Chapter 62
Chapter 62
When Leanna arrived at the company, she saw Queenie coming out of Harvey's office wearing a glum face with an indignant look in her eyes.
After a few steps, Queenie caught sight of her as well, and she went to her with her heels clicking on the floor. "I heard that the initial person Pearson Group wanted to focus on training was you."
"Maybe," Leanna answered curtly.
"Why did you turn it down?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully at night if I accept something which I didn't get through my own effort."
Leanna really didn't know what Aidan wanted to do by setting up this position. First, it was said that he wanted to support Mia, then the official explanation was that the Pearson Group was interested in her talents.
How could she believe such a high-sounding excuse when she wasn't an inexperienced young lady?
However, Queenie interpreted her answer as mockery; the fact that she had the chance to go to Aeras three years ago wasn't because of her own effort but because she had snatched it from her.
"Leanna McKinney, don't overestimate yourself. Do you think you're very noble and different from the rest by rejecting Pearson Group's offer? Any designer would never let the opportunity for their works to be displayed on the international walkway slip past them," Queenie said, sneering as she glanced at her. "Oh, pardon me. I almost forgot that you gave up such an opportunity three years ago. A person
like you isn't even fit to be a designer."
When she finished speaking, Leanna replied composedly, "If you think you don't deserve it, you can reject it, too." Why are you speaking so much? So annoying. Tsk!
After speaking, she left the spot right away. On the other end, Queenie—not expecting such an answer —stood rooted to the spot in a daze for a few seconds before coming back to her senses. Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked incredibly indignant.
In the meantime, after Leanna made her work arrangement with Harvey, she asked for leave on Zoe's behalf.
"How's she doing now?" Harvey asked.
"Maybe she still needs some time to get over it."
Harvey wasn't a man who would usually ask about his employees' private lives, and he told Leanna to leave after asking about it simply.
A few seconds after she was out of his office, she heard her colleagues discussing something in a soft whisper, but before she could even hear what they were saying, a middle-aged man in a suit appeared before her.
"Miss McKinney, Madam would like to meet you."
For a moment, Leanna couldn't figure out who he meant by 'Madam' until she saw Sienna standing
behind him.
…
In the conference room, Sienna looked away from the window and turned back. "I didn't expect you to be working here."
Seated right there, Leanna held her hands together subconsciously as an inexplicable sense of anxiety washed over her. After a while, she heard her own voice saying, "Is there anything I can help you with, Mrs. Pearson?"
Casting her a look, Sienna uttered flatly, "It's been a while since you divorced Aidan. As his mother, shouldn't I care about this a little?"
In all honesty, Leanna couldn't tell that she was here to care about the bogus marriage between her and Aidan. In contrast, it seemed like she was here for a confrontation.
A few seconds later, she said, "The divorce settlement is completed. I didn't take a single penny, and President Pearson didn't have any opinions, either."
"Oh, really?" No expression could be read from Sienna's face. "But it makes sense if you think about it. You won't be able to get anything from him, anyway." Before waiting for Leanna's reply, she added, "How much can you earn in a month here?"
"Mrs. Pearson, I—"
"I won't negotiate with you anymore." From her handbag, Sienna took out an envelope and tossed it on
the table. "This is a ticket to Lachstein and a check for ten million."
Furrowing her brows, Leanna didn't quite catch on to what was going on. "I don't really understand what you mean."
With a smile, Sienna answered, "I know that you need money. Didn't you marry Aidan back then because of money? Or is this too little for you?"
Gently, Leanna pursed her lips. "Rest assured, since I've already divorced Aidan, I won't pester him anymore, and I have no thoughts of coveting any of Pearson's properties."
"You've misunderstood me." In a cold tone, Sienna continued, "What happens between you and Aidan is unrelated to me. I want you to never meet Zayn Barnett again."
It was beyond Leanna's expectation that Sienna made this trip for Zayn instead of Aidan, and she was a little taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"I believe you've also heard that Zayn will be engaged to Anna soon, but your existence seems to cause discomfort for others. I'm only here to speak that much with you for the sake that you were once a Pearson. Take the money and leave this country. This will do everyone good."
Very quickly, Leanna calmed herself. "Mrs. Pearson, there's nothing between Zayn and me, so I'm not going to accept this money. Also, pardon me for saying this. Since Zayn doesn't like Anna, it's pointless for you to look for me."
"Because he's born into a family like this, his marriage isn't something he can decide for himself. I believe you understand this, don't you?"
Her words made Leanna's face a little paler. The reason why Aidan married her years ago was also because of his parents. At that time, the Pearsons wanted a child, but what would they want now?
Furthermore, if it was only her guess that she could sense that Sienna carried an aloof attitude toward Aidan, then her guess could be proven true today.
Sienna didn't care about Aidan at all. No matter if he was married, divorced, or what kind of woman he married, it all seemed to have nothing to do with her.
But isn't Aidan… her son? Leanna wondered.
Standing up, Sienna announced, "You should think about it. I don't need your answer so soon, but you should know that with your job now, nobody would dare to hire you with just a word from me. Taking this ten million and leaving is the best option for you. How about this? It happens to be my birthday the day after tomorrow. Come on that day and tell me your answer at that time."
Leanna's heart shuddered, and when she wanted to turn down Sienna's invitation, the lady had already left the room.
Leanna had always been reluctant to contact those from the so-called upper class, and she knew that all of them looked down on her. When the time came, she was worried that they would come up with ways and means to humiliate her. At the same time, Sienna, who knew this, invited her instead, which was clearly a trap for her.
Picking up the envelope from the table, Leanna felt her temples throbbing, and when she walked out of the conference room, she felt the people around her throwing odd looks at her.
A photographer assistant, who was usually on good terms with her and whom she had spoken a few times with, approached her and asked tentatively, "McK, who's that person earlier?"
From the look on her face, Leanna could roughly guess the situation.
Even though she had made it clear before, there were still some people in the company who thought in private that she was the mistress of a rich man. Now that Sienna came to look for her, they must have assumed that the legal wife visited to have a confrontation with the mistress.
Feeling annoyed and amused at the same time, Leanna blurted, "She's my ex-husband's mother."
When they heard that, they were even more unconvinced. In addition, setting aside the fact that Sienna was oozing with opulence from inside-out, just the handbag hanging on her arm was an haute couture from a certain luxury brand, and only a member of the brand who had spent tens of millions in the store was eligible to purchase it.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.