A wedding night Love Affair With The Billionaire
Chapter 51 Mr. Deleon Actually Loves Someone Else

Tanner sat casually in his office, legs crossed.

The office was dimly lit, and the man on the chair looked intimidating, looking like the dark king of San Francisco without needing much action or expression. The projector was on, and the video was still playing.

After Nicholas and Eliza went inside, Fran cut to Emerald's surveillance footage.

Emerald had an excellent security system, but they still managed to hack it easily, and with that, they sorted out the footage where Nicholas and Eliza could be found.

From the footage, the two maintained a safe distance; Eliza merely followed behind him, listening to his words, nothing intimate between the two.

Tanner's thoughts were unfathomable right then, but Fran still heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens," he thought. What did he say? Mrs. Deleon and Mr. Abbott were just ordinary superiors and subordinates, or friends at most.

Sneaking a peek at his boss, Mr. Deleon's was as ever deadpan. But he should be relieved at what he saw, right?

He could be at ease as well, not needing to endure Mr. Deleon's inexplicable wrath! Even if his anger wasn't targeted at him, it could still wear him out. However, the pleasant atmosphere didn't last long.

Fran could feel the air surrounding Mr. Deleon drop when he saw Mrs. Deleon receive a flick on her forehead.

Um, okay, the only thing he should do then was to play dead and lower his presence.

However, it wasn't like he could avoid reality just because he wanted to.

"Fran, Emerald survived a little too long in San Francisco."

Suddenly Tanner spoke with a grave, emotionless tone as if he was reading a verdict.

Being his assistant, how could Fran not understand what he was implying? Not only that, he caught Mr. Deleon's surging anger.

However, the Abbotts were only second to the Deleons in San Francisco, and with their deeply rooted relationships and background, it would be no easy task.

Even if Emerald was merely a company the Abbotts gave their young master to try out, it would affect their relationship with them if they suddenly attacked it. It'd be a pyrrhic victory, very unwise.

He refused to believe Mr. Deleon hadn't taken such an obvious outcome into consideration when even he could figure it out. But even so, he still gave the order.

He finally understood what 'a great flash of anger for a great beauty' meant.

But no matter what his thoughts were, he could only do as told.

"Yes."

It was a happy day for Eliza.

Apart from the situation with Josephine, she learned a lot at work.

Nicholas told her she'd be promoted to his assistant designer after her probation, and her desk would be in his office.

As he had seen her work, he then started pointing out how she could improve on her line drawings.

Nicholas wasn't a professional fashion designer, but his fundamentals in drawing were on a different level than Eliza's.

They got along rather pleasantly.

Eliza and Nicholas had lunch together. As it was her first day, she wasn't familiar with her colleagues, even less likely to engage with them with her desk being on the fourth floor. Despite it being staff meal, the dishes weren't bad. After quickly finishing their meal, they threw themselves back into their work.

The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.

"My dear beautiful Ms. Eliza, since we're done for the day, I wonder if I have the pleasure to invite you to dinner?"

His invitation was exactly as when she asked him out to dinner to thank him.

His words stumped her.

He was very much like that day; the same relaxed manner and teasing tone. However, it reminded her of the horrible night; she still had those fading marks till now. She bit her lower lip, looking reluctant.

Looking at her expression, Nicholas had a good idea of her answer.

"Sorry, I might have other plans later. Maybe next time..."

Sure enough, she turned him down.

As she spoke, her ears flushed, and her gaze drifted away.

Eliza panicked; she was a horrible liar! What plans? She merely felt awful as the memory popped up and didn't want to go.

Nicholas thought he knew her reason for declining when he saw how distressed she looked. Something probably happened after Tanner took her home that day... Since she didn't want to, he wasn't going to force her either.

"Okay, next time then."

Nicholas's smile never faded.

After spending an entire day with her, he discovered she was simple, unlike how he had imagined her to be.

Say, Eliza was jealous of her sister, so she stole her man, wanting to go from rags to riches...

Moreover, she was gifted in art, a hint, and she would get it.

Perhaps because she didn't have a good teacher, her fundamentals weren't solid. But now that she was under his wings, he was confident he could turn her into a top designer.

