The Heir

chapter 13

When the doors opened on Miss Smith’s office, Victoria was in awe. The entire floor belonged to the president alone. Perhaps it was one of the perks of a big-time company.

“Perhaps the news about a mysterious new boss is not true,” she whispered to her husband’s ear.

Maximillian just shrugged.

They walked towards the secretary, who was occupying the seemed to be reception desk outside the president’s office. The woman stood up the moment they reached the desk.

“Victoria Griffith of the Griffith Group?” the secretary asked politely.

She glanced at her husband, who remained poker-faced beside her. Victoria’s family addressed her by her maiden name, and the company must have told the LS Group the same name.

“It’s… uhm… Victoria Lee.”

“Oh.” The secretary looked at her husband.

“He is with me. The Griffith Group sent us here.” Of course, it was a lie. There was no way his family would send Maximillian with her.

The secretary ushered them to the mini-conference room.

“Have a seat. Miss Smith will see you in a while.”

When the secretary left, Maximillian sat on the chair at the end of the rectangular meeting table. With his three-piece suit and his newly shaved aura, he looked like a hot-shot CEO in town every woman ever dreamed of. Victoria could not help but smile as she admired her husband.

And then, she heard the door squeaked. She turned in its direction and saw a sophisticated woman in a beige suit walking towards her.

“You must be Victoria,” the woman said, smiling.

“And you must be Vanessa.” She stretched her hand out for a handshake, but to her astonishment, the LS Group president hugged her. “T-that is a very warm welcome, Miss Smith,” she said afterward.

“Well…” Vanessa turned in her husband’s direction, who was still sitting pretty as if he owned the place.

“A-ah, Max…” She beckoned him to stand.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Vanessa ushered her to the other end of the table and pulled the chair. “Sit wherever you want, Victoria.”

“O-oh…” She chose the one next to Vanessa. It would be better to sit next to her during the presentation. She heaved a sigh as she brought out the folders and her laptop from the attaché case. Vanessa just watched her every move, and she also noticed that she occasionally threw glances at her husband. “D-do you want me to send him out of here—”

Vanessa raised a hand. “No need.”

“O-okay.” She pushed the folder in Vanessa’s direction.

“So, this is the presentation you came up with…” said Vanessa, then opened the folder and scanned a few pages before closing it again. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Yes.” She caught her breath. “That is the printed copy of the proposal, so you can review it after my presentation—”

“No need for the actual presentation, Victoria. We no longer need that.”

Her shoulders dropped as well as her mouth. She worked hard for it, and now it was no longer needed?

“What do you mean? Is this how you reject our company’s proposal?” She bit her lip. If not for her husband’s presence in the conference room, she should be crying by now.

“Oh, I am sorry for not making myself clear.” Vanessa smiled. “Your company has been chosen for this project.”

Victoria felt a mix of emotions at that moment. She did not know what to say nor how to react. All she knew was that it was indeed good news for her and for everyone in the company. It seemed that the odds were in her favor this time. She turned to her husband, who, just like her, seemed to be delighted with the news.

“Oh, Miss Smith. I didn’t expect you to grant us this kind of favor,” she told Vanessa.

“Well…” Vanessa once again glanced at her husband. “The new president wanted to give small companies like yours a break. We reviewed your company’s profile, and it looks promising.”

The secretary went in carrying folders that she handed to Vanessa.

“Here is the contract of our cooperation. Let’s sign it now. Shall we?”

“S-sure.” She nodded agreeably.

When Vanessa handed her the contract and the pen, her hands were shaking in sheer happiness. She could not wait to tell her family about it.

“The new president… Where is he?” Victoria asked afterward.

“Oh… He is at home, preparing himself to take over the LS Group.”

“The public doesn’t know about him yet, right?” She closed the folder and returned it to Vanessa.

“A-ah, yes. Williamson is a son of a very wealthy family, who likes to keep himself out of the spotlight.”

When Vanessa glanced at Maximillian again, she could not help but feel something weird in her chest. Perhaps it was jealousy because her husband kept catching the women’s attention since they went inside the building. But then, she realized it could not be jealousy. Victoria’s instinct never fails her. There was something with those gazes Vanessa and Maximillian threw at each other. There was this sense of familiarity as if they know each other.

“Here is your copy of the contract.” Vanessa handed her a folder.

“Thanks.”

They both stood up and shook hands.

“I’m afraid I can’t see you out. I have an important web meeting with the chairman after this.”

“Oh, it’s all right. No problem.” Victoria smiled.

Maximillian rose to his feet and walked towards them. He shook hands with Vanessa as well.

Victoria turned to face her husband when Vanessa finally went out of the conference room.

“By any chance, do you know each other?”

His brows furrowed. “What? No. What were you thinking?”

“I…” She shook her head and tugged him out.

She could not help but feel suspicious. Her mind was telling her that something was going on, and her husband was not telling her. Then she suddenly remembered that Maximillian went there. What if he did not meet with a friend?

“I KNOW this atmosphere very well,” Maximillian said when they were riding the car back home.

“Hm?” Victoria turned to him.

“I know you felt jealous back there. Because those women kept looking at me, especially that Vanessa Smith.”

“It’s not like that.” He heard her heaved a sigh. “I don’t feel jealous towards Vanessa.”

“Then what?” Maximillian gave her a side-way glance and saw her head leaning on the windshield with her eyes fixed on the road.

“I sensed familiarity between the two of you,” Victoria muttered.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. Could it be that his wife was feeling suspicious about him? Maximillian knew Victoria; she believes whatever her instincts told her.

“Well… maybe we are just two compatible souls.”

He glanced at his wife again when he did not hear any response from her. Victoria’s eyes were closed. He was not sure if she was really sleeping, or she was just pretending.

Maximillian let out a slow nervous sigh.