She was smiling with a glass of wine in her hand, but her eyes froze when she saw Arya. Then, smiled.
"I see Sis. Director Johns is here as well."
Arya looked at her indifferently with the intent of mocking her. Those eyes made Victoria feel a little uncomfortable.
"Chairman Knight, I wasn't able to give you a proper greeting the last time. I'm glad that we get to meet again. I'm also honored to be invited to attend your anniversary. Here's a toast to you!"
Victoria quickly averted her gaze towards Xavier on the side.
Xavier frowned slightly and looked at her sharply. Apparently, he reacted peculiarly and did not have any impression of her until Rick came over and introduced,
"Master, she's Ms. Victoria. Do you still remember? We met once on the ground floor. She's one of our ambassadors for Imperial Sky Jewellery City, so the PR Department invited her as a guest."
Suddenly, Lin Patricia and the others came back. Manager of the Public Relations Department piped up,
"That's right, Chairman Knight. Ms. Victoria is the newest star in the entertainment industry and she's extremely popular, that's why we decided to have her join us."
"Vice President Lin, Manager!" Victoria went up to them with a beautiful smile, charming the socks off everyone around her.
"I'm really thankful for Manager. I've been looking forward to working with a large organization like Glory World. It's a really great opportunity for me. I also want to thank Chairman Knight for giving me this chance, so here's cheers to you, Chairman Knight!"
Victoria's eyes looked genuine and thankful as she turned to the distant Xavier with a wide smile on her face. Her elegance shone and everyone around nodded along.
The quiet Xavier squinted his eyes and glanced at Victoria. He turned around and faced Arya who had been looking at him before he asked quietly,
"Director Johns, if I'm not mistaken, you're the one in charge of the Imperial Sky Entertainment City project, aren't you?"
Arya was stunned by his question and she nodded.
"Yes, Chairman Knight. I've been overseeing it from the point Director passed it to me until the end of the project together with the recruitment of business partners."
"So, Director Johns is the one who worked the hardest here. Ms. Johns, you should thank our Director Johns instead of me. What does everyone think?"
Xavier gave Arya a meaningful glance, his voice calm, but there was an odd underlying tone in his words.
"That's true, Ms. Victoria. Director Johns did work her hardest." Lin Patricia went along with Xavier's words and glanced at Arya before looking at Victoria. Her eyes brightened up as she pointed out,
"Director Johns and Ms. Victoria both have the surname Johns. You two..."
Victoria seemed shocked when she heard Lin Patricia. Her eyes looked towards Arya. The way she seemed to be suppressing her excitement was rather obvious.
Arya just smiled. Without even looking at Victoria and Lin Patricia, she looked at Lin Patricia instead and in a respectful tone, she asked,
"Vice President Lin, you have the surname Lin too. So does our Director Lin. Are you guys related in any way?"
She then gave him a cheeky eye signal. Lin Patricia smiled back and said,
"My family only had a single child for the past five generations. I've never heard of any relatives..."
Lin Patricia and Victoria were stunned and their expressions froze.
...
After a while, Victoria came back to her senses and looked at Xavier who was looking downward at his sleeves. He did not even look at her. However, Arya was looking at her expressionlessly.
"D-Director Johns, thank you for your hard work. Cheers!"
Victoria bit her lip lightly and forced a smile on her face. Then, she returned to her elegant self and raised her glass to Arya.
"You're welcome."
Arya did not mind. She glanced at Xavier as she raised her wine glass before emptying it in the next moment.
Xavier glanced at James who nodded as he walked forward. A rare smile appeared on his handsome face,
"Master, since it's the time for gratitude, why not get Ms. Johns to sing for Director Johns on stage? I heard that Ms. John's voice is absolutely charming..."
James's suggestion received nods of agreement from Lin Patricia and his group. The people behind like Zhang Lan nodded as well.
