Chapter 329: What Is There to Fear?
Alison stared blankly at the computer screen, her thoughts drifting far away.
Suddenly, she noticed an unread email had appeared.
She clicked it instinctively.
[I won’t send the photos. But I’ll make your life a living hell! Alison, how dare you come up with such a scheme to deal with me?]
She was stunned — Gabriel had kept his promise — her photos hadn’t been exposed.
She exhaled softly.
As long as that person doesn’t harm the children.
Feeling more at ease, Alison turned to Bates.
“Mr. Bates, is he… Rock?” she asked, her heart racing.
“Miss Fairchild, you’re smart. The discussion is over. I should leave now.” He smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.
“Thank you very much.” She nodded slightly.
After seeing him off, Alison happily picked up her phone and sent Gabriel a text: [Thank you so much!]
Soon, Gabriel replied: [Let’s go swimming on Sunday. Consider it my thanks.]
She readily agreed and began to look forward to it.
⸻
“Alison, come here for a moment.” Aidan’s voice suddenly interrupted her data entry.
She instinctively turned her head.
His tall figure was already striding toward the office, so she followed.
“Mr. Winston, what is it?” she asked.
“Mr. Bates requested you for our joint project with him. You’ll be representing YD entirely for this collaboration.” He announced firmly.
“Me?” Alison pointed at herself, puzzled.
“I truly believe you can handle this.” Aidan smiled warmly. “You have a special kind of rapport. When Mr. Bates negotiates with you, it feels more like a conversation than business.”
“All right, I’ll take it on for now. But please teach me when I run into difficulties.” She nodded.
Over the next two days, she was swamped, pouring her full attention into collaborating with Bates.
As Saturday’s shift drew to a close, Aidan approached her.
“Alison, we’re off duty. Let’s go to the concert tonight,” he suggested lightly.
“Sorry, Aidan, I want to spend time with the kids tonight.” She objected.
“Well, you’ll have to ask Rock about that. Look, he gave you four tickets. You can take Sophia and Ethan with you.” He took the tickets from his pocket.
“Is it Rock’s solo piano concert?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes. That’s why he specifically invited you,” he replied.
Alison recalled Bates’s words — the man in Paris, the one with the surname Winston.
With that thought, she agreed. “All right, I’ll go. But I won’t bring the kids. They’re used to going to bed early.”
“That’s fine. Let’s have dinner together later,” he added.
“There are two extra tickets. I’d like to invite Gabriel and Lucia to come along. What do you think, Aidan?” She offered diplomatically.
Aidan’s expression shifted before he replied calmly, “You don’t need to invite Lucia. I’ll take care of it myself.”
His tone was stiff and tinged with petulance.
“Aidan, we can still be best friends, right?” She spoke softly, trying to soothe him.
“Well, see you tonight.” He placed two tickets on her desk and turned to leave.
Watching his retreating figure, she hesitated, words on the tip of her tongue.
As she organized the papers on her desk, she noticed one that required Aidan’s signature.
She picked it up and headed toward his office.
As she paused before the office door, ready to knock, she heard Aidan’s deep voice from inside.
“Check carefully what was missing the night before last. How did that person get in? Did they leave any important clues?”
The night before last…
She recalled Gabriel dodging the security guard behind him that night.
Her hand froze in midair as panic surged through her.
But then she remembered Gabriel’s promise — no matter what happens, she wouldn’t be implicated.
That thought calmed her.
Finally, her hand dropped.
“Come in.”
Hearing Aidan’s steady voice, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.
“Mr. Winston, please review and sign these documents. They need to be implemented on Monday,” she said.
Aidan took the documents and read them carefully.
While he was engrossed in reviewing the papers, Alison caught sight of a report on his desk — it was two days old.
It listed the names of the security guards on duty, including Gabriel.
“Did something happen at the company the day before yesterday?” she asked softly.
“Oh, nothing major. Just a thief who took some unimportant items,” he replied casually, not looking up.
Her heart skipped a beat — he seemed to be hiding something from her.
“Gabriel was at work that day, right?” she asked.
“Yes, he was.”
“If anything happens, follow protocol. Don’t go easy on him just because I brought him in,” she said.
“Alison, do you know something?” He looked up, his gaze locking onto hers.
“No, I—I don’t,” she stammered, her face flushing. She truly wasn’t good at lying.
After exchanging a few hurried words, she left.
She began to doubt Gabriel inside. Looking back, his behavior that night had been strange.
She called him.
“Are you off work yet?” she asked.