Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 80

Chapter 80 

10 vouchers 

Plenty of people in the room were staring at Tessa, including some of the new connections and investors she’d just made. 

Even though nobody said a word, their stares were enough to make Tessa feel ashamed. 

She couldn’t figure out how data and images from InquireMind had ended up in her meticulously crafted presentation. 

Tessa’s cheeks felt like they were on fire, and all she could think was, ‘Please, let this nightmare be over.” 

It was the first time in her life she’d ever been so humiliated in front of so many people. 

Tessa couldn’t bring herself to meet Cassian’s eyes. 

She was terrified she’d catch a hint of disappointment there. 

Even worse, she worried Cassian might be captivated by Aurelia, who was nothing short of dazzling at that moment. 

Cassian couldn’t stand the idea of Tessa facing any more judgment, so he jumped in and said, “Let’s leave.” 

The summit was still going, but Cassian had made up his mind. He was getting Tessa out of there. 

Jasper was on his own. Cassian didn’t even bother with him. 

Jasper’s expression was twisted in turmoil. 

He was stunned and couldn’t believe his eyes. His thoughts were in chaos. 

66 

Jasper reeled. ‘How is this even possible? How could InquireMind actually belong to Aurelia? That doesn’t make 

any 

sense!‘ 

Yet the truth was staring him down. Like it or not, Jasper couldn’t deny it any longer. 

To make matters worse, people on Jasper’s Instagram wouldn’t let up, spamming Jasper to hurry up and post Aurelia’s embarrassing video so everyone could have a good laugh. 

Jasper was so fed up and frustrated that he snapped back. [Fuck off.] 

[What’s going on?] someone asked in the chat. 

Jasper couldn’t even be bothered to explain. He straight–up left Instagram. 

Now, he was the one feeling humiliated, not Aurelia. 

Tessa left the summit early by Cassian’s side, with him looking out for her. 

Once they stepped outside, Tessa finally started to chill out, without all those eyes glued to her. 

Tessa wanted to say something, but her mind felt scrambled, and nothing came out. 

Cassian, trying to be supportive, said, “Don’t get discouraged. Your project made it to the important shortlist. That’s a win.” 

That actually made Tessa feel a lot better inside. 

‘Wow, Cassian does care about me. Even with Aurelia stealing the show today, Cassian didn’t even look her way,‘ Tessa realized, a little warmth sneaking back into her chest. 

“I messed up this time. It won’t happen again,” Tessa said, half an excuse, half a vow. 

14:16 Mon, Dec 22OM 

Chapter 80 

Cassian replied, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.” 

“Okay,” Tessa replied, finally settling down completely. 

“I’ll go and get the car. Wait here for me,” Cassian said, heading off to the parking lot. 

Once he was gone, Tessa let out a long breath. 

10 vouchers 

She ran through everything in her mind, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong and how she’d ended up embarrassing herself before so many people. 

Tessa’d axed Aurelia’s project the moment she took over as director of Strategic Division Three. 

Sure, she’d let some personal grudges cloud her judgment, but she’d asked Cassian for his opinion. 

Cassian hadn’t said much and told Tessa that she had the authority to reject any project in Strategic Division Three. She didn’t need to ask for his permission at all. 

He’d back her up, no matter what she decided. 

Tessa thought, ‘So, it is all on me. I’d been careless. 

‘If I hadn’t mixed personal grudges into it. InquireMind would’ve been mine, hands down. 

‘No way Aurelia would’ve scored by default. 

‘So, in the end, I’d only lost to myself, not to Aurelia. 

Thinking about it that way, Tessa finally felt a little better. 

Tessa told herself, ‘Aurelia just got lucky this time. No need to let it eat at me. 

‘Besides, Cassian hasn’t blamed me for anything. He is still as supportive as ever, continuing to put his trust in me. 

‘I have to pull myself together and bounce back, starting fresh from here on out. 

‘Come on, I’ve got a PhD from Whitvale School of Management. My credentials alone blow Aurelia’s out of the water. Aurelia got a regular degree from a local university. How could she ever measure up to me?‘ 

Tessa’s ability to get her emotions under control was second to none. By the time Cassian returned, she was composed again, ready to face whatever came next. 

She was eagerly waiting for Cassian to pick her up, eyes searching through the crowd, when she spotted someone familiar. 

It was Gideon. 

