The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 161: I Accompanied Her Because You Are Busy

Chapter 161: I Accompanied Her Because You Are Busy

Jax noticed the glare that the old Lopez threw Aryana.

"What did you do to Cassie and what did she tell her grandpa? He is looking at you like you bullied his granddaughter." Jax took every opportunity to come close to Aryana.

"I am innocent. I don’t know anything." Aryana threw her hands up in the air.

The video of Cassie’s commercials endorsing Timeless Beauty’s flagship product ended. Aryana went to the buffet table to get some food. Jax followed behind.

Erik was being held up by his grandfather and Vicente Lopez. They were discussing the expansion plan for Timeless Beauty. Cassie was standing beside Erik looking at him adoringly.

Aryana glanced at them from time to time while Jax was watching her intently.

"Jealous?" he asked while casually getting the same food that Aryana took just so he can stay with her. "Don’t worry, I’ll accompany you so you don’t get out of place."

Aryana walked to a table in the corner and sat on the chair with her plate. Jax followed and sat beside her.

Two women occupied the seat beside Aryana.

"You are Aryana Jones, the product endorser of CoChi?" The woman in the blue dress asked her. "I like the dress you are wearing tonight. Is there something similar but slightly different?"

"Yes. I have variations of this design." Suddenly an idea clicked in Arayana’s mind. "But it is not proper for us to discuss this here. How about I give you the contact details of the CoChi marketing assistant?"

The woman agreed and Aryana provided her with Elaine’s contact number. The two women left after that.

"By the way, does CoChi do office outfits?" Jax spoke beside her.

"Yes, we do." Aryana took out her cell phone and accessed her gallery, then she showed some photos to Jax.

"Hmm, you have an excellent designer. Do you do custom designs?"

Aryana looked at him thoughtfully.

"At the moment no. But I can ask my designer to make exceptions for friends."

’Friends.’ Jax smiled wryly. ’For now, this is the best option for me, but I want more.’ he secretly looked at Aryana.

"You don’t have any plans of expanding your business or doing a grand opening ceremony?" Jax put down his spoon and fork to give her his full attention. "Look at Cassie, she started grand. If Erik can support her, I’m sure he can also support you."

"Isn’t a big business troublesome? I just want to start small. Start from the bottom and slowly climb up." Arayana twirled the pasta with her fork and placed it in her mouth.

"You don’t want to become rich in a short time?" Jax looked at her interestingly. She looked cute with the way she ate the spaghetti.

"I just want to test the waters. Online selling has very little overhead. We have a lot of orders though. If the trend continues, then we will not be able to cope with the orders and forced to expand.

"Hmm. Are you afraid to take risks and lose money? Erik is rich. If you don’t want to use his money, you can come to me. I am now a banker." Jax winked at her.

"And why should she come to you when she can come to me?" a cold voice permeated the air. Erik sat on the other side of Aryana. Aryana was now sitting in between the two men.

"I am just joking cousin. I am just humoring my cousin-in-law because you seemed busy." Jax appeared casual but Aryana sensed sarcasm in his voice.

Erik threw daggers at him. Jax just smiled innocently.

"You want me to get food for you?" Aryana asked Erik when she saw that he did not get any food. She did not wait for him to reply but stood up and went to the buffet table.

When she came back, Cassi was sitting beside Erik. Erik has taken her plate and was eating her food. Jax continued eating.

"I am already hungry so I started eating. You can eat the food you took." He gestured to Aryana to sit down.

"Erik, I’ll get you dessert." Cassie did not wait for him to reply. She stood up and went to the buffet table.

"I am envious of you cousin. Two beautiful women are fawning over you. Can you share your secret?"

"Aren’t you the playboy in the family? Why ask me?"

Aryana almost choked on the juice that she was drinking.

’These two men are very childish.’

Cassie came back with the dessert and she placed it in front of Erik. It was a chocolate cake and a strawberry cheesecake.

"These used to be your favorite desserts."

