Chapter 5

Chris entered the hall for the party and immediately looked for the CEO of MINES Company, Josh. The two exchanged pleasantries warmly and he took a seat beside him.

“I thought you wouldn’t be coming today. I specially asked your girlfriend to make sure she kidnaps you here,” Josh said as he handed over a glass of wine to him.

“I just don’t understand why you waste time organizing such parties. And also, Mira is not my girlfriend,” Chris replied and dropped the glass in his hand.

“Don’t tell me you are still playing with the girl’s heart. Everyone is totally shipping you two together, and she is a perfect candidate to be your wife.”

“Why don’t you marry her then? I’m sure your parents will be elated to hear about it,” Chris replied and sat down on the seat beside him while Josh quietly sipped his drink.

Laura arrived at the venue much earlier and had since been looking out for the CEO of TT Companies.

She had already rehearsed what to say and also hoped to see if they could at least work together.

After spending an hour without any sight of him, she was already getting fed up and decided to leave when she sighted the familiar figure sitting at the end of the hall with someone. She quickly made her way towards him.

Laura checked her makeup once again before getting closer and took a second to admire his navy-blue outfit, finding herself drooling at his handsome face.

Laura stared at him in awe, shocked at his transformation. Back in high school, he always dressed casually and had only one hairstyle like a little boy.

His pictures really didn’t do any justice to his looks.

Laura suddenly lost the confidence to approach him directly and hid beside a table to overhear their discussion first, before deciding whether it was okay to speak to him.

Laura heard Josh tease him about a girl and somehow felt relieved that he had also moved on. She relaxed, knowing he had forgotten all about her and their past.

After waiting a few more minutes, Josh stood up from his seat to attend to other guests, and Laura saw that as an opportunity to approach him as an idea popped into her head.

“Hey Chris,” she said as lovingly as she could.

Chris raised his head to see who it was, surprised to hear anyone besides his mother call him by his name after such a long time. He was even more surprised to see the last person he could have ever expected to see tonight.

Laura made sure the smile remained on her face and kept nodding her head calmly, waiting for his response, but seeing the way he stared at her like a stranger, she felt awkward and quickly apologized, putting the smile away from her face.

“You probably don’t remember me, right? I am Laura, your…” she stopped before she could say the word fiancée and used “classmate” instead.

She always teased him with the word fiancée ever since the day he came to her after the official engagement between them, but now the word felt strangely weird.

“You are…” she heard him say after another few seconds.

“I am Laura. You must have forgotten, but we were friends in high school,” she answered and smiled at him once again, disappointed that he didn’t remember her at all.

Chris frowned after hearing her description of their relationship.

Of course, he knew who she was, but did she just say they were friends? he thought, and chuckled before he could stop himself.

Laura also continued to smile nervously, embarrassed to keep standing.

“Can I sit?” she asked, seeing that others were beginning to notice her. Chris nodded his head gently to give her the go-ahead and watched her take the seat with a thank you.

“Like I said, I am Laura, the president of Lovelies Group of Companies, and I would like to have a word with you as the CEO of TT Companies,” she said after sitting.

“How did you find out about that?” he asked, not surprised she was the one who had been trying to dig out information about him.

“Things like that are very easy in this industry,” she answered.

“Why are you making so much effort to get my identity?”

“Your company just got a huge deal, and I know you need the partnership of a much bigger company to execute it,” she answered.

So she wants to work together with me? he thought, and stopped one of the waiters, picked a drink, and gulped it down his throat.

“So you are asking us to work with you? But why would a big company like yours be interested in working with us?”

“Hmm... the thing is, we actually showed interest in the deal first but we lost it to you. I personally have a great interest in it and would love to work with you,” she explained.

“I have other companies willing to work with us already,” he said, turning his face away.

“Lovelies is the best company you can get to work with you,” she retorted.

“What will I get if I choose your company?” he asked after keeping quiet for a few seconds.

“We will offer you the best resources we have,” she answered, happy that he seemed to be yielding.

“I don’t think the resources are enough,” he told her, picking up another drink.

“Anything you want,” Laura quickly said without thinking.

“Anything means nothing. How about we do it like this: I will give the deal back to your company and you will grant me whatever I want,” he said, expecting her to think about it for a while before getting back to him, but Laura literally yelled okay into his ears, grinning with a smile, and he almost dropped his glass.

“You are not joking with me, are you?” Laura asked to be sure.

“Hmm.”

“How about an official appointment then?” she requested.

“Let’s meet up on Tuesday at the office by lunchtime,” he answered, and Laura felt relieved.

She couldn’t believe that he would offer to return the project to her and squealed with excitement, then stood up and without thinking grabbed his hand and shook it.

“Thanks a lot, see you then,” she said and hurried away before he could change his mind, making sure to record every bit of their conversation.

Chris giggled and watched her leave, feeling amused for unknown reasons, but even more so to see her so excited despite not knowing what his intention was.

He hadn’t expected her to approach him so casually and even refer to him as a friend; maybe he wasn’t all that invisible in her eyes.

Josh came back to talk with Chris but paused when he saw him talking to a very pretty girl and even saw him raise the corner of his mouth in a smile.

Knowing how rare it was for him to smile, Josh guessed whoever it was must have some skills. Except Mira, who loved to follow him around like a puppy, he had refused to get closer to any girl and saw them as annoying.

Josh waited for her to leave before he walked up to Chris and tapped him on the shoulder. The smile on Chris’s face immediately disappeared and Josh couldn’t wait to tease him.

“You don’t have to pretend, I already saw you with her,” Josh said and sat beside him.

“What do you mean?” he asked like he didn’t understand.

“You seem to like her, don’t you?” Josh answered instead.

“She is the CEO of Lovelies Group of Companies,” Chris told him, and Josh stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you pulling my leg? Why would someone like her approach you?” he asked while taking a seat.

“How would I know that? She wants to work together with my company,” Chris answered, confused to see him get excited.

“Really? I can’t believe you got the mighty Laura to speak to you. She is known to ignore every guy and even rejected the little prince of the Brooks family.”

“She is that popular,” Chris murmured.

“But wouldn’t Mira get upset? Remember what she did to the last girl that approached you,” Josh queried, picking a drink for himself.

“She is not someone Mira can afford to offend,” he said nonchalantly.

“You sound like you know so much about her. Is there a secret you are not telling me?” Josh asked curiously.

“You said it just now — that she is the mighty Laura,” Chris reminded him.

“That’s true, but why would she care to work with you? I guess her company isn’t doing well, like the rumors say,” he muttered to himself.

“What about the company?” Chris questioned. He had tried not to concern himself with anything of hers, but couldn’t help getting curious now that she had approached him herself.

“Don’t you know about it? Everyone says that she is not capable and there are rumors that her stepbrother will soon replace her.”

Chris nodded quietly as he listened to Josh, understanding the reason behind her overjoyed act. That meant the contract meant a great deal to her then.

“Are you really interested in her? What about Mira?” Josh asked, seeing that he was lost in thought.

“I told you I am not in a relationship with her. I am leaving,” Chris replied, dropped the glass in his hand, and left the party.

As he stepped out, his driver waiting downstairs saw him approaching and quickly came down from the car to open the door. Chris entered and they drove off.

Chris took out his phone to look up Lovelies and was surprised by the information he saw online. He knew she was naïve but didn’t expect that she wouldn’t be able to handle the company well and even have her position threatened.

He placed his phone back in his pocket and rested his head, trying to catch some sleep before going back to the office to finish up some work.

Then his mind went back to his conversation with her and he smirked.