“Mister, aren’t you going home?” Nicholas, who was still in Edward’s office, asked. “Don’t forget, you have a dinner party with Mr. Alexander tonight.”
Edward lightly tapped his forehead. “Oh my, I almost forgot.” He had been engrossed in chatting with Hans, which made him forget about tonight’s obligatory engagement. “Nic, what do you think? Should I still go to the party tonight?”
Instead of answering right away, Nicholas chuckled softly. He knew his boss would probably be reluctant to attend such dinner parties. Rather than discussing business, these conglomerate events often turned into a showcase of wealth, something Edward tried to avoid.
“If you don’t want to make Mr. Alexander angry, you better hurry home now. He already reminded you twice today to be present at the event.”
“I know exactly why that old man is forcing me to go.”
Nicholas laughed again. “You should be happy, Mister. Who knows, you might find a potential wife there. Remember, the CEO succession is getting closer.”
Edward let out a long sigh. It seemed there was no other choice but to attend the event.
“In that case, I’ll head home now. Please handle all my tasks for today. There are some reports I haven’t finished reviewing.”
In his standing position, Nicholas nodded in understanding. “I’ll take care of it right away.”
Edward then got up from his seat, took the bag that Nicholas handed him, and hurriedly left the room.
****
Before heading to the event, Edward decided to make a stop at Alexander’s house. It was his first time setting foot there since returning from Indonesia.
Entering the magnificent house in the Kensington district, he was greeted by a household assistant whom Edward was familiar with. The middle-aged woman named Sisilia Laurence had a clear look of surprise on her face.
“Welcome, young master. It’s nice to see you here after so long.”
Edward nodded briefly, smiling at Sisilia. “How are you, Aunty Sisilia? Is your diabetes still acting up?”
Sisilia also smiled and answered Edward’s question. “Thanks, God. I’m much better now. Especially since Mrs. Alexander taught me how to maintain a proper sugar-free diet.”
“Good to hear.” Edward responded while continuing to walk towards the family room. “You look visibly fresher than usual.” After saying that, Edward shifted his gaze to another woman sitting on the sofa reading a book. “Aunty Sisilia, please let Papa know that I’ve arrived and I’m waiting for him.”
Sisilia nodded in understanding and went to inform Alexander. While waiting for his father, Edward approached his mother, who was sitting on the sofa.
“Mom, how are you?”
Hearing a voice she knew very well, Liliana closed the book she was reading and turned to the source of the sound. She found her eldest son standing next to her.
“Oh my God, Edward.”
Liliana immediately stood up and approached her son, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Mom missed you, Ed.”
Her eyes almost teary, Liliana felt touched as she hadn’t seen her son for quite some time. Instead of inviting him to sit down, Liliana’s next move was to pinch Edward’s arm and cheek until he winced in pain.
“Mom, stop it. Why do you always pinch me like this every time we meet?” Edward whined, rubbing his cheeks that had turned red from Liliana’s pinches.
“I just can’t help it, Mom is so fond of you,” Liliana said casually. “It’s your fault for making Mom so miss you, Ed.”
Since helping Alexander at Quantum, Edward had been busy and deeply immersed in his work. Often, when Liliana missed him, she would give in and visit Edward directly at his office.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Edward said apologetically. “From now on, I’ll make more time to visit you and Dad.”
A happy glow was evident in Liliana’s eyes. She was delighted to hear what Edward said to her. As it was known, her son was not one to easily visit, let alone stay overnight at Alexander and Liliana’s house.
“You promise?” Liliana confirmed once again.
Edward smiled and nodded. “I promi—”
“Don’t make too many promises to your Mama, Ed,” Alexander interrupted. He looked like he was descending the stairs, intending to join Liliana and Edward. “I don’t like it when you play with your Mama’s feelings,” Alexander continued after he was standing next to Edward.
“Oh, Pa. This time I mean it. I promise I’ll visit you both more often.”
Alexander looked at his son skeptically. “We’ll see. Let’s see if you keep this promise.”
Meanwhile, Liliana laughed at the banter between her son and husband. She knew that despite their infrequent agreement at each meeting, both men loved each other.
“Enough with your unnecessary argument. Now hurry and go. The traffic might be bad, and you could be late for the event.”
“Mama, aren’t you joining us?”
It wasn’t Liliana who answered Edward’s question; it was Alexander.
“Your Mama is satisfied with accompanying me to various parties and dinner events. It’s time for you to take over. Because soon enough, you’ll be the one in charge of everything, Ed.”
Edward let out a short sigh; he knew exactly what his father meant. As the sole heir of Quantum, ready or not, soon he would have to take over the responsibilities that Alexander used to handle. This included attending important dinners like tonight’s.
“I will do my best, Pa.”
****
At exactly 7:30 pm, Edward and Alexander arrived at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in the upscale Mayfair district. Most of the invited guests were already present, mingling with each other. Alexander asked Edward to follow him until they stopped at a group of people that Edward assumed were his father’s close friends.
“Alexander Edgar Martin, you finally made it.” A stout man welcomed Alexander and Edward.
“Darren Alistair…” Alexander replied. “You got here before me, I see.”
The man briefly hugged Alexander before continuing the conversation.
“I just arrived too. I see Antonio and Marcus are already in the Ballroom. Only Dylan’s not here yet.”
Alexander smiled in response to Darren’s words. Meanwhile, Edward asked for permission to get a drink. When he returned, from a distance, he saw someone he recognized very well engaged in a conversation with Alexander.
