Chapter 531 William and Hayden
She averted her gaze and looked ahead, only to realize that her car had veered off the lane and almost collided with the vehicle on the left.
She quickly adjusted the steering wheel and stepped on the gas pedal forcefully, her hands gripping the steering wheel involuntarily. In a matter of seconds, the speed of the car exceeded fifty-six miles per hour, and it continued to accelerate forward.
"William, do you need to follow them?" The driver asked William respectfully as Hayden's car suddenly accelerated, creating distance between them in the black Bentley.
William closed his eyes, rubbed his brow, and calmly ordered, "No need."
He was too impatient, thinking of meeting Hayden in this way.
What if she gets into an accident?
However, seeing that she was fine with his own eyes finally put him at ease.
"Let's go to the office first," William ordered again a few seconds later.
Aurora Global Networks had established a subsidiary in Imperial Capital, and new projects were being carried out there.
"Yes, William."
Hayden didn't know how she managed to drive herself to the office.
It was only when she parked in the company's underground garage that her tense body began to relax slowly.
Her eyes were filled with tears, and her vision became blurred.
As the first tear fell, she hurriedly wiped it away.
She thought she had given up and wouldn't be so excited anymore.
But why?
Why couldn't she calm down with just one glance at William?
Was it because of guilt or love?
If their child had died, would he blame her and hate her?
She sneered.
Blame and hate her?
That would be great. They could become strangers again without any attachments.
Become strangers.
With this thought, Hayden smiled slightly, forcefully holding back her tears. Then, she touched up her makeup in the car before getting out. She acted as if nothing had happened and went to work as usual.
Because only work, only busy tasks, could temporarily make her forget all the pain and make her feel like a normal person.
However, during moments of busyness, William's face would always appear in her mind, the face she saw this morning.
Compared to a few months ago, his handsome face seemed thinner. The hidden darkness in his eyes became even more radiant and couldn't be concealed.
But his exhaustion was also becoming more obvious, indicating that he had been overworked recently.
Realizing she was lost in her thoughts, Hayden shook her head and refocused on her work.
At noon, she had Finley order lunch for the office. As the end of the workday approached, Hall called her.
At 7 pm, she and Hall would attend a business cocktail party together.
Attending the cocktail party was not important. What was important was that Hall wanted to publicly announce their current relationship to elevate his own status.
Despite knowing Hall's intentions clearly, when he mentioned yesterday that he wanted her to accompany him to this event, she didn't hesitate to agree.
Now, she wanted to fulfill the Johnson family's every wish as much as possible.
Hall said that he was already downstairs and asked if she needed him to come upstairs and pick her up.
Originally, Hayden wanted to refuse, but when she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and saw the black Bentley parked on the road below the building, she immediately changed her mind and agreed to let Hall come upstairs to pick her up.
Hayden's agreement to let him into her office was undoubtedly the most direct gesture of goodwill for Hall.
After hanging up the phone, he immediately got out of the car and confidently entered the Bush Smith Group's office building.
William sat in the back seat of the black Bentley on the side of the road, watching Hall walk into the Bush Smith Group's office building. His originally warm eyes became deep.
When Hall arrived at Hayden's office, Hayden had already changed into an elegant and sexy off-the-shoulder knee-length skirt. Her lipstick had also darkened to a fiery red.
As soon as he saw her, Hall was stunned.
Hayden saw him and walked toward him with a sexy smile on her face.
Their colleagues noticed them and curiously stared at them. After they left and entered the elevator together, they started discussing.
"Hayden, you are getting more and more beautiful, more and more charming." In the elevator, Hall reached out and hugged Hayden, looking at her affectionately.
Hayden turned her head to look at him, smiled, and raised her hands to adjust his tie. "You look handsome and charming today."
"Am I only handsome and charming today?" Hall raised his hand and lightly pinched Hayden's chin, asking with a playful tone.
Hayden smiled softly and turned her head away. "No. You look especially handsome and charming today."
She didn't know when she had started, but Hayden could immediately say such disgusting words. Her disgusting behavior was even more realistically acted out.
Hayden was increasingly impressed with herself.
When the elevator made a soft sound and arrived on the first floor, Hayden let Hall hold her and walked out of the elevator in high heels, sexy, and headed towards the outside of the office building.
In the black Bentley across the street, William leaned against the back of the chair, legs crossed, squinting his eyes, staring at Hayden and Hall as they walked out of the Bush Smith Group's office building. Hall hugged Hayden tightly, and Hayden leaned half into Hall's arms intimately. However, there was no change in William's expression on his face or his eyes, not even anger.
He just watched them get into the car. After the car drove away, he instructed the driver in front, "Follow them."
The driver nodded and agreed, keeping a good distance behind the car Hayden and Hall were in.
Their destination was the Carlton Hotel.
William's car stayed close and far behind the vehicle in front. Hall, who was driving, didn't notice that William's car was following them. Hayden, in the passenger seat, only glanced briefly in the rearview mirror and spotted William's car.
Since he was willing to follow them, she decided to let him.
