Chapter 873 Angry
At that moment, the air was deathly silent.
"This..." The assistant beside him was the first to snap out of it. Her face turned red as she looked at the item, unsure whether to pick it up or not under everyone's gaze.
Who would have thought there would be a condom in Francis's briefcase?
The people below also reacted and started whispering.
"Looks like Mr. Valencia has a good relationship with his girlfriend."
"Who says it has to be a girlfriend? Maybe it's his wife?"
Various voices reached Francis's ears, and his handsome face turned ashen. He glanced at the assistant beside him and, for the first time, spoke harshly, "Why aren't you picking it up and throwing it away?"
"Yes, right away!" The assistant finally received the order and quickly picked up the item from the table and threw it into the trash can.
What was supposed to be a serious meeting was disrupted by this little episode. Everyone seemed to lose interest in the project itself and became more intrigued by Francis's private life.
Francis took a deep breath and instinctively looked to the lower left.
Isabella's gentle gaze was also on him.
The moment their eyes met in the air, Isabella raised her eyebrows slightly and looked away.
She had long known that Francis had a son, so seeing him carry such an item didn't seem surprising. It just meant that in the future, they would have to keep even more distance.
Francis saw her look and knew she must have misunderstood, but with everyone around, he couldn't explain properly.
Or rather, he had no standing to explain to Isabella. There was nothing between them.
But inexplicably, he just didn't want Isabella to misunderstand.
Francis cleared his throat, and everyone immediately quieted down. "Let's continue the meeting."
The meeting lasted twenty minutes longer than expected. After it ended, Francis didn't leave immediately. He watched Isabella pack her things with a burning gaze and waited until she walked out before saying calmly, "Ms. Moore, please wait a moment. I have something to discuss with you."
Isabella paused, feeling a bit puzzled, but still stood aside, waiting for the others to leave.
Soon, only the two of them were left in the conference room.
"Isabella." Francis wheeled himself closer to her.
He had been organizing his words since earlier, but now he found it hard to say what he had prepared. After hesitating for a while, he finally said, "That thing earlier, it wasn't mine. Don't misunderstand."
"Mr. Valencia, why would I misunderstand?" Isabella's expression was calm, as if she wasn't affected by the incident and hadn't formed any other opinions about him because of it.
"Your private life has nothing to do with me. As a subordinate, I think you should check more often to avoid letting such things affect your image in others' minds."
Francis couldn't explain the discomfort in his heart. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you have time after work? If so, would you like to have dinner together?"
Isabella directly avoided the question, forcing a fake smile, "I haven't done any impressive work lately, so I won't have dinner with you."
Without waiting for Francis to respond, she continued, "If you have nothing else, I'll get back to work."
Francis watched her leave, unable to say anything to make her stay.
He turned to look at the small bag in the trash can, and beside it was a folded piece of paper. He picked it up and unfolded it, finding a love letter with jumbled sentences!
And the handwriting was all too familiar to Francis! The signature was laughably Elara!
'Ryan is really asking for trouble!' He thought.
That evening, when Francis got home, the kids had already finished dinner. He called Ryan into his room alone, his expression more serious than ever. "Ryan, tell me, what did you and your siblings do today that you shouldn't have?"
He naturally excluded Brian, thinking Brian wouldn't be involved in such unreliable things.
Ryan had never seen him so stern and didn't dare to look up. "Dad, we didn't do anything."
"Nothing?" Francis's voice grew colder as he placed the item he was holding in front of Ryan. "Then tell me, what is this?"
Ryan glanced at it but didn't dare to speak.
Francis had already figured out it was their doing.
"I always thought you were a good kid, but now you've even learned to lie? Hmm?" Francis didn't intend to hit Ryan, but seeing Ryan's current state, not only lying but also showing no remorse!
This time it was just a joke, but what if it caused more serious consequences next time?
Thinking of this, he sternly said, "I can let this go this time, but if it happens again, you'll have to bear the consequences of your actions!"
"I just wanted you and Elara to be together. Is that wrong?" Ryan looked up, his eyes stubborn. "I can clearly see you like each other. I just wanted to help."
Francis looked at the stubbornness on Ryan's face and inexplicably thought of Isabella's indifferent gaze during the meeting today. He irritably scratched the back of his neck.
"How could I possibly like Elara? Your idea is ridiculous! If you mess around again, I'll really be angry!"
Since reuniting with Francis, this was the first time Ryan had seen him so angry!
For a moment, he was a bit scared and instinctively shrank back.
But hearing Francis say he didn't like Elara, a wave of strange anger welled up inside him, and he stiffened his neck, "Elara is so great! Why don't you like her?"
"Why do I have to like her!" Hearing Ryan say this, Francis frowned tightly, "Just because you think someone is great doesn't mean they are, and just because you like someone doesn't mean everyone has to like them. Do you understand, Ryan?"
"I don't understand!" Ryan's eyes were red, and he looked very angry.
At that moment, he couldn't listen to anything. How could Francis be like this? Wouldn't it be great if he could be with Elara?
Even Ryan himself couldn't understand why he had such a deep affection for Elara.
But hearing Francis's direct rejection, he felt very upset!
"Dad, if you hate Elara so much, then hate me too! Maybe you hate me, so you hate Elara because I like her!" Ryan said this and ran back to his room, slamming the door shut.
Francis watched his retreating figure, feeling a throbbing pain in his temple.
Ryan was usually so sensible, why was he so stubborn about this? Could it be because he lacked a mother's love?
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