Emily paused, her eyes looking troubled as she digested the information Mr. Ryan gave her. Her doubts deepened before she could finally continue, “Is the Investor that I need to convince…” Her voice trailed off for a moment, reflecting the confusion that continued to haunt her mind.
Mr. Ryan nodded, “He was once the CEO of W Company.” The short answer not only cleared Emily’s doubts, but also added confidence to her guess.
“Mr. Daniel Winston?” Emily asked in a hesitant tone, trying to confirm her guess again.
Mr. Ryan gave a nod before answering Emily’s question. “Our HR team discovered that you have previously worked as a secretary, directly assisting Mr. Daniel Winston. This leads us to believe that this position is perfect for you. We sincerely hope you can convince Mr. Winston to invest in this company.”
Emily felt as if her world had suddenly collapsed. Despite her efforts to move on from Daniel and heal her hurt feelings, fate seemed to have other plans.
Seeing the doubt on Emily’s face, Mr. Ryan asked, “You can do it, right?”
Emily swallowed hard, her hands clenching tightly. Fate might be cruel, but she remembered the joy in her father and daughter’s eyes when they saw her looking beautiful in this suit. She knew she must not disappoint their expectations. Emily intended to make sure she was accepted to work in this company as an Investment Manager.
Seeing Emily’s silence, Mr. Ryan became confused. “Emily, are you listening to me?”
Mr. Ryan’s question broke into her reverie. “Yes, sir. I heard it. I understand.”
“That’s good. I hope you can convince him,” Mr. Ryan said with a smile.
Emily worked hard to learn everything necessary to prepare the proposal for Daniel Winston. Her experience as Daniel’s secretary allowed her to understand that her former boss was very particular about details and perfection. Therefore, Emily had to check her proposal so that there wouldn’t be the slightest mistake in it.
Emily took out her cell phone and carefully entered the contact number before pressing the call button. A few moments later, her phone was successfully connected.
“Hello,” came a man’s voice from the other end of the line.
“Hello, Richard. It’s me. May I ask you for a favor?” asked Emily in a hopeful voice.
“What favor?” Richard’s voice tinged with curiosity.
“I’d like to now about Daniel’s schedule. Can you share it with me?” Emily asked with hope in her tone.
After a few moments of silence with no response from Richard, Emily explained again. “Actually, I asked for his schedule to…” However, before Emily could continue her explanation, Richard cut off her conversation on the phone.
“I’ll tell you, but please promise not to inform Daniel, or he’ll have my head,” Richard replied anxiously.
“I assure you that I will not tell him. I promise,” Emily replied.
Richard responded with relief in his voice, “I believe you, Emily.”
“Alright. Thank you,” Emily replied before ending the call.
After ending the conversation with Richard, Emily felt curious when her phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number. Her brow furrowed slightly as she opened the message and realized that the sender was Alice.
‘Hi Emily. This is Alice. I’d like to invite you to my birthday party this Saturday,’ the message read.
Emily smiled as she read the message, but her smile faded as the memory of Alice introducing Daniel as her boyfriend came back to haunt her, making her heart ache. Shortly after, Alice messaged her the details of the location, time, and dress code for her birthday party.
‘I hope you’ll come,’ Alice’s message read again.
Emily replied to Alice’s message thoughtfully, her fingers dancing over the keyboard as she thought of the right words.
‘Hi Alice, thank you for the special invitation. Although I can’t make any firm promises, I’ll try to make it to your birthday party,’ Emily replied sincerely.
Suddenly Emily’s phone vibrated again, and she saw the message sent by Richard about Daniel’s schedule. Her eyes glided quickly through the words written by Richard.
After Emily found out Daniel’s schedule, she immediately left her company building and went to her car. Quickly, she entered the car and began the journey to the location Richard had given her.
Not long after, Emily arrived at a famous restaurant in the city center. With steady steps, she entered the elegant restaurant filled with the appetizing aroma of food. Emily looked around with a pounding heart, looking for Daniel.
As Emily rounded the corner of the restaurant, her eyes fell on a sight that took her by surprise. At one of the tables, she saw Daniel having a discussion with an enthusiastic young business executive.
Emily had mixed feelings, seeing Daniel so focused on his conversation with the business executive. She observed from a distance while waiting for the right moment to engage Daniel in a conversation about investing in their company.
“Can I really do it?” Emily muttered to herself, contemplating the challenge she faced.
Just then, a friendly waitress approached Emily’s table with a gentle smile. “Excuse me, Miss. Would you like to order something?” she asked politely.
Emily nodded slowly, then replied kindly, “Ah, of course.”
After the waitress had carefully recorded Emily’s order, she excused herself from her presence. Emily sat alone at the restaurant table, her heart still wavering between worry and determination of facing this situation. With a deep breath, Emily tried to ease the anxiety inside her and strengthen her resolve.
A few moments passed. Emily continued to monitor the situation in the restaurant until she finally saw the business executive stand up followed by Daniel who also stood up to shake hands with him. It seemed that their conversation was over.
“Is their conversation over? Do I have to see him now?” Emily muttered to herself, trying to overcome the doubts that struck her. Although there were worries about meeting Daniel again, Emily faced this situation with a cool head.
When Emily was about to get up from her seat, Daniel felt a strange feeling, as if someone were staring intently at him. Unexpectedly, Daniel immediately turned to Emily. Emily, who panicked without hesitation, returned to her seat and immediately covered her face with the menu book on her desk. Her heart was beating fast, trying to hide her panic behind the menu book.
‘How is this? Did he realize I was here?’ Emily muttered to herself, anxiety creeping up on her.
‘Gosh, why am I so scared? Emily, realize, you have to earn his trust to invest in this company if you want to survive,’ Emily thought to herself, trying to encourage herself amidst her worries.
Having calmed herself down, Emily opened the food menu that covered her face before. However, when she looked towards the table where Daniel was earlier, she was shocked to find he was gone.
“Where is he?” muttered Emily, curiosity creeping into her mind.
After Emily’s gaze searched around the restaurant, she still didn’t find Daniel. Her mind drifted to the possibility that Daniel might have left without her knowledge.
With hesitant steps, Emily left the restaurant. However, before she could go any further, a hand suddenly reached out and pulled her back. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around and her eyes met a pair of familiar blue eyes.
“Daniel,” Emily hissed, her eyes widening in surprise at finding Daniel in front of her.
“Have you been spying on me since before?” Daniel demanded in a voice full of firmness.
Emily was silent for a moment as she heard Daniel’s sharp question. “Well, since I’ve been caught like this, I’ll be honest. Actually, I…”
“Never do it again,” Daniel cut in with his firm tone and penetrating gaze. Before Emily could continue, Daniel turned and left her.
“That bastard,” Emily muttered as she clenched her fists tightly. Had it not been for the urgency of the situation, she would never have gone this far.
“Daniel! Wait!” shouted Emily in a voice full of desperation, but her words wavered in the air because Daniel had already gotten into his car and sped out of the parking lot.
With quick steps, Emily tried to block the path of Daniel’s car, which had already start moving. When Daniel saw Emily standing in front of his car with her arms outstretched, his reflexes were immediately triggered. Daniel slammed on the brakes hard, causing the car to stop abruptly. The sound of tires screeching and the crunch of the car coming to a halt filled Emily’s ears, enveloping her in a deafening silence.
“What are you doing?” shouted Daniel in a voice full of confusion and worry as he got out of his car. His steps quickly approached Emily. “Don’t you realize the risks? Do you want to die?”