Chapter 03
Celeste’s heart pounded uncontrollably.
A year ago, Kendric had gone to Europe to expand overseas markets. He
had only returned two or three times for the past year.
It had been over a week since Celeste had received his call the last time.
Since Kendric was always on his business trip by flight, his phone was
usually kept by his assistant. Most of the time, Celeste couldn’t get through his
phone.
But her too frequent calls made Ken’s assistant team grow critical of her. They would intentionally ignore her calls.
In the past, Celeste would turn furious after being teased by his assistants. Later, she got used to it.
There were still rumors that her being too clingy and bad temper were the reason Kendric refused to go home…
Celeste threw the phone away and finished her meal.
Late at night, the Champs–Élysées Avenue lay quiet and serene.
na
Kendric had just wrapped up a tough negotiation. He strode away from the
venue.
Assistant Luke handed over today’s meeting minutes to Ken for his signature.
After that, Luke was about to depart when Kendric stopped him, “anything else to report?”
Luke racked his brain, wondering if there were any other crucial matters
he overlooked.
But no, he had reported every crucial matters.
“No, sir. Everything went off without a hitch, and there’s no unexpected
hiccup outside our plan.”
Kendric still frowned. He watched out the window.
Kendric didn’t utter a word, yet Luke still sensed a palpable tension in the air. He started pondering whether he made some mistakes.
Back at the hotel, Kendric shed his suit and immersed himself in work. His assistant and brain trust toiled through the night as well.
Kendric is known as a business talent who transformed Melville Group into an industry juggernaut within a mere decade.
Yet, only a few knew that he’s a perfectionist as well as a workaholic.
They laboured away until the break of dawn. The assistants and brain trust members were all worn–out. They yearned for some rest. But nobody dared to leave without Kendric’s permission.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Luke ventured inside to remind Kendric of getting some rest. However, all he received was Kendrick’s cold glance.
In the conference hall of the hotel, the assistants huddled together, sighing in despair.
Assistant Mary cast a worried look toward the room. She was the oldest and most experienced one of the team, so she knew her boss’s temperament well.
Chapter3
This kind of crazy, even self–tormenting overtime was a clear sign of
Kendric’s bad mood.
Mary lost in contemplation. “Did Mr. Melville mention anything today?”
Everyone shook their heads. “We had meetings all day, and then business partner hosted a dinner in the evening. We came back right after dinner.”
It suddenly dawn on Luke something. “Yeah! Boss asked me if there wast
anything else to report when I handed over the documents.”
Mary probed further. “What else did he say?”
“Um…I think no.”
Something clicked in Mary’s mind. “Is there any call from Melville family
recently?”
“Yes. Ms. Quinn called yesterday and asked about sir’s recent situation.”
Mary had a hunch that it wasn’t the key point. “Anyone else?”
“Well, a few days ago, Mr. Melville’s friend, Mr. Bates, also called and asked when he is gonna return.”
“What about Celeste Alinsky?!” Mary finally seized the crux of the problem.
Everyone exchanged glances and quickly checked the call records. Celeste used to call frequently, but now they found there hadn’t been any calls from her recently.
“She didn’t make any calls?”
“No.” Luke was still in confusion.
“When was the last time she called?”
Chapter 03
“Ten days ago, but at that time, Mr. Melville was in a conference call in his study, and we… we didn’t tell him.”
Mary checked the previous call records, and a voice in her head told her
that the problem lay here.
“Call her.”
The phone on the table just wouldn’t quit ringing. Celeste grew irritated.
She tossed the phone into the trash can.
Kendric seldom took his initiative to ring her up. Whenever his call did
come through, it could bring a smile on her face that lasted for days.
But things were different now.
Celeste made a call to her best friend, Sienna Vader.
Sienna was a lady from a typical bigshot family. She just got the news that
Celeste had moved out of Melville family, and she was all set to give Celeste a
call when she received the call.
As soon as the phone got through, Sienna shot a barrage of roars, “hey, Cely,
I heard you moved out from Melville? What trick you’re playing this time?”
As Celeste’s bestie, Sienna had once persuaded her to drop this doomed love. She promised to find Celeste a guy even more dashing and loaded than
Kendric.
That Celeste always put herself low in this relationship irked Sienna to no end. However, Sienna lamentably realized the fact that nothing could make Celeste’s eyes move away from Kendric.
Thus, upon hearing Celeste left Melville family, the first thing came to
Sienna’s mind was not that Celeste had decided to let go, but that she was up to
some mischief.
“Come on, Cely, tell me. What’s it this time? To force Kendric into marriage
or something else?”
Celeste let out a helpless sigh.
She didn’t sound as energetic as before. Sienna put down the palette and
said in a serious tone, “What happened on earth, Cely?”
Celeste took a deep breath. “I’ve decided to let go.”
Sienna rolled her eyes, “this is already the thousandth time you made this
vow this year.”
She didn’t believe for a second that Celeste would recovered from her
hopeless infatuation with Kendric. Even if one day elderly Celeste is dying, Sienna thought, she’d plead with God to bring Kendric with her.
Celeste chuckled. She shook her head, steering the conversation in a
different direction, “I’ll be in the studio tomorrow.”
This decision really surprised Sienna a bit. “Wow, what makes you, our rare visitor, to honour us with your presence?”
Celeste sauntered over to the balcony. “Okay, Sienna, I know I shouldn’t have dumped all studio affairs on you since I’m the co–partner. Anyway, I’ll be punctual for work from tomorrow on. Have to earn my living now…”
Sienna rolled her eyes. “Has Kendric gone bankrupt? And he needs you to earn the living?”
“I didn’t take a single penny form Melville.”
Sienna paused for a few seconds. “what do you mean?”
Since Celeste moved into Melville family, they had covered all her expenses.
Even though Kendric had no feelings for her, he treated this nominal fiancée
generously.
Eg
In order to blend into Kendric’s social circle, Celeste packaged herself using luxury clothes or bags. But later she found out that Kendric’s friends were
calling her gold digger behind her back. Only then did she realize how ridiculous she had been.
“I mean exactly what you heard.”
“You serious, Cely? You really have made up your mind?”
“Why do you all doubt my determination to let go? Is it literally so hard to believe?”
“Hard to believe? It’s NO WAY TO BELIEVE! Eight years! You’ve crazily chased after him for eight years. And now you are telling me you gave up shitty jerk. Just like last time you decided to have bagel as your breakfast, but finally you chose pancake, as always.”
Celeste was
amused by her words. “My life can’t be without pancakes, but it
can be without Kendric, right?”
“No.” Sienna blurted out.
