Chapter 431
Samson seemed to have given up.
Ariel turned to head for the restaurant, only to catch sight of Nancy getting out of a car nearby.
She must have seen Ariel already. Her face gave nothing away as her eyes briefly swept past Ariel before she walked straight into the restaurant.
Nancy frowned slightly as she climbed the stairs.
Samson had just gotten out of Ariel’s car. When did those two get so close?
It made her reassess Ariel a little.
Meeting Samson in private? Her intentions couldn’t be more obvious. Ariel really did know how to play the game in some ways.
However, Samson wasn’t someone who could be swayed that easily.
Nancy made her way to a table.
Sarah had finally been discharged from the hospital, and she was doing well enough today to come out for a proper meal.
Once Nancy sat down, Sarah asked, “How are you planning to spend Jayson’s birthday with him? You don’t think Ariel’s going to try something to keep him away, do you?”
“She won’t,” Nancy replied calmly. “She doesn’t have that kind of sway with him.”
Sarah chuckled. “Fair enough. This is your first birthday together. Why not throw him a party? Invite a bunch of friends. Make it feel special.”
Nancy smiled. “I’ll talk to him about it later.”
Ariel proofread her research paper during her break and submitted it right after without wasting a single moment.
Then she headed to Nexura Solutions to deal with the shareholding matters with Tom.
She ran into Jayson there, who had dropped by to sign some documents.
The three of them ended up in the same elevator.
Jayson’s gaze landed on Ariel. She didn’t even glance his way as she stepped inside.
“Mr. Larkin,” Tom quickly greeted.
Jayson gave a small nod.
With that, silence fell once more.
Tom was feeling the pressure. Caught between his former boss and the current one, he felt like the filling in a sandwich.
The mood in the elevator was really awkward. Trying to break the silence, Tom suddenly thought of something. “Mr. Larkin, your birthday’s tomorrow, isn’t it? Ms. Walker, maybe we should get him a gift.”
He thought it was basic courtesy.
Jayson didn’t say anything. He clearly didn’t care much about it.
Ariel didn’t even raise her head from her phone. “Do as you see fit she said coolly.
Tom got the message loud and clear. She meant that this wasn’t her problem, and she didn’t intend to get involved.
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Chapter 431
Jayson heard it too. His gaze lingered on Ariel’s back, calm and unreadable.
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When they reached the ground floor, Ariel rattled off some instructions to Tom about the next steps of the project. Then she walked off without glancing backward.
From beginning to end, she hadn’t acknowledged Jayson’s presence at all. He watched her walk away before turning to Tom. ” Forget the gift. Just focus on your work.”
Tom didn’t think too much of it. He still held Jayson in high regar
The next day was the weekend. After taking her medicine, Ariel dropped by Katie’s place.
Leonard had been sent home to recover, and he was slowly getting better.
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Ariel spent the day with them, keeping them company.
In the afternoon, she got a call from Betty, inviting her to dinner at Rose Luxe Hotel at 6:00 pm. It was meant to be a small birthday dinner for Jayson.
Ariel made up an excuse about a work emergency and turned it down.
Betty seemed like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she didn’t push it.
But then, around 7:00 pm, Ariel’s phone rang again. Betty was calling.
“Yes, Grandma?”
“Ari, are you free right now?” Betty asked.
Ariel glanced at the time. It was already past 7:00 pm.
“What’s wrong, Grandma?” Technically, Betty should have been at Rose Luxe Hotel by now, celebrating Jayson’s birthday with the rest of the family.
Betty sighed. “Jayson said he couldn’t make it tonight. He told us to go ahead without him. I didn’t mention to him that I’d already gotten to the hotel early. Evelyn and the others aren’t here yet, and now I’m not feeling too well. Can you come pick me up?”
Ariel frowned at once.
Seriously? Jayson couldn’t even be bothered to send a car?
