Chapter 26
On the eighth floor.
Vanessa was led by the female assistant to the office of the finance director.
On the way, there was all the sound of taping and calling in the office area. Everything that related to finance and technology was an emergency, even for the higher management.
Outside the office of the finance director, some assistants and secretaries were typing or answering the phone.
When Vanessa passed by, she glanced at them and suddenly paused.
Bianca, who was sitting over there, also turned her head after sensing Vanessa's gaze.
Bianca tilted her head, and there was a phone between her cheek and shoulder while her right hand was tapping on the keyboard. It seemed that she was very busy now, but when she saw Vanessa, she froze.
Both of them were confused.
Vanessa didn't expect that she would meet Bianca here.
Immediately, Vanessa could tell from her cubicle what kind of job she did here.
That surprised Vanessa a bit.
After all, Vanessa thought Bianca was Shawn's niece, so Vanessa thought Bianca was supposed to be a rich young lady who only worried about spending money instead of working hard as an office worker in professional clothes.
But soon, Vanessa thought of Sophia, who was rich enough to buy a store but still worked in Financeweek as a trainee with a very low salary. Then, Vanessa understood.
Maybe it became popular among rich people to experience grassroots life recently.
However, Bianca didn't think that much about it.
At this time, all in her mind was why Vanessa still showed up there.
They looked at each other, with no kindness in their eyes.
After a few seconds, Vanessa looked away and walked straight towards the office of the finance director.
Bianca frowned and hung up after speaking a few words to the one on the other end of the line. Then, she raised her head and looked at Vanessa's back.
Suddenly, someone knocked on her desk.
Bianca turned her head and noticed that Qiu Fu's female assistant had not yet left.
"Don't leave after work."
The female assistant said coldly and then went to catch up with Vanessa.
...
Ben indeed came back in fifteen minutes.
And Vanessa was now staring at the sixth cup of coffee in her hands with a frown.
"Ms. Green!" Ben pushed the door open and walked into the room. After he put down the things in his hands, Ben walked to Vanessa and held out his hand. "Sorry to have you wait!"
Vanessa immediately put down her coffee and shook hands with Ben. Then, Ben sighed a breath and sat down while saying, "I'm so sorry. My secretary made a mistake!"
"It doesn't matter."
Vanessa showed a smile, but inside, she was a bit annoyed.
Originally, she didn't connect this thing with Bianca, but hearing what Ben had said, Vanessa now realized that it must be that Bianca didn't tell Ben that she was here, so Ben left.
"Actually, you don't need to come back. We can make another appointment."
"Don't say that," Ben shook his head. "We've made an appointment for today. How could I go back on my word."
Hearing what Ben said, Vanessa smiled. She suddenly thought of Shawn.
Vanessa suddenly had a feeling that Ben would come back probably because of her complaint before.
...
The interview went well. For this initial public offering, Ben also was willing to tell Vanessa much information, hoping that the media would help to attract more attention. The interview lasted for three hours.
When Vanessa put away the recording pen, it was getting dark.
Ben stood up and called the female assistant to come over.
"Arrange a car to send Ms. Green back."
Vanessa stood up and said goodbye to Ben, "I'll keep following up on the initial public offering, so I look forward to seeing you next time!"
Ben took a sip of the water and slowly sat down. "Alright! I also need the help the Financeweek. You can just come to my office next time."
Vanessa nodded.
After Vanessa left, Ben made a call. "Come here!"
After a while, Bianca pushed the door open and walked in. "Mr. Wright, what's the problem?" Bianca asked carefully.
Ben put down his glass heavily and said, "Why didn't you tell me that the journalist from the Financeweek came today?"
As Ben's executive secretary, she was in charge of the daily reception and informing.
Bianca performed all her duties conscientiously all the time and had never made such a mistake.
Ben just picked up his son from school and was about to have a family dinner today, but he suddenly received a call from Shawn. Then, he had to leave his wife and son and immediately rushed back.
No wonder he got so angry.
Bianca frowned and lowered her head. "You have a busy schedule today, and there's an emergency video conference coming from the appraisal company, so I thought that the interview was not very urgent, so I put it on hold for now."
She secretly glanced at Ben and saw his unhappy look. Then, she said more cautiously, "Is the interview very urgent?"
Ben didn't know how to explain to her the current situation. He paused for a moment and pointed at Bianca's forehead while yelling loudly to vent his anger, "You're just my executive secretary. It's not your job to arrange work for me! Who the hell do you think you are? And who do you think she is? How dare you just let her wait there?"
Ben was always a hot-tempered person, and everyone in the company knew that.
However, Bianca still didn't expect that Ben would be so angry just for Vanessa.
Vanessa was just a journalist!
This wasn't the first time Ben had been interviewed, and even if the journalist from the TV station came to interview him, he would also put the interview on hold when he was too busy. Sometimes he wouldn't even answer the phone.
Although Bianca was confused, she didn't dare to show any discontent.