Erik just looked at the dessert and said nonchalantly. "I have stopped liking these desserts. Maybe it is because have aged."

Cassie looked dejected. But she rearranged her facial expression and she was back to her cheerful self.

"I didn’t know that. So what dessert do you like nowadays?" Cassie probed.

"I don’t eat desserts anymore Cassie." Erik’s voice has a trace of impatience in it.

Cassie did not pester him anymore. She silently ate the chocolate and the strawberry cheesecake. She was deep in thought.

Aryana heard her cell phone dinged. She logged in to her social media account and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

’Oh my gosh. The number of my fans soared to three million from two million? What happened? Did I really benefit from Cassie’s live streaming?’

Amy has a message and she read it.

Amy: I have an ad invitation for Silver White toothpaste. Would you like to accept it?

Aryana: Silver White Toothpaste? One of the most popular toothpaste brands? Accept it.

’I have such neat and white teeth and a beautiful smile. I’ll be the right person for the endorsement.’ Aryana thought.

"Aryana, I count on you to endorse Timeless Beauty." Cassie’s voice pulled her back from her thoughts.

"Uh, you mean you want me to do a commercial for you? Sure. I can give you my agent’s contact number." Aryana said innocently.

Cassie’s face turned ugly for a fleeting second. "I did not mean that." She looked at Erik to help her out.

"What did you mean then? You want to get a free endorsement from me?" She tactlessly lifted her gaze to see Cassie become flustered.

Jax who was drinking his wine almost choked. He did not expect to hear such direct rebuttal from Aryana.

Erik looked sideways at her. He silently gave a nod of approval. His wife has become better at handling difficult conversations.

Cassie’s grandfather joined them at the table. He stared at Aryana and studied her carefully. Aryana felt uncomfortable under his piercing gaze but she appeared calm on the outside.

"Good evening Mr. Lopez." Aryana took the initiative to greet him.

"Grandpa, this is Aryana Jones. She is an assistant at Gaeya Corporation and also a model." She paused and looked at Jax. "You already know Jax right? The eldest son of James Lee?"

"I know Jax. He is now the President and CEO of Lee Financials. As for this woman over here, is she the one who was the hot topic in the live stream earlier?"

Erik looked at Vicente Lee. He did not like the tone of his voice.

"What hot topic and live stream?" He inquired from Cassie. He took out his cell phone and sent a message to Marlon. ’Find out what happened to the live stream today.’

"I don’t understand what you mean, Mr. Lopez." Aryana’s voice was very respectful.

"Ms. Jones, netizens are talking about how beautiful you are and how stylish your dress is on Cassie’s live stream."

"Apologies for that, Mr. Lopez. However, I do not have control over what other people say or do." Aryana was polite and her voice gentle. "My name normally never gets picked during raffles. I was even surprised when Cassie picked my name. I have to thank her for giving me a chance to get exposure."

Cassie gritted her teeth. Aryana has effortlessly insinuated that it was her fault because she picked her name.

Vicente Lopez regarded Aryana with narrowed eyes. The girl looked naive but she wasn’t simple-minded. His granddaughter was smart but the girl seated in front of him was cunningly smart.

"She is working as your assistant?" Vicente Lopez directed his gaze at Erik who was finishing the pasta on his plate.

"Yes, Grandpa. She is assisting Marlon on the amusement park project."

"I see." He stroked his beard. "What do you think of Cassie’s speech earlier?"

"It was beautiful. Cassie has articulated the company’s vision well." Erik said casually.

"You should have seen the look on Erik’s face while listening to Cassie on the stage." Jax interjected.

Erik turned in his direction and stared sharply at him.

"And what did he look like?" Cassie asked in a charming voice. Of course, she remembered the look of admiration in Erik’s eyes.

"You know how a high schooler would look at his first love? That’s how he looked like earlier." Jax grinned.

Aryana almost choked on her drink. Despite her efforts, she still coughed lightly.

Cassie blushed and smiled shyly.

Erik clenched his fists and looked at Jax fiercely.