Chapter 62 Capturing the Hearts of the Masses
The women who were in the midst of a heated discussion were startled by his voice. They
reflexively turned around and hid the phone behind their backs.
“Umm… Mr. Brown.”
David wasn’t a stern man. But he was Lucian’s assistant and represented him. Lucian was known to dislike employees gossiping in the office even during break times.
“We’ll go to the Finance Department and write ourselves up. Can you please turn a blind eye to this? I accidentally opened it. So, I took a tiny peek.”
David frowned and persisted with his question.
“What is that program called? Answer my question. I’m not interested in your nonsense.”
The female secretary cursed him internally for being nosy and answered, “It’s something about craftsmanship.”
The documentary was about traditional crafts of intangible cultural heritage. The first episode featured conservator restorers.
But what had him interested in the program wasn’t its contents. It was the person who never showed their face from beginning to end.
The entire episode was shot with a focus on their hands. Even their gender remained uncertain because of the way they dressed and the size of their hands.
A glance clued him in on how familiar the pair of hands were. Now, he was certain. It was Calista! He took a tablet and knocked on the door of the president’s office.
“Ms. Everhart is on TV, Mr. Northwood!”
Lucian frowned. His first thought was that his relationship with Calista had been exposed by the media. Reporters weren’t invited to Selena’s birthday party. But with so many people there, there were no secrets that could stay hidden forever.
“Have the PR team handle it. Don’t report such trivial matters to me.”
David aulne
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“I think you should take a look at this, Mr. Northwood.”
It would’ve been alright if it were just an ordinary explanation about the restoration of cultural
artifacts. But there was also a clip of the hands of two people.
He wasn’t sure what was happening with the people online. They were pairing them together. An
ordinary mistake produced so many unrealistic ideas.
Some people have made clips of the moment and posted them on a video site. The show wasn’t popular. But the video of them holding hands took off. It was on the trending searches.
Most of the comments were about wanting the woman to show her face. Only a small portion of the comments were about the man’s good looks.
The director certainly knew how to catch the curiosity of the people on the Internet. A documentary about the profession was filmed as if it were a cheesy soap opera.
The two protagonists, one who showed his face and the other who didn’t, had captured the hearts of many.
What David showed Lucian was an edited clip. The man looked coldly watched as the hands accidentally touched in the video before quickly separating.
He could hear the soft, distorted voice of a woman echoing in his ears saying, “It’s okay“. His emotions were taking a drastic turn. Something was churning from within him. But he reigned it
- in.
Lucian had a good memory. He instantly recognized the man in the video… He was the person who sat next to Calista at the stall the last time they met. He looked up and turned his gaze to David.
“How do you know the woman to be Calista? Only her hands are in the frame.”
David’s heart skipped a beat. He noticed that Lucian sounded off. But he had no idea how he had offended his moody superior again.
He answered honestly, “Ms. Everhart has a mole on the back of her hand.”
t wasn’t a particularly distinctive feature. But having a mole in the same place was relatively incommon. Lucian’s gaze returned to the tablet. The video kept replaying the segment where heir hands briefly touched.
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He spoke in a low voice, “Leave me.”
David hesitated. He couldn’t quite grasp what Lucian was thinking and ultimately set the tablet down. He could feel the growing tension in the office and quickly left.
Lucian paused the video with a blank expression. There was a grim look in his eyes as he watched the fair and slender hand being held by another man. He was quick to let go. But Lucian found the sight to be an eyesore.
He opened his call log and gave Calista a call. They hadn’t contacted each other since their last argument. It had been nearly half a month since then.
“Sorry. The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later.”
Lucian was silent. He called again ten minutes later. Still, there was no answer. The man smiled coldly as he put on his coat and left the office.
When he passed David’s workstation, he, for some reason, took David’s phone and dialed Calista’s number. After a brief moment of silence, a beeping sound could be heard through the receiver. 1
That woman had blocked his number! His expression grew even colder. He didn’t bother waiting for her to answer. He hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, at Justa Workshop, Calista was just about to wash her hands and pick up her phone when whoever called hung up. She saw the name on the screen and didn’t bother calling back.
If David was contacting her, it meant that Lucian was looking for her. Nothing good ever came out of that. She looked away and got back to work when another phone call came for her. It was Yara.
Yara was, without a doubt, calling her for the same reason. She had seen the videos and the edited filters. It certainly gave off a feeling that couldn’t be talked about.
She stepped out into the corridor. The moment she answered the call, a woman’s excited voice could be heard over the phone.
“You’re something else, Calista! You’ve already found yourself a new man. Bryan is quite the looker, isn’t he?”
“Put away your strange thoughts. Everything you see on the Internet is fake. He and I are just colleagues with nothing going on between us.”
“Sure, nothing is going on between you two now. But there will be if you work a little harder!
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patents were university professors at one point. They later switched to running a company. Their family is well–off now. His grandparents on both sides of the family come from government*l
sectors or schools. They’re your classic family of scholars.”
Calista was speechless. Seeing how Calista remained unmoved, Yara pressed on.
“He might not be able to match up to Mr. Northwood in terms of wealth or social status, but he’s from a family with a literary reputation. He has a good character. You’ll be able to reach new heights in your career if you get together with him! First come, first serve. Take this opportunity.. Didn’t you two film a program together? Invite him out for dinner and have a few drinks. With your appearance, figure, and talents, you’ll capture his heart.”
Calista laughed.
“Judging by how your past relationships have gone down, I’d rather not take your advice.”
“Those are just misunderstandings! Alright, I’m getting back to work. Go get him. Where else would you get yourself a man as fine as that!”
Yara quickly hung up afterward. Calista stood in the corridor for a while before returning to her workstation. There was no one else but Bryan in the studio. She was taken aback.
“Where did everyone go?”
“They went to get food.” he rolled over on his chair with a phone in hand and browsing an application. “What do you want for dinner? I’m getting takeout.”
She shook her head.
“It’s fine. I’ll finish up and head home.”
The studio was recently rushing to repair a batch of terracotta vases from ancient Estria. A wealthy person was planning an exhibition featuring Estrian vases.
The proceeds from the ticket sales would go toward the education of the poor children living in the mountains. The schedule was tight. Everyone had to work overtime.
“Do you know how long you’ll be working for? You should eat something to help tide you over. After a whole day of work, you’ll collapse the moment you get home.”
Calista did fool bun,
“Sure.”
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She walked over to pick something out. As she approached, a soft and pleasant fragrance greeted him. It wasn’t the smell of a typical perfume. It was like a subtle fragrance from a shower gel.
Bryan turned his head slightly to stare at her face. The woman had fair and delicate skin. He could see a soft layer of fuzz. That was when the sound of a click resounded.
The studio’s door was wrenched open from outside. Standing at the doorway was Lucian. His cold gaze was fixed on the pair standing close to one another.
