Chapter 211

Chapter 211 I Don’t Force People The next day, at Pearson Group. After stepping into the lobby,

Leanna proceeded at a snail’s pace. She hung back as much as she could as her entire soul resisted

the idea of being here. An indeterminate amount of time passed before her phone started ringing. It

was Jonathan. She answered the call, but she heard Aidan’s voice instead. “Are you planning on

polishing all the tiles in the lobby before coming up?” he asked coolly. Leanna was dumbstruck. She

looked up around here. Are there security cameras here?! “Hurry up. I have a meeting coming up,” he

said. “Oh.” She looked back down and stepped into an elevator. In the office, Aidan tossed Jonathan’s

phone back to him. “Wait for her at the elevator. Don’t let her escape.” Jonathan was speechless.

He couldn’t help but think, Why did it sound like a trial is about to start? Five minutes later, Leanna

arrived at the office. Aidan was leaning against the back of the couch with his legs crossed. His

expression was somewhat aloof as his fingers tapped against his knees. She stood in front of him and

greeted, “President Pearson.” “Take a seat.” She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end,

she pursed her lips and sat down opposite him. Jonathan delivered two cups of coffee before exiting

quietly. Leanna glanced at the coffee table before stating matter-of-factly, “President Pearson, I will take

responsibility for the negative impact caused by the rumors involving Daphne.” Aidan took a sip of

coffee and asked coolly, “How do you plan on taking responsibility for it?” “I will do my best to

cooperate with the plan of action the company draws up.” “Leanna, do you know why you always get

involved in all sorts of trouble?” She didn’t respond. “It’s because you always like to shoulder the

responsibility for things that do not concern you. You take it all upon yourself,” he stated plainly. Her

expression was neutral as she looked at him. “Louis isn’t a stranger. He’s my brother. His matters are

mine as well. That said, I don’t expect you to understand, President Pearson. After all, only humans

have feelings.” Aidan looked at her. “Remember what you said. If you’re going to take responsibility for

it, then you better see it to the end.” “I won’t take it back, provided that it’s within the realm of reason.”

He set his cup down and smirked.

“Great.” For some reason, Leanna felt like she had fallen into a trap. She stood up and said, “I’ll be

leaving now, then. If there’s anything, you can ask Mr. Stoll to get in touch with me —” “There’s

something right now,” Aidan said. Leanna paused. “Go ahead, President Pearson.” He glanced at his

watch. “I have a meeting, so wait for me here. You’re not allowed to leave before my return.” “But—”

“Feel free to leave if you wish. I don’t force people into doing things they don’t want to.” What was that?

She couldn’t believe how he could say that with a straight face. He looked at her and spelled it out

clearly, “The person who caused this should take responsibility for it.” Leanna closed her eyes and sat

down on the couch. “I’ll wait for you to come back, President Pearson.” “Why do I sense reluctance on

your part?” Aidan quizzed nonchalantly. She forced herself to put on a plastic smile and responded

through gritted teeth, “You’re wrong, President Pearson.”

“I hope so. Otherwise, someone will say that I’m the clingy one who refuses to stop pestering her

again.” She was speechless. Hurry up and leave, you b*stard! As Aidan stepped out of his office, he

turned back to glance at her. She immediately withdrew her gaze and straightened up as her gaze was

fixed at something in front of her. “There’s a lounge inside. You can take a nap if you’re tired.” Leanna

ignored him as if she hadn’t heard what he said. Once the door closed, she exhaled and leaned back

into the couch. She felt defeated. Soon, she got a call from Daphne. “I was a little busy yesterday. I

only saw your missed call today,” Daphne said. “Have you settled everything on your end?” “Settling

things… is going to be a bit difficult. Although the news isn’t trending anymore, it’s still affecting my

upcoming work.” “Will it cause a great loss to Pearson Group?” “I’m not sure about that, but all my work

has stopped, and President Pearson has asked me to go abroad on hol —to avoid the media. I’m sure

there are losses during the break.” Leanna nodded. “I got it. Thanks for helping Louis.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Your brother’s my brother too. I can’t stand by and not lend a hand.”

“Enjoy your break abroad. I’ll handle things from here.” “Did you meet President Pearson?” Daphne

asked tentatively. “I’m in his office right now.” Daphne coughed and came up with an excuse. “Oh,

alright. I’m about to board the plane now, so let’s talk later.” “Okay.” Leanna sat in the office the entire

afternoon. One of Aidan’s assistants brought lunch for her, but she didn’t take a single bite. Her attitude

toward this was clear. She was merely here to resolve the matter. She wasn’t going to get involved with

that b*stard in any way. At 5.00PM, Aidan came back and saw her sitting in the same position as when

he left her. It looked like she barely moved. He walked over to her. “Have you eaten?” “Have you

thought about how you wish to resolve this, President Pearson?” she asked coolly. Aidan rubbed his

forehead. “If you haven’t eaten, then have dinner with me.” “If you haven’t decided yet, President

Pearson, I can come again tomorrow.” “What do you want to eat?” Ugh. It was as if they were holding

two separate conversations. Aidan retrieved his suit jacket. “We’ll have dinner outside.” Leanna

remained quiet for a moment, but she couldn’t resist asking, “Do you need to get your ears checked,

President Pearson?” “Sure. You can come along and get your heart checked to see if you have a

conscience.” She couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She followed him out of the building before

coming to a halt.

“President Pearson, I —” He glanced at her before turning away. “Talk about it in the car.” She took a

deep breath. She had no choice but to climb in. He was silent for most of the ride. Just when she was

about to assume that he was only toying with her, he passed a folder to her. “Daphne’s reputation

reflects Pearson Group to a certain extent. Therefore, it isn’t just her career that’s affected this time. It’s

also bad publicity for the company.” Leanna took the folder and asked quietly, “Is it any worse than the

bad publicity the company received when you broke off the engagement?” Aidan eyed her coolly. “I’m

not joking.” She sobered up right away. “Sorry.” He continued, “There’s only one way to make up for the

damage caused to the company.” She flipped through the documents and listened carefully. He didn’t

lie to her. According to the documents, apart from Daphne’s work coming to a halt, several of the

company’s projects were also beset with problems. Leanna looked up and asked, “What should I do,

President Pearson?”