Xavier looked over at Arya and he spoke quietly,
"What do you think, Missus? Remember you owe me one!"
His voice was so hushed that only the two of them could hear what he said.
Arya raised her eyebrows as she stared at him. She did not reply.
The man's eyes seemed as if they were smiling, but his face looked indifferent as usual.
"I'd take your silence as a default yes then. Will you do it, Ms. Johns?"
His expression softened as a warm smile appeared on his face. Even Victoria lost focus for a moment.
"Since Chairman Knight said so, it's my honor!" Victoria grinned. She handed the empty glass in her hand to the waiter beside her and lifted her skirts slightly before walking towards the stage.
With the emcee's passionate introduction, the crowd gave a round of applause as Victoria went up on stage.
Victoria took the mic over from the emcee as a tiny smile appeared on her beautiful face. She told the emcee what song was she going to sing, and soon a beautiful melody started playing...
When she noticed how odd things were, Arya asked the man beside her quietly,
"What are you trying to do?"
The man did not reply. Instead, he threw her an innocent and doubtful look mysteriously.
Arya frowned. She sat back down when he already took his seat calmly.
One must admit that Victoria's voice was really amazing. The crowd responded to the love song from her very well. They cheered and screamed for her.
Even though she had seen Victoria appear on stage before, Arya was still impressed by Victoria's presence on stage. Even the Vice Presidents and Directors were nodding their heads in approval too.
Arya's eyes were as clear as the wind. She looked at the radiant Victoria on stage. After a while, she smiled as she chuckled to herself, then she sighed lightly and emptied her glass again.
Thunderous screams and claps went throughout the hall as Victoria finished with a song. At the moment she thanked = the crowd with a smile.
When the emcee was trying to say something, James received the second eye signal from Xavier, so he swiftly went towards the stage.
Victoria was about to pass the mic back to the emcee when James's cheerful voice reached her.
"Ms. Johns, that's a great song, but it seems that our Director Johns prefers listening to French songs. Please sing a French song for us."
Victoria was stunned when she heard the request. She looked flusteredly at James before she turned towards the direction of Xavier, but his back was facing her.
"Well..." Victoria felt awkward and she seemed troubled by the request. A tiny blush appeared on her beautiful face as she bit her red lips and said,
"I'm sorry... I... I don't know how to sing French songs, so..."
"I see, then maybe you can sing one that you're familiar with then."
The crowd cheered with James's words. Victoria nodded awkwardly and gave him a smile.
"Alright then!"
Along with the gentle music playing, Victoria performed her second song on stage...
At that second, Arya started to feel odd. She looked at Victoria on stage, and then glanced at the man opposite her.
Who said that she listened to French songs?
There were no French music CDs at her home!
Victoria's second song was soon finished, and the emcee swiftly shushed the crowd to quiet down. Soon, there was a short silence in the hall.
"Again." A deep voice broke the silence. The cold tone had the aura of an undeniable force and the crowd looked towards the source of the voice. They noticed Chairman Knight looking at Director Johns with a mysterious gaze, his expression calm as usual.
Arya noticed something happening when she was sipping her wine. Raising her head, she realized that the man was staring at her intently. The people around her were focused on her as well, and she could feel the atmosphere getting tense.
As she was about to ask Lin Patricia what happened, Xavier's deep voice continued,
"Let's do it this way, since you're the ambassador of Imperial Sky Jewellery City, if you can keep singing and make Director Johns happy, I'll reward you with $5 million."
Everyone was stunned when they heard Xavier. They thought they were hallucinating as they looked back and forth between Xavier and Arya in disbelief...
$5 million just to make Director Johns happy? What did he mean?
That was a little too...
Victoria never expected Xavier to say that. Her whole body froze up instantly and she stared at Arya.
She could sense it slightly...
Xavier seemed not to like her. Just like when she met him at the entrance of Glory World the last time, he did not seem welcoming at all. She could not understand it. After all, she was pretty good at socializing, and she was never involved with Xavier before, so why would he...?
