Chapter 98 - Eros et Psyche 1: Man of Her Dreams (2/2)

Michael Chen, the man she was secretly in love with.

On the stage, seven months ago, Ria had been mesmerized by those pair of almond eyes who looked at the world around him with lazy interest. It was as if everything and everyone bored him.

To a mere student like her, she found this attitude of the young businessman arrogant and so she buckled up and gave everything she got in the competition which she won first prize.

It wasn't easy however. Michael Chen, as soon as Ria showed that she wasn't one to cower easily gave her a little bit of a hard time during the competition. She had seen how those bored almond eyes suddenly sparked with interest as the young CEO fired difficult questions at her about advertising strategies which she bȧrėly answered regardless that she was hailed as a genius.

Thus, those questions were also the reasons why she won, having showcased how well she knew about the field. Having answered the questions correctly and defiantly, the stoic Michael Chen showed something that she'd never seen before.

He smiled.

That night, Ria won the competition and Michael Chen won her heart.

A knock on the door to his office brought her back to the present and she found Charles Wong by her door carrying a ridiculously girly bouquet of red roses.

”What's that?” she asked dumbly as she and Dylan stared at their boss who rolled his eyes heavenwards.

”Bribe,” he answered unabashedly as he crossed the room and unceremoniously handed her the bouquet. ”This means you have to make sure to get that contract with Aqua signed.”

Aqua was a company selling water sports equipment and she was the one ȧssigned to pitch an ad campaign for them.

��Ehrm…thanks?” her brows furrowed as she took the bunch of roses in her arms and turned to look for a vase. She couldn't find anything though except for the huge vase with plastic plants and quickly walked towards it.

Dylan had engaged their boss in a chat so they weren't able to notice what she was doing until she had already pulled the plastic plant from the container.

”No!” Charles cried but it was already too late.

As Ria turned around to face their boss with a questioning look, a small round-like object rolled from the plastic plants and fell soundlessly on the thick-carpeted floor. It was so small that she wouldn't have noticed it if Dylan hadn't pointed at it.

”What's that?” Dylan asked and Ria turned to pick it up and examined it, taking note of its small buŧŧon lens and microcircuit.

Eh?

A camera?

”Isn't this a camera?” he asked dumbfounded at his find and Charles quickly stepped in and snatched it away from his hand.

”That's a camera right?” Dylan asked and Charles frowned.

”No, it's a huge ball of snot – of course, it's a camera!” the boss snapped as he placed the small buŧŧon video recorder inside his pocket.

”What's it doing there?” Dylan continued, ignoring the snide remarks.

”Are you spying on me?” Ria couldn't believe it. She'd been sitting on her table clearly visible from anyone who's watching the camera's broadcast in all six months she'd been working there.

”Why do you feel indignant? What do you expect? This is a large corporation. Of course, there will be surveillance cameras all over the place. Michael Chen doesn't trust anyone in business and otherwise.”

Oh. How could she have forgotten? Aside from a workplace with no calendars, their company was famous for one more thing: The boss was a suspicious person who didn't let anyone close.