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 blank 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 Daniel come 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 planned 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 of
common 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 explained. 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.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtZoe 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 a laugh 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," Zoe commented.
"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 planning 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 planning to go to Crossley Group," Leanna repeated herself.
"Why? Didn't you decide against that yesterday? We all told you not to go."
Leanna glanced out of the window as she spoke, "I was still in the process of thinking about it yesterday. Crossley
Group's situation is complex now. If I take over the company, 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 related 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 blame 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?"
"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 a company. 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 nonchalantly, "I wouldn't have to worry about finding my other half as long as I'm
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmrich." 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," Zoe commented.
…
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 explained.
"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 he come with Daniel? It seems like he's affiliated with a lot of
people," she commented.
Leanna let out a dry laugh 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 glasses of water, Zoe?" she said before walking into the room.
"Okay," Zoe replied.