Betty was suddenly at a loss for words, She glared at Jayson for a long moment, but no words came out.
Jayson didn’t speak harshily. After making himself clear, he smiled lightly, and his tone grew gentle once again.” Alright, Grandma. Let me take you home. That’s enough for tonight. I’ll handle my own business.”
It was a clear signal that he wouldn’t let Betty interfere any further.
Betty parted her lips. “You…”
But no words followed.
She slapped his hand away. “I don’t need you here! Go be with Ari!”
Jayson glanced at the fuming Betty. With one hand casually tucked in his pocket, he gave a helpless shake of his head and chuckled.
Matt and Perry approached, one after the other. They hadn’t overheard the conversation, so they looked puzzled.
“Why would Mr. Spencer ask that out of the blue? If the truth really came out, Nancy would get torn apart by the gossip.”
Jayson didn’t answer. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
Perry looked at Matt, then slowly turned to Jayson. After a pause, he said, “Nancy was never officially anything. If she really got herself into that situation, she chose it.”
Matt looked stunned.
Even Jayson looked up at Perry.
The flight control system remained a significant talking point over the past few days.
After resolving the data issues from each company involved in the patent purchase, Ariel made sure everything ran smoothly.
Once she got back to the office, Janice came over with a teasing smirk. “I thought that big party the Larkin family threw was for you. Why are people saying it’s because Jayson has some big happy news?”
Ariel kept typing. “Is that so?”
Janice shoved her phone at her. “I’m in all kinds of group chats, from work to different social circles. There’s been all sorts of gossip lately.
“People are saying someone saw Nancy outside the hotel that day, meeting with Jayson. Now the rumor is that the Larkin family was celebrating because he’s about to get married.”
There were only so many power players at the top of Eldoria. Naturally, gossip flew around like wildfire.
Everyone loved a good scandal.
Ariel didn’t care much. She was divorced. Whoever Jayson wanted to marry now was none of her business. But he was probably still trying to prepare Betty for the news of their divorce.
“We’ve got a problem.”
The door to Ariel’s office swung open suddenly. Chad walked in with a grim expression.
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Chapter 373
+25 BONUS
Ariel rarely saw him this serious. Even Janice instantly straightened up.
“What’s wrong?” Ariel asked.
Chad set his phone down on Ariel’s desk.
“You need to see this. Someone in the industry is accusings of plagiarism. They’re saying our flight control system includes parts of the base code and technical proposal written by an engineer from Veyo two years ago.”
Janice’s eyes widened. “What kind of sick joke is this? Are they out of their minds?”
Ariel was shocked too, so much so that she almost laughed. She glanced at the article on Chad’s phone.
It was from a tech news account.
The article alleged that the success of her new flight control system was due to stolen code pulled from an old proposal by an unnamed engineer from Veyo Solutions.
For now, the article was just casting doubt.
“Rumors are already flying all over the industry, and the gossip is gaining momentum. This is seriously damaging for Faye Tech.”
Chad couldn’t help but think it was absurd. How could such an outrageous situation arise?
Janice looked ready to explode. “Which idiot engineer made that up? I dare them to come say it to our faces! They couldn’t understand Ari’s proposal after years of work, and how they claim we copied them?”
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