As Nicholas walked her to the main entrance, many looked in their direction. Eliza may have felt somewhat uncomfortable; Nicholas made nothing of it.

"Do you need me to arrange you a ride home?"

He was gentle as usual.

"It's fine, thank you, Mr. Abbott."

Tanner would probably explode if she said yes, so she declined without even giving it a thought for the sake of her puny life.

Her words got Nicholas frowning.

As Eliza caught his hesitation, her expression turned quizzical, wanting to know what he had to say.

The two then engaged in a silent conversation.

Finally, he said it after much deliberation.

"I'm not wrong to assume we're friends, right?"

"Yeah."

Eliza answered almost immediately.

Hearing that, his hesitation subsided, looking more relaxed.

"In that case, let's not ever call me Mr. Abbott again. You make me sound old."

His serious bull tickled her, and she smiled brightly.

"Okay, how should I address you then?"

He smiled after she did.

"Well, I am three years older than you. How about Nicky, if you don't mind?"

Nicholas looked a little off when he said so.

Okay, he admits he had self-interests.

On the one hand, he was fascinated by this young lady, not rejecting the idea of getting closer to her. On the other...

As she'd be working directly with him, calling him that would save him from certain trouble, namely, Josephine.

Eliza's expression turned odd as well after hearing his suggestion.

Nicky... the nickname reminded her of that bratty princess from earlier.

Josephine had just warned her; if she discovered she called him Nicky as well, she'd surely bend out of shape...

He wouldn't have not taken that into account, would he...

Sensing the awkwardness, Nicholas coughed lightly.

"Just kidding, just call my name. It's Nicholas Abbott."

So he was just joking. Eliza heaved a sigh of relief.

With that, she smiled and imitated him.

"Well then, if you don't mind, just call my name too. It's Eliza Stone."

The two exchanged a smile and bid goodbye.

Public transport in the city center was convenient; Eliza managed to hail a taxi in no time, and Nicholas saw her off.

It was starting to turn dark by the time Eliza reached the mansion.

A cool breeze constantly accompanied the autumn evenings, and the flowers in the garden were beginning to wither. Through the lights in the mansion, she could see the petals were beginning to turn dull. Just as she was about to open the front door, she heard the servants chatting.

One was convincing the other; they seemed to have been chatting for some time.

"I'm serious. You didn't see how awful Mr. Deleon looked. He hadn't lost his temper so badly in a long time."

"Mr. Deleon never stays for long. We don't really know his personality; how would you know his temper?"

"Yeah, don't you think it's unusual for someone like Mr. Deleon to lose his temper like that?"

"Well... if you put it that way, it does make sense."

"Yeah, I heard from someone that Mrs. Deleon is actually not a rightful young lady of an affluent family, and Mr. Deleon actually loves someone else!"

The person speaking sounded emotional, filled with indignation, and it rendered the other person in shock.

"No way! But I heard Mr. Deleon got this place for his beloved. Didn't he bring her here himself?!"

"Shush! That's not all; I even heard this Mrs. Deleon snatched Mr. Deleon from her sister! Her sister is the one who is truly worthy of Mr. Deleon!"

Standing outside, Eliza smiled bitterly at the conversation.

In the end, these words still appeared in the place she thought was most welcoming after so long.

But with them chatting inside, she didn't know what to do.

It'd be bad timing for her to go in at this time, but she didn't want to stay outside either.

She didn't want to go in and make things difficult for these girls. After all, they weren't wrong. But she didn't know where she could go if she were to leave.

In truth, she had never felt like she was part of the family. She long knew Tanner got this place for Raelyn.

However, she fell in love with him with time, so she tried not to think about it, but she was once again reminded.

Be in here or back in the Stone family, the only person who would ever be accepted was Raelyn.

As though her legs were glued to the door, she stood there quietly.

The conversation was still going on; she could still hear the servants chatting away.

"No way; she's the only woman Mr. Deleon ever brought over. Have you forgotten how we were strictly chosen to serve Mrs. Deleon?!"

"So you still remember you were all strictly chosen to serve Mrs. Deleon?"

Hearing a different voice, Eliza stumped. It sounded familiar, Aunt Bell?