Chapter 325

“Mm, go on then. I’m counting on you,” Aurora said with a soft smile as she watched her assistant leave.

He understood her perfectly.

After hearing her calm analysis, Ian felt a renewed clarity and focus, like his mind had sharpened. At first, he thought Aurora didn’t care much about the situation, but now he saw it clearly: she had a plan, perhaps even steps ahead of the rest.

That was why she remained so composed. With that realization, his respect for Aurora deepened. If he had a choice, he’d follow her lead without question.

As he stepped out of her office, he immediately noticed a group of employees gathered near their desks, whispering in growing excitement. Their voices had risen so much he could even catch snippets of their conversation.

Feeling annoyed, he strode over and slammed his hand on a desk. “This is work time. What the hell are you all doing?”

“What’s going on here? Are you so eager to get fired that you think you can just gossip out loud like this?”

The room fell silent. All eyes turned to him, startled.

Everyone knew he had a point – but the story was already out there. How could they not talk about it?

One of the bolder employees finally spoke up. “Sir, then tell us – is it true?”

“Is Mr. John really refusing to work with Walton Corporation?”

Ian looked at the man who asked and honestly found it amusing. Did these people really think they knew what was going on? How naive. Did they really think working at Walton Corporation meant they could handle everything themselves?

“Even if you knew the truth, so what?” Ian said flatly.

The employee who had spoken up froze, clearly caught off guard.

After fumbling for a response, he finally muttered, “I just thought… knowing the truth would be fair to all of us.”

Ian scoffed. “And then what? Is Mr. John someone you know personally? Are you then going to step in and handle negotiations on behalf of the general manager?”

The question hit hard. The man lowered his head, unable to say anything else.

It might’ve sounded harsh, but he couldn’t deny the truth in those words. Even if they knew everything, what could they actually do about it?

One by one, the rest of the team fell silent.

Looking at the crowd, Ian couldn’t help but feel disappointed. These people fell apart at the first sign of trouble – no grit, no backbone at all.

“Just focus on doing your jobs,” he said, shaking his head. “Why worry about things that aren’t yours to carry?”

“Let me tell you something – Miss Walton may be a woman, but the weight she’s carrying, the challenges she’s up against, go far beyond what any of you can imagine.”

He sighed. “But if you all keep doing your part, she won’t let you down.”

With that, he turned and walked off, not interested in wasting any more time on idle chatter. He had to find John.

Just like Aurora said—some things needed to be handled face-to-face. Texts and calls would never get to the heart of it.

But when he arrived, he was met with a cold, locked door.

“What’s the meaning of this?” His expression darkened.

“I’m here on behalf of Miss Walton. I need to speak with Mr. John. We’re still in the middle of a partnership, you know.”