Chapter 136
“Are you okay, Miss Elara?” Antonio asked once she got out of the car, and the girl looked at him before nodding.
“Yeah, I am good. And… no need to inform my brother about this interaction with Sean’s father. I’ll tell him myself, but not just immediately,” Elara said, and Antonio nodded in understanding before they made their way inside the restaurant.
Elara looked around, her gaze trying to look for the familiar girl, and it wasn’t long before she finally found her sitting at the far corner with a man, definitely her father.
With a casual smile lingering on her lips, she made her way to the table, her brows arching slightly when she noticed that Candice’s father had a frown on his face and was probably scolding her.
“Hello, Mr. Stewart,” Elara said, and the man looked up, his eyes lighting up immediately.
“Miss Elara,” he said and extended his hand towards her.
Candice, who knew her father wasn’t someone who would just greet anyone first, smiled inwardly. She was right to ask Elara to attend the meeting.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. How are the prototypes coming along?” Elara deliberately asked about one thing the man really cared about, easing his tension.
She smiled at Candice, who gave her a thumbs-up, and Elara couldn’t help but shake her head in amusement.
“They are coming along well. Thanks to your demonstration that day, we secured many deals, with the highest bidder being Macros Group. I still can’t believe a petite girl like you who is made for show business actually knows how to operate a machine gun,” the man said.
Elara chuckled at his words.
“How do you know I am entering show business?” She mused and carried out the conversation casually until her brother showed up.
“Mr. Stewart, Miss Candice,” George nodded at the two, shaking their hands one by one simultaneously, before he looked at his sister, who was sitting there with a goofy smile.
He shook his head at her before taking the menu from the table.
“What do you feel like eating?” He asked directly.
Elara immediately looked at the menu and quickly told him what her taste buds were craving, then looked at Candice and urged her to order too.
Once everyone ordered their dishes, George looked up, his expression a bit serious now.
“Let’s discuss the project now, shall we?” he asked.
They soon fell into a deep conversation about drone technology and emerging security and safety needs.
Elara, who was pretending to be busy on her phone since the matter didn’t really concern her, observed everyone’s attention from time to time and noticed how Candice would blush slightly every time her brother looked directly into her eyes.
The girl’s crush was a little too evident.
“What do you think?” Mr. Stewart suddenly asked Elara, and she sat up straight as everyone looked at her.
She knew there was no point in saying she wasn’t listening, because a man like Mr. Stewart was good at noticing such things.
She supported her face on her hand before looking at Candice.
“I think the project has great potential. Candice’s ideas are raw and have the potential to drive the market for a few years at least. With George’s support and the right direction, this will be a major hit,” Elara said.
She noticed Mr. Stewart’s expression turn a little darker, and a smirk spread across her face. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear, and she considered whether to say it.
Her gaze flicked to Candice, who looked like she was about to break into a cold sweat because of how displeased her father looked, and she couldn’t help but sigh.
“The proposal, however, needs a little work. Nothing we can’t handle together,” Elara said.
“Together?” Mr. Stewart asked.
Elara nodded.
“Our company will invest in it. Of course, I am going to be a part of the primary team handling everything from our end,” Elara said.
George looked at his sister, a little surprised.
Didn’t she say that she had no interest in entering the company or handling anything until she settled herself as the singer that she used to be?
What was going on in her mind?
However, despite the many questions lingering in his mind, he didn’t break her flow and just stayed silent.
“That’s great. With your guidance, I think my daughter will learn and flourish,” Mr. Stewart said with a big smile.
Elara looked at Candice, who looked down at her hands, relieved but embarrassed. After all, her father practically told them he had more faith in a stranger than in his own child, and the thought displeased Elara.
“I think it’s the opposite. With Candice’s intelligence and ideas, I will learn many things about future