? There’s nothing much to do today,” Leanna offered.
“It’s fine. I’m just emotionally drained,” Zoe replied.
Leanna raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “Did Daniele over to meet you yesterday?” she
asked after dragging Zoe to the pantry. Zoe nodded before letting out another sigh. “What did he tell
you?” Leanna asked.
“It was nothing much. He mentioned some odd stuff and asked me if I was about to get married. Then, I
asked him if he nned on giving me a gift, but he didn’t say anything. Isn’t he just asking for trouble?
Why should he care if I’m getting married?” Zoe remarked.
Leanna went silent for a while before continuing, “So, what happened then?”
“Nothing happened after that. I ignored him, and I headed home,” Zoe said.
“How about the guy that you’ve been seeing? How’s that going?” Leanna asked.
“It has been pretty good. It’s much better than I had expected it to be. He’s a pretty nice guy, and we
have a lot ofmon topics. He even asked me out for a movie,” Zoe responded.
“Did you agree to it?” Leanna asked.
“He was thinking of using this movie date to see if things would work out for us, and I agreed as I
thought that it was a good idea, too,” Zoe exined. Leanna pressed her lips together without saying
much. She had intended to give Daniel a push, but it seemed like her actions didn’t have that much of
an effect. Well, all I wanted was for Zoe to find her happiness. Since the date she has been meeting is
working out, I guess she can try things out with him, she thought.
Zoe let out a yawn before turning around to make a cup of coffee. “What about you? Didn’t you meet
Daniel to talk about the issue with Crossley Group? What did he say?” she asked.
Leanna let out augh upon hearing Zoe’s words. “His advice was pretty much the same as yours,” she
replied.
“Yeah, you should just go along with what we—I mean, what I said. Don’t go to Crossley Group, and
don’t get involved with their business; it doesn’t matter what happens to Crossley Group. We should
just enjoy our quiet and peaceful lives,” Zoemented.
“I’ve already decided, Zoe,” Leanna announced.
Zoe sipped on her freshly brewed cup of coffee before she spoke, “Trust me. This is the right thing to
do. You—”
“I’m nning to head to Crossley Group.”
Zoe nearly spat her coffee out after hearing what Leanna said. Then, she gave Leanna a look of
disbelief—she thought she had heard it wrong. “What?!”
“I’m nning to go to Crossley Group,” Leanna repeated herself.
“Why? Didn’t you decide against that yesterday? We all told you not to go.”
Leanna nced out of the window as she spoke, “I was still in the process of thinking about it
yesterday. Crossley Group’s situation isplex now. If I take over thepany, not only will I not get
anything in return, but I might also be taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives.”
“Then—”
“That was why I was hesitant at first. But after I went to Pearson Group yesterday, I found out that
Aidan has been helping them out all along. So, I figured that I had no reason to avoid them. I mean,
Aidan was not rted to the Crossleys in any way and had no obligation to help out the Crossley
Group, yet he did it anyway. So, why couldn’t I? Besides, I should be the one dealing with it, to begin
with, not him,” Leanna said.
I’m not sure when this started, but I feel like everyone has been trying to protect me by keeping me out
of this whole mess. However, there are some things that I simply can’t avoid. Some things are simply
unavoidable, she thought to herself.
After Leroy messed up the entire Crossley Group, all the staff were disunited. The only way things
could be resolved was if the Crossleys stepped forward to do something. Only then would Crossley
Group be able to start over. However, since the Crossleys weren’t willing to step forward, Leanna had
to do it instead.
Zoe couldn’t help but frown. “But it’s not your fault that Crossley Group is in this state. It’s all Leroy and
Georgina’s fault! They’re a pretentious bunch!”
Leanna shook her head. “Now’s not the time to me anyone. The problems that Crossley Group is
currently facing are affecting a lot of people—if we don’t get things in control soon, more people will be
affected.”
Zoe didn’t know what to say after that. Leanna’s right. I’ve seen a lot of my friends posting about the
loss of their jobs on social media, and I’ve seen some people talking about losing their entire
businesses. This is all because of what’s going on with the Crossley Group. After a while, she spoke
again, “When are you going over, then?”
Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.
“Probably tomorrow,” Leanna replied.
“Alright. You don’t have to worry about the studio. I’ll handle things here. But… shouldn’t you be
preparing for fashion week?” Zoe asked.
“I’m not that great at managing apany. My guess is that the guys who approached me yesterday
merely wanted me to make an appearance. I’ll figure things out tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ll keep up with
the preparation for fashion week,” Leanna uttered. This was her dream, after all.
Zoe patted Leanna on her shoulder. “Well, you should give it your all since you’ve decided to do this. I’ll
always have your back. So, don’t worry about anything, and go for it!”
Leanna chuckled. “Well, I’m worried about you, though. I hope you can find your other half soon,” she
uttered.
Zoe shrugged before responding nonchntly, “I wouldn’t have to worry about finding my other half as
long as I’m rich.” Leanna stared at the woman speechlessly. “Did you just take a page out of Aidan’s
book?” she grumbled.
“Yes and no. Aidan is rich, whereas I’m just exaggerating my words,” Zoemented.
…
That afternoon, they went out for lunch together. When they returned to the studio, the admin greeted
them, “Miss McKinney, Miss Hart, Daniel is here.” Zoe was stunned. He’s not here to ask about the
wedding again, is he?
“He came with someone else,” the admin continued before Zoe could say anything.
“Who is it?” Leanna asked.
“I’m not sure what his name is, but he came together with Daniel,” the admin exined.
“Have you seen him around in the past?” Leanna asked.
“I think he came over with President Pearson once a really long time ago. I’m not too sure, but I think
they’re the same person,” the admin said. Leanna could guess who the other person was by then.
“Alright. Are they in the lounge?” she asked before pursing her lips.
“Yeah. They’ve been in there for about half an hour,” the admin replied.
Leanna hung her head low and stood there for a while without moving. “What is it? Who’s the other
person?” Zoe whispered.
“I think it’s… William.”
Zoe was puzzled. “Isn’t he Aidan’s partner? Why did hee with Daniel? It seems like he’s affiliated
with a lot of people,” shemented.
Leanna let out a dryugh as she didn’t know what else to say. I know I should go in to greet them, but
my legs just won’t move, she thought.
Zoe could sense her hesitation, so she offered, “Should I get them to leave? You don’t seem eager to
meet them.”
“It’s fine.” Leanna shook her head. She gathered her emotions and tried to pick her mood up. “Why
don’t you get us two sses of water, Zoe?” she said before walking into the room.
“Okay,” Zoe replied.