Tessa parted her lips, about to call his name, but seeing the bouquet in his arms threw her off for a couple of seconds. 

In those few seconds, Gideon headed straight into the venue with the flowers, not glancing her way once. 

Tessa whipped out her phone and called Gideon. 

However, Gideon didn’t pick up. 

Not ready to give up, Tessa tried again. 

Then, Gideon declined her call. 

Tessa’s heart instantly went cold. 

14:16 Mon, Dec 220M 

Chapter 80 

After being with Gideon for so many years, Tessa had never received any flowers from him. 

Tessa used to think Gideon wasn’t romantic, just clueless about what women wanted. 

But now… 

‘Seriously, how could I have been so stupid?‘ Tessa thought, feeling almost embarrassed for her old self. 

968 

Elio vouchers 

Jasper had been about to chase after Tessa. Staying there made him feel even more frustrated and down. 

Just as he was about to call Tessa, he spotted Gideon arriving, carrying a bouquet. 

“Gideon…” Jasper called out. 

His voice was loud enough. There was no way Gideon hadn’t heard him. 

However, Gideon didn’t spare Jasper a single glance, striding straight toward Aurelia. 

Jasper’s second shout got jammed in his throat. He couldn’t force out even a squeak. 

After Aurelia stepped off the stage, people started gathering around her, all wanting to trade contact info. 

Mixed in the crowd were some pretty prominent entrepreneurs and investors. 

Aurelia accepted every request without a second thought. 

Well, the more friends she made, the more doors might open for her later on. Who knew? Maybe some of those would lead to a partnership down the line. 

After finally breaking free from the crowd, Aurelia suddenly found herself face to face with a giant bouquet of sunflowers. 

The bouquet was enormous. It completely hid whoever was giving it to her. 

Craning her neck to one side, Aurelia tried to peek and see who was behind all those sunflowers. 

The bouquet dropped down, revealing Gideon’s familiar face. 

Aurelia couldn’t hide her surprise. “Why are you here?” 

“How could I miss such a big moment?” Gideon said, his eyes nudging her to take the bouquet. 

“Thanks!” Aurelia replied, taking the flowers with an easy smile. 

However, she didn’t have time to chat with Gideon at that moment. She was in a rush to find Tyson, worried something might’ve happened to him. 

Just as she was about to call him, Tyson showed up. 

He was dressed in some clothes that didn’t really fit. His hair was dripping wet, and his face was all tense and anxious. 

“What happened? How did you end up like this?” Aurelia asked, with obvious concern in her voice. 

Tyson finally explained that he’d taken a tumble in the restroom. 

Apparently, someone spilled a bottle of hand soap on the bathroom floor. 

Tyson had been so caught up rehearsing his speech that he didn’t even notice the mess. He slipped and went down hard, 

165 

Chapter 80 

getting himself all dirty in the process. 

Luckily, a staff member came by to clean up the place and helped him get sorted out, too. 

Tyson was in a rush, so he tried to politely refuse the staff member’s help. 

However, the staff weren’t taking no for an answer and pretty much dragged him off and shoved him into a room. 

It was chaotic at the time, and he was surrounded by several staff members. 

By the time Tyson even registered what was happening, he was already in the bathroom. 

He had zero time to clean up. He just threw on some clothes and raced to get back. 

However, the bathroom door wouldn’t budge. It was stuck! 

It was already too late by the time Tyson finally managed to kick the door open. 

The whole thing happened crazy fast and felt so random, like it didn’t fit. 

Tyson had that gut feeling something weird was up, so he started asking around, grilling people for answers. 

However, everyone’s story seemed solid. They all sounded believable, like it was some freak accident. 

Aurelia was thinking the same thing as Tyson. If one went to all that trouble, one had every single base covered. 

So… There was no point in digging any deeper. It’d just be a waste of time. 

Besides, Aurelia already had a pretty good idea who was behind it. 

She shot a look at Jasper, who was standing a few feet away. 

She couldn’t explain why, but she just had that feeling. 

When Aurelia glanced his way, Jasper suddenly felt uneasy. He couldn’t even bring himself to meet her eyes. 

He instinctively looked away. 

Then, Jasper thought, ‘Way to look suspicious. I was basically advertising my guilt here. 

By the time Jasper finally pulled himself together and looked back, Aurelia had looked away and was chatting with Gideon. 

They’d barely started talking when Aurelia’s phone went off.