Alexander got to his feet. “I don’t think I’ll be able to join today, Mr. Smith. I have some personal matters
to handle. We can make plans to drink some other day.” Alexander had made himself clear, and
Theodore quickly understood the message—Alexander wasn’t interested in Tiffany at all! Theodore
wasn’t a petty man, and he didn’t attempt to coerce Alexander into anything since he had gotten a clear
answer.
“No worries, Mr. Griffith. I’m sure we’ll have tons of opportunities to meet again in the future.” Tiffany
stomped her foot, feeling annoyed. “Why don’t you spend a little more time with me, Alexander?” But
Alexander merely pulled himself away from her. “I have other matters to handle, Miss Smith. I’ll excuse
myself now.”
Alexander strode out of the room, leaving the two siblings behind. They exchanged glances with each
other before Theodore spoke up. “Did you realize how Alexander’s gaze shifted the moment Miss
Sinclair entered the room? He didn’t look away from her at all.” Tiffany didn’t agree with her brother.
“You’ve got it all wrong, Theodore! That woman is hideous. How could Alexander ever fall for a girl like
her? You’re offending Alexander by saying that.” Upon hearing his sister, Theodore didn’t make any
further comments. From a male’s perspective, I think it’s extremely obvious that there’s something
special about the way Alexander looks at Elise.
But Tiffany will probably get annoyed at me if I say anything, so I should just keep my mouth
shut. “Well, Alexander doesn’t seem too interested in you. Perhaps you can find a new target?”
Theodore asked meekly. “No. I think Alexander’s the perfect fit for me,” Tiffany replied in a firm tone. “I
have to be with him.
I don’t care how you do it, Theodore, but you need to make sure that we date each other in the
end.” She’s truly fallen head over heels for a man this time, Theodore thought. The most I can do as
her brother is to try to bring the two of them together. … After Samantha successfully brought Elise
back into their karaoke room, Elise had lost all interest in singing.
All Elise could think of then was how Alexander and Tiffany looked as they stood together earlier—the
same scene kept replaying in Elise’s mind and refused to leave her alone. It was nearly midnight when
the four of them finished singing their songs. “How are you and Elise going home, Mikayla?”
Samantha asked once they all stepped out of the karaoke center. Mikayla glanced at her phone. “My
driver’s picking me up in a bit. You guys can go ahead first.” “What about you, Elise?” Samantha asked.
Elise was just about to speak when a blaring car horn interrupted their conversation. Elise turned
around to find Alexander’s car stopped by the side of the road. “My ride’s here, so I’ll leave now,” she
uttered while waving at the other three of them.
Her ride sped past her three friends after she hopped into the car. Neither one of them said anything
after Elise got into the car, and things seemed rather awkward between them for a while. Elise bit on
her lower lip before she decided to break the silence. “Were you waiting for me?” Alexander responded
to her question while staring straight and steering the car. “No. I ended about the same time as you
did.”
He was clearly lying—he simply didn’t want Elise to know the truth. “You seem pretty close to Miss
Smith. Did you guys know each other before this?” she asked. Alexander raised an eyebrow and stole
a glance at Elise in the rearview mirror. For some reason, Elise felt the need to justify her question.
“Don’t misunderstand my intentions. I was just asking a random question. You don’t have to answer me
if you don’t want to.” Alexander shifted his focus back onto the road. “She was my junior at university,
so I have known her since then.” “Oh…” Elise mumbled and fell silent once she got her answer.
She hadn’t realized the hint of jealousy in her as she posed him the question. “Thank you for tonight.
Theodore wouldn’t have agreed to sign the contract if it weren’t for you. I’m surprised—you can be
pretty smart in critical situations, huh?” Alexander wasn’t stingy with his compliments, and his words
made Elise blush.
“I was just going along with what you said. I hadn’t expected to actually help in getting the partnership
contract signed,” Elise muttered. All along, Alexander understood why Theodore had been taking his
time to sign the contract. Alexander didn’t want to expose his intentions, so Elise’s presence made
things much easier for him.
Alexander narrowed his eyes. “One way or another, I couldn’t have done this without you. I owe you
one. You can just let me know if you need any help in the future.” “Alright,” Elise replied with a smile.
The car sped along the highway, and Elise glanced out the window as the night view of the city zoomed
past them. Her spirits seemed to be lifted after that.
Once she got home, Elise removed her makeup and took a shower. When she came out of the
bathroom, her hair was still dripping wet. She was drying her hair with a towel when she heard the
sound of a notification from her laptop. She walked over, and her laptop screen lit up.
She read the email that had been sent from Alexander. ‘Miss Sare, the representatives from Aris will
arrive at Athesea tomorrow. I’ll send my assistant to go along with you, and I need you to greet them at
the airport.’ Elise immediately sat upright. The clicking sounds of her keyboard came to a halt after she
responded with an ‘okay’.
After drying her hair, Elise returned to her room and went to sleep. She woke up early the next morning
and dressed herself in the usual, worn-out clothes that she often wore. Her outfit was as unpresentable
as it always was, and she simply greeted Jonah before heading out of the house.
After hailing a cab, she first stopped at a public washroom. Elise then went in and changed her entire
outfit before heading to the airport. “There you are, Miss Sare!” Cameron rushed over to greet Elise
once she arrived. “How long do we have until the representatives arrive?” Elise asked. Cameron
glanced at the time.
“About 30 minutes.” “Let’s go in now, then. We shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Elise urged. Both of them
stood by the gates at the airport, but nearly two hours went by before the other party’s plane finally
landed at the airport. Cameron held a piece of cardboard up and waved it around. Soon enough, a
pale-skinned, blue-eyed blonde strolled over to them.
“Were you guys expecting me?” The woman’s fluent Arisian came as a pleasant surprise to Elise.
“Hello, Miss Lily. You’re finally here,” she uttered with a smile. Lily gave Elise a perfunctory handshake.
“My team is coming out in a while. We can leave without waiting for them.” Elise understood Lily’s
orders, so she led the foreigner toward the exit.
“Why didn’t Mr. Griffith come today?” Lily asked curiously. “He’s rather occupied with some other
matters at work, but he will come over to greet you personally later. I’ll escort you to check-in at the
hotel first,” Elise replied politely. Lily chuckled wholeheartedly. “Please remind Mr. Griffith to bring the
red wine he promised me. I’ve been craving it.”
Elise had no idea what red wine Lily was referring to, but she responded appropriately anyway. “Don’t
worry, Miss Lily. I’ll make sure to pass the message to him.” Soon after Elise and Lily arrived at the
hotel, Cameron led Lily’s staff over. Elise helped all of them to check-in at the hotel, and she had just
turned to leave the counter when Lily stopped her.
“Don’t forget to ask for two room keys,” Lily ordered. Elise didn’t understand why Lily needed two room
keys, but she acceded to her request and asked for an extra access card anyway. Once Elise delivered
the access cards to the room, she took the elevator down and pulled her phone out to send Alexander
a text.
The content of the message was precisely what Lily had ordered her to remind Alexander. Elise didn’t
leave the area after that and simply stayed at the coffee house in the hotel to have a cup of coffee.
About two hours later, Alexander arrived at the hotel. “Mr. Griffith!” Elise beamed as she greeted
Alexander. He gave her a slight nod. “Is Miss Lily downstairs yet?” he asked.
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