Chapter 30 Steven Carries Nora
"Our Ms. Bennett is swamped every day, handling a ton of stuff. If we bug her with every little thing, she'll get overwhelmed," Cindy refused to budge.
"How about I talk to Ms. Bennett myself?" Nora softened her voice, even though she felt a knot tightening in her chest. She reminded herself to stay calm and solve the problem without causing a scene.
"Sorry, you can't see Ms. Bennett without an appointment," Cindy replied coldly.
Nora realized it.
This was on purpose!
Her patience was thinning out. She told Cindy, "Then you need to check with your boss. I only take cash. If you don't want to pay in cash, I'm not selling these products."
Cindy's expression soured.
Aurora Tech really needed this batch, but they just wanted to make things difficult for Nora.
Cindy walked to her desk and called her boss.
Her boss had already received instructions from Vivian and told Cindy, "If she doesn't want to sign, let her take the stuff back. We've been doing business for years, always on monthly settlements. Why should it be different for her? Tell her that the finance department has already left for the day, so we can't settle the payment now."
Cindy returned and told Nora, "Our manager said that our company always works on signed agreements. If you don't like it, take your stuff back."
Nora was getting angry.
They tricked her into coming, made her spend an hour delivering here, got soaked in the rain, and now they said they wouldn't sign and didn't want it!
Although Bianca was behind this, Aurora Tech had its issues, too. Why were they willing to pay cash in the afternoon but not at night?
Nora raised her chin and said with the force of anger, "Shameless!"
Then she started packing the 1210s back into the boxes and loaded them onto the cart.
Cindy laughed, feeling very pleased.
After all, Aurora Tech wasn't Cindy's company. Whether the deal went through or not didn't matter to her; she just enjoyed making things difficult for Nora.
Nora pulled the cart away. As soon as she stepped out of Aurora Tech's doors, her eyes welled up. She wasn't as strong as she appeared.
Being toyed with on a rainy day, soaked to the bone, how could she feel good?
She got off the elevator, but in her daze, her high heel twisted, and she fell hard to the ground.
Her heel broke.
The box toppled over.
All the 1210s spilled onto the wet, dirty marble floor.
Nora wanted to pick them up, but her ankle hurt too much to move. Her vision blurred instantly...
Steven stood at the entrance of Harman Tower, holding a black umbrella.
He heard a noise, turned around, and saw the blue capacitors scattered all over the ground and his wife, Nora.
She hung her head, her face hidden by her hair, but Steven knew she was crying from the slight tremble of her shoulders.
Steven frowned slightly and walked over with James.
James picked up the products while Steven helped Nora to her feet. She was soaking wet, her eyes filled with tears.
Steven looked down at her, "How did you end up like this?"
Nora bit her lip and cried softly, trying to hold it in.
She didn't want anyone to see her cry.
People around them stopped and helped pick up the 1210 capacitors. With 860 trays, it was quite a sight.
Seeing everyone helping, Nora sniffed, feeling a bit better.
There were still good people around.
Steven checked her ankle, which was a bit swollen.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
Nora's voice was tight. She held back tears and said, "I'll try."
She tried to hold back her tears, using all her strength to stop crying, and then tried to get up and walk.
Steven, annoyed, scooped her up, "I'm taking you to the hospital."
"It's not that serious," Nora, soaked, felt embarrassed in his arms, "Steven, don't carry me. I'm all wet, I'll get your clothes wet too."
"It's fine. I'll change when we get home." Steven insisted, carrying her away. He instructed James, "Once everything's sorted, put it in the back seat and bring it to Riverside Apartment."
"Yes," James replied, thanking those who helped pick up the capacitors.
Vivian stood by the elevator. She had just come down and saw Steven carrying Nora.
Her face turned cold.
It was just a fall, right?
Did she really need Steven to carry her? How pretentious!
Steven carried Nora, who held the umbrella.
They walked in the rain.
Nora, with tears in her eyes, looked at Steven.
It was strange.
When her heel broke, and she fell, it hurt so much she didn't want to cry.
But now, in Steven's arms, she couldn't hold back her tears. In his warm, strong embrace, tears fell one by one.
A tear fell on Steven's hand.
Steven, as if burned, glanced down at her, "Why are you crying again?"
Nora shook her head, whispering, "Steven, I don't want to go to the hospital. Can you take me home?"
Her foot wasn't that bad, just a bit swollen.
Going to the hospital would cost a lot.
Besides, Olivia was at home. Nora didn't want to stay out too long, and she was in a bad mood, wanting to go home quickly.
"You twisted your ankle," Steven said seriously.
Nora said, "It's just a sprain, not serious. I can ice it at home."
Steven looked at her for a while, "Really okay?"
"Really," Nora insisted on going home, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Steven put her in the passenger seat, buckled her in, and drove to the Riverside Apartment.
On the way, she kept silently crying, occasionally wiping her eyes.
Steven noticed and handed her a tissue box.
She took one and dabbed at her nose.
Steven almost laughed, "If you want to cry, just cry. No need to hold back."
She sniffed, "I don't want to cry."
Clearly crying so much, yet saying she didn't want to cry, such a contradictory woman!
Steven thought for a moment and played a song for her.
It turned out to be an earworm, "Uptown Funk you up, Uptown Funk you up..."
Steven's face darkened.
What kind of songs did James choose?
He quickly turned it off.
But Nora couldn't help but laugh, a bubble of snot popping out of her nose.
She was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear, covering it with a tissue.
And Steven saw the bubble.
Steven was stunned for a second, then couldn't help but laugh.
Nora, annoyed and embarrassed, mumbled, "How can you laugh? Your taste in music isn't great either!"
Steven's head hurt.
It was clearly James's choice, but it was his car, so he couldn't argue.
At Riverside Apartment, Steven drove into the underground garage. It was still raining outside, but not in the garage.
Nora tried to unbuckle and get out, but Steven stopped her, "Wait."
"What is it?" Nora asked.
Steven got out, walked around, and opened the door, squatting in front of her, "Your shoe is broken. I'll carry you up."
Nora was stunned.
Steven had always said he didn't like being touched.
Why was he carrying her now and wanting to carry her again?