The office building of The Bush Smith Group was close to the Carlton Hotel. However, there was some traffic at the moment. After about half an hour, they arrived at the hotel. Hayden and Hall got out of the car, handed the keys to the valet, and then affectionately embraced each other as they walked towards the hotel.
Behind them, William's car also pulled up, but instead of immediately parking at the entrance, he found a spot and stopped.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. William appeared calm in both his expression and mood.
Although their child had died, he was relieved to see that Hayden didn't seem any different other than being slightly thinner and still so beautiful.
After sitting in the car for at least half an hour, William finally got out and walked towards the hotel.
In the fourth-floor banquet hall, the reception had already begun.
It was a high-profile business reception attended by CEOs and executives from various companies and their spouses.
Hall held the position of Deputy CEO at The Johnson Group and was also associated with the Johnson family. He was fully capable of handling such a reception.
However, today, he was accompanied by Hayden, the daughter of the Bush Smith family. Hayden made her entrance as his girlfriend, a role he had never been prouder of, leaving all the men present shocked and envious.
No one understood why a woman as perfect as Hayden, in terms of appearance, temperament, and background, would lower herself to be with Hall. But everyone maintained the surface hypocrisy that was required. After all, nobody dared to offend Hayden and Hall, representatives of the Bush Smith Group.
Hayden remained by Hall's side, chatting intimately with him while also engaging in small talk with everyone else. Her gaze inadvertently swept towards the entrance of the banquet hall to confirm if William had followed them.
After almost half an hour into the reception, when Hayden's gaze once again scanned the direction of the entrance, she saw that tall figure.
Not only that, but from a distance, unexpectedly, they made eye contact.
Hayden quickly looked away and snuggled up to Hall. Her smile became even more gentle and charming, as if she and Hall were a very loving couple.
Although he repeatedly told himself in his mind that Hayden's bright eyes, lovely smile, and everything about her and Hall was fake, William couldn't help but feel restrained. His eyes darkened, and he tightened his hand at his side.
"William, I didn't expect you to be here too. It seems like I came to the right party tonight," someone noticed William and called out happily, then walked towards him.
Upon hearing this, others turned their heads to look as well. Everyone was familiar with William, the new businessman and CEO of Aurora Global Networks. Many executives also gathered around him.
William withdrew his gaze from Hayden and took a champagne glass from a waiter's tray, then smiled and greeted everyone.
His arrival quickly caught Hall's attention.
Hall was certainly aware of William's relationship with Hayden.
William had a certain charm and was young yet confident, earning the admiration of everyone. This displeased Hall quite a bit.
"Is William here for you?" Hall leaned over to Hayden's ear after glancing at William a few times, his voice cold.
Hayden glanced at William, then at Hall, and couldn't help but smile. "Maybe. I don't know! Why don't we go over and say hello to him?"
"You sure you don't love him anymore?" Hall squeezed Hayden's slender waist, his tone unfriendly.
"I'm not sure about that." Hayden looked at him and smiled softly, "but what I can be sure of is that I am now your girlfriend."
"Smart girl. Let's go." Hall grinned, touched Hayden's chin, and then walked towards William while holding her.
Before William appeared, Hayden and Hall were the center of attention tonight. Now, even though many people were surrounding William, Hayden, and Hall immediately attracted everyone's attention when they walked over.
"Since when has Imperial Capital had such high-level parties that anyone can attend?" Hall stood outside the crowd and stared at William, speaking arrogantly and loudly.
Several executives who were chatting and joking with William heard this and turned their heads to look at Hall.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Vice President of the Johnson Group!" William held a glass of wine in one hand and casually put his other hand in his pocket. He stood there, looking at Hall and Hayden with a calm expression and a slight smirk. "I'm William. Nice to meet you."
This statement made Hall's expression even more gloomy. Then, with a cold snort, he said, "Aurora Global Networks is nothing. You have no right to be here."
William's calm demeanor remained unchanged. He gently swirled the champagne in his glass, lightly pursed his lips, and replied, "Whether or not I have the right to be here, it seems that it's not up to you to decide! What do you think, Ms. Hayden?"
Hayden, on the other hand, did not expect William to ask her. However, she did not show any unusual reaction. Facing Hall's intense gaze, she smiled gracefully and said, "The Bush Smith family does not host this party, so I don't have a say in it."
Observing them, William smirked and nodded. "Exactly. Since this party is neither hosted by the Johnson family nor the Bush Smith family, it is up to the organizers to have the final say."
"I invited William." Just then, a calm and powerful voice sounded. Everyone turned their heads to look. It was the person who organized the party, a prestigious figure in the Imperial Capital, even more respected than Finn.
"William, I stepped away for a moment earlier. I didn't have a chance to greet you. I apologize!" This person walked over, looked at William, and smiled kindly.
The person's attitude towards William immediately made Hall's face awkward. This influential figure in the Imperial Capital was respected by everyone. Even Finn had to show him respect. Hall didn't dare offend this person.
Although Hall had no real talent or power, he was skilled at observing the atmosphere. He immediately chose not to speak and walked away with Hayden, embracing her.
