Lisa's POV
Mr. Corristor stood up, but before that a beautiful woman on his right kissed him. He fist bumped a man sitting next to him on his left, his back was facing me and I couldn't tell who it was.
The fist bump followed to a handsome younger guy, who was probably around eighteen. He was smiling at the dashing old man who definitely didn't appear old, except for the shiny gray hair giving some of his youth away.
"As most of you may know, I have already retired, and I have now my eldest son as the new owner of the Corristor chain of hotels. So, without wasting any time, I would like to invite him on stage so he can say a few words and we may have dinner afterwards." He stated before he finished a relatively short speech.
The room was filled with applause when Mr Corristor went to his seat and his eldest son took his place on the stage.
The room turned dark for a few seconds and then the lights focused on him. I froze as I felt my knees go weak for a second.
Thank God I was sitting already.
My heart began to race at the mere sight of him. I could feel the butterflies erupting in my stomach again and my breath increased as I stared at him.
Aiden. That's him. He is the owner.
"Good evening everyone. I would like to thank everyone who participated and collaborated...." He began with a rough voice which had a smooth edge of masculinity to it. Distracted, I couldn't focus on the rest of the speech.
He wore a black Armani suit, his hair slightly gelled. He was surely one of the most handsome men I had ever laid my eyes on. And, this was coming was someone who worked in the highest rung of the fashion industry.
The way he composed himself emanated pure professionalism, confidence and power. His leadership quality was clearly perceptible, his demeanor spoke for itself and the aura in the room took a sudden shift.
He emitted a fruitful vision with regards to Azure Royal, and the way he carried himself was enough for him to prove his point. There was no further argument.
Aiden was still delivering his speech, looking at the audience every now and then, when suddenly he met my eye.
Oh Darn. I'm sure he would remember me.
I was right, he paused in his sentence making it seem like the pause was supposedly incorporated in the speech as his gaze settled on me as I held my breath.
A few seconds passed by and he was still staring. Helen, sitting next to me, turned to look at me and moved her gaze to Aiden.
I broke the eye contact before he continued his sentence. I saw Helen wriggle her eyebrows discreetly at me, as she asked,
"What's going on?" She asked with a devilish smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied although a smile was already forming on my lips.
However, the small playful moment was short lasted as I turned towards the right.
Lauren, who was seated on the same table as mine, glared at me under her fake thick lashes. An expression of disgust was thrown at me.
Lord, not again!
Ignoring her, I averted my gaze away from hers as I glanced at Aiden who had finished his speech and was walking back to his respective table. The host was back on stage, wishing us an enjoyable meal and a great evening.
I glanced back at Aiden's table, his head was leaned in the direction of a female blonde who looked really chic, and she was whispering something in his ear in a flirtatious way. In return, Aiden smirked at her and put his arms on her back.
Annoyance surging in my chest, I placed my purse on my table, ready to fetch my food.
"C'mon, Lisa. That lady might be his friend," Helen spoke from my side as she leaned in to look at them too.
This woman could pass as my second Mom, she noticed every single little detail about me.
"Don't do that! People will notice you staring," I lightly shoved her back to her seat until she was sitting straight.
"I just know about his ways, okay?" I said with a final tone and she looked at me with a dubious expression.
I took out my phone and googled Aiden Corristor. A series of information popped up, most of them highlighting on the part of him being the notorious playboy of New York City.
The latest news said that he was dating a famous actress from Hollywood. I clicked on the picture only to reveal that the actress was the same woman he was with right now. I tilted the phone towards Helen and proved my point,
"See, they're dating."
Although Helen only noticed Aiden's interest some moments earlier, had she known about his behavior last night, she wouldn't have even given him the benefit of doubt today.
He's a womanizer, a certified playboy.
"He didn't stop his speech to stare at her though," She smirked slyly.
"The news say he's a playboy, she must only be a fling," She winked as we stood to get to the open banquet where all varieties of lavish food were stylishly placed.
"I don't care. What if he wants to make me his next fling?" I reasoned.
"Live a little, Lisa." Helen advised.
My ears would seriously bleed if I would hear that again. She'd been telling me this ever since we lost Nicole.
"Fine, Hel. But, he doesn't get to make me his fling. On the contrary, I can make him my fling, if I decide to, that is," I smirked cheekily and winked, as I left her with her mouth parted, following which she gave a laugh.
I grabbed a plate and took some steamed fried rice with sweet and sour prawns, the perfect combo made its way to my nostrils. Oh my goodness, I could not wait a second longer to devour this.
Quickly marching around the table, I stopped at a bowl in which there were baked wedge potatoes. There was no cloth or a metal handle to lift up the lid. I turned around to call a chef or a waiter, but they were at some tables ahead.
"Here." I heard his husky voice from behind as I instantly felt his body on my back.