The door of the office was unlocked. Through the window, Bianca saw that several colleagues were looking over. Therefore, Bianca had to apologize honestly, "Sorry, Mr. Wright. It's all my fault."
"Alright, get out of here!"
Bianca looked pale and sullen. She turned around and left the office. Under everyone's gaze, Bianca gritted her teeth and walked back to her position, pretending to be calm.
...
Meanwhile, Vanessa followed the female assistant to the elevator.
While waiting for the elevator, the female assistant went to answer a phone call. Vanessa stood in front of the elevator and stared at the changing number on the LED screen.
They needed to go down, and right now, the elevator was moving down from the 12th floor.
A few seconds later, the elevator stopped.
When the elevator doors parted, the female assistant reached out in a gesture of please.
As soon as Vanessa was about to walk into the elevator, she suddenly saw the person inside and paused.
"Mr. Chance?"
Barron raised his head and nodded after he saw Vanessa.
"You came here for work?"
Vanessa nodded. Then, she looked at Barron and asked carefully, "So, did you come here with Mr. Yeats?"
Barron didn't answer Vanessa's question. Instead, he asked, "Any problems?"
Vanessa smiled.
She complained in her heart about why Shawn lied to her that he wasn't here.
"Nothing." Vanessa was still standing outside of the elevator now. "Is he busy now?"
Barron thought for a while and then said, "Maybe not."
Vanessa then said, "Then, which floor is he on? Can I go to see him now?"
Hearing what she said, the female assistant looked at Vanessa in surprise and then glanced at Barron.
Barron hesitated for a moment and then walked out of the elevator. Then, he went to the next elevator.
"Come with me, please."
...
There were only three office areas on the 12th floor, so the office areas were much more spacious and much quieter than those on the 10th floor.
Vanessa had met many people in a hurry on the way but heard no sound of talking.
The door directly opposite the passage was closed. Barron took her to the door, looked at his watch, and said, "Sorry, I gotta do since I still have something to deal with."
Vanessa nodded, and Barron left.
Vanessa stood in the doorway and looked up. The LED screen on the wall above the door showed that the person in the office was "busy" now.
She hesitated for a while and then rang the doorbell.
Shortly after, the door opened automatically.
Vanessa poked her head in first and looked to the left. Shawn was now sitting at his desk.
He looked in the direction of the door and pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger. Vanessa immediately smiled and walked over.
"Mr. Yeats, did you say that you wouldn't be here today?"
Shawn slowly closed his computer and said gently, "Shall I have to get your permission before I come to my own company?"
Vanessa made no answer.
Her gaze drifted around the room while rubbing her hands nervously and hesitantly.
Shawn didn't say anything and just watched her quietly.
Vanessa slowly walked closer to his desk and said in a lower voice, "I came here specifically to thank you."
"Well," Shawn said with raised eyebrows, "For what?"
"For the interview with Mr. Wright!" Vanessa said, "If it wasn't for your help, I would definitely not see him today."
Then, Vanessa stared intently at Shawn.
From what she knew of Shawn, Vanessa was sure that Shawn would deny what he had done.
However, unexpectedly, Shawn just twirled his pen in his fingers and spoke calmly.
"I just don't want you to complain to me."
Vanessa pout and didn't say anything.
She had to admit that Shawn said the truth.
The office was quiet now.
Vanessa slowly walked toward Shawn. "Em, it's late now. You've been working for a day. Do you want to have some food? Are you hungry now?"
Then, Vanessa looked at Shawn with a smile.
Shawn glanced at her and didn't say anything. Meanwhile, he put his pen on the table gently.
Vanessa put her hands behind her twiddling her fingers out of nervousness. Then, Shawn stood up.
Vanessa opened her mouth, trying to say something, but in the end, she said nothing but just sighed.
Shawn walked directly to the sofa and took his coat from the hanger. When he wore his coat, he glanced at Vanessa.
"What would you like to have?"
Mondred company was located in the Hi-tech industrial development zone of Lantrie and had more than twenty years of history. The surrounding area had already been developed into a prosperous business district.
When Vanessa was free, she always came here for shopping. Therefore, Vanessa was very familiar here.
"The restaurant across the street. Can you see it?"
Vanessa stood on the side of the street and pointed at the restaurant across the street. "This is a famous restaurant. I'm not sure if there are empty tables in the restaurant now. But never mind, if there are many people, we can go to another restaurant."
The traffic lights changed, and Vanessa was about to walk across the street.
Suddenly, Shawn grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Vanessa lost her balance and staggered back. When she came back to her senses, Vanessa realized that she was now leaning against Shawn's chest.
Vanessa's hair was dancing freely in the wind and covered her face. She raised her head and met Shawn's gaze.
A car roared past them with by on the side, the sound of sirens, the street lights are brilliant, the sound of people. At that moment there was a squeal of brakes and the angry blowing of a car horn. With brilliant lights blazing everywhere at night, the city looked most magnificent, and the street was bustling.
The wind seemed to stop.
