Beautiful Dreamer

10. Wrong Turn

There was evident tension between Rey and the client from the moment they met. Rey had maintained a constant amount of glaring at Ned, who pretended to be oblivious to it. He may have thought he was being discreet. However, Ari caught him occasionally when no one was looking. His discomfort for not wanting to partake in the assignment was evident from his fidgeting. Still, when Ned announced that a private plane was prepared for their trip, Rey simmered down a little in his silent warfare, perhaps bewildered by how much power the said client possessed.

Ned's office was equipped with a shower room, and it didn't take long before one of his secretaries brought him a change of clothes. His polished appearance must have surprised Rey; the atmosphere changing with him once he'd come out dressed differently.

'Seems this is Rey's first experience with a big client. Perhaps Mun had been right about bringing him along, but I won't count my blessings just yet. I don't trust Ned nor Rey to act with diplomacy.' Ari thought to herself while aboard their trip.

It was an eight-seater single-isle midsize charter jet, Cessna Citation Sovereign, with one seat on either side, leathered to perfection and the floor carpeted extravagantly. Rey sat beside Ned, the isle separating them as they discussed what was expected once they got to their destination. It appeared that the client, Ned, had an appointment that collided with Ari's meeting; therefore, he opted to maximize his time by inviting Ari to tag along with him, insisting they would likely accomplish more working together in person than over the phone.

Throughout their trip, Ari could feel Rey's burrowing stare, and occasionally, she'd hand him some briefing notes to familiarize himself with the guest list for the expected event. Additionally, Ned had equally brought four of his staff, two of which were his security personnel and the other his secretaries. Their meeting onboard carried on smoothly, and after two hours, they arrived at their destination.

"Mr Ari, my secretaries shall take care of your accommodation and all other nonpressing nitty-gritty. Seeming that you and your secretary are formally dressed, you may tag along with me at my next appointment to familiarize yourself with the kind of dignitaries we shall be expecting in future."

"That would be nice. Thank you, sir."

"I appealed for us to remain on a first-name basis. Haven't I maintained the honorifics you insisted on me to you? It's time you met my request as well, Ms. Ari."

Ari's face flushed at having been made the centre of attention. 'Seems this guy is not embarrassed about flirting in public.'

Forcing a smile, Ari did as requested but later discovered Ned being addressed informally in his other meetings. He appeared to have a close relationship with everyone he'd met from one session to another, but this was only limited whilst conversing with him; however, upon his departure, his title was used in every conversation.

"The Chairman has requested us to escort you to your reserved rooms. Would you come with us, please?" One of the hotel staff addressed both Ari and Rey.

"Is he still at the conference?"

"Yes. His last appointment should be ending by midnight."

"It's only an hour away." Turning to look at Rey, Ari asked, "Would you like to wait? We can have dinner while at it."

"That would be wise since we are almost done with the day's objectives."

"That's correct." Facing the hotel staff again, Ari confirmed waiting for Ned instead.

The two dined in silence. However, Ari had been multitasking, munching whilst jotting down pointers occasionally and scribbling through her phone simultaneously. After a while, Rey couldn't endure it any longer and insisted on being involved in what had had his employer's attention stolen at the dinner table.