NovelEnglish
Chapter 487
In the middle of the night, just when Leanna almost fell into a deep slumber, she suddenly felt a dip in
the bed behind her. Soon, she was wrapped in a warm embrace.
She kept her eyes closed, but her voice was laced with tiredness. "Did you just return?"
Aidan replied with a hum and gently patted her back with his big palms and murmured in his deep
voice, "Go back to sleep."
Leanna turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist out of habit. Shortly after, she fell back
asleep.
In the dark, Aidan planted a long kiss on her forehead.
They had gotten ahold of Georgina now, but Leroy was nowhere to be found.
He was like a ticking bomb, unsure when it would explode.
At the moment, the Crossley Group was a mess. Many of their financial statements did not add up, and
multiple managers ran or jumped ship because of that. As such, only the oblivious employees were left
behind.
If no one stepped up, the great family that once stood over Highside for hundreds of years through the
blood, sweat, and tears of their generational leaders would fall to its feet overnight, never to be seen
ever again. Many of the company's employees and their families would also suffer a major blow.
Everything happened because of Leroy. Due to his agenda, he caused harm to thousands of people.
He would not be able to repent for his wrongdoings even if he died.
…
The ringing of the alarm clock woke Leanna up the next day, but Aidan wasn't by her side.
She got up with a yawn and got ready before walking out of the bedroom.
When she went down, Alice was already in the kitchen making breakfast. "You're up, Madam. Breakfast
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtis almost ready."
Leanna looked around the room before asking, "Where's Aidan?"
Alice replied, "Master had just left when I arrived. He said that something came up in the office and
asked me to let you know that he'll be busy. Also, he doesn't want you to think about him."
Leanna was speechless.
Who's thinking about him?!
When she was halfway through her meal, she suddenly thought of something and asked, "Alice, did
our neighbor have a baby? I think I heard a baby crying yesterday."
Alice shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. I've never seen the neighbors."
"I've never seen them either."
Alice smiled. "If you like children, Madam, you could have one yourself."
Hearing that, Leanna paused and didn't speak.
Alice saw Leanna's reaction and assumed that she was thinking about the child from before, so she
carefully asked, "Madam, did I say something wrong?"
Leanna assured her, "No, I just think that children are quite cute."
Aidan had not put on a condom during their last few sessions. She wasn't sure if she'd get pregnant
and decided to just go with the flow.
After breakfast, Leanna headed to the studio.
Since she had taken a break for some time, a lot of work was waiting for her.
Even though fashion week was several months away, some things had to be confirmed and prepared
in advance.
Time passed. In the afternoon, Zoe knocked on her door while asking quietly, "Are you busy, Nana?"
Leanna stretched her arms. "I'm not that busy. What's up?"
"There are two people out front saying that… they're from the Crossley Group. They want to meet you."
Leanna was stunned. "Me?"
Zoe nodded. "Yes. If you don't want to meet them, I'll reject them."
It had been a while since the Crossley Group's anniversary celebration.
Leanna didn't keep tabs on the Crossleys, but she saw the news last night whereby a few important
projects of theirs had stopped. As such, many of their collaborators had gone up to the office and made
a scene. However, there was no one left in the Crossley Group to give them an answer. It was a no-
brainer that the employees were on pins and needles.
After staying silent for a while, Leanna ordered, "Let them in."
"Okay."
To her surprise, she knew the two people who came.
One of them was Jimmy, the guy who forced Maya to drink during one of their dinners.
The other was Raymond, whom Maya wanted to introduce to her single father.
Compared to their last meeting, Jimmy was very emotional and filled with tears as he entered the
office. He went up and reached out his hands, wanting to grab her hand. "Miss McKinney, I'm so
grateful that you're willing to meet us despite your busy schedule. I am—"
Leanna avoided his outreached hand and said quietly, "You're welcome. Let's get straight to the point."
Jimmy wiped away the beads of perspiration on his forehead awkwardly and sat down on the couch.
"We only discovered that you are the true heir to the Crossley Group during the company's anniversary
celebration. You know the situation the company is in right now. We have no choice but to—"
Raymond cut him off and took over. "I'll continue, Miss McKinney. After Mr. Crossley's disappearance,
the Crossley Group is in chaos. Neither the collaborators nor the employees know what the future
holds for them. No one knows what will become of the company. As such, we're here to ask what you
think of the situation."
Leanna replied coldly, "I've got nothing to do with the Crossleys."
Jimmy agreed, "Yes. Yes. Those problems were caused by Mr. Cross—Leroy. We know that it wouldn't
be fair for you to take over the company in this situation, but the thousands of employees in the
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmCrossley Group are innocent, let alone the numerous collaborators. They all have families to feed. If
the Crossley Group goes down, it won't affect anyone else but these people who have put so much
money and effort into the business. I can't even imagine how many companies are going to shut down,
as well as the families that will be torn apart."
Hearing his speech, Leanna furrowed her brows but stayed silent.
Then, Raymond picked up after him. "We know that you have no obligation to take responsibility for the
employees of the company. However, that's not just thousands of people's lives at stake—it's also
thousands of families."
Jimmy hurriedly continued, "Yes, that's right. The rest of the high-level managers all ran away. We have
worked here for so long, and the employees are like family to us. We can't bear to see this happen to
them."
Leanna suddenly looked up at those words. "The employees are like family to you?"
He thought that Leanna's reaction was a sign that she would agree and slapped his thigh. "That's right!
We can't possibly abandon our family."
Leanna hummed and slowly drawled out her words, saying, "In that case, I must have been living
under a rock. It's a first for me to see people forcing their family to drink and trying to cause them
harm."
In an instant, Jimmy's red face was filled with awkwardness and embarrassment.
However, he still tried to explain, "That…I was drunk back then and acted out. I hope you won't take
that to heart."
Raymond added, "Miss McKinney, despite Mr. Ollander's lack in certain areas, he has been with the
Crossley Group for more than ten years. You can't deny his deep connection with the company."
"Ray is right. The Crossley Group is like my family. Now that it's going down, who could just watch that
happen?" Jimmy then sighed heavily. "If you are still angry about what happened before, I could—"
However, Leanna interrupted him curtly, "So, what is the purpose of your visit? What do you want me to
do?"
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