Vanessa's hand was held tightly by Shawn, and she could feel the warmth from Shawn's palm. She swallowed hard.
After a while, the traffic lights changed to green.
Shawn's glasses shone lightly.
Shawn looked away and stared at the car running fast on the street with a gloomy face.
When he lowered his head and looked at Vanessa. Her eyes blinked, and it seemed that she was thinking about something.
"Pay attention! After all, if you die, you can't eat the food anymore."
Vanessa was speechless.
Actually, she was thinking about staying in his arms like this forever just now.
Now she really gave up that idea.
Shawn pulled Vanessa's hand and walked across the street quickly.
However, Vanessa was in high heels now. Being pulled by Shawn, she staggered and almost fell.
"Why do you walk so fast? Are you starved to die?"
Shawn seemed not to hear what she said and just pulled her across the street. Then, he released his hold on her hand.
Vanessa lowered her head and rubbed her fingers.
Shawn held her hand so tightly that she even felt a bit hurt.
...
They were very lucky today, and there were not many people in the restaurant. There were several empty tables.
But still, Vanessa didn't feel as if Shawn belonged here.
Now, Shawn sat across from Vanessa while the waiter came up to pour the water.
Vanessa looked down at the menu to make an order, not seeing that Shawn picked up his glass, had a look, and put it down calmly.
"Do you want the lobster?"
"No."
"Goose liver?"
"No."
"Crabs?"
"No."
Vanessa was speechless.
She looked up t Shawn and asked, "Then what would you like to have?"
Shawn took over the hot towel from the waiter and wiped his hands. "Whatever."
Vanessa snorted softly and muttered to herself.
"Okay. Sounds like you really don't care."
Although Vanessa's voice was very low, Shawn still heard what she said.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." Vanessa put down the menu and grinned. "I just said that you're a really nice person."
After a while, the waiter served all the dishes.
Vanessa took her spoon and put some sauce on her food. When she was about to have a taste, she noticed that Shawn's bowl was still empty. "Do you want me to get some sauce for you?"
Then, she directly took Shawn's bowl before Shawn said something and started making sauce for him.
The steam of the dishes blurred Shawn's glasses.
Shawn took off his glasses and wiped them with a tissue. When he raised his head, he suddenly saw the dim outline of Vanessa's face.
What happened on the street suddenly came to his mind.
Vanessa raised her head, and Shawn immediately looked away.
Vanessa asked, "Do you like garlic?"
"No!" Shawn replied.
Vanessa was speechless.
She then lowered her head.
"You're really not picky at all!" she complained.
Actually, Shawn didn't mean to make things difficult for her.
Shawn just didn't like the seafood.
Suddenly, Shawn's phone rang.
Vanessa was still focusing on making sauce for Shawn.
Shawn checked his phone. When he saw the calling number shown on the screen, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He answered the phone, and immediately, Sophia's voice came.
"Uncle, where are you now?"
Shawn said, "What's up?"
Sophia heard the noise on the other end of the phone, but she was in no mood to ask where Shawn was now. She just said in a trembling voice, "I just drove out, and when I was parking the car, I seemed to have hit an old man."
Shawn frowned. "What's happened?"
"I don't know!" Sophia said anxiously. She was almost crying now. "I saw nothing from the driving mirror, but when I got out of the car, there was an old man on the ground right near my car, who was moaning with his hands covering his leg."
"Then I went to hold him up, but he just lay on the ground and didn't get up at all!"
Shawn made no answer.
"Uncle, please come here quickly! My parents are not here, and I don't know what to do!"
Shawn said, "I'll be there soon. Don't cry."
After Shawn hung up, Vanessa also finished making the sauce.
She saw Shawn's serious look and looked at his phone. Immediately, Vanessa realized that something was wrong.
"What's going on?" Vanessa asked, "Are you leaving?"
Shawn nodded and said, "I'll go pay the bill first."
Vanessa was dispirited. She sighed a breath and said, "Is there something urgent?"
Shawn paused for a moment and then said, "It's my niece. She's in trouble now!"
Vanessa made no answer.
All her sadness had gone.
And Vanessa felt a bit angry now.
Again, her date with Shawn was interrupted by Shawn's niece.
"Okay, you can go!"
Vanessa nodded. "I'm okay!"
Shawn pressed his lips and looked down at Vanessa, who looked very lonely with her head lowered.
"Have you ever heard about the level of loneliness?"
"It was the fifth loneliest thing to have the meal alone."
"But that's okay for me! After all, I once even waited for you all night in Warner Manor, so I think I become stronger ever since that!"
"You can leave! Don't worry! I'll go home after I have the meal."
"Just remember to come to visit me when I'm in the hospital."
"You can go if you want to leave me..."
...
There was a dead silence.
After a while, Shawn put his phone on the table.
"Go ahead!"
Vanessa looked up at Shawn.
And Shawn sat at the table, staring at her.
"You're not leaving?"
"Nope."
Shawn smiled and looked directly at Vanessa. "After all, I don't want to leave you."