Chapter 14

Lillian

" Mrs Ace ?" 

"Yes, Zayden ". I said wriggling my brows at him.

You should see the expression on his face. I had to stifle my laughter, even his ears turned red. 

He cleared his throat. " What did you do with all that food? ". 

I wasn't expecting him to ask about that. "I've been munching on them little by little ". 

" All by yourself?" 

I nodded. " Yep, do you want some . I could get some for you, it's indirectly yours too ". 

He sighed. " We're here ". 

I then realized that we had arrived at the conference. I suddenly tensed. There were a lot of expensive-looking people and cameras and a long red carpet at the entrance.

  The flashlight was blinding "Umm, am I to wait here ?".

He scoffed." Then why did you come in the first place ".

I swallowed as I got out of the car. I was having cold feet. The air alone seemed intimidating. 

" Relax, all you have to do is nod and smile". He assured me.

   We began walking towards the entrance when we were stopped by a high-pitched voice. This was worse than Helena's to the point that I thought my ears would bleed.

"Oh my god, Zay!" A skinny brown-eyed lady screeched, running over to Zayden who had paused in his tracks.

  As soon as she got close enough, she threw her arms around him and planted kisses on his cheek.

I immediately looked away, a disturbing feeling growing in my chest.

" I've missed you so much,zay ". She squealed, pouting her nude lips. 

  She had long hair, and her make-up was blinding. She was pretty, though, but too skinny for an average woman. 

"You said you weren't coming". Zayden blurted unfazed by her show of affection.

My curiosity was at level one thousand. She had kissed him on the cheek and still had her hand around his neck. Any random girl wouldn't do that! And My dear Mr Kent seemed comfortable in their intimate position.

"I changed my mind, it's been long since I last saw you. You don't even call !" She whined hitting his chest lightly.

I contemplated walking to the entrance alone and giving them some privacy. Then maybe this little ache in my chest would disappear. 

"Are you fully back now or would you be going back ?" 

She finally let go of him and intertwined their fingers. Holding onto him with the other hand as they walked slowly towards the entrance. 

I looked from their intertwined hands to their faces. They were so engrossed with each other that I felt like a ghost.

It's none of my business, though, but what I didn't understand was why I felt like there was boiling water in my chest. 

"I'd be leaving in a month probably. How's Aiden by the way? He should be here right ?"  

Zayden nodded. " He should be, he doesn't miss any social event". 

Finally noticing my presence she squinted her brow. " And you are ?" 

" Lillian Ace" I replied ungraciously.

"Yes, Lilian. I mean what exactly are you ?" 

Do I look like a sandwich? I gritted my teeth, purposely delaying my answer.

"She's my secretary ". My Kent butted in. 

She looked me up and down." Oh, my replacement ". 

I suddenly had the urge to poke her eyes. I was getting tired of getting the nasty look from rich people.

"If I ever come back, would you take me back as your secretary ". She did the puppy-eyed thing, pouting her lips at him. 

He shrugged." You already said you won't be coming back". 

"I won't, so let's make this night memorable okay ? ".

I might be wrong but I thought I saw Zayden roll his eyes. 

  It wasn't until we got to the red carpet that I finally knew who she was. 

    Cameras were all over Zayden with her by his side while I remained in the background. It turns out that she was also famous and was once an asset to the company; I'd look her up once I got home. 

I wasn't bothered, though; I didn't want any attention to myself. I did as my boss told me and just nodded while smiling at the few people who approached me. I continued sipping my drink as I watched him answer questions from the interviewers.

"It was quite easy to spot you ". A voice came up behind me. I almost choked on my wine. 

"How so? There are tons of people here ". I chuckled, flashing him a warm smile.

" Natural red hair is the rarest hair colour in the world. A mere one to two per cent of people are born with auburn hair, and you are that one per cent". 

My cheeks flushed, not knowing what to say. " I thought you wouldn't be here ". 

" My brother and I run the company, so wherever he is, I'll be ". 

I glanced over at Mr Kent to find him staring intently at me, ignoring the interviewers. 

Wait.

He wasn't staring at me, he was staring daggers at Aiden. I looked from him to Aiden and then back. 

" Are you two always this hostile towards each other?" 

He shrugged." Only when we are competing ". 

Just then, Zayden began making his way towards us, abandoning the skinny lady in the crowd.

"Competing for what exactly?" I asked curiously.

He chuckled staring back at his brother." Trust me, you don't want to know. "

I huffed. " I want to know ! What are you competing for, it seems like you both hate each other ".

"It doesn't seem, it's a mutual feeling. We both hate each other ". 

I groaned, pulling on his sleeve. " Tell me what you're competing for !"

Mr Kent was only a few feet from us now.

" Isn't it obvious?" 

"No, it's not! What the hell are you competing for ?" 

He turned fully to look me straight in the eye. My whole body went rigid, pinned by his stare. I could see Zayden from the corner of my eyes and it looked like he had doubled his pace.

"It's you, Lillian!"