Chapter 90 I Have a Crush
"People do not get dressed while they are showering, do they?"
Aurelia turned her head to look at Marcus sitting beside her, wishing she could escape immediately. She carried her phone and went upstairs, afraid Nathaniel would say something sexually awkward that would make everyone uncomfortable.
"I'm at the Heilbronn Villa."
She deliberately hinted that he shouldn't speak recklessly.
Across from her, Nathaniel wiped his hair with a towel.
"Why are you so nervous? I just wanted to ask which brand of shampoo we use at our house. I need Zack to buy a bottle for me. The smell of the one in the hotel's room is too unpleasant."
As they spoke, Aurelia had already returned to her bedroom upstairs and breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door.
"The one we use at home is a brand from Melicia. I'll send you a bottle; buying it probably won't arrive as quickly; it takes about half a month to clear customs."
"Okay, then send one over."
As they conversed, Aurelia's screen suddenly turned pitch black, and she was only able to see herself in the top right corner.
"Nathaniel?"
She thought his phone had a problem, and she was unsure if he could still hear her now, as he hadn't told her the mailing address yet.
"Nathaniel! Why can't I see you?" she asked again.
The screen immediately lit up, and she saw a large expanse of white abdominal muscles that almost blinded her eyes. Following the abs down, her throat dryly swallowed, and she immediately threw the phone back onto the bed.
"Nathaniel, what are you doing?"
She never expected that someone as cold as usual would engage in such a provocative act privately, appearing completely naked in front of her on video call without any shame.
He chuckled softly, "I'm looking for clothes. Didn't you want to see me?"
Aurelia was flustered. "Who wants to see you?"
"Didn't you just ask why you couldn't see me?"
Aureli was lost for words, realizing she did ask that.
"Then I didn't know you were naked!"
By now, Nathaniel had changed into pajamas.
He said, "Pick up the phone."
Aurelia dared not even glance at the phone now. "I don't want to!"
"I'm already dressed, now pick up the phone."
Aurelia tentatively glanced at the screen from the corner of her eye. Nathaniel was wearing a comfortable gray short-sleeved pajama. He was leaning against the head of the bed with his hair half-dried, looking very refreshed.
Only then did she pick up the phone and continue the previous topic.
"You haven't told me the mailing address yet."
Nathaniel stared straight at the screen, not answering for a while. Aurelia felt as if she had been seen through when she looked at those pupils on the screen. Despite the miles between them, she felt as if he could see right through her.
"Aurelia, your ears are red."
Aurelia subconsciously touched her ear tips, denying vehemently. "No, it's you with red ears. Your whole body is red!"
"You're quite observant, but not my whole body is red, right?"
Aurelia bit her lower lip. She shouldn't have spoken. The more she said, the more mistakes she made. She couldn't outshine him; the only outcome would be her losing miserably.
Nathaniel chuckled softly. "You've seen it before; there's no need to be shy. How about we chat tomorrow while we shower?"
This time, not only Aurelia's ears but her cheeks turned red.
"Nathaniel, you have no shame."
Nathaniel furrowed his brow.
"Call me honey!"
"Nathaniel!"
She insisted on opposing him, not believing he could do anything to her from miles away.
Across from her, Nathaniel rubbed his forehead.
"Fine, I'll deal with you when I get back!"
He remembered this matter in mind.
Aurelia abruptly ended the video call.
Downstairs, Marcus watched Aurelia go upstairs. Hearing the sound of the door closing, his thoughts were brought back. He plucked a grape from the plate and burst it with his fingertips, feeling suddenly restless.
Unconsciously, a plate of grapes was crushed and thrown into the plate.
The next day, only fewer people at home during breakfast time; Matthew and Beatrice took Ashley to the countryside villa, and Nathaniel was on a business trip, leaving only Reed, Marcus, and Aurelia at the dining table.
At the table, Reed was nagging as usual,
"Marcus, Ashley's marriage is almost settled. The only one who worries me the most is you. You're over thirty. Why don't you consider marriage? Do you want me to introduce you to a few people?"
Marcus was mentioned and pressured about marriage, instantly losing his appetite.
He set down his fork. "Dad, I have a crush."
Reed was quite surprised. "Having a crush is good. I thought you were gay. Which girl do you like? I'll help you with the introduction."
Marcus hesitated for a long time and didn't mention which girl he liked.
Aurelia drank her milk, unable to join in the conversation with the elders. She silently ate her breakfast, placing the milk cup on the table and making a crisp sound.
She looked up to find both her grandfather and Marcus staring at her.
"Grandpa, Uncle Marcus, you talk. I'm full. I will head to the office first."
She quickly swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and left. Sitting in the car, she pondered, little by little, what exactly she was feeling guilty about. It's good that Marcus had a crush; this way, Nathaniel, who was extremely jealous, wouldn’t bring up Marcus from time to time.
After a few minutes of contemplation, she felt the last look from Marcus made her anxious. She felt it was better to listen to Nathaniel and keep her distance from Marcus as much as possible.
Aurelia arrived at the office, and the atmosphere was slightly better than yesterday. As usual, she took out a piece of tissue to wipe her desk clean, placed her bag on it, and turned on the computer.
Tiffany sat next to Aurelia, smoothly gliding across the room in her office chair, tugging at her hem, and whispering, 'Aurelia, check your email quickly”
Aurelia realized it must be related to yesterday's incident.
She opened the company email and found several unread messages. The most recent one was from Chelsea.
She clicked on it, and it was Chelsea's explanation of the incident.
[Good morning to all leaders and colleagues. Below is my explanation regarding the plagiarism incident from yesterday.
The work 'A Beating Heart' that I submitted for the design department's competition is by my longtime idol, and I have all her works saved on my computer.
The set of drawings sent for the competition was purely a mix-up caused by my misnaming the folder, and I apologize to all leaders and colleagues for this mistake. My original design is attached, and I kindly request the leaders to reevaluate the competition for the design department to ensure fair competition.]
The email was sent to Nathaniel and copied to all members of the design department and some senior leaders.
After reading it, Aurelia leaned back in her chair. Chelsea was quite clever not to insist that the work was her own design but rather a mix-up due to a file name confusion to get through this low-level mistake.
The email had just been sent out, but the news had already spread throughout the company.
Aurelia opened the internal network post, and most people were still unwilling to believe Chelsea's explanation, responding one after another.
[This excuse is too far-fetched. When the work won first place, Chelsea didn't step forward to explain that she sent the wrong file. She only clarified when accused of plagiarism. Are you really plagiarizing, or just coveting the salary increase that comes with the first place?]
[@Mr. Heilbronn, I strongly request a thorough investigation of Chelsea. A person full of lies is not worthy of being the Heilbronn Group's chief jewelry designer. Who knows if her other works were also sent from the wrong folder?]
[Let's all disperse. Only she knows whether the folder was sent wrong or not. If she doesn't admit it, there's no way to prove she plagiarized. She's still a designer with a high salary, while we are just the most basic employees.]
Aurelia scanned through the responses, and the last one hit the nail on the head. As long as Chelsea insisted she sent the wrong folder, no one could do anything to her.
The designs were just submitted as drafts and hadn't reached the production stage, so internal opinions would have little impact on her.
Ultimately, it all depended on how Nathaniel viewed the situation.
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