Chapter 42 Provoking Both Sides
Arthur walked extremely slowly, and by the time he got back to his office, his face was pale with pain.
His assistant was startled and quickly rushed over. "Mr. Grant, what happened? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"No need." Arthur gritted his teeth as he sat down, forcing out the words, "Where's Aria?"
"Your wife..." The assistant stopped mid-sentence when he saw Arthur's suddenly sharp gaze, and quickly corrected himself. "Ms. Hall is waiting in the conference room."
"Get her invoice, approve it right now, and get her out of here as soon as it's done!"
The assistant didn't dare delay and hurried off to process the paperwork, wondering to himself what was going on with this couple - why were they fine one moment and fighting the next?
Arthur leaned back in his chair, rubbing his lower back repeatedly.
No wonder it hurt so much - the impact had sounded like a torpedo going off, yet Aria hadn't even bothered to look back.
He'd only gotten hurt because he was trying to catch her.
Come to think of it, why did he try to catch her anyway? Wouldn't it have been better to just let her fall hard?
Damn it.
He cursed, though he wasn't sure at whom.
The finance department had never been so efficient.
Aria had been waiting in the conference room for less than twenty minutes when the assistant came in with a check.
"Mrs. Grant, here's your final payment."
As he handed over the check, the assistant thought for a moment and added. "Mrs. Grant, Mr. Grant didn't look well when he returned to his office. He seems pretty badly hurt. You..."
He left the rest unsaid, but the hint was obvious enough.
Aria's mind was still replaying what had just happened in the elevator, and what she'd heard in the cafeteria.
Though she'd acted like it didn't matter - how could it not matter?
Since his company was already buzzing with gossip, instead of keeping her distance, how could she possibly throw herself at him?
Pretending not to catch the assistant's hint, Aria took the check and said casually, "Okay, I know."
Meanwhile, news of Arthur's back injury quickly spread throughout the company.
Of course, the versions going around were all over the place - if not exactly the same as the truth, they were at least several times more dramatic.
Some said he'd thrown out his back playing hero, others said he'd twisted it struggling with Aria in the cafeteria.
The most ridiculous version was that he'd hurt himself kneeling in public to win his wife back.
When that rumor reached Arthur's ears, he nearly fired the gossip on the spot.
Sophie didn't hear about it until late afternoon, almost quitting time.
As soon as she found out, she rushed to Arthur's office, her eyes already red when she walked in.
"I heard you were hurt. How are you now? Are you feeling better? Did you call a doctor?"
"I'm fine." Arthur frowned. "Who told you?"
"It's all over the company! They're saying you got hurt trying to catch Aria." At this point, Sophie's tone took on a hint of jealousy.
"Really, she's a grown woman - can't she watch where she's going? And she got you hurt. Then she just took the money and left without even a word of concern or thanks."
Of course Sophie didn't actually want Aria to show any concern for Arthur - she was deliberately saying this to make him realize it too.
Arthur looked away from Sophie, and for some reason, found himself defending Aria. "The floor was too slippery. I lost my footing when I tried to catch her, otherwise how could I have crashed into anything? And..."
"And she doesn't even know I got hurt," he said.
"How could she not know?" Sophie raised her voice. "The whole company knows - how could she not?"
"I think she did it on purpose. She's probably happy you got hurt!"
Arthur's tone showed slight displeasure. "You can't say that..."
"I'm just worried about you." Seeing that even at this point Arthur was still defending Aria, Sophie's voice shot up.
"Arthur, I know you're soft-hearted, but some people really don't deserve your kindness."
She grabbed his hand. "I can help you. I can share the burden of company matters. I was wrong about the contract, but I was trying to help you."
"But look at Aria - what has she brought you? This is the second time you've gotten hurt because of her, and she hasn't even thanked you once. What about next time? What else will you have to sacrifice for her?"
After Sophie finished, the office fell silent. So quiet you could hear Arthur's breathing getting heavier and heavier.
He looked at Sophie's red eyes and suddenly felt terrible inside.
"Please leave," he said. "I want to be alone for a while."
-
Compared to the oppressive atmosphere on Arthur's end, Aria's studio was filled with joy from top to bottom.
After cashing the check, she gave everyone in the company a bonus - including the cleaning staff.
Getting money in hand was naturally more exciting than Christmas.
Taking advantage of everyone's good mood, Aria asked. "How's the progress on Mr. White's garden?"
"It's finished!" Lucy said. "Mr. White is really happy with it, and he even said he wants to take you to dinner to show his appreciation."
Just as they were talking, someone knocked on the studio door. A large bouquet of blue hydrangeas appeared first, followed by Charles's warm, handsome face.
Aria smiled in greeting. "We were just talking about you, and here you are."
Charles handed the flowers to Aria. "The garden is beautiful. Whenever I think about entertaining friends there in the future, setting up my easel, I get so happy I don't know what to do with myself."
"So after thinking it over, I had to come thank Ms. Hall in person for her wild and wonderful imagination."
Aria felt embarrassed by the praise and modestly deflected a few times.
Charles smiled. "By the way, I have an art exhibition this weekend, and I'd like to invite you to attend."
He pulled out an elegant invitation from his pocket. "I do hope Ms. Hall will do me the honor of coming."
Aria took it and opened it to look.
The invitation also featured small reproductions of paintings - vivid colors that clearly showed Renaissance-era style.
"I'd be honored," she said.
"Then it's settled." Charles looked at her. "See you this weekend."
Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday afternoon—the day of the exhibition.
Aria dressed formally, and when she arrived, Charles was already waiting for her at the gallery entrance.
"Ms. Hall is very punctual," he said with a smile.
"As I should be." Aria smiled back.
Since it was a private showing, Charles hadn't sent out many invitations - basically only his close friends could attend.
The gallery was large, filled with paintings, mostly Charles's work from the past two years, and Aria, who had also studied painting, found she had much to talk about with Charles.
They chatted about everything from the Renaissance to contemporary art, from Monet's gardens to Van Gogh's starry night.
Aria discovered that Charles not only understood painting, but had knowledge of many art forms, which impressed her greatly.
"All art is connected," Charles said, looking at her with bright, shining eyes. "Just like your garden designs - they're not just about arranging a few potted plants, but about creating a state of being."
Aria's heart stirred.
Those words struck right at her core.
As they stood before a huge oil painting discussing composition, neither noticed someone in the corner with a camera, quietly pressing the shutter.