Chapter 54 I Will Protect You
There were a bunch of Atlas Group folks hanging around.
Thalia's snarky comment was dripping with info.
“Stand-in? What stand-in?”
“Ms. Woods' outfit is crazy expensive. Just those pearl earrings alone are worth millions!”
“And she calls herself a career woman? More like a career climber!”
“Right? If it wasn't for Mr. Solomon, what power would she really have?”
“Mr. Solomon's already engaged, why's she still hanging on to him? So shameless!”
Fiona glanced at the crowd behind her.
A lot of them had just been sucking up to her.
The gossipers immediately looked down and pretended to be busy.
“Ms. Woods, you sure are something,” Thalia sneered.
“Ms. Garcia, with Mr. Solomon's wedding coming up, you better watch your mouth. If Miss Ross hears your crap and it messes up the marriage alliance between the Ross family and the Solomon family, you’ll be in deep trouble.” Fiona, not her usual meek self, shot back.
Thalia's face went stiff.
“Knowing Darwin's getting married, you still cling to him? How shameless can you be?” she kept mocking Fiona.
Fiona smiled and pulled out her phone, handing it to Thalia. “Why don't you call Mr. Solomon and tell him to fire me?”
“You!”
“Stop yapping, Ms. Garcia. Why don't you focus on the branch's business? As a secretary, I've closed almost as many deals for the company in the past two years as you have.” Fiona looked at her with pure disdain.
When it came to humiliation, she could talk about Thalia's embarrassing moments in the company for hours.
But she wasn't into petty and dirty tactics.
“What are you so proud of? You're just riding on Darwin's coattails!” Thalia shot back.
“Which employee of the Atlas Group isn't relying on Mr. Solomon? That's a fresh take!” Fiona bypassed Thalia and hit the elevator button.
“Fiona, don't get too cocky. Do you think Hathaway will let you off? Do you think my aunt will just stand by and do nothing? Just wait!” Before the elevator doors closed, Thalia spat out with a mix of glee and malice.
“Don't worry about me.” Fiona pushed her out with a finger to her forehead.
As the elevator doors closed, she heard Thalia's scream.
Fiona shrugged.
The elevator reached the basement level.
Fiona, with her head down, almost bumped into someone as she walked out.
“Watch it.” A large hand rested on her head.
Fiona looked up.
Darwin frowned, looking at her with displeasure.
“Were you waiting for me?” Fiona asked.
“Did Thalia give you trouble?” Darwin asked.
“Just the usual argument.” Fiona removed Darwin's hand. “But with her making a scene, the rumor that I'm your stand-in mistress is probably gonna spread.”
Darwin frowned. “I'll handle her.”
“That's your family drama, no need to involve me.” Fiona didn't care what Darwin planned to do, as long as he didn't drag her into it.
“Why are you mad at me when she's the one bothering you?” Darwin asked, frowning.
The branch manager had just called him, saying Thalia was causing trouble for Fiona.
Without thinking, he immediately turned back.
Fiona felt a bit helpless and tired.
She looked at Darwin. “Mr. Solomon, have you ever thought that if you hadn't forced me to come back, I wouldn't have to deal with this humiliation and criticism?”
Darwin's eyes went dark.
Fiona had nothing more to say.
She headed towards the parking lot.
Darwin followed right behind.
“What do you wanna eat?” he asked gently as he got into the car.
Fiona thought for a moment. “Let's head back to Bay City.”
“It's dinner time,” Darwin's voice got a bit stern.
He was clearly a bit impatient and unhappy.
Fiona added, “Mr. Solomon, where can I go to eat with you? Your engagement with Hathaway just came off the headlines. You really wanna let the media catch us and put me in the spotlight?”
“Those news stories can't be published without my say-so,” Darwin said.
Fiona lowered her eyes and gave a self-mocking smile. “Mr. Solomon, the internet's everywhere. Plus, there are so many people hoping for the Solomon Group and the Ross family’s marriage alliance to fail. Who knows how many are scheming in the dark? You might wanna gamble with me, but I don't wanna be a sacrificial pawn.”
“Fiona, you know that's not what I mean!” Darwin said in a deep voice.
“I don't know,” Fiona replied.
“You…” Darwin's breathing grew heavy.
He stared at Fiona for a moment, feeling utterly helpless, and quickly gave in.
He reached out, hooked his arm around her neck, and leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers. “Don't be scared, I'll protect you.”
Fiona lowered her eyes.
Her eyes grew warm, and then gradually reddened.
She thought, 'Protect? But Darwin, the only one who has deeply hurt me in this world, is you.'
In the end, they didn't stay in Capital City for dinner.
However, Fiona still got to eat what she wanted—KFC at the airport.
In the waiting lounge, Darwin watched Fiona eat with such relish. “Is such cheap food really that good?”
Fiona finished a spicy chicken wing cleanly. “It's cheap to you. When I was a kid, I could only have them when I was sick.”
Hearing about her being sick, Darwin thought of something.
He added, “I'll take you for a check-up tomorrow.”
Fiona was startled and quickly masked her panic. “I just had a check-up, no need.”
“Just had a check-up? Did they find something? Is that why Henry and the others saw you taking medicine?” Darwin asked seriously.
Fiona replied lightly, “A bit of anemia and a lack of some trace elements. It's not medicine, just vitamins.”
“You're still too thin,” Darwin said.
Fiona was speechless. “Mr. Solomon, weren't you the one who told me to maintain my figure?”
However, she was not easy to get fat.
“Forget all the nonsense I said before. None of it counts now.” Darwin was annoyed just thinking about the past.
“Okay,” Fiona responded, continuing to focus on her chicken wings.
At 10:30 PM, the plane landed in Bay City.
Fiona, having eaten her fill, fell asleep contentedly on the plane.
As they disembarked, Darwin whispered in her ear, “So cute.”
His tone was gentle and affectionate, yet unabashedly indulgent.
Fiona found it hard to bear.
But fortunately, when it came to Darwin, just as she was about to be swayed, someone would always timely shatter her illusions.
At the arrival gate, as Darwin and Fiona stepped out, they heard a cheerful voice calling him, “Darwin! Over here!”
Fiona stiffened.
She looked towards the source of the voice.
Hathaway was in the crowd, waving her hands vigorously, her smile pure and charming.
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