Chapter 14 How Will You Compensate Me?
"Mr. Landon..." Sebastian carried Vanessa and walked into the elevator. "Go to the hospital."
"Yes," Jack didn't ask further questions and quickly pressed the button to go down.
Jack went to get the car, while Isabella and Sebastian waited in the same spot. He was still holding Vanessa in his arms. As the night wind blew, Vanessa shivered from the cold, and Isabella could see Sebastian tightening his grip on her arm.
When the car arrived, Isabella opened the back door and let Sebastian and Vanessa get in. Sebastian intended for Vanessa and Isabella to sit in the back, but as soon as he put Vanessa down, she woke up, opening her swollen eyes and tightly gripping his shirt.
When Isabella saw that, she instinctively opened the front passenger door and got in.
On the way to the hospital, Isabella looked at the passing street out the window, her thoughts in disarray.
When they arrived at the hospital, Sebastian briskly carried Vanessa inside, and Isabella hurriedly followed behind.
After the doctor's diagnosis, it turned out that Vanessa was allergic to alcohol. After some turmoil, she received an IV drip and fell into a deep sleep.
After a while, Jack arrived and, after understanding Vanessa's condition, said to Sebastian, "Mr. Williams was really angry. Shouldn't we go back and apologize?"
Sebastian narrowed his eyes, clearly reluctant to go back, but for the sake of cooperation and interests, he turned to Isabella and said, "Are you free tonight?"
Isabella nodded.
"I’m worried about leaving her alone here. Can you help look after her?" Although Sebastian was her boss, he pleaded so sincerely, that Isabella couldn't refuse.
"Sure," Isabella replied softly.
Sebastian then left with Jack.
Vanessa still needed someone to look after her due to the IV drip, so Isabella sat beside her. Although it was late at night, she wasn't at all sleepy. Her mind felt empty, as if it was filled with too many things, yet also with nothing at all.
In the middle of the night, Vanessa woke up and called out to Isabella in a hoarse voice. "Isabella."
Isabella got up and walked over. "You're awake."
Vanessa looked around. "Am I in the hospital?"
"Yes."
She looked at Isabella again. "Where’s Mr. Landon?"
"Mr. Landon and Mr. Brown went back to the restaurant. Do you want some water?"
Vanessa shook her head weakly. She seemed a bit pale after sobering up. She suddenly held Isabella's hand and said, "Isabella, you won't tell anyone about what happened today, right?"
Isabella avoided her gaze for a moment. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about me and Mr. Landon." Vanessa didn't shy away. "You must have heard the sounds from his room tonight, right?"
Isabella's voice was bitter. "You and Mr. Landon..."
"I've been with Mr. Landon for a year," Vanessa continued. "We've been together since not long after I joined the company. But because the company has rules that strictly prohibit office romances, we've always had to be secretive. I didn't expect that you would discover us..."
Isabella was shocked and uneasy when she heard that. If he already had a girlfriend, why did he touch her that night? Could it be that he had mistaken her for Vanessa?
Isabella felt even more distressed.
"Isabella," Vanessa pleaded, "He wanted me to quit and be together with him. But I liked this job and didn't want to resign, so we continued to be together secretly until today. Now I've figured it out, and I plan to quit. However, I don't want too many people to know about this for fear of affecting him. Isabella, you need to help us keep it a secret, okay?"
Isabella remained silent for a moment and nodded. "Don't worry, I won't say anything."
Vanessa smiled. "Thank you, Isabella."
Isabella could hardly sleep that night.
During the first half of the night, she took care of Vanessa's IV drip, and in the second half of the night, every time she closed her eyes, she dreamed of the intense encounter in the tent.
She tossed and turned the whole night, her emotions almost growing out of control.
When it was almost dawn, Isabella heard footsteps. She opened her eyes and she met Sebastian's gaze.
"You didn't sleep?" Sebastian sat down next to her when he saw her awake and casually placed the bag he brought on the table. "I brought you breakfast. Thank you."
Isabella sat up. "Since you're here, I'll go back."
"Isabella," Sebastian called her. "Take the breakfast with you."
Isabella shook her head. "No, thank you. You can leave it for Vanessa," she said. After speaking, she opened the door and walked out. As the door closed, shutting out the outside light, the dim lighting inside made Sebastian's eyes uncomfortable, or perhaps he was hungover. He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit annoyed.
--
It was still early, so Isabella returned to her school dormitory, took a shower, changed clothes, and went to the company. Sebastian and Vanessa didn't show up at the office today.
Around noon, Isabella heard Laura calling Vanessa on the phone. "You're at the hospital? Are you sick?" Isabella didn't know what Vanessa said, but Laura said, "Which hospital are you at? I want to come see you." After a moment, she added, "Oh... okay. Rest well, and let me know if anything comes up."
Laura hung up, turned around, and saw Isabella, who was lost in thought, holding a cup. Laura arrogantly walked over bumped right into Isabella instead of avoiding her.
"Ahh!"
Hot water spilled onto Isabella, but Laura cried out in alarm. Before Isabella could react, Laura raised her hand and slapped her. Isabella didn't have time to respond.
"Don't you look where you walk? Do you know how expensive this outfit is? It's limited edition and can't get wet, do you understand?"
Laura was the first to complain and pointed at Isabella, cursing at her loudly. Her voice attracted a lot of coworkers' attention. Isabella was both angry and anxious and tried to refute, "You clearly bumped into me..."
Her voice was weak and was instantly drowned out by Laura's loud voice. "Speak up, how will you compensate me?"
Isabella fell silent. "Why are you causing a scene again, Laura?" Jack walked over with a folder in his hand. "I could hear you yelling from far away. I warn you, Mr. Landon is in a bad mood these days. You better not provoke him."
However, Laura wasn't afraid. "So what if I anger him? Mr. Landon would rather promote an intern than give opportunities to senior employees. I don't want to work in this department anymore!"
"Laura!" Jack's voice became stern. "If you don't want to stay here, you can quit." Laura had just been venting her anger, so she immediately fell silent.
Jack continued, "If you want to keep working here, behave yourself! Don't bring your bad mood to the company and affect everyone!"
Laura bit her lip and didn't dare argue with Jack. She targeted Isabella instead. "This dress cost $7,800, Isabella. You need to compensate me for that!"
Jack glanced at Isabella and said, "Enough, Laura. Isabella's dress has been ruined, so your losses are the same."
"What? Are you joking, Mr. Brown? My dress cost $7,800. I bet hers doesn’t cost more than $780! Our losses are not the same! Fine, I can compensate her for her dress, but she needs to compensate me for mine!"
As soon as Laura finished speaking, Isabella responded, "I won't compensate you."
Laura froze for a second.
