Avery pressed her face against his muscular body and softened her tone as she kept apologizing, “Cayden, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I only wanted to save Mr. Xenakis. It didn't occur to me that something so dangerous would happen. I promise I won't be so careless anymore. Please don't stay mad at me.”
“Who do you think you are? You are not a superhero, and you can barely protect yourself. How could you risk everything to save someone? Are you an idiot? Don't you know how dangerous the situation was? Do you know how scared I was when I saw you falling?” Cayden turned around and glared at her with his bloodshot eyes.
Only he knew how much his heart ached when he saw her fall. Hatred, regret, and boundless fear filled his heart at that sight.
He could only think of killing Anthony to relieve his anger and pain at that moment.
“I didn't expect the situation to be so dangerous. We could have lost an innocent life if we had dragged it on for even a second. I didn't mean for this to happen...” Avery continued explaining aggrievedly as she snuggled in his embrace. “I promise I won't do something so reckless again. My arm hurts, by the way...”
Sure enough, Cayden's attention was immediately shifted to her last sentence.
He raised his slightly trembling hands and carefully held Avery's arm. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Where does it hurt? Did you hurt your arm? Let me take a look.”
Rolling up Avery's sleeve, he saw that the fair skin on her wrist had turned red. She must have strained her wrist from exerting too much force when grabbing Anthony earlier. Cayden was distressed to see that.
She could barely protect herself, yet she decided to play the hero in such a dangerous situation.
His face clouded over as he picked Avery up in his arms and headed toward the CEO's office in block C.
Avery took in his darkened expression from the corner of her eye and knew she must have angered him with what she did. Thus, she nestled in his arms obediently along the way, not having the courage to say anything else or resist him.
As soon as they arrived at the CEO's office, a female secretary hurried over and reported to Cayden, “Mr. Moore, Mr. Xenakis seems fine now, but his emotions are still rather unstable, and he keeps demanding to see you—”
“Tell him to get lost!” Cayden shouted coldly at the secretary with a livid expression.
It was the secretary's first time seeing him lose his temper. Scared out of her wits, she promptly exited the office.
Cayden then placed Avery on the couch.
He produced a plaster for reducing swelling from a drawer in his lounge and carefully pasted it on Avery's wrist.
Avery cautiously observed Cayden's expression. Then, upon seeing that he seemed to have calmed down much more, she cleared her throat and asked timidly, “Cayden, can you talk to me? You look scary now...”
Hearing that, Cayden remained silent. In the next second, he suddenly pressed his lips against Avery's.
He integrated much anger with that kiss, intending to punish her with it as he bit her lips while he was at it. Avery almost burst into tears due to the sharp pain.
After the kiss, Avery could feel blood seeping from the corner of her lips. As such, she felt extremely aggrieved.
His way of punishing her had always been violent yet awfully intimate.
Dissatisfaction slowly filled Avery's bright and reddened eyes.
Cayden could not bear to see Avery looking like that. She did something wrong, so he gave her a light punishment, but in the end, she acted as if he was the sinner instead. He felt helpless about the situation.
Just when he was about to lecture Avery again, he heard Xavier knocking hastily on his door. “Mr. Moore, there are media reporters, police officers, and a crowd seeking justice for Anthony waiting for us downstairs.”
Hearing that, Cayden knew it was not a good time for him to spend more intimate moments with Avery.
If he failed to address the situation outside, it would soon lead to a terrible mess.
Glancing at Avery's face, which was still as pale as before, Cayden felt slightly reluctant. He told Xavier, “Mr. Dartsley, call Yuvan and let him come to the office to check on Avery's injuries.”
He knew Avery did not like going to the hospital and always felt uncomfortable going to hospitals, so he figured he could let Yuvan come to his office to give her a check-up instead.
The incident earlier must have significantly frightened Avery. Yuvan was not only a skillful doctor, but he also studied psychology for his Ph.D. Hence, he was the perfect person to attend to Avery after that traumatizing incident.
“Sure, I'll contact Dr. Zeller right away,” said Xavier.
Cayden kissed Avery on the forehead and said, “Stay here and listen to the doctor. Don't go elsewhere. I'll come back to you once I'm done working.”
Avery nodded obediently. Then, she watched Cayden leave the office, still pretty worried about him.
Pulling open the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, Avery could see the crowded scene downstairs at the building entrance. She trusted Cayden's capability to solve this, but she could not help feeling anxious about the situation.
Meanwhile, countless media reporters, police officers in charge of handling emergency cases, and bustling crowds snapping pictures filled the entrance of Trident Group downstairs.
Anthony's brother and his wife tearfully protested to the reporters at the scene, saying, “My brother's wife and son were burned to death because of Trident Group's terrible property management skills and faulty fire-fighting facilities. My brother was also forced to jump off the building to end his life. We can't forgive Cayden Moore. He only cares about making a profit instead of ensuring lives are protected within his properties! Please, everyone, we must never stop spreading this news to alert the public. We must seek justice for my brother and his family!”
Right after they finished talking, several reporters instantly spotted Cayden stepping out of the building with his bodyguards protecting him.
The reporters immediately pointed their microphones at Cayden.
“Mr. Moore, it has been more than a week since the fire broke out in Chartreuse Garden. When will you issue a proper explanation to the family of the deceased? Also, regarding Mr. Xenakis' suicide attempt earlier today, is your company involved in forcing him to take such extreme measures?”
“Mr. Moore, Chartreuse Garden is said to be a high-end residential area. However, there are certain defects in the landscape design as well as the design and layout of the houses. In addition, the smoke alarms and automatic sprinkler devices installed in each house were also said to be mere accessories. All of these factors caused the firefighters to fail to put out the fire in time. What do you have to say about that?”
“Mr. Moore, will the same issue happen to Trident Group's new high-end real estate projects like Ardoran Masonry and Mulberry Homes? If another fire breaks out in those residential areas, will the same tragedy happen again?”
Cayden stood straight, his dark obsidian eyes exuding coldness. Even in the face of aggressive reporters, he showed no sign of panic. Instead, he maintained calm and composed.
As he held the microphone, his refined and handsome face gave off a menacing aura. “I'm very sorry that a tragedy has happened in Chartreuse Garden. As the CEO of Trident Group, it's my dereliction of duty not to manage my employees better. With all media outlets here as my witness today, I promise I'll give a satisfactory explanation to the family of the deceased!”
Cayden continued, “As for the incident where Mr. Xenakis tried to jump off a building today...”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The CEO Gets What He Wants