Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Denying to the End
Kevin Hayes asked with a stern face, "What do you mean by that? Do you think I’m also being unreasonable?"
Assistant Lowell quickly waved his hands.
"You misunderstood, you’re the elder here. Even if you really made a mistake, it’s not my place as a junior to say anything."
"As long as you understand that! As your uncle, I’ve done everything that needed to be shown to Miss Shaw. Don’t bring this up again. Our family hasn’t affected your work."
Assistant Lowell looked at Kevin Hayes in disbelief.
"Uncle, do you think what I said to Hailey earlier was just because I was worried it would affect my own job?"
"Isn’t it?"
Assistant Lowell wanted to explain, but he swallowed his words.
He realized it was futile; talking to Kevin Hayes was like talking to a brick wall. How can you communicate when you’re on completely different wavelengths?
He might as well admit fault and say nothing more.
On the other side.
Hailey Hayes angrily stormed into the bathroom, suddenly catching sight of a gift box on the sink.
The gift box looked very exquisite, seemingly quite expensive.
This must be the gift from Ashley Shaw.
The Prescott Group lady, right? The gift should be worth at least tens of thousands, right?
With this thought, Hailey’s expression softened slightly and she quickly opened the gift box.
Inside the intricately designed white gift box lay a diamond brooch.
The largest diamond looked about three carats by the naked eye.
Furthermore, under the light, the diamond sparkled brilliantly, showcasing its high quality.
Hailey’s eyes instantly lit up, and she couldn’t resist poking the diamond a little, wondering if it was a real diamond or just a crystal.
However, with a slight push, the diamond fell out.
And it unfortunately fell right into the toilet.
Hailey was startled, about to retrieve it, but then she thought, since Ashley Shaw had to deliver takeout, she probably wouldn’t have given a real diamond.
Besides, Ashley and she weren’t even related, so giving such a big real diamond was impossible.
So it could only be crystal.
The Prescott Group’s lady’s gift wasn’t that great.
With disgust toward Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant, she directly flushed the toilet.
Out of sight, out of mind!
After the "crystal" was flushed away, Hailey threw the brooch, missing a "crystal," into the trash.
After doing all this, she felt a bit relieved, opened the bathroom door, and walked out.
The living room was very quiet.
Her dad was smoking one cigarette after another, while Cousin Lowell was looking down at his phone.
Though sitting together, it seemed they were not even looking at each other.
Thinking that their relationship turned so sour because of someone named Ashley Shaw, Hailey’s dislike for her reached its peak.
So what if she’s rich?
So what if she’s the Prescott Group lady?
They have nothing to do with her family.
To be honest, her dad also worked in a big company in Westcroft, not losing to Cousin Lowell!
Furthermore, after today, she figured out that Cousin Lowell was not a high executive in the Prescott Group, just an ordinary assistant; and as her aunt said, Cousin Lowell hadn’t even been fully appointed!
As an intern, who gave him the right to criticize her or show her dad any attitude?
Hailey stepped forward a few paces, putting on an unfriendly face while sitting beside Kevin Hayes, her expression plainly saying, "You’re not welcome in our home anymore."
But unfortunately, Mark was focused on his emails, handling some business on his phone, paying no attention to Hailey’s expression.
On the other side.
Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant were racing on their scooter, desperately reaching Southgate a few minutes before the battery ran out.
Upon reaching Hailey’s apartment complex, Ariana was ready to rush inside but was stopped by Ashley’s quick reflexes.
"Did you forget what I just told you? Calm down, stay calm! You promised me, listen to instructions for all actions, don’t act impulsively."
Ariana appeared to be fuming, but her anger wasn’t directed at Ashley, but at Hailey.
Her chubby hand clenched into a fist, she said, "That’s a million and seventy thousand, how am I supposed to stay calm?"
Thinking about her friend’s item possibly being stolen by that mean girl Hailey, she felt an urge to tear someone apart.
Just as she had thought before, Hailey messing with her was one thing, but messing with her friend was a no-go!
Ashley saw Ariana’s agitated state and realized her assurance of "listening to instructions" during the journey was just to soothe her.
Her real goal was to get Ashley to agree to come along.
Fearing Ariana would rush upstairs, Ashley tightly held onto Ariana’s hand, refusing to let go.
"Ariana, I know you’re in a rush, but don’t be. Remember what I told you before coming. Today is Hailey’s birthday, she might’ve seen the gift box on the scooter and thought it was a gift from us, so if she really took it, a proper talk could resolve this smoothly."
Ariana bit her lip, trying to calm down.
She knew Ashley was right, but her short temper was hard to control.
Ashley worried that Ariana escalating things might make the situation unmanageable, so she patiently continued persuading, "Ariana, think again, could there be another possibility, that it wasn’t Hailey who took it, but someone else when the scooter was parked downstairs?"
Ariana’s eyes widened, her anger toward Hailey momentarily diverted, becoming less uncontrollable.
She couldn’t help but grip Ashley’s hand back, asking, "If it really was stolen by someone else, as you said, what do we do? Selling it couldn’t even cover the cost!"
"No one expects you to pay, don’t worry. If Hailey didn’t ’take it by mistake,’ and it got lost, it’d definitely be on me since I was careless to leave something so valuable on the scooter."
Ashley Shaw lowered her head and said, "But ultimately, it’s my main responsibility. If I hadn’t insisted on tagging you along to Hailey’s birthday, you would’ve gone home right after buying the gift, and this wouldn’t have happened."
"Don’t think like that. Look on the bright side; I didn’t even pay for the gift."
"Who paid? How generous?"
"I told you before, didn’t I? It was paid by the ’deceased lady’ you mentioned. You might have been too anxious to hear me."
At hearing the phrase ’deceased lady,’ Ariana burst into laughter.
"That’s good, the deceased lady’s young master doesn’t lack that petty cash anyway."
Seeing Ariana smiling, Ashley patted her on the shoulder.
"Alright, you seem calmer now, let’s go handle this properly."
"Mm-hmm!"
Ariana nodded, but seeing Ashley heading toward the entrance, she quickly grabbed her.
"Where are you going? Aren’t we looking for Hailey?"
"Let’s check the surveillance cameras first to see if it was actually Hailey who took it. If it confirms that she did, we can go upstairs. We don’t want to wrongly accuse her."