“Thank you for patiently waiting. Mr. Lu will be here any minute from now,” Mr. Lu’s assistant bowed down to them.
Mr. Lu was the owner of the new software that The Elysian Inc. was hoping to acquire. Gabriel and some directors of the corporation were there with him.
The other CEOs were also in Mr. Lu’s territory. Since it is a huge project, there were a lot more executives than Gabriel was expecting.
Still, Gabriel was positive that they would win the bid. As always. Even with his personal turmoil, he still gave his best for this project.
He looked at the crowd, wondering whether Evina should be there or not. Seeing that she wasn’t, he thought that maybe she just slipped in through the crowd that night to get a hold of him.
Recalling their last encounter, a tinge of guilt crept into his heart, knowing that he just left her in that dark room, alone and without clothes on.
He felt condemned as he remembered leavi
“I appreciate your warm acceptance,” Evina started her speech. Evina was at Mr. Lu’s firm for the announcement of the winner of the bid. Everyone who coveted the project was there, including CEOs of top companies in the IT industry. It was past the meeting time when they came, so all eyes were on them as they entered. Honestly, she didn't want to show herself to anyone, being the titleholder of the prized project. She knew Gabriel and the others would be there. She knew how devastated they must feel that they didn’t acquire the software. Working there for quite some time, she knew how they put everything in the line to be the ace in the hole. Especially Gabriel. And they were. Now she has no mask on, so she could not veil her true identity anymore. She drew in a deep breath as she was about to face the horrors of her past. She thought she was not ready. But now she was here, and they all were facing her, she didn’t realize that she had finally
“Thank you for defending me,” Evina uttered with an appreciative smile curved up in her lovely face. Gabriel stood back in response. He did not expect that Evina would be just right behind her.Gabriel and the other Elysian directors were outside the building and waiting for their assistants to fetch them. The meeting has already ended, and they already learned that The Elysian Inc lost against Innotech, the company that Evina Chen was leading.They were discussing among themselves whether Evina had an ulterior motive of showing up and taking the bid that they longed for when Evina himself showed up.Gabriel was surprised to see her there. She was being harassed by her new followers. He was expecting her to take her time.But he was glad. He had been meaning to talk to her.Her nearness brought a lot of memories to him. Both happy and heartbreaking. He couldn’t help but draw in a deep breath.“Miss Chen,” he bow
“Can we give you a ride home?” Gabriel offered Evina.The other directors already left. It was only Gabriel, Evina, her assistant and Paul that were in the area. It was also late in the afternoon and the other employees of Mr. Lu were already leaving.“My place is just around here, Ma’am. I would be going now,” Evina’s assistant bowed down to her and with a wink, left her with the two.Evina told her assistant about what happened to her five years ago. She was one of those who motivated her to reconcile with Gabriel. It’s because, as she put it, time has already passed. Everyone had learned their lesson.Now it seemed that Gabriel was opening to him again. After their recent affair, she was really determined to win him back. If they could not be together again, at least they could be friends. He was really a great companion to her back then.That was her opinion, that’s why she nodded her head. Paul&r
“It’s good to see you again, Maria,” Paul opened up with a wide smile on his face. There was a hint of anxiety in his voice, though. Perhaps he didn’t know how he would approach her after five long years.They already finished dinner and everyone was having desserts. Evina coaxed him to ask Maria if they could talk in private. He thought Maria wouldn’t agree. But she did.They were in the backyard and sitting on the bench. The sky was clear, and the stars could be vividly seen from where they were.“You too, Paul,” Maria smiled at him, making Paul’s heart gallop at a fast rate. Even when the years have passed, he still has feelings for her.She left the country without even saying anything to him. He thought that it was because he was too hasty with expressing his feelings with her that is why she moved away.He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable again, so he decided to just let her go.
“It’s Miss Chen!” One of her former colleagues screamed as soon as she saw her. She quickly stood up from her desk and ran towards her. She gave her a tight embrace and jumped up and down. The other staffs' eyes grew wide in bewilderment. They must not have expected that she would drop by after five long years. It was the day of the director’s meeting, and they invited Evina to join them to discuss her proposal. Evina went earlier than the time, so she could catch up with her colleagues. The participants of the meeting hadn't arrived yet, so she went down to her department and greeted them all. She was surprised that there were a lot of changes since she left. Before they were understaffed. But now it seemed that they were more open to hiring more people. The place was more crowded. But the staff seem happier than back in her days. Their faces don’t look stressed like what she was used to seeing. Her cheekbones lifted as sh
“You didn’t just declare that I’m your girlfriend, right?” Evina whispered to Gabriel. Her dainty hand cupped her coral-lipped mouth in her hopes that none could hear them.They were walking along the corridor to the boardroom meeting. Since it was still early in the morning, there were a lot of employees roaming around, trying to finish their tasks early.Some of them were surprised to see her. They greeted her with a warm smile and bowed down to her. She gladly returned the favor.However, the others weren’t. They would acknowledge her presence. But after they passed by, they would sneer at her and chat behind her back.The other directors were already at the boardroom, waiting for them. Evina didn’t realize that she took a while in their department, catching up with them.They were already near the door when Evina asked him his motive. She knew that they had to talk about business in just one minute.Bu
“G-Gabriel?” Evina uttered in disbelief. It didn’t matter to her anymore if she called him by his first name in the board of directors meeting.Gabriel was still standing tall, opposing the Chairman, his father, in front of everybody. His nostrils were flaring. But he managed to keep his calm and still acted in a civilized manner.The other directors’ jaws dropped in bewilderment at the CEO’s horrendous action. They have known Gabriel as one who was collected and unperturbed, even when things were going haywire.It was fortunate of them that there was a pitcher of cold water and glasses. Some directors quickly grab one in an effort to moisten their throats and make things less awkward.The Chairman, Gabriel, Evina and the directors were all in the same room, supposedly to discuss a merge between their companies.But it seemed that it would not be feasible. The Chairman declared his outright defiance against the CEO of
All the directors’ attention turned towards the Chairman, who seemed to be awestruck at that moment.A conflict of emotions was evident in his stern face. He looked surprised at Evina’s lowliness.He also seemed angry, perhaps because the memory of the past was like a ghost that reappeared again just now.His eyes seemed to be welling with tears as if he was reminded of his deep friendship with William Go and how he has broken faith with him for money.Just then, the sun’s rays penetrate through the windows. It announced both the time for refreshments and the time for a new start for both the offended group.An hour has already passed, and they still haven’t started the purpose of the boardroom meeting. They were supposed to be discussing the pros and cons of Evina’s proposal at that time.“Perhaps it would benefit both companies if both their leaders would have a good relationship as well. No matter h