Chapter 190 Befuddled Seated aside and listening to the words were Leanna who was having secondhand
embarrassment to the point that she wished the earth would open up andswallow her whole. This b*stard has
no shame. However, William's smile remained unchanged.
After all, someone as experienced as him in the business world would not be easily fazed by thewords of a
brazen man. His eyes flickered with fleeting sadness as he looked over Leanna, who he then praised,
"Mrs.Pearson is very beautiful as well." "Well, sometimes, pretty women have bad tempers," Aidan responded.
Leanna was disconcerted by his sudden attack.
Is the bastard implying that I have a bad temper? She sneered silently before approaching William and
conversed, "I can tell that you're fromHighside judging by your accent, am I right?" After the question was
asked, he paused for a brief moment before nodding affirmatively.
"Yes, but I've been abroad for a long time." "I see. Are you back in Highside for your family or to travel,
Mr.Morris?" Avoiding her question, he simply responded, "I don't have any specific plans. It's primarily for this
collaboration." Leanna noticed that William dodged her question and she realized that it might be an
uncomfortable question for him.
After some thoughts, she queried again, "You've been abroad for so long.
Do you still have any relatives in Highside?" "No," he answered with a slight smile as he picked up the teacup.
"Then—"
A piece of cake was stuffed into Leanna's mouth just asshe was about to ask another question. "Don't talk
while you're eating or else you'll bite your tongue," Aidan warned. By the time she swallowed the cake in her
mouth, Aidan and William had already moved on to a new topic.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
As such, she could only remain silent as she was not able to keep up with the conversation. Halfway through
the meal, Leanna went to the restroom; to hersurprise, she ran into an old friend there. Daniel was taken
aback as well when he saw her.
"Is this Miss McKinney?" he asked.
"Yes, it is. I'm having a meal here," she responded.
"Are you here for that too?" He shook his head before answering slowly, "I am invited to perform here."
"Oh, I see. If that's the case, I don't want to take up any more of your time. Have a good show," she
politely stated. To that, Daniel gave a slight nod at her.
After she left, he squinted his eyesat her back while pondering about something. Since Leanna did not
intend to head back to the meeting so soon, she went to the hotel's terrace to blow off some steam
instead. After calming down, she felt that her actions earlier were stepping over the line.
Sure, she wanted to destroy the collaboration by all means, but she could not possibly stick her nose
where it did not belong.
I don't want to stoop so low like that b*stard. She took a deep breath to cool herself down before
returning to the private room.
When sheentered, there was only William left in the private room and initiated the conversation.
"Mrs.Pearson, President Pearson is looking for you." "I'm sorry. I went out to take a breather."
He chuckled.
"It's boring to hear us talk about business, right?" "No.I just..." Leanna pursed her lips before
continuing, "Mr.Morris, I'm sorry about what happened earlier." "Huh? What do you mean?" He refilled
his cup with tea.
"I shouldn't have asked about your private matters.
I sincerely apologize about that." "It's fine.
Actually, I noticed that President Pearson and you seem to have some internal conflict.
I guess that's why you asked me that, right?" Leanna went along with his words and nodded.
"Thereason why I was reluctant to answer your question is because I didn't want to bring up the past.
Rest assured that it has nothing to do with you personally though, so you don't need to feel bad about
that, Mrs.Pearson," William explained. After a brief moment of silence, she asked, "Mr.Morris, may I
make a request?" "I don't see any harm in that." "Could you...Could you not refer to me as
Mrs.Pearson? My last name is McKinney and my name is Leanna.
I divorced Aidan six months ago," she uttered quietly. The bewildered William paused for a moment
before responding, "I'm sorry, Ididn't know about that." "Oh no, it's alright.
I didn't mean anything else other than the fact that being called Mrs.
Pearson was personally a little too..." "I get it, Miss McKinney." "Thank you," Leanna replied with a grin.
William was dazed for a moment after seeing her smile.
He lowered his gaze and sipped his tea before asking, "Miss McKinney, you mentioned your name's
Leanna?"
Shegave him a small nod. "Leanna. What a lovely name." He smiled. "Are you the only child?" he
asked again after a brief pause. "I have ayounger brother." "Your parents should be very happy with
both of you." He slowly nodded. After hearing this, she gave a polite smile without any reply. Noticing
her silence, William asked, "Miss McKinney, did I say something wrong?" "No, you didn't.
It's just that my parents are no longer in this world and few people will mention them." Leanna smiled bitterly
while shaking her head.
"It's my turn to apologize thistime." "I guess we're considered even now?" she asked tentatively. Surprised by
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmher statement, William was stunned for a moment before reacting with a wide smile.
"Yes. We're even." With that, they fell into silence until Aidan returned. Aidan sat beside Leanna and gave her
a side-eye while licking histhin lips as if he was flaunting his displeasure at her long disappearance. However,
she pretended not to see him and lowered her head to eat her food on the plate. After the meal, they exited the
private room and were ready to leave. At that moment, Leanna was surprised to bump into Georgina right
there.
The man who stood beside Georgina was none other than Daniel whom she just met.
Leanna subconsciously distanced herself from Aidan after realizingthat she was being watched by Georgina.
She could not explain her sudden sense of guilt. Georgina quickly regained her smile before gushing, "Hey,
Aidan and Miss McKinney! What a coincidence to see you here!"
Not making a bigdeal out of it, Aidan hummed lightly in response. Both parties appeared to be in an awkward
situation for quite a while. "Wait, do you guys know each other?" Daniel asked Leanna and Georgina.
Surprised by his revelation, Georgina then questioned, "You know her too?" "We're neighbors." "What a
strange coincidence," Georgina uttered before returning her gaze to Leanna and smiled.
"No wonder you couldn't make it today, Miss McKinney.
It turns out that you have an appointment with Aidan.
If I had known, I wouldn't have disrupted your little date by sending the invitation to you." At this point, Leanna
had never beenmore befuddled.
She was forced to swallow her inequity and endure everything in silence.
"I told you to stay away from her," Aidan snapped while raising his head to look atGeorgina. In response,
Georgina chuckled before rebuking, "I simply want to make friends with Miss McKinney here.
Do I need your permission to do so? Don't forget that we were once engaged, Aidan, but you broke it off right
thereand then.