Could it be just her imagination?
Victoria had mixed feelings and her mind was full of doubts.
Xavier pivoted his body slightly when Victoria did not give her reply from the stage. He saw a subtle unnatural expression on her face as her eyes darkened slightly while she looked at him and chewed on her lip.
The crowd was silent. Everyone could feel a heavy atmosphere strangling them.
His face was as calm as ever, but it was exactly at this moment that people felt an extreme iciness from him.
"Not happy with it? $10 million! As long as Director Johns is happy."
A cold smile appeared on his face as he looked at Victoria cruelly.
Some people covered their mouths in surprise when his words reached their ears. They were utterly shocked.
Victoria started to fluster. Anyone could understand that Xavier was just regarding her as a trivial singer there to perform for him.
She was reminded of that time in the coffee shop.
Victoria's grip on the mic stiffened and her face started to look pale. Her eyes were getting slightly watery as she looked at Xavier with a pitiful expression and muttered,
"Chairman Knight, I... I've already sung two songs..."
"$20 million?"
Xavier grinned. He increased the amount decisively, his tone still cold.
"Ms. Johns, I'm very unhappy with your attitude right now. You've signed your contract with us, so you have to do your part."
"Chairman Knight, I... I'm just... I..."
"Glory World cares a lot about attitude and quality. From the perspective of an ambassador, how many points do you think you deserve today, Ms. Johns?" Xavier continued viciously.
"I'm sorry, Chairman Knight. I... I'll sing, I'll sing!"
Victoria took a deep breath. She looked at Arya with a complicated gaze, but she was just looking downwards and sipping her wine as if what happened had nothing to do with her. Victoria's face turned even paler than before.
Xavier's phone on the table vibrated. He glanced at the screen for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the exit with his phone without even looking at Victoria. James and the others followed him too.
He was always like this. He would never spend a minute extra with any woman even if it was a well-loved celebrity.
The sudden change of atmosphere caught people off-guard. Even the emcee had no idea what to do as the crowd watched Xavier disappear at the exit and they could not react.
After a while, Chairman Knight's assistant, Rick, came back quickly and took the mic from the emcee. He said in an apologetic tone,
"Sorry, Chairman Knight has been busy for the whole day and he was feeling a little tired, so he'll go back now first. Chairman Knight said that Vice President Liu will take over now. Everyone, please enjoy yourself, and as an apology, he has prepared a gift for everyone. Someone will hand it out at the end of the dinner."
The crowd came back to their senses when they heard Rick's voice and they cheered loudly.
A materialistic apology was easier to accept. Some people started to feel upset when they saw the pale and awkward-looking Victoria on stage...
How dare this woman?! Chairman Knight was generous enough to reward her, and Director Johns was her superior in a sense, yet she dared to put on an attitude when she was just asked to sing a few songs! Great, now Chairman Knight had become unhappy!
The sudden change of events caught Lin Patricia and the other top brass off-guard. Of course, they did not forget that the reason Chairman Knight caused a fuss was because of their Planning Director, Arya.
They all looked at Arya when they came back to their senses. Arya was sipping her wine and enjoying her food calmly as if she was not involved in the matter.
"Director Johns, Chairman Knight..."
As Lin Patricia was about to ask her something, Rick went towards her and stood beside her. He told her quietly,
"Director Johns, Master is waiting for you outside."
Arya froze and thought about what the message, then she frowned. She replied,
"But the dinner isn't over yet. What about the awards ceremony?"
Did he not mention she was going to receive a big prize?
"Master said the PR Department will keep it for you," Rick whispered.
Arya hesitated and glanced at Victoria who was walking down from the stage with a ghastly face. Along with the odd gaze from everyone, she pressed a finger on her forehead in her thoughts...
After a while, she took a deep breath before standing up. She grabbed her windbreaker from the back of her chair and went outside the hall.
The crowd was shocked as Arya left the venue.
Director Johns had left right after Chairman Knight. Something was definitely going on!
However, it was understandable. With someone of Chairman Knight's caliber, it was not unusual for a beautiful woman like Director Johns to be beside him.
People started discussing it. Somehow, gossiping about their superiors peculiarly made them happy.
Soon, all of them forgot about the singing incident that happened just moments ago. To them, it was more fun to gossip about people in their company.
...
As for Arya, the moment she walked out the entrance of Imperial Sky Hotel, she saw Xavier leaning against the Cayenne she had driven over as he was making a phone call.
Xavier hung up on the call when he heard the terse sound of her high heels clicking on the floor. She walked past the dim streetlights and arrived behind him.
"Why are you so impatient to leave? I haven't eaten much yet. I've been busy for the whole day and I didn't even get to receive my award. You left the whole company behind. You don't really seem to be a proper chairman!" Arya stopped before him and looked at him with her eyebrows raised.
Xavier stared at her. He could not help but ask when he saw her indifferent expression,
"What a heartless woman! Who do you think I did it for and who told you to allow the media partners to join in?"
"I just think Manager's proposal made sense, so..." Arya stared at him cautiously as she spoke in a quiet tone.
"Don't be involved with people of the mass media industry anymore. I've gotten James to remove them already."
"Why?" Arya looked at him in doubt.
"There's no why." Xavier did not give an explanation. He took her car keys and unlocked the car, then he opened the door.
"It's cold outside. We'll talk in the car."
He sat in the front passenger seat. She went quiet for a while before going in the car as well.
"You did it on purpose just now, didn't you?" Arya took the keys back from him as she asked him. He was casually resting with his eyes closed.
"On purpose? I don't know what you're talking about," he replied without opening his eyes.
Arya glanced at him, then she moved over and strapped the safety seatbelt on for him.
"Stop pretending. Your move dragged me down as well. I bet the whole company will think that there's something between us after what happened tonight."
"What kind of something?" Xavier opened his eyes and he looked at Arya calmly.
"We're a legally married couple now. What's wrong with that? Do you still want to ignore our relationship and continue pretending to be an ordinary office lady?"
"I don't want people to misunderstand that I might be in my current position because of you," Arya gave it some thought before admitting to him in a genuine tone.
Xavier laughed, his large hand patting her head. "So what if people misunderstand? You have to understand you'd need a great deal of charm to do that. It's not a bad thing. You have no idea that you've achieved something so many women would be jealous of, Missus. Why would you think of it the other way round?"
"I can't win this argument. Anyway, I'm not close to you in the company." Arya glared at him as she slapped his hand on her head. She explained,
"You've never seen how the employees act when they see you..."
"You're not very close to me at home too. This request is not approved. Rejected," he replied before she could finish her sentence.
"Xavier!" She put on a stern face as she glared at him, but he just raised his eyebrows calmly. He then closed his eyes and continued to rest.
"I really want to hit you!" She mumbled angrily. Taking a deep breath, she then put on her own safety belt.
Even though she was angry, she knew that he did what he had tonight for her. It would be a lie if she said she did not feel any sense of gratitude. Softening, she glanced beside her.
"Xavier?"
"Mmm?" He replied in a neutral tone.
"To be able to see Victoria have a hard time tonight... I actually felt pretty good about it. Thanks..." Her voice reached him while genuine emotions of gratitude welled up in her eyes.
"Then, have you thought about how to thank me?" The man opened his eyes again and looked at her cheekily, his deep-sounding voice as charming as ever.
Arya buried her forehead in her hands when she saw his smile.
"What do you want me to do?"
Xavier laughed. "Buy me a meal then, Missus."
"Can I settle it with just a meal?"
"I don't mind if you want to do something special, but are you willing to?"
"That's smart of you. If it weren't for you I'd still be enjoying my meal inside!"