Chapter 181



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“You’re still going to go out of your way for the ST Hotel after all they did to you?” Cleveland had a playful tone in his voice.

Hayden frowned, feeling a void.

The way the ST Hotel had handled everything was really disappointing. The Security Department was responsible for the fire incident, but they suspended her.

She was not stupid and knew who had ordered it.

Joseph did not let her resign, but suspended her. This was obviously to retaliate against her.

Hayden could have accepted when Cleveland offered her an olive branch at this point. “Mr. Sanchez, I’m not sure what kind of position you can give me. Aside from ability, I don’t accept any sympathy or nepotism.”

Freddie pouted, when Hayden mentioned the nepotism thing.

“Of course it’s because of your ability. I don’t know why Joseph would only put you as a lobby attendant. In my case, I think you have a greater use.” Cleveland said confidently, as if he had his eye on Hayden and wanted to hunt her down.

“Such as?”

“As my executive secretary.”

“No way…” Freddie’s voice rang with a conflicted expression on his face, before Hayden could speak he continued, “Hayden would never be your secretary. Hayden, don’t accept, she’s up to no good.”

Hayden felt helpless as he saw the anxious look on Freddie’s face. Then he looked at Cleveland, “You see. Even Freddie, who knows you better than I do, says it’s no good, how can I join you?”.

Cleveland didn’t explain, but merely frowned, “I don’t think you can’t stand the thought of leaving the ST Hotel. I won’t force you if you don’t want to come, but if you change your mind, you’re always welcome.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to leave, it’s just that Mr. Sanchez, your company is really unsuitable for me. I think I’ll look for another way out.”

A thought crossed Cleveland’s mind, “You mean you no longer plan to stay at the ST Hotel?”

“No comment.”

Hayden looked at Cleveland with a smile, unwilling to discuss the subject any further. Although the Sanchez Family was friends with the Beckham Family, they were still competitors in business. As a member of the ST Group staff, Hayden had the right not to tell him about any personnel changes within the company.

Hayden always thought Cleveland had bad intentions, and it was best to be wary of him.

“Are you really thinking of resigning from the ST Hotel?”

When Hayden returned home, Alayna asked him about what they were talking about in the car.

Hayden put on his slippers and went to the kitchen to make tea, with his back to Alayna he said, “Well, there are too many private matters and it’s not good to involve them in my work.”

“Then why didn’t you accept Cleveland’s offer? Being his executive secretary is much more prestigious than being a mere lobby attendant at the ST Hotel.”

Alayna took off her evening dress, nonchalantly picked up a white shirt and slipped it on. She sat down on the couch, exposing her beautiful legs.

“He was anxious to get involved with Freddie and now with me too, can’t you see that?

Cleveland is a businessman, not a philanthropist. Seeing that Hayden was out of work, he gave him a good job out of sympathy. And this, obviously, was taking advantage of her.

Alayna raised her eyebrow, feeling disgusted, “You think too much about it. Thinking too much is bad for you and also for others. In my opinion, you should come clean with Joseph. Don’t keep the truth from him anymore.”

The tea was boiling. Hayden poured two cups and went to sit down, handing a cup to Alayna.

“That’s easy for you to say. But it’s not the right time to say it. What if he no longer intends to be with me? Now telling him the kids are his, I’m sure he’d want custody of both of them. I know myself well, I can’t beat him in a lawsuit.”

The Beckham Family had a big influence in City N. If Joseph really wanted custody of Stella Downey, she could only let it happen.

“Can’t you think on the bright side? If Joseph knew that the two children were his, then there would be no question that you favor the children. The misunderstanding between the two of you would have dissipated as well.”

“It’s not like that at all.” Hayden furrowed his eyebrows.

“Then tell me, how do you think, what do you want Joseph to do?”. Alayna sat up straight. It was the first time she hadn’t stood next to Hayden, “You always think Joseph is unfair to you for asking too much of you. But have you been fair to him? He doesn’t even know Stella is his daughter.”

Hayden fell silent, and the room fell silent.

After a long moment, Alayna stood up and patted him on the shoulder, “Think about it yourself. At the end of the day, it’s your business. My advice to you is to bring the matter out in the open, if there really comes to be a lawsuit, have you forgotten that Edison is overseas? He will never let others take custody of Stella away from him.”

After Alayna left, Hayden sat alone in the living room late into the night.

She had always been weighing the pros and cons of her relationship with Joseph. But she felt nothing wrong. She was a mother whose son had been kidnapped five years ago, even if she resented Joseph, she had a right to do that too.

Back in the room, Alayna saw the missed call on her phone and returned the call.

“What’s wrong?”

Kevin’s voice rang from the other end, with a sense of excitement. “I’m coming back from my business trip tomorrow and will be on leave for a while. Come and hang out with me.”

“Just because you’re on leave doesn’t mean I am, so why do I have to go out with you?”

“I heard Joseph had a fight with Hayden. Don’t you want to make up? Let’s go out together, taking them.”

“I don’t give a shit.” Alayna said in a nonchalant tone, “It’s their business. If you want to be a peacemaker, let it be. I’m not going to do that anyway.”

Kevin didn’t seem to have heard her correctly, “A desert island survival or a leisure vacation. Which do you choose?”

“The desert island.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll get things ready and you get ready to go.”

Kevin understood well the way Alayna was behaving. By now, he could tell if she liked him or not by her tone, and it had nothing to do with what she had said.

The next morning, Alayna told Hayden about the outing before she left for work.

“And this is a good opportunity, since there’s no one else on the island, you can take a gamble and tell Joseph.”

Hayden nodded after a moment’s thought.

Alayna could tell that Hayden hadn’t slept well last night by his dark circles under his eyes. He seemed to be thinking all night whether to tell Joseph the truth.

“Any plans for the evening?” Alayna asked nonchalantly before leaving.

“I’m going to see my daughter at Harrison’s.”

“You drop your daughter off at the Beckham’s every now and then, just so you have an excuse to see your son. You are so scheming.”

“That’s my son.”

“Yes, yes. He’s your son, no one denies it, just you who won’t admit it.” Alayna took the keys and said, “I’m going to stop talking to you now. I’m late for work, bye.”

“Walk away.”

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