Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Worried About Ian Preston
Sean Bell left first with his second brother, followed by Silas Cheney, who rushed back to the institute.
In the end, only Thea Lynch and Ian Preston were left.
Thea had a little to drink, but fortunately, she was only slightly tipsy.
Once outside, the wind sobered her up.
On the way back, Thea received a call from Foreman Chandler.
"Foreman Lynch, I followed your instructions and sent all the data to the group."
Upon hearing this, Thea sat up straight, "Alright. Got it."
"Is there anything else I should do now?"
"Just continue the discussion as normal, don’t be too deliberate."
"Got it, got it." Foreman Chandler agreed, and after a while, he lowered his voice, sounding like a thief as he asked quietly, "So, we’re just going to wait? Will this really work?"
"We’ll know if it works or not in a couple of days."
Ian was still sitting next to her, so Thea couldn’t say much more. After a pause, she said to Foreman Chandler, "I need to take a day off tomorrow, so I’ll need you to keep an eye on things."
"No problem at all, don’t worry about the company."
"Is there something going on at home?" Foreman Chandler asked with concern.
"No, it’s just that my brother’s back, and we’re having a family dinner tomorrow. I’ll be back at the company first thing the day after, and we can discuss the rest then."
Foreman Chandler responded with excitement, "Alright, alright."
After hanging up, Thea inadvertently looked up and met Ian’s gaze.
The car had stopped at a red light, and he was openly looking at her.
Thea wasn’t sure if it was guilt or some other reason, but she explained, "Work."
It would have been fine if she hadn’t spoken, but once she did, it seemed like she was trying to cover something up.
Ian couldn’t help but be intrigued.
Her call earlier was definitely more than just work-related.
As the traffic light turned green, Thea quickly reminded him, "Let’s go, the car behind is urging us on."
——
After driving a while, Ian slowly opened his mouth, "Is it still about the leaked chat records from last time?"
Thea: "..."
He managed to guess it so casually?
Thea’s expression was openly surprised, as she looked him up and down with suspicion, "Did you plant someone in our department?"
She couldn’t help but think this.
"No." Ian held the steering wheel with one hand, and as he turned a corner, he unraveled her mystery, "The other end was too loud earlier, I overheard a bit."
"Combining that with the previous incident, I figured you’re not the type to hold back your temper."
Thea was left speechless by his words.
"I guessed early on that you’d have your own ideas."
Ian had gotten the news as soon as it happened.
The chat records had been leaked, and he found out even earlier than Thea did.
However, when he wanted to intervene, Silas stopped him.
"I’ll handle this matter, third brother, you should just focus on recuperating now. Don’t you trust me?"
He was still in the hospital back then.
Upon hearing Silas’s repeated assurances that he would resolve the matter, Ian finally put down his phone.
Later on, he heard that Thea hadn’t pursued the matter, but the company was still trying to find out who was responsible.
At that time, he already felt that Thea wouldn’t let it go so easily.
Sometimes, Thea wasn’t sure if Ian understanding her so well was a good thing or a bad thing.
Sighing, she had to admit, "Yes."
"I released a batch of fake data, so we’ll find out soon who’s doing the leaking."
"Isn’t that approach a bit too obvious," Ian reminded.
"I did consider that. That’s why it wasn’t sent in the previous group." It indirectly narrowed down the scope.
"I have a suspect in mind; this is mainly aimed at him. If it’s him, then fine; if not, it doesn’t matter."
Actually, Foreman Chandler had wanted to test things a few days earlier, but she had stopped him in time. Now that so much time had passed, the other party should have let their guard down.
She glanced at Ian, "Anything else you’d like to advise, third brother?"
He smiled, "I wouldn’t call it advice."
He only meant to remind her, he had no intention to interfere.
Such a minor issue, let her figure it out herself.
It wouldn’t cause any major disturbance.
Upon hearing this, Thea was somewhat disappointed; she thought he might say something more.
But it was an empty hope.
Setting everything else aside, Ian had been navigating the business world for many years, naturally making him savvier than her.
He remained silent, and Thea didn’t feel like starting a conversation.
She leaned back in her seat, looking out the window idly, and soon fell asleep.
When Ian glanced over at her again, he found her asleep with her phone in her arms.
"Thea?" In a few minutes, they’d be there after the next corner.
Unfortunately, there was no response.
Ian called her once, but then let her continue sleeping.
Thea always liked sleeping in the car; even if he drove steadily, she would feel sleepy. With the help of alcohol, she really couldn’t resist.
——
Five minutes later, Ian parked the car securely downstairs.
At this time, the neighborhood was practically empty.
Ian got out of the car, walked around to her side, bent down, undid the seatbelt, and lifted her up in his arms before gently closing the door.
His actions were smooth and swift.
As they entered the elevator, Thea seemed to sense something, her head moving slightly in his arms but she didn’t wake up.
Ian glanced down at her.
Naturally, Ian was familiar with Thea’s residence. Carrying her, he easily navigated to the master bedroom, where he gently laid her down, removed her coat, and helped take off her high-heeled shoes.
He didn’t linger, poured a glass of hot water and placed it on the bedside table, silently turned on the nightlight before leaving.
As she heard the door close outside, Thea opened her eyes slowly.
Thea’s eyes were clear, no sign of sleepiness.
She turned her head, and in the dim light, saw the steam rising from the cup of water.
The room seemed to still retain some trace of Ian’s presence.
To be honest, she had truly fallen asleep at first. She woke up in the elevator when she found herself in Ian’s arms.
Before he could look down, she closed her eyes again.
Thinking about the situation then, opening her eyes truly wouldn’t have been easy to face. Pretending to sleep seemed more reliable.
In a way, avoiding was disgraceful but practical.
Taking a deep breath, Thea sat up and checked herself. Her coat had been removed.
When he undid her coat earlier, her heart skipped a beat.
She certainly knew Ian wasn’t the type to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state. But at that moment, she was nonetheless stunned.
Who knows if Ian noticed...
However, judging by his demeanor, even if he did notice, he chose not to reveal it, sparing her from embarrassment.
In comparison, Ian excelled over Sean Bell in that regard.
Thea got up, took a bath in the bathroom, then went to sleep.
The next morning at nine, she messaged Ian, but there was no reply for a long time.
After waiting for another half hour, she simply couldn’t sit still, got up, and went next door.
At his door, she hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the doorbell.
She wasn’t in a rush to get back to the institute; she was mainly concerned whether Ian had something going on.
