StartNovelChapter 647 Nurses and doctors shuffled in and out of the room.
At last, only Jarrod and Elodie remained.
Jarrod tossed Watts's jacket aside. His gaze fell on Elodie's torn, wrinkled blouse and the angry red marks blooming along her shoulder and neck-finger-shaped, unmistakable.
Up until this moment, he'd managed to keep his emotions under control. Now, a storm broke inside him, his eyes hardening as if lashed by wind and frost.
He stared at the bruises on her skin for a long tbefore finally speaking; his voice was rough and strained, as if he'd forced the words up through a clenched throat. "Do you blme for losing the VistaLink Technologies bid?" Elodie had already overheard the announcement from the corridor when she left that room. She wouldn't pretend she felt nothing-of course she did. Still, she knew this particular contract wasn't vital enough to make or break The Silverstein Group.
"It wasn't your intention," she replied, her face still pale but her tone remarkably cool and steady. "But it did happen because of you." After all, the attack had been aimed at Jarrod. She couldn't deny that.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtJarrod didn't attempt to argue.
Elodie turned to stare out the window. "And because Watts tried to save me, Eldrion Global lost their shot too." At those words, something darker stirred in Jarrod's eyes, a current gathering beneath the surface until it took shape.
He lowered his gaze, hiding his thoughts. "You think he beatto it?" Elodie had no interest in debating such questions. The facts were plain: Watts had been the first to arrive, and because of her, Eldrion Global had lost out-an undeniable loss.
She didn't get the chance to answer.
Alexander hurried in, looking visibly shaken. When he saw Elodie unharmed, relief washed over his face, though he still appeared far from composed.
Elodie was suddenly overwhelmed by guilt-for all the people at VistaLink Technologies who'd poured days and nights into that proposal.
"Alex, I'm sorry. This was my fault." "What are you talking about? You're more important than any project, you know that?" Alexander's voice was still tinged with panic as he checked her over, then gently ruffled her hair. "Don't blyourself. No one wanted this to happen. You're the victim here. VistaLink Technologies will have plenty of other opportunities. So we lost this one-there'll be more." Elodie couldn't even muster a reply.
She had cared about this bid, after all.
But she was rational enough not to lay all the blat Jarrod's feet. Whether The Silverstein Group had won or whether the attack was meant as revenge against Jarrod-it didn't matter. She knew exactly who was at fault.
Maybe another woman would have let her emotions take over right now. But she'd left that stage of her life behind.
"Who says it's lost?" Jarrod lifted his eyes at last, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
Elodie and Alexander both turned to look at him.
Before anyone could process his words, a voice called from the doorway. "What did the doctor say?" Watts had arrived, holding the pearl earring Elodie had dropped earlier.
Jarrod's gaze slid over Watts's face, cold and unreadable.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWatts ignored the look, crossing to the bedside to set the earring gently on the table. "Are you feeling any better?" His concern was genuine.
Elodie had no idea how to face him. Because of her, Watts had lost a major contract. What would the Eldrion Global board say now?
"Mr. Aldridge, could I see you outside?" Jarrod stood, snapped the cigarettelin half, and tossed it into Vie the trash. His tone made it clear this wasn't a request.
Watts didn't hesitate. "Sure." Alexander stayed with Elodie, choosing not to get involved.
The two men left the room, one following the other down the hallway.
At the far end, Jarrod stopped, thumb flicking over his lighter as he stuWatts with a shadowed expression. "Right on time, weren't you, Mr. Aldridge?"
e Watts leaned casually against the wall. "What are you trying to say, Mr. Silverstein "How did you find Elodie so quickly?"
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