Deception

CHAPTER FIVE

ELLIE'S POV

I adjusted myself on my chair, looking around me every five seconds to know if he's near me. Okay, that might sound too much but I just couldn't help myself. I had a lot to say to him, a lot to ask him. But Chloe and I have been here for more than an hour and we didn't see him. I nervously looked around me again.

" Ellie, focus. You'll be up soon." Chloe said.

I bit my lower lip, and tried to focus on what the anchor was saying. But I just couldn't.

" Here," Chloe said, handing me a bottle of water, " have some. It'll help you calm down."

I took it and gulped half of it. It sadly didn't help. I kept the bottle on the table and groaned internally.

" Ellie, this is the first time I've seen you nervous for a speech. You're always so bold. I don't really like this. Try to calm down."

I opened my mouth to protest that I wasn't nervous because of the speech, but because of my elder brother who swore to deal with me when he comes back, but got interrupted by the anchor when he raised his voice a little louder than normal.

"... And with a round of applause, please welcome, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the beauty and brain behind the top fashion company in the country, the youngest CEO ever recorded in history, CEO of Diamond Glow, Ellie Brown!"

This was followed by a huge round of applause and Chloe pushing me up from my seat. With a sigh, I walked over to the podium to deliver my speech.

———

RYAN'S POV

I cursed myself internally for letting Mom get me into this. I would have just given her a firm no. I absolutely have no idea how she persuaded Dad to forgive me after our little ' conversation ' a week ago and get him to make me Vice President of the company. Yes, it might sound nice to whoever hears that I'm the Vice President of the second best fashion and jewelry brand in the country, but to me, it's bullshit. I've never wanted to run a company, not to talk of my Dad's company. I'm fine with running a restaurant. Cooking has been always been my thing anyway. Now I'm in this God-damned business conference, listening as each speaker unwrapped their bundle of nonsense.

I sighed in relief as the second speaker who has been saying nonsense for the past thirty minutes got off the podium, although it seemed more like the event's anchor got him to leave. Truth be told, people need to learn how to say whatever they want to in a straight forward manner, not to beat around the bush and tell their life stories of which no one gives a fuck about.

"...And with a round of applause, please welcome, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the beauty and brain behind the top fashion company in the country, the youngest CEO ever recorded in history, CEO of Diamond Glow, Ellie Brown!"  The anchor said and I groaned internally.

Another speech? Just great.

The next speaker, a young lady dressed in an elegant but formal manner, climbed the podium and faced us, the audience. I froze immediately I saw her face.

She's the lady who's car I slammed into the other day.

No wonder she looked familiar to me then. She is THE Ellie Brown, one of those that Dad frequently compares me to, and Dad's business competitor.

" She's pretty, isn't she?" The man beside asked.

" Yeah, she is." I admitted.

" I've had the pleasure of meeting her twice, and she's very sweet. If she's this good at everything, how good will she be down there." He said as lust filled his eyes.

You've got to be kidding me. This man's old enough to be her grandfather!

I adjusted myself to face him." Sir, don't you think you're too old for her?" I asked, trying to hide my irritation.

" Not at all." He replied, still ogling.

" Sir, that young lady is like a goddess. She's worshipped by so many people and many of them throw themselves at her. What makes you think she'll look at your old self instead of the many young capable guys around her?"

He turned to me, angry." Watch your tone, kid."

" I will Sir, but , watch what you look at as well." I said and turned away, feeling proud of myself. Yeah, I sleep around ( which I'm trying to stop, for Mum's sake) , but what this man just did was way worse.

Ellie concluded her speech and everyone gave her a standing ovation. The anchor took over and I silently prayed that there won't be another speech. But I guess the universe had other plans for me.

" ... And our last speech for today will be given by the CEO of I Am Tech, James Wells! Please give him a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen!"

My brows furrowed and anger surged within me. James Wells? I thought I had seen the last of that bastard. He climbed up the podium and began his speech, which sounded like trash to me, with pride evident in his voice. My thoughts went back to our previous encounters while still in college. We were both jerks, but he was by far the biggest one. We both played girls, but he went far by hurting one I really loved after making her reject me. I took my revenge on his sister, doing to her what her brother did to Stephanie, but who knew that the bitch would fall madly in love with me. I met Zoe months later and broke up with his sister. He was very upset, but I couldn't care less. Hell, we even fought. He made sure his sister never got close to me again, and months after Zoe's death, they travelled abroad.

Yeah, what I did might sound bad, but I don't regret it at all, not even in the tiniest bit.

"... Thank you everyone, thank you. And, I'll use this opportunity to announce my partnership with CEO of Diamond Tech, Ethan Brown! We are working on a device that will shake the world in due time. We'll make our country proud!"

Bullshit.

And with that, he got off the podium and minutes later, the conference came to an end and I couldn't be more happier.

After greeting a few persons I knew absolutely nothing about, I turned to leave. But not until I heard his Godforsaken voice.

" Vice President Adams, it's been a while." He said. I slowly turned to face him, my expression cold.

Any trace of happiness I had was immediately replaced with anger.

———

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