"Is that Ambryan Hathaway?"
"Oh, so lucky! First, the flowers. Now, this."
"They look so adorable."
"He's not smiling."
"Imagine how busy he is but he ca here."
Mikael sighed through his nose. His eyebrows scrunched under the sun. A breeze flew by, ssing up his hair. He watched the couple from a distance. More whispers and complints filled his ears. Countless praises had been given to the pair for their harmless display of affection.
Did they deserve it though?
He could see the paparazzis hiding in the bushes. Ambryan had a good security team. There was a reason why the CEO didn't have a lot of public photos. He didn't notice it before but, since he made the connection between Evangeline and Ms. Hart, he beca more perceptive about these details.
His lips thinned into a grim line.
'Whatever. It's none of my business. I only lookout for Evangeline as a colleague. Nothing more,' Mikael thought. He spun on his heel and headed for their party's designated parking lot.
.
.
.
.
.
Eve fluttered her eyes. Her cheerful smile inched towards a sickly sweet one. Oh, she hadn't felt this mischievous in a while. It empowered her confidence. "What? Don't tell you forgot."
"How could I? That app sent a notification about it to prevent that." Ambryan said and kissed her forehead. It was her turn to be paralyzed. Eve was sure that she wasn't even breathing. When did he beco affectionate?
Was it because of the caras?
Taking the chance, Ambryan peeled her arms off him and held her hand. Then, he escorted her to the passenger side, opening the door. Eve slid inside while wrapping her head around his new attitude.
Then, it clicked.
'Right!' She exclaid to herself. 'He had called Evangeline his girlfriend to the public. These gestures were to be expected from him. What a nice strategy.'
Relieved, Eve pulled out a gift box from her bag. It had blue wrapping paper and a white ribbon. The DTC app never failed to surprise her. Not even Avery inford them about that notification feature. It was actually quite clever and convenient.
Now, they could never miss a single monthsary.
"Mr. Hathaway," Nanzie called out after Ambryan closed the door.
He shifted in her direction. His gaze regarded her closely. She matched it with her own unwavering eyes.
"Ms. Nanzie Inda," Ambryan finally spoke. He held out a hand for her to shake. "We'll also be in your care, I suppose."
Nanzie took his hand and grasped it tight. "I know you have an extensive security team already, Mr. Hathaway, but I will not be leaving her in your hands alone."
Ambryan gritted his teeth. Her grip was as firm as her gaze. He let her hand go before soone could spin a story out of it. "I admire your dedication. Please coordinate with Wen."
Eve watched the exchange through her window. It proved to be futile since Ambryan blocked most of her view. She pursed her lips, wondering what was taking so long. The conversation seed quite serious.
A fight wouldn't suddenly break out, would it? Not that Ambryan would participate. Wen would probably swoop in and handle the matter. Eve paused in her worries. Another thought floated over her head.
'What if Nanzie and Wen had a fight? Who would win?' The more she entertained the idea, the more it appealed to her. She'd pay good money to see that.
Amidst the daydreaming, Ambryan sat on the driver's seat and turned on the engine. He did a double take and noticed the box. "What's that?"
"You didn't give Nanzie a hard ti, did you?" Eve jumped out of her daze and attacked him with a scowl. "She's very nice and I like her a lot. I also love her cooking. My current favorites are samosas."
"What makes you think I gave her a hard ti?" Ambryan demanded, locking his seatbelt.
"I've been told she almost didn't get the job because of you."
'Mother' He lanted. There was no other person who would have revealed that. "Well, she's here right now so back to my question, what is that?"
His violet eyes assessed the blue box. It was small and slim compared to the one he gave her. A number of guesses passed through his mind like a gashow roulette wheel. The arrow would point at his final answer.
"It's my gift for you, of course." Eve placed the box on the dashboard so he wouldn't forget it. She zipped up her bag and buckled in his seatbelt. "You can open it at ho."
She pressed her lips together and looked out of the window. The car backed out of the driveway. It rolled down the street. The establishnt was in a secluded spot. It didn't have a lot of traffic until they reached the end of the road.
"At ho?" Eve heard him say.
She nodded her head without looking. "Yeah."
"Why not now?" Ambryan asked, eyeing her every now and then. Her behavior seed suspicious. He glanced up at the ceiling then, at the street ahead. His foot stepped on the break as the convertible neared city traffic.
"Well" Eve gulped. Suddenly, the gray buildings beca more interesting than normal. The sunlight reflected on their windows in beautiful colors. The people looked very fashionable. It was a scene of being immortalized as a picture.
Except, Ambyran didn't feel the sa way.
"Yes?" He persisted.
"I may have forgotten to"
"Yes?"
"I may have forgotten to open the present you gave ?" She finished, flinching at her words. She only rembered about the gift when she ca to work. The hairdresser had asked about it again. It had been embarrassing to admit that she still didn't know.
Ambryan shook his head and stopped at a traffic light. "I already knew that."
Eve snapped her head towards him. "How?"
His eyebrow rose up as well as the corner of his mouth. He glanced in her direction. "You neither posted about it nor ssaged . I figured you'd have a reaction more than silence."
At that, Eve pressed her lips together. He did have a pointwhich didn't make her feel any better. She had looked forward to it for weeks! And, now she failed? No one was more frustrated over it more than her.
"How confident are you that I'd like this gift? It's not a limited edition bag, is it?" She joked, trying to take her mind off her failure. Too bad that it didn't go as well as she had hoped.
"You would know if you had opened it."
"I'm sorry, okay?" She whined, hitting her head on the chair. The statent pushed her back into the sulking corner. Guilt seeped back into her veins. "I was distracted by a tv series I waited so long for."
"What series?"
"The Rightful Queen! Do you watch it?"
The traffic light turned green and Ambryan pulled the gear shift to drive. He concentrated on the road but he had heard that na before. His lips frowned. "Why are you watching a project of another company?"
Eve scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You don't have a series yet."
"I'm joking."
"I think you need to work on your sense of humor because that was a la attempt." She snorted. They had less than a kiloter left before they reached their destination. Her amber eyes landed on the blue gift box.
Her chest constricted. The present wasn't as amazing as the best roller skates the world had to offer. She would have gotten those NERDS except he had told that to his secretary and not his girlfriend. So, she went for a generic ideasothing that wasn't suspicious.
What was the point of knowing the things he liked if she couldn't always use them?
Eve leaned sideways. Her ear hovered near his shoulder. She stared at the sa road that he watched. The convertible always stayed one car away from the one in front. What did you get ?"
Ambryan smirked. "Why would I tell you? I'm not asking for what you got ."
"You're not even the slightest bit curious?"
"It's a necktie."
"..." Eve was speechless. She looked at the box, then realized she used its standard container that it ca with. His eyes could see right through it. "Fine. It is! You probably received neckties every holiday."
"I do."
"..." Couldn't he cushion the blow? She pouted and straightened her posture. "Well, mine is special! You better wear it!"
Ambryan shrugged. "I'll think about it."
"Why you" She began to say.
The car had rolled into a stop. The bowling alley lood ahead of them. People walked in and out of the establishnt. Families, teenagers and more moved with bubbling energy. A few youngsters practiced their posses for when they threw the ball.
Their friends smacked them at the back of their heads.
Pulling the brake, Ambryan turned his head towards her. A smug stretched his lips. It elated his gaze. Anything Eve had to say died instantly. The sun behind him made his beige skin glow. The combination almost blinded her.
Who was this guy right now? It was clearly not her boss.
"My, my, my. How the tables have turned," he mocked, leaning in her direction. His voice lowered to a whisper. "Who's la now?"
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