Chapter 237
Bella saved the recording and sent it to James right away, then tried to find Felix but came up empty.
She asked a socialite she used to know and found out Ivy had accused Felix of sexual harassment during a business meeting. Now, all of Dawnridge's high society was buzzing about it.
Bella didn't buy it. She knew Felix wouldn't harass Ivy. Sure, Ivy was pretty, but Felix had seen plenty of beautiful women. He wouldn't be interested in her.
It seemed like Ivy and Thomas were setting Felix up.
But no one cared about the truth. Felix had made a lot of enemies, and now they were all piling on.
The Facebook staff couldn't figure out why anything related to Felix was getting blocked. They searched all night, but the tech team found nothing.
By morning, the head of the tech department quit.
"Is this money worth it? We can't solve it. Let someone else try!"
He took his team home to rest.
Thomas had just arrived at the office when his secretary, Jason, walked in nervously.
"Thomas, Facebook returned the money we gave them."
Thomas's face darkened. "What happened?"
"The tech team at Facebook spent all night looking for a bug but found nothing, so they returned the money."
Thomas angrily swept the documents off his desk. "Useless! They can't even handle a trending topic!"
"Thomas, this has also affected the Clinton Group's stock price. Maybe the lack of attention is a good thing."
Thomas glared at him. "You don't get it! Get out!"
The next CEO election was next month. Even though he had 30% of the shares, if the shareholders turned against him, Felix could replace him.
He had teamed up with Ivy to ruin Felix's reputation and secure his own position.
Now that the issue was suppressed, things could get tricky.
Thinking of this, Thomas called Ivy. "Miss Foster, let's meet tonight."
Meanwhile, Gianna had just arrived at the office when Otis walked in with an invitation.
"Gianna, this is an invite from the Astor family. The Astor senior is celebrating his 80th birthday tonight," he said.
Due to past conflicts with Jasmine, Gianna didn't think highly of the Redstone family.
She was about to decline when she thought of something and looked at Otis. "Check if the Astor family invited the Fosters."
Even though Wayne and Trinity had left Dawnridge, she remembered the Astor senior and Wayne's father were old friends, so the Astor family might invite the Fosters.
After reviewing Ivy's information yesterday, Gianna wanted to meet her, and tonight was good chance.
Soon, Otis returned, "Gianna, the Astor family did invite the Foster family."
Gianna nodded, "Alright, clear my schedule for tonight and prepare a gift."
"Got it."
In the evening, as Gianna was about to leave for the banquet, Felix called.
"Are you going to the Astor family's banquet tonight?"
Gianna was surprised he knew, "Yes, why?"
"I'll be there as well."
Gianna frowned, 'Felix was caught in a sexual harassment scandal. If he showed up at the banquet, he'd be a laughingstock.'
Felix deserved admiration, not scorn from a setup.
"I think it's better if you skip tonight's banquet," Gianna persuaded.
Felix paused for a while and said, "If you're worried about being seen with me, I can come an hour later."
Gianna felt a mix of heartache and anger, "Do you really think I'm that shallow?"
"I know you're not, but I don't want you to get dragged into this because of me."
Gianna was confused, "Why do you insist on going to this banquet?"
Felix replied softly, "Why are you going?"
Gianna realized he knew her reason and sighed, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, but I still don't want you to go."
Felix said firmly, "You're going for my sake. I can't let you face those rumors alone."
Their relationship wasn't public, but they hadn't hidden it either. Felix knew the kind of malice Gianna would face tonight because of Ivy's accusations.
After a moment, Gianna spoke first, "Alright, we'll go together. No need to avoid me. We'll walk in together."
After a long silence, Felix finally agreed, "Okay."
At 7 p.m., Gianna walked into the most luxurious banquet hall on the fifth floor of the Regal Gardens Hotel, holding Felix's arm, drawing everyone's attention.
Felix, in a black suit, looked imposing and cold.
Gianna, in a light pink strapless gown, with exquisite makeup and slightly curled hair, exuded a cool yet sweet demeanor that naturally drew all eyes to her.
In the past, people would have said they were a perfect couple. But now, with Felix no longer the CEO of the Clinton Group and the scandal with Ivy, everyone looked at them with disdain and mockery.
"I can't believe Felix still dares to show up. He has no shame. If I were him, I'd be hiding."
"He must do this kind of thing often. I don't know what the Astor family is thinking, inviting him!"
"The Astor senior and the Foster senior are close. The Astor senior probably wants to help the Foster family. Let's see what will happen!"
Ignoring the gossip, Gianna and Felix walked slowly towards the Astor senior seated in the center of the banquet hall.
Gianna handed the gift to the person in charge and smiled, "Astor senior, Happy Birthday! Celebrate today and cherish the wonderful years behind you."
The Astor senior glanced at her indifferently, then looked at Felix with a sour expression.
"Felix, I heard you got handsy with my great-granddaughter during a business meeting. Is that true?"
The room went silent. All eyes were on Felix, waiting for his response.
Felix's expression remained indifferent. "Astor senior, I think there's a misunderstanding."
The Astor senior was taken aback, "What do you mean?"
"I'm not blind, and I'm not interested in ugly women."
