~ At City of Cyrus ~
Andrew didn't attend the social night on the first day of the conference since he was not in the mood. He preferred to stay in his room.
After the last conversation with Alveena, Andrew tried his best to clear up his mind. But still, he was really bothered and affected by Alveena's response.
Andrew was clueless that Alveena just lied to him when she said that she already accepted the arranged marriage with Brandon.
The first formal session of the conference happened on the second day. Each participant was given enough time to finalize and polish their presentations.
Since Andrew didn't attend the social night wherein every finance director from different companies was introduced, he still had no idea that Alveena was the Finance Director of Sy Corp.
His eyes swept the venue, searching for Alveena. Then he found her talking to Brandon. Brandon was following Alveena around, not joining his own team.
Besides, he passed all the tasks to the Finance Director of his company. He just came here to bond with Alveena. That was his main purpose.
Alveena's colleagues, on the other hand, tried their best to give Brandon and Alveena privacy. They just worked on their own according to Alveena's instructions.
They were pushing Alveena to Brandon, not letting her worry about the presentation. In the end, Alveena was stuck with Brandon during the morning session.
Andrew couldn't help but steal glances at Alveena and Brandon from time to time. His colleagues could see that Andrew was a little bit distracted.
When they followed his line of sight, they saw Alveena.
"Hey! Alveena is with Brandon Cullens!" Andrew's finance coordinator blurted out upon seeing Alveena from a distance.
The whole finance team of Heavenly Star Enterprise knew Alveena since she worked for Andrew as his personal assistant.
They got closer to her since she was friendly and approachable. They also liked Alveena's bubbly attitude.
But last night, they were surprised when they discovered her true identity. They wondered if Andrew already knew that Alveena was an heiress of the Sy Corp.
No wonder her surname was Sy. She belonged to the prestigious Sy Family in the City of Empire.
"I missed Alveena. But I am now a little bit suspicious about her." One finance assistant voiced her opinion.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAndrew frowned upon hearing that. "What do you mean?" He asked her with a serious expression on his face. It looked like Andrew was displeased by her words.
Andrew's colleagues looked at him anxiously. They could tell that he was not in a good mood today.
"Ah eh… S-Sir, I'm…" The finance assistant stuttered as she didn't know how she would speak to Andrew who was now looking so annoyed.
The finance coordinator just gave her an encouraging look. He was reassuring her that it was fine to speak her thoughts to them.
The finance assistant bit her lower lip before continuing her words.
"I mean… No offense, Sir Andrew. I am just wondering if you already knew about Alveena's real background even before you hired her to become your personal assistant for a month."
The frown on Andrew's forehead deepened because of her new statements.
"Alverna's background?" He mumbled in confusion.
Andrew's colleagues exchanged glances with one another. It seemed that their Big Boss didn't know about Alveena's background yet.
This time, it was the finance coordinator who spoke to Andrew.
"Last night, during the Socials, the host introduced every Finance Director from different companies. We found out that Alveena was the new Finance Director of Sy Corp."
Andrew's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Sy Corp. He had no idea about this. He thought she was working for Brandon and the Cullens Company.
It turned out, Alveena was part of Sy Corp.
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"She is from the competitor company of Heavenly Star Enterprise. What if Alveena worked for us just to spy on our company's operation?"
"I am also wondering if she has something to do with the information leakage about our designs and items during the product showcase in the Centennial Year Celebration," the finance assistant shared her suspicion with them.
Everyone at the table fell silent when they heard that. Andrew's expression darkened. He was quite shaken after knowing the truth about Alveena's background.
Did Alveena approach him to spy on the company? Did she have an ulterior motive for getting close to him?
Did she intentionally hide her real background and her connection with the Sy Family?
How about her feelings for Andrew? Were they genuine? Or just part of Sy's conspiracy? Did Alveena use him and the Heavenly Star for the Sy Corp's advantage?
Andrew's mind was now in shambles. There were so many questions he wanted answers from her.
'I have to talk to her after the session,' Andrew thought to himself.
