Beautiful Dreamer

26. Keep It Hidden

Ari had saved the picture she and Ned had appeared in the newspaper. It felt surreal to stand beside him during an extravagant event, introduced to everyone as one of his elite secretaries. In contrast, Lia stood on his left side, everyone congratulating them on their wedding and a successful business merger.

Only four people who had been present knew of her identity, the three of them and Ned's father, who pioneered the event. Everyone else in the know had probably watched them in the news or read about the event on the internet. Luckily, a week after the information aired, the pictures were taken down, and the story was rewritten to replace the original. Ned had warned Ari of that happening, labelling it the 'power of the rich'; however, Ari managed to keep herself a picture of the three of them together with Ned's wife, Lia.

Lia had been sweet when they'd first met. However, her lover later joined them with the excuse of being late for work, and just like Ari, Lia's lover was an office man who held much understanding to Lia's situation. If anything, he had been the reason Ari decided not to continue fighting Ned over his marriage. Besides, Lia was already with a child, and even though it had not been revealed to the public, the two lovebirds had decided to keep it private until the divorce between her and Ned had been finalized. It was funny that Lia was willing to take the fall for their 'failed' marriage using the pregnancy as the issue, but Ned was against it.

'Let us not taint an innocent child because of our decisions. I'd rather if it didn't know anything nor made the sacrifices we were forced to make.'

"Perhaps I'm beginning to like him," Ari murmured. He appears arrogant on the outside but is a man of integrity."

"Ms. Ari, why are you smiling all by yourself?"

"Ms. Lia!" Ari immediately stood up and put the picture inside her pocket. She had been lost in thought to have not noticed Lia entering Ned's office. "Are you done with the meeting?"

"Yes, but the Chairman will join us soon with a team of lawyers. Perhaps it would be best to grab a pen and a paper for image purposes and..." Lia stopped midway, for a team of two men and women walked in, Ned appearing right behind them. He shut the door and urged each of them to take a seat. He then introduced Ari as his trusted secretary and nodded for her to play the part.

After the introductions were concluded, their meeting commenced without delay. For the most part, Ari couldn't stop staring at Ned, for she was yet to get used to this formal side of him. Whilst on the trip months back when he'd been assigned the responsibility of his speech, Rey attended functions with him while Ari remained behind to catch up on sleep. Looking back, she regretted not participating actively in the event but hoped to put up a believable display in her current predicament.

"Everything was in our favour from the very beginning. It was evident our opponent was not well prepared."

"What a desperate display that was. At one point, I didn't feel the need to continue the negotiations. I still don't feel victorious fighting someone as weak as such."

"Let's not become complaisant, Chairman Ned. He plays dirty."

"Don't worry, my dear Lia. He has a lot more to lose than we do. Besides, he betrayed the organization, his family and the public. Embezzlement of funds is not taken lightly."

"I was shocked when he threatened to end his life if we didn't let go of the matter."

"And you were to wed him in my place. Your family's reputation would be in shambles."

"Speak for yourself," Lia smirked, then tilted her head to face Ari. "Your secretary is here."

Ned shrugged and leaned back in his seat as if he'd understood the warning. "I suppose you are right. I, too, have much to lose, but I can still take our opponent easily by law. Pinning him down will be a lesson to his sympathizers."