Chapter 293: The Apology of the Black Card
When his eyes settled on Ava, they did so with considerable tenderness.
Even if a machine's switch is flipped from low to high speed, there's usually a brief moment of acceleration before it reaches full speed.
But William Bennett's shift in demeanor lacked any such buffering, not even half a second of transition.
Everyone in the room took a sharp intake of breath.
"Goodness, who is this woman?"
"Why is Mr. Bennett treating her so differently?"
He wasn't even this gentle with his own sister, so what was going on with the man who had been roaring like a lion moments ago?
When William Bennett told Victoria Bennett to shut up, Ava Anderson shuddered slightly.
Maybe it was because she was pregnant now, more sensitive than others, when William Bennett had yelled, she even covered her stomach, fearing it might scare her baby.
William Bennett, seeing she was frightened again, hurriedly tried to explain, "I..."
He was about to speak. But remembering that there were many people around, he turned his head and said coldly, "The rest of you, get back to work."
The others left the office one by one, like scolded schoolchildren, with looks of chagrin on their faces.
"Who is that woman? She seems pretty powerful."
"Yeah, could she be Mr. Bennett's girlfriend?"
"I think she's more significant than a girlfriend, almost like he's scared of his wife."
"Is Mr. Bennett married?"
"Shh, keep it down, do you want to get yelled at?"
Only three people remained in the office.
Victoria Bennett was still there.
William Bennett frowned, annoyed, "What are you still doing here? Get out."
Victoria's mouth twisted unhappily; she had gone to great lengths to bring his future wife here, and now he was being harsh toward her.
If that was the case, why should she bother trying to be nice?
Victoria grabbed Ava Anderson's arm. "Ava, let's go. My brother's very busy."
Her voice carried a sarcastic tone as she glowered at William Bennett.
She could leave, but she would take his wife-to-be with her.
"Okay." Ava Anderson also wanted to leave and thus followed Victoria Bennett out.
"Ava." William Bennett caught Ava Anderson's wrist. "I need to talk to you, please don't go yet."
Ava looked down at his large hand.
William Bennett immediately sensed this was inappropriate and released her hand, "Sorry, I just have something to tell you. Can you stay for a moment?"
"Bro, you're in such a bad mood today, so fierce. You scared Ava half to death," Victoria Bennett said, knitting her brows in concern. "She's pregnant, for crying out loud. What if you scared her into something serious?"
"You..." William Bennett was about to snap at her, but Victoria stood defiantly behind Ava, using her as a human shield.
"Will," Ava Anderson intervened. "If you've got more to say, we can talk about it later. Vicky and I are going to head out now."
She didn't want to witness William continually berating Victoria. She could tell although William was harsh with others, he softened considerably with Ava. Ava knew Victoria must feel uncomfortable with this dynamic.
Ava was someone who always cared about how others felt, often treading carefully.
"Yeah, bro, we're going to leave now so you can stop being cranky," Victoria quipped, pouting her lips.
"Hold on a sec." William pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to her. "I owe you an apology. I need to talk to Ava, so go shopping and come back to her after."
He spoke to Victoria with a much gentler tone now. There were times when being gentle was necessary, especially when interests were at stake.
Seeing the black card in her brother's hand, Victoria nearly salivated.
