The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 164: Worthy Of You

Chapter 164: Worthy Of You

"She has nothing to do with me. We had a relationship but that was in the past." Jax was nonchalant when he replied to Karla.

The event ended. Jax wanted to send back Aryana but she declined. She informed him that Erik will pick her up.

True enough the moment Aryana came out of the hotel’s glass door, a black Maybach was already waiting for her. The driver opened the door of the back seat for her.

Jax sighed and watched her board the car with a darkened gaze.

"Did someone bully you in the gala? I saw a video where you are being accused of pushing someone into the pool."

Erik pulled her close. He grabbed a strand of her hair and smelled it then twirled it around his finger.

"She fell into her own trap. She wanted to shame me but I am not easily bullied."

"My wife is the best." Erik whispered into her ear and then he nibbled her lobe.

Aryana blushed.

"Behave yourself CEO Lee. We are in the car." Aryana pushed him. Erik chuckled.

"Okay, I’ll wait until we arrived at the penthouse." Erik winked at her and kissed her hand. "You dressed beautifully for another man tonight so I will punish you."

After her ’punishment’ from Erik, Aryana could not sleep. She logged in to her social media account but was surprised to see photos of her and Jax during the gala trending. There was also a photo of her taken during the opening ceremony where Jax was standing too close to her, his face on her ear.

Aryana stole a glance at Erik who was lying beside her and seemed to be asleep.

’The New CEO of Lee Financials rumored girlfriend.’ Aryana’s heartbeat quickened as she read the blog and the comments under it.

"Jax will definitely clarify this." She murmured to herself.

"He will not." Aryana was surprised to hear Erik respond.

"I thought you were asleep." She turned sideways to face him. ’Did he hear what I said?’

"Nope. I was peeping at what you are reading on the net."

"I have acted appropriately but there are people who are slandering me." She looked at Erik thoughtfully.

"You are powerful hubby. You should have an idea who is behind this right?"

Erik took the cell phone from Aryana and browsed the photos. He stopped on the photo where Jax was whispering something into her ear.

"What did he say to you?"

"He said that you were enamored by Cassie’s speech."

"What?" Erik sounded incredulous.

Aryana regarded Erik with lowered eyelashes.

"Why are you so shocked? Your eyes were filled with admiration as you watched Cassie. But to be fair, Cassie was an eloquent speaker."

"Were you jealous?"

"Should I be?"

"Of course not. Come here." Erik pulled her close and invaded her mouth.

Aryana escaped his lips and pushed him gently from her.

"Who do you think is trying to ship me with Jax?"

"Of course it is Jax, who else could he be?"

Aryana looked at him like he has grown two heads. "What are you talking about? I don’t think it is Jax. There is someone who is trying to ruin my reputation in a subtle way. I haven’t noticed it before but now that I think about it, there are many photos of me with different men."

She took her cell phone from Erik.

Aryana remembered the links that Elaine had sent her before. They reported some of those links and Erik has also deleted photos where Aryana was entertaining their company guests. She accessed the new links and she stumbled upon a blog entitled "A young model and her men."

She showed the blog to Erik. "Here, look at this." She moved closer to Erik and showed her the photos. It was a collection of her pictures with Antonio, Clark, Jax, and even Hector. There were also photos of her with men that she did not recognize.

"I don’t know this man at all. I guess we just happen to be walking side by side and someone snapped a photo."

Erik took Aryana’s phone and forwarded the link to his messenger.

"I’ll have it investigated." A cold expression crossed his face. He has some ideas about who was behind the plot to ruin Aryana but he needed to gather evidence.

"Let us go to sleep." He placed Aryana’s cell phone on top of the bedside table and cuddled Aryana.

He gently kissed both of her eyes before dimming the lampshade and closing his eyes.

...

The following day, Aryana went to the supermarket and brought ingredients. She decided to cook a sumptuous dinner for both of them. She was busy in the last few weeks it has been a long time since she cooked for Erik.

Aryana was busy in the kitchen when Erik arrived. He stood at the door while watching Aryana cut the chicken into smaller pieces and peeled the vegetables.

He silently went behind her and hugged her from the back.

Aryana screamed. "You startled me. Don’t do that next time. I could have cut myself or I could have accidentally hurt you."

"Sorry, my mistake. Let me help you."

Erik peeled and cut the vegetables. The carrots were not peeled properly and the slices were not uniform but Aryana did not say anything. She let the chicken simmer for some time before taking the vegetables from Erik. She put them into the pot and waited a few more minutes.

"It is done. We can have our dinner."

"You seemed to be in a good mood today. What’s the happy occasion?"

"The first month’s sale of Cool and Chic is beyond our expectations." She smiled broadly. "The CoChi brand has taken the internet by storm. More and more women from the young and mass affluent market segment are clamoring for the company to increase production."

"My wife is awesome. I had underestimated you. I thought that you are just playing and not serious about your business."

"Well, I learned from CEO Lee."

Aryana fiddled with her cell phone. "I think it is time for us to have a physical store. What do you think?"

"Can you show me your sales?"

Aryana logged into U-Shoppe and showed Erik last month’s data. The corner of Erik’s lips curled up when he saw Aryana using U-Shoppe.

"This is last month’s sales and this is the projection for this month. We have tripled our production in anticipation of an increase in orders."

Erik looked at the projection and the numbers are looking good.

"Do you like your current e-commerce platform?"

Aryana frowned. She did not understand why Erik has to ask an irrelevant question.

"Yes. U-Shoppe is great. I like it. But from the customer’s perspective, I hope that it can integrate into kaleidoscope. Our customers would be happy if they can customize their dress style using the app."

"That’s good feedback. How about I invite you to dinner together with the IT team of Red Phoenix Technologies so you can provide them with your feedback?"

"Do you know the CEO of Red Phoenix Technologies?"

Erik nodded. He then gave a mysterious smile. Aryana frowned but did not think so much about it.

"Can you recommend a good place where we can open a physical store? I am also thinking of opening CoChi for franchising."

Erik was seeing Aryana in a different light. She was indeed very cautious when dealing with business matters. He thought that Cassie did the right thing with her business plan for Timeless Beauty. She started with a big bang and spent a lot of money. While her sales are good, she spent a lot of money so she was not making any profit yet.

Aryana on the other hand made a huge profit in her first month of operation because she spent too little on administration and overhead.

"You can open your main branch at The Plaza. The mall’s target market is the young and mass affluent."

"That’s a popular mall. Is there an available space for lease?"

"The Plaza is owned by Gaeya Corporation. I will give you a unit to be leased."

Erik look up the information about CoChi and was amused by what he read.

"I did not know that I have such a capable wife. You have already registered your brand and company. Why did not I know that I have a CEO as my wife?" Erik looked displeased.

Aryana laughed lightly.

"It is not something to be proud of. It is just a very small company. Just a grain in a bucket of sand."

"Are you looking down on yourself?"

Erik pulled her and let her sit on his lap. He held her chin gently and tilted it so their eyes were locked.

"What you have accomplished so far is a great feat. You started with very little capital. It is only one month and yet CoChi is very popular."

"I want to be worthy of you Erik. I’d like to stand tall and proud beside the mighty CEO of Gaeya Corporation."

Erik frowned. "If I am not a CEO, would you have agreed to my marriage proposal?"