To confirm his vision, Edward took large steps to approach them.
“Here’s my son, the sole heir of Quantum, Sebastian Eduardo Martin.” When Edward arrived, Alexander introduced him to the two guests he believed had just joined.
Respectfully, Edward extended his hand to the man he knew to be named Dylan Arley. Then, he turned to the beautiful woman standing right next to Dylan.
“Nice to meet you, Chloe. As I said, we’re meant to be.” Edward had a triumphant grin on his face.
“You already know each other?” Dylan and Alexander asked simultaneously.
Edward nodded, smiling with meaning.
“Of course, Mr. Dylan. Who doesn’t know the beautiful daughter of yours.”
Dylan’s gaze shifted to Chloe. “Is that true, Chloe?” he asked to confirm. “Why didn’t you tell Papa?”
Chloe smiled and then nodded briefly. “That’s right, Pa. I do know him. Besides, in this country, who doesn’t know Edward Martin? The most admired playboy among women.”
“Oh my, Chloe.”
Edward’s voice was heavy with a hint of a wince.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said. “But you should also tell everyone that we’re not just acquainted.”
Chloe took a deep breath. Then, a moment later, she adopted a guarded attitude. It could be messy if he told Dylan and Alexander everything they had done together.
“Mr. Ed—”
“So, you two are also close?” This time, Dylan unintentionally cut off Chloe’s speech.
“You could say that, Mr. Dylan,” Edward replied. “In fact, a few nights ago, I even escorted Chloe home. I actually wanted to stop by and meet you, but it was already late, so I gave up on that idea.”
“Wait a minute…” Dylan interrupted. “Escorted Chloe home? You mean, you escorted Chloe when she was drunk?” He wanted to confirm once again.
Edward nodded confidently. “That’s right, I was the one who escorted Chloe that night.”
Next, Dylan’s response was a smile. It seemed as if he found peace in his heart.
“Well, Lex, it looks like it won’t be too difficult to continue with the plan we discussed a while back.”
Alexander also smiled widely in response to Dylan’s statement. “Who would have thought they already knew each other? This seems to make everything easier.”
Alexander’s gaze now shifted to Edward.
“Do you know why Papa insisted on having you come tonight? Because Papa wants to introduce you to Dylan’s beautiful and intelligent daughter here,” he said proudly. “If you two hit it off, we are even planning on matching you together.”
While Edward smiled widely, Chloe looked sharp towards her father. “Pa…” Chloe’s words hung in the air.
“Relax, Chloe,” Dylan replied. “You two don’t need to answer today. Take some time to think about it. In the meantime, Papa and Mr. Alex will leave you two to talk.”
This time, Chloe didn’t reply to Dylan’s words; instead, she pursed her lips tightly. Letting the two middle-aged men leave first, she immediately grabbed Edward’s wrist, leading him away from the crowd.
“What did you mean by all your words earlier?” Chloe couldn’t hold back anymore once they were outside the Ballroom.
Edward smirked, acting casually. “I didn’t mean anything. I was just enjoying God’s plan.” There was a mocking tone in his words. “You see it for yourself. No matter how hard you tried to avoid me, we met again. And to make it worse, our parents intend to match us together. It seems that God really wants to unite us.”
“Don’t be crazy!” Chloe hissed sharply. “I assure you that will never happen.”
Edward took a step closer, closing the distance between them as Chloe unconsciously stepped back.
“Then I will make that dream come true,” Edward said with confidence. “I can’t wait to tell our dads that we have already slept together. Almost did it twice.”
Chloe didn’t know how to react or respond to Edward’s words. He managed to embarrass and infuriate her at the same time.
So, the next thing Chloe did was take a step forward, getting close to the man she had previously tried so hard to avoid.
“Don’t mess around,” she said, sending a piercing glare at Edward. “I could kill you if you say that to my dad!”
Instead of being afraid, Edward openly laughed in front of Chloe, taking her threat as a mere joke. He even responded with an equally intense gaze.
“Go ahead, kill me. If I die, I promise to haunt you every moment. Visiting your room, even accompanying you to sleep every night.”
Chloe took a deep breath, trying to restrain herself from getting even more emotional. Edward’s words were driving her almost insane. How could he even intend to haunt her every night? This guy was insane.
Chloe didn’t know how to handle the situation anymore. Not wanting to stay any longer with Edward, she chose to leave him right then and there. She went back into the Ballroom to find Dylan.
“Pa, maybe we should just go home,” Chloe suggested when she found Dylan drinking and conversing with his business colleagues.
The middle-aged man raised both eyebrows in confusion. “Why? Is something wrong with you?”
Chloe shook her head. “I suddenly feel dizzy.”
Dylan nodded in understanding. “Alright, if you want to go home, let’s say our goodbyes. But by the way, how was your conversation with Edward? Didn’t you plan anything after this?”
“Pa, I and—”
“We agreed to have dinner together tomorrow night, Mr. Dylan.”
Suddenly, Edward approached from behind and cut off Chloe’s sentence. She immediately turned and glared at what she had just heard.
Unlike Dylan, he seemed pleased with what Edward said.
“Oh, I’m thrilled to hear that. In that case, I’ll be waiting for you at home tomorrow to pick up Chloe.”
A smirk appeared on Edward’s face, and he paid no attention to Chloe’s evident annoyance.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Dylan. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up your daughter on time.”