Chapter 489
On the other end of the phone, Celia replied, "I have no idea. That's the boss' business. It'd be weird if I
asked him about it. What I do know is that the child was born prematurely because of his family. His
family situation is quite complicated. I guess he wants to deal with all the messy stuff at home quickly."
"All of this… messy stuff at home, is there any chance it could involve you?"
"No way. Don't worry about it."
Raymond shut his eyes and massaged his brows. "Alright, I'm coming to pick you up."
"Alright, see you soon."
With that, he tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. Then, he yanked at his tie and glared at the
office with mockery and contempt.
…
After Raymond and Jimmy left, Zoe strutted into the office. "Nana, what did they want?"
Leanna pursed her lips and stared aimlessly into the distance. "It's about the Crossleys."
"The Crossleys? What about them?"
"They've been leaderless since Leroy fled. They're a mess right now."
"That has nothing to do with you. Why did they come to bug you about it?"
Leanna whispered, "They want me to take over the Crossley Group to help them secure investments
and bank loans."
Zoe frowned, for the whole thing smelled fishy. "Don't do it. With Crossley Group's current state,
whoever gets involved would be equivalent to digging their graves. Let them do whatever they want. It
has nothing to do with you."
Leanna hummed. "That's what I thought at first, but …"
"But what?"
"Crossley Group isn't the only one affected; it's their employees as well. They're innocent."
Zoe pursed her lips. "Well, that might be true. Leroy has done a great job screwing everything up. Lots
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of people are caught in the crossfire. However, that has nothing to do with you. You don't have to take
responsibility for their mess. You don't have to care at all."
Hearing this, Leanna lowered her eyes. Her voice was low and sullen. "I know."
Zoe couldn't help but sigh.
Of course, Leanna knew all of this. However, that might not affect her decision.
After a spell of uncomfortable silence, Leanna suddenly asked, "Zoe, do you still talk to Daniel?"
Zoe flushed. "No. I haven't spoken to him."
The last time they saw each other was at the funeral of Leanna's mother.
Leanna nodded. That was good, for it would save everyone a ton of heartache.
She said, "I want to talk to him."
Zoe tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Does he have a solution for this mess?"
"Nope."
Leanna didn't know what to say. After a pause, she ventured, "It's just that… he has a better picture of
the Crossley Group's situation than I do."
Zoe nodded reluctantly. "That's true. He went through a lot of trouble while getting close to Georgina."
A teasing smile darted across Leanna's face. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you jealous?"
"D-Don't be ridiculous. I just think he's quite the charmer. Even someone as accomplished as Georgina
isn't immune to his lies."
Leanna nodded. "Okay, then. I'm going to visit him later. Do you want to come along?"
Zoe shifted her feet. "I won't be joining you. I have a date tonight."
Leanna faintly remembered Zoe mentioning that, but she was still surprised. "That's tonight?"
"Yeah, it's just dinner. I'll just come up with a reason to leave after we eat."
Leanna nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, when are you leaving?"
Zoe checked her watch. "Well, we're meeting at 6.00PM. I should probably get going at 5.30PM. The
place is pretty close, and I can get there in ten minutes."
Leanna rubbed her palms together. "That's great. I'll drop you off."
Zoe shook her head. "It's fine. I'll drive."
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Leanna had a grave expression on her face. "You don't get it. If you think the blind date's going well,
you can get him to send you home after dinner. If you drive, you won't get that option. Besides, you can
always call a cab if things go badly and you need to leave."
Zoe chuckled mischievously. Her friend was making a lot of sense. "That's true. I can get him to drop
me home if he's dreamy."
"It's settled, then. I'll drive you there."
"Cool, let me change and put on my makeup. I couldn't get ready this morning; things were too hectic."
"Go on, then."
As soon as Zoe left, Leanna breathed deeply to steady herself. Then, she called Daniel.
She asked, "Are you free to meet up?"
He replied flippantly, "Sure. Where?"
"I'm still at the office. I'll send you the address soon."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Leanna frowned. Glancing around the office for a while, she then messaged Aidan to
ask when he would be home tonight.
After ten minutes slogged by and Aidan had not replied, she decided that he must be pulling another
all-nighter at his office.
Turning to her laptop, she searched up the Crossley Group.
Every news article portended doom for that poor family.
In a photo of one of their suspended projects, a large group of workers hunched over the ground
dejectedly. Their tools lay beside them, inert and impotent. The workers had blank looks on their faces,
and the sight of this made Leanna squirm in her seat.
In an interview with a reporter, the workers said they hadn't been paid a penny. They didn't dare go
home, so they milled about the site, not knowing what they were waiting for.
In another news article, the head of the Crossley Group's partner couldn't bear the pressure. He tried to
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jump off a building but was saved. He got nothing for his troubles except more worries and a broken
leg.
The list of similarly gloomy articles continued on and on.
This was just the tip of the iceberg.
Unable to read on, Leanna closed the web browser. She leaned back against her chair and let out a
long exhale.
He must've seen these articles as well. What is he thinking? thought Leanna.
She stared out the window, lost in her thought.
Suddenly, there was a rapping at the door. It was Zoe. "Leanna, it's almost time. We should get going."
Leanna got up. "Let's go."
Despite being a weekend, the streets were desolate. There was no traffic, and they arrived at the
restaurant in ten minutes.
Zoe undid her seatbelt. "Well, I'll be going. Drive safe."
Leanna managed a thin smile. "Have fun."
After ensuring Zoe entered the restaurant, Leanna parked a bit further from the restaurant and sent the
address to Daniel.
Daniel was at home. He wasn't that far away, and he'd arrive in 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Leanna stood next to the restaurant, waiting for him.
She straightened her back when she saw Daniel walking up to her. He raised a hand in greeting and
said, "I'm sorry. You must've waited long."
Leanna shrugged. "No biggie. After all, I'm the one who sprung this on you suddenly."
"Well, shall we go in?"
Upon entering the restaurant, Leanna scanned around and saw Zoe sitting by the window. There was a
man across from her, but his back was facing Leanna, so she couldn't get a good look at his face.
Leanna picked a spot where she could look at Zoe and her date. "Let's sit here."
Daniel shrugged and plopped down on his seat.
However, he immediately spotted Zoe after a quick look around.