"Stop talking about her! We still have a presentation to polish. Focus on your tasks!" Andrew said to them with his stern authoritative voice.
Now it made sense why Alveena was being paired up with Brandon Cullens for an arranged marriage. The Cullens and the Sy Family were family friends.
Meanwhile, if Andrew and his colleagues talked about Alveena's background, Brandon was also pestering Alveena about Andrew's background.
Last night, Brandon learned more about Andrew. He finally recognized him. He was the half-brother of Tristan Davis of the Heavenly Star Enterprise.
Brandon had finally grasped the situation between Alveena and Andrew. They could never be together because Andrew was already engaged with Hannah Miller, the famous artist, and painter in the City of Empire.
"Alveena, I know the reason why you can't be with him. Andrew is already engaged with someone. So what's your plan now? You should stay away from him."
Alveena gave Brandon a warning glare.
"Brandon, we are currently at the conference now. This is not the right place and the right time to talk about this."
Brandon just ignored her words. The presentation would happen in the afternoon. The session was not hectic. Every team was given time to talk and plan their respective presentations.
With that, Brandon had free time to ask Alveena about this. To avoid being heard by others, Brandon grabbed Alveena's arm and pulled her towards the exit door of the conference hall.
He couldn't wait to discuss this with Alveena. He was still bothered and threatened by Andrew's presence.
He couldn't understand why Andrew kissed Alveena yesterday although he already had a fiancee.
Was Andrew cheating on his fiancee? Was Alveena okay about this, ruining Andrew's relationship with his fiancee?
Brandon wanted to know Alveena's thoughts. He would not be able to concentrate as long as his mind was flooded by questions related to Andrew and Alveena.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you dragging me out of the conference hall? If you don't want to work with your team then go on. Just leave me alone, okay?"
Alveena was a little bit annoyed since Brandon mentioned Andrew's engagement. It was a taboo topic for her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhy did he have to bring it up to her during this session?
"I can no longer wait. Can you please answer my question, Alvee? I wanna know your thoughts. Please," Brandon begged with his desperate voice.
Alveena could only sigh helplessly. Since they were now outside the conference room, they could talk now without worrying about others overhearing their conversation.
"What are you going to do about Andrew Davis? I couldn't believe that you just let him kiss you. Are you insane, Alveena? He is already engaged!" Brandon couldn't stop himself from raising his voice a little. He was jealous.
Alveena would become his fiancee. She was not supposed to be kissed by another guy except him.
But Andrew took advantage of his situation and kissed Alveena in front of him despite the fact Andrew already had a fiancee.
Alveena furrowed her eyebrows when she heard Brandon's ranting. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend even though they were not yet official.
She rubbed the space between her eyebrows and took a deep breath before answering Brandon.
"I know! You don't have to remind me of that painful truth. About the kissing incident, I was also caught off guard. I should have stopped him." Alveena mumbled with her sad voice.
"Don't worry, Brandon. I know my place. I know my limits. This will never happen again. Starting today I have decided to stay away from Andrew."
Brandon felt relieved after knowing Alveena's thoughts. At least, she would try her best to avoid Andrew from now on.
"So does it mean, are you giving me a chance now? Are you accepting our arranged marriage?" Brandon asked Alveena expectantly while holding her shoulders.
Alveena fell silent. She hadn't thought about that yet. Would it really be better if she would just accept the marriage and give Brandon a chance?
'Is it really okay to accept this? Can Brandon help me forget about Andrew?' Alveena was asking herself.
Brandon was anticipating Alveena's answer when once again they were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Alveena, can we talk?"
Brandon and Alveena glanced at the source of that voice only to see Andrew with his unreadable expression.
Andrew saw Brandon dragging Alveena out of the conference hall a while ago. He tried to ignore it but failed.
In the end, he followed them outside. Seeing how close Brandon was to Alveena while he was holding her shoulders, Andrew quickly approached them thus interrupting their conversation once again.
Brandon could only curse Andrew inwardly as he ruined the moment again and again.