Chapter 195: What a Familiar Opening Line
Sheila Hughes glanced around before pulling Zion Sawyer into the breakroom to whisper about what had happened the day before. Zion’s expression shifted constantly as she listened. When she heard that Tiana Vaughn had undergone plastic surgery, she nearly screamed, but Sheila quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
Zion Sawyer immediately lowered her voice. "I knew it! I knew it! I bumped into her once, and up close, I had a feeling her eyes had been done!"
"Hmph. Our Leah is the real deal. How can a fake who’s had work done have the confidence to be so arrogant?" Sheila Hughes rolled her eyes.
"Exactly, exactly. Isn’t she afraid her implants will fall out?"
Just as the two were huddled together chattering away, a sharp yell from Mr. Langdon sent them scurrying back to work.
When Leah Sinclair appeared in the President’s Office, the expressions on everyone’s faces grew even more colorful. Aside from those who had been roped into various tasks by Sean Yates and Edward Yates the previous day and knew what was going on, the rest were still in the dark.
The moment they saw Leah Sinclair at the elevator entrance, some people began to worry about how to handle the scene she might cause. After all, she walked in with a frosty expression, looking particularly inscrutable.
"Executive Assistant Yates, the Second Miss Grant is here again! She’s not here to find Tiana again, is she? Tiana isn’t even in today. Should we call security in advance?"
One of the employees who had witnessed Tiana Vaughn kneeling in the stairwell last time ran into Edward Yates’s office and asked anxiously.
Edward Yates gave him a speechless look, held his tongue for a second, then snapped, "Like hell we are."
With that, Edward Yates hurried out to greet her. The employee he’d spoken to followed, completely bewildered, watching Leah Sinclair warily, as if she were about to make Edward kneel at any second.
When Edward Yates saw Leah Sinclair, he too was a bit stunned. He had never seen her with such a cold demeanor. Snapping out of it, he walked over with a smile. "Second Miss Grant, you’re here."
"Yes. Is President Keating in his office?" As Leah Sinclair looked at him, a hint of a smile touched her eyes, softening her expression.
"He is. This way, please."
Edward Yates knocked on the door. Asher Keating looked up, a flash of stunned admiration in his eyes. Only after Edward had left did Leah Sinclair revert to her usual bright and charming self, her eyes sparkling as she walked toward Asher.
"Third Brother."
"Hm?"
"Do I look good?"
Leah Sinclair twirled in front of him. She had decided on this look right before leaving the house. She had never worn this style in front of Asher Keating before, so seeing him now made her a little nervous.
"Beautiful."
Asher Keating took the opportunity to pull her into his arms. Just as he was about to kiss her, there was another knock on the door.
"President Keating, Tiana Vaughn is here," Sean Yates announced from the doorway.
Leah Sinclair quickly pulled away from his embrace. Asher Keating clicked his tongue in annoyance and said flatly, "Come in."
Tiana Vaughn walked in with a limp. Leah Sinclair glanced at Asher Keating in surprise, but he was just leaning back lazily in his chair, starting to look through some documents, as if he had no intention of speaking to Tiana.
Leah Sinclair walked to the sofa and sat down. After a moment of silence, she said, "Have a seat."
Tiana Vaughn looked at Asher Keating, then back at Leah Sinclair, before sitting down on the sofa. "Miss Grant, I’m sorry... I know I was wrong. But I’m begging you, please don’t make me leave. Third Brother said I have to leave this place, but I have nowhere else to go."
Leah let out a "tsk." "What a familiar opening line."
Tiana Vaughn froze. "What?"
"I said, your opening line is way too familiar. You said the same thing in the stairwell the other day: ’Miss Grant, I’m sorry, I was wrong. But I’m begging you, please don’t dock my pay. As long as you say a word to Third Brother, he’ll listen to you.’"
Tiana Vaughn’s face paled, and she grew nervous. Leah, however, just leaned back on the sofa and continued coolly, "That day, I asked you what you did wrong, and you couldn’t say. I’m asking you again now: what did you do wrong? Do you know?"
"But don’t you dare kneel to me. I can’t bear the honor. Also, don’t let me ever hear you say the words ’Third Brother’ again. I have a bad temper, and I get jealous easily."
Asher Keating glanced up in Leah Sinclair’s direction, the corners of his mouth lifting in a slight smile, before he went back to looking at his documents.
"I... I shouldn’t have lied to Thir— President Keating. I shouldn’t have offended you. And most of all... I shouldn’t have developed feelings for President Keating."
As she said this, Tiana Vaughn began to cry. Tears fell like pearls from her beautiful eyes, a truly pitiful sight.
Leah Sinclair watched her, speechless. "Tiana Vaughn... oh no, Judy Vaughn... can’t you drop this act even now? You changed your name, tweaked your appearance, and after three years, have you forgotten who you really are?"
Upon hearing the name "Judy Vaughn," Tiana Vaughn’s expression changed, twisting into something ugly. She looked up at Leah Sinclair, who was watching her quietly.
Leah Sinclair wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her face was a little pale and her lips were faint. From this distance, Tiana could see that her eyes, which were almost identical to her own, even had faint, dark circles beneath them.
Yet, as Leah just stared at her with that cold, clear gaze, Tiana was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of shame so intense she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
Watching Tiana’s face shift through a series of expressions, Leah Sinclair sighed and said, "When the Sterling Family placed you by Third Brother’s side, you chose to serve them. If you had just quietly done your job for the Sterlings, I might have even respected you for it. But then you developed feelings for Third Brother. Why?"
"Was it so he would fall in love with you for real? So he could protect you? With him around, even if everything was exposed later, as long as Third Brother loved you, you thought you wouldn’t have to fear the Sterling Family anymore. Is that it?"
"You offended me? That wasn’t ’offending’ me. That was a provocation. That was you trying to sling mud at me. You know perfectly well why you knelt to me in that stairwell. Did I get a single word of our conversation wrong?"
"But when people who didn’t know any better saw it, you pinned it all on me. Did I make you kneel? How many times did I try to help you up?"
"Liking Third Brother isn’t wrong. What’s wrong is using it as some kind of self-pitying excuse. Back when he didn’t know you were planted by the Sterling Family, he sponsored you without hesitation. Are your actions worthy of his kindness? You have to have a conscience."
As Leah Sinclair delivered this speech, Tiana Vaughn’s face flushed red, then drained of color. ’It was happening again. Last time in the stairwell, Leah had left her speechless with her words, one by one. And now it was happening again!’
’What gives her the right?!’
Waves of resentment churned in Tiana Vaughn’s chest. ’Just because she’s prettier? Or because she’s the Second Miss of the Grant Family? Does that give her the right to lecture me word by word?’
’But a few years ago, she was a nobody! Her situation was even worse than mine.’
She lifted her head and stared at Leah Sinclair, her face full of hatred. Seeing Leah’s serene expression, Tiana Vaughn couldn’t stop herself from screaming, "What about you, then? What right do you have for him to like you?! You were nothing but a bar hostess! Your first time was sold to him! At least I’ve never been a hostess! I’ve never had my first time sold! You..."