Secretly Mine
Chapter 45: Pushing a Secret Agenda [Christian POV]

Chapter 45: Pushing a Secret Agenda [Christian POV]

Let me see if Blake has those contracts finished.

I walked out of my office, making my way over to the elevator.

Oh, this is odd, the elevator isn’t up here.

I stood in front of the doors, waiting for it to arrive, while mentally going through the list of tasks I needed to get through today.

Ding! The elevator bell rang, and the doors opened, revealing a very shocked yet beautiful Leslie inside.

"Christian? Why are you here so early?" she asked with wide eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I said, pleasantly surprised.

Seeing her here so early in the morning certainly made my morning. I quickly dismissed the idea of finding Blake, deciding that I would rather spend more time with Leslie.

She looked a bit tired, as if she had a hard time sleeping last night.

"Silly, I always arrive this early. What about you? You should still be sleeping. Why are you here so early?" I asked with a smile.

The smile on her face froze. She recovered quickly, but something told me that something was wrong.

"Oh, I just felt like coming early to get some work done. The deadline is approaching, and I want to make sure that everything is in order," she said with a fake smile.

Her response only furthered my suspicions: something was definitely wrong.

We made it to my office, where I finally looked at her with worry.

"Leslie, what happened? Something is bothering you."

She didn’t answer right away and pulled her gaze away from mine. I could sense the internal turmoil she was experiencing.

Her hesitation told me that she wasn’t ready to talk about it, so I didn’t push the topic. All I could do was offer her some comfort until she was ready to tell me.

I reached out and held her hands, causing her to finally look at me.

"If you decide that you want to talk about it, I’m always here to listen. I’m on your side."

She visibly froze before quickly looking away. I could tell that she was fighting off the tears that wanted to break free.

It’ll be okay. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.

I made her a number of promises in my heart, never wanting to see her so upset again.

When she turned back to look at me, she was back to smiling again, though I could still see the restless emotions in her eyes.

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind," she said sweetly, in almost a whisper.

I swear I’ll make whoever upset you like this pay.

We walked over to her office through the hidden door. The whole way over, my mind was filled with ways to cheer her up.

As we made it inside, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, reminding me of a meeting I had coming up.

Unfortunately, this meeting isn’t skippable.

After looking at her one more time, I placed a kiss on her cheek and told her that I had to step out for a little bit.

-

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I pulled out my phone and sent Blake a message.

[Prepare some snacks for me. I’ll come by and pick it up on my way back from the meeting.]

A moment later, my phone buzzed:

[Sure thing, boss!]

-

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and took a deep breath before walking into the conference room on the fifth floor.

Today was my monthly meeting with the other executives, and it was always a headache. It always ended up being a battle of pointing fingers, everyone trying to place the blame on someone else.

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by the three executives who used to run the Sophia season launch before I transferred it to Leslie.

Oh, here we go...

"CEO. It’s nice to see you," one of them stepped forward and greeted, blocking my path to my seat.

I could feel a headache coming. Of all of the executives in my company, these three were the most useless ones.

For months, I’ve been looking for a good opportunity to let them go, but they’ve managed to avoid doing anything that could warrant me to directly let them go.

"Hello, how can I help you?" I asked, looking at them coldly.

The bravest of the bunch took another step forward.

"You see, we were wondering when the decision on who the designer for the season launch will be. The excellent jeweler that we’ve used for the past season launches has contacted us asking why we’re waiting so long to extend the contract invitation."

I frowned. This was Leslie’s project, and I wanted her to have full freedom regarding what to do.

Why are they even concerned with who gets chosen as the designer?

The project is in good hands. I’m sure the news of who will be selected will be announced soon.

I wanted to take a step forward, but they blocked my path again.

Okay, now I’m starting to get angry.

"Sir. Please understand! Our company’s relationship with Lorenzo, the master jeweler, is very important for Sophia’s image!"

One of the other executives stepped forward, "Yes, yes! It’s in Sophia’s best interests that we secure another contract with Lorenzo!"

I looked at them and frowned.

"Gentlemen, last time I looked, Sophia was my brand, not Lorenzo’s. I’m not sure why you feel so strongly about him, but if his work is truly that masterful, I’m sure the new project head will also choose him."

They all nodded in unison, but the nervousness was clearly portrayed on their faces.

There must be another reason why they want this Lorenzo so badly. I’ll have to investigate.

"Sir, if I may," said the last of the trio, "May we know who the new project head is? Perhaps we can help guide this person with our prior knowledge."

I highly doubt you’re capable of guiding anyone.

"I’m sorry, but I’ve signed an NDA agreement with this new person. I am not allowed to disclose their identity, but rest assured, the project is in good hands."

After finishing my statement, I pushed past them and walked over to the head of the conference table, taking my seat.

For the rest of the general meeting, I received countless glares from the trio. They clearly had an agenda and were willing to take risks to achieve it.

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