He lifted up the lid with his bare hands. I cringed at the burn on his fingers as I quickly took some potato wedges to put on my now full plate.
He covered the stainless steel bowl as soon as I was done. I turned around to look at him. The proximity between us was mortifying, I could feel my chest heaving above my racing pulse.
He called out to a waiter and ordered him to bring a metal handler in an authoritative way as I silently stared at him, as if magnetized by his stance.
"Enjoying staring?" He asked casually once the waiter was gone.
I ignored his comment and took his hand. I was right, the pinkish pigmentation on his index and middle finger was a bit too much.
"Seriously, I would have called the chef for a cloth or a handler," I tried to reason with him.
"It's nothing," He shrugged.
"How's your foot?" He asked, seeming to actually care.
"It's okay," I lifted my dress a little, putting my bandaged foot forward.
"Nothing serious, thank God, for no plasters! Only a bandage was enough," I beamed.
"Thank God, for not wearing these heels again," He remarked, taking in the flat shoes I wore.
"Of course, I won't. You didn't hear? I've got a bandage on," I snarked, he was teasing me again.
"Not only did I hear, Love, I even witnessed the act," He said with mirth in his eyes.
He then flailed his hands and mimicked the gesture of my fall from the night before.
What the fudge? He was mocking me!
My eyes widened, taken by surprise at his sudden bullshit mimicry. I was seeing red, my face was certainly flushed with embarrassment as I thought of a comeback.
Ugh, my mind was blank.
I narrowed my eyes at him and pursed my lips.
Bastard.
He laughed richly placing his hand on his chest. "I heard that, Love,"
I did not trust myself in remaining calm right now. On top of that, he was calling me 'love' yet again. I so wanted to punch him in his fucking handsome face or better yet his nose.
But, I could not do that, not with so many important people around, or worse, the media.
I plastered a sickeningly sweet smile on my face and muttered a 'thank you' gesturing my hand towards the bowl as I spun around to leave.
He held my waist and came in front of me. I could feel my heart racing at his mere touch and I hated feeling this way when he was actually making fun of me.
Thankfully, the plate in my hands placed some distance between us.
"Can you please do an instant replay of that fall?" He asked with a smile stretched on his face. It was a real one.
"I'm hungry. How about you do it for your guests? I'm sure you can entertain them better than me," I replied, ignoring his mock once again.
"Well, I don't wear heels," He started laughing again.
I could feel some eyes on us from the corner of my eyes. They were probably thinking we were close. I took a step backward.
"Can we talk after dinner?" He suddenly blurted when he saw I was moving away.
"On what?" I arched a brow at him.
What did he even have to say? He would probably laugh at me a little more.
"You'll see." He smirked and walked up to his date.
I went to my table, picked up my fork and began digging at the delicious food. I could, however, not enjoy it as much. I felt a lump in my throat and a small churn in my stomach as I watched Aiden and his date together.
'What's wrong with me?' I thought.
I felt more frustrated at myself for not being able to eat wholeheartedly.
"Lisa, are you here?" Helen wriggled her fingers in front of me.
"Yeah. Sorry, I zoned out for a while," I muttered.
"Your plate is still pretty much full. Are you okay?" She asked with concern.
"I..I think I lost my appetite. I don't feel like eating," I answered truthfully.
"Well, there are macarons, cheesecakes, chocolate fudge cake, and chocolate soufflés there," She beamed as though she was talking to a child, although there would be no difference between me and a kid after I got my favorite desserts.
"Ah yeah. I'm gonna get some," I said, smiling at her, and I headed towards the fanciest dessert section I'd ever seen.
I reached for a clean plate and put some slices of the chocolate fudge cake on it. I suddenly sensed a presence behind me, knowing perfectly it was him as I took in his musky perfume.
"Just take this. I'll be waiting for you," He said slowly against my ear, his heated breath flowed down my neck.
I saw a piece of paper dropping on my plate. There was no one around as I opened it.
Suite 44 in fifteen minutes.
I'll be waiting.
#A
I returned to the table, many people were already on the dance floor. I was contemplating on what to do, debating whether to go or not. I was pretty sure things were about to get really intense if I went to meet him.
"You look as if you have to choose between dying your hair pink or purple," Helen joked as she noticed my facial expression.
"I'm gonna be back," I stood up, taking my purse with me, not replying to Helen after she asked where I was heading.
I reached the 40th floor and made my way to the said suite. Seeing his name engraved on the brown mahogany door in gold, I knew I was at the right place, however, there was no one around and not a single noise could be heard in the hallway.
I knocked on the door and waited. There came no response.
I knocked two more times, sat on the lounge sofa in front of the door, and waited. Perhaps, he got caught up in a conversation with an important guest.
Feeling tired and bored after a while, I raised my head to look at the giant wall clock, half an hour had passed.
But he never came.
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End of chapter question:
What are your thoughts about Aiden?
Is he confusing?