Chapter 152
“Is this how I am supposed to handle it?” Elara asked Daniel, her hand on her hips as she looked at him with an impatient look.
Daniel stood, leaning back a little, and looked at her neck before nodding.
“I think we need to think of something else or probably get another piece,” Daniel said, and Elara couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his statement.
It had been an hour since he brought her to the studio of his company for the shoot of the very first advertisement of their jewelry brand, the very first collection that he named Lara Jewels.
And to say he had been just trying to find ways to touch her in the name of adjusting the jewelry on her because he didn’t want the cameraman to do so would be an understatement.
Elara could see all the staff looking at their boss with caution, some scared, some perplexed, and some unsure of how to react.
And Alen? The guy was busy munching on the snacks that Daniel had ordered in bulk for her.
“Mr. Macros?” Elara asked after some time, and Daniel looked up from her neck to her eyes.
“Hmm?” He asked.
“Trust the process. Let me do it,” Elara said before she got on her tiptoes and cupped his cheeks.
Alen’s eyes widened as he looked at the duo, mouth agape.
Was she really going to kiss him in front of the entire staff?
If that happened, no one would be able to suppress the news that they found their lady boss, not to mention it wasn’t just the gang members anymore. The company’s staff was here too.
However, much to his surprise, Elara just flicked Daniel’s nose before she pulled him away from the main background where the shooting was supposed to happen.
Elara clapped her hands for the cameraman, who immediately got behind the camera and nodded at her.
Elara, having grown up in an exquisite environment and with a background as a world-class singer and a Frost, knew what poses she needed to strike for the jewelry.
She leaned slightly against the chair, then looked up, touched the necklace at her throat with the tip of her fingers, and smiled directly at the camera.
The cameraman captured the photogenic face with appreciation, a smile spreading across his face when he noticed that every photo he captured looked like a masterpiece in itself.
Once she was done, she looked at the rings and wore all of them on her fingers one by one.
While one would’ve found it tacky, they looked excellent on her slender white fingers, the diamonds glistening on her face from the mirror’s reflection as she moved her hands.
The next was an anklet, and Elara wore it on her left foot before lifting her leg slightly and placing it to the side of the chair.
She loosened the lock and walked, mostly jumping in her place as the anklet loosened from her ankle.
The cameraman looked at the right shot just before the anklet fell to the ground and gave a thumbs-up.
“This is amazing. Every shot is better than the other,” he said.
Daniel, who watched her, mesmerized, with nothing but admiration in his eyes, walked over to the cameraman and looked at all the photos.
“Are they okay, sir?” The cameraman, known for his world-class photos, asked, and Daniel nodded.
“It’s pretty,” He murmured under his breath before he walked to where Elara was removing the rings from her fingers.
He casually grabbed the ring with the largest diamond before pulling her close.
His one hand snuck around her waist before he looked into her eyes.
Elara’s eyes, just like always, looked back at him challengingly, and the man smirked.
He grabbed her left hand and slipped the ring on her ring finger.
The cameraman immediately snapped a photo, and his pupils dilated at how beautiful the couple looked even in their candid form.
Alen stepped forward, leaned toward the camera, then nodded.
“How dare you click a photo of them?” Alen asked with knitted brows.
Nick shook in his place, a bit surprised, before he looked at the secretary apologetically.
“I am sorry, sir. I thought they were still posing. And honestly, this is the best photo. If they use this in the advertisement, it would look the best. And if you want, I can crop their faces and just show the hands. See,” Nick zoomed in on the hands.
“Send this photo to me,” Alen said casually.
The cameraman looked at the secretary but didn’t ask further and nodded, relieved that he wasn’t angry at him like he had thought he would be.
“What are you doing?” Elara asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.
“You can think of this as my vow to make you mine. But I know it’s going to be a lot for you to take, so for starters, let’s just say I am honoring the woman for whom this entire subsidiary was created,” Daniel said.
Elara’s cheeks turned red at his open confession, and she slapped his chest playfully.
“Stop. Everyone is watching p>
“Let them. Does it look like I am ashamed of showing who I am in love with?” Daniel asked.
Elara’s lips twitched; a sudden memory flashed in her mind of her going to Andrew’s office, where, instead of introducing her as his wife, he had told everyone she was just a family friend.
The stark contrast between being with someone you love and being with someone who loves you was clear from this mere statement.
“I have work to do. The proposal for the government Paradise project is due. I have been trying to reach Justin since this morning, but he hasn’t been picking up. He is not someone who turns his phone off, so it’s definitely alarming,” Elara pursed her lips.
Daniel hummed and turned to look at Alen, who immediately understood his signal.
“I’ll get onto it, sir,” Alen said, and Daniel cupped her cheeks.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” He said, and Elara smiled. This man surely had a way of spoiling her.
At the same time, in the Lloyd’s residence, Heather sat at the centre of the hall, with one hand holding the cup of tea and another hand holding the business magazine.
His gaze swept towards the entrance as soon as he heard some commotion and arched his brows.
“Where were you?” He asked Sophia, who entered, with heavy dark circles under her eyes and her form haggard.
Sophia looked up, annoyed.
“Where do you think I was? Our daughter has been admitted to the hospital,” she said.
Heather nodded calmly, a clear indication that he was well aware of what was going on, and his calmness infuriated Sophia even more.
“You are just nodding? Don’t you care about your daughter at all? If you knew, why didn’t you come even once?” Sophia asked.
Heather blankly placed the teacup on the table, folded the magazine, and placed it neatly on the side stand.
“Why do you think? Do you have any idea what kind of meeting I missed last night because of you?” Heather asked.
Sophia looked at him in confusion.
Because of her? But she was at home and then went straight to the hospital. So how exactly did she affect his meeting?
“If you hadn’t continued your bad-mouthing about Elara, I wouldn’t have mistaken her for a thief when the vase meant for Mr. Thomas was taken away by my secretary. It’s because of the venom you two had been spitting about the girl; I thought she was of questionable background, but the truth was utterly different,” Heather said.
Sophia didn’t understand much about what he said, and the man explained everything to her.
Once he finished speaking, Sophia pursed her lips.
“Why are you blaming me? Shouldn’t you blame your father for it? He knew about her background all along, but he is still not ready to tell us about who she is. And how could you, as a father, not know that your son is divorced? Do you even care about your family?” Sophia questioned.
Heather’s anger spiked when she said accusatory words.
“You are right. I should’ve stayed at home, instilled some manners in your daughter, and left the business to you so she wouldn’t make a fool of our family’s name. And you would’ve definitely taken it to new heights with your zero knowledge about stocks,” Heather said sarcastically.
Sophia, already tired from staying awake the entire night because Carla kept regaining consciousness and blabbering about how everything was Elara’s fault, threw her purse at the ground in anger.
“So you are blaming me now? I did the best I could to raise our children. Is it my fault that you can’t give the world to them?” Sophia raised her voice.
“A parent’s responsibility isn’t limited to giving the world to their kids but teaching them important values while helping them grow to be a better person.” Heather slammed his fist on the table.
“So you want to say I didn’t—” Sophia started, but before she could say anything, Williams walked to the stairs and hit his cane on the ground to silence her.
“What the hell is going on in my household?” Williams asked with narrowed eyes, and Heather and Sophia immediately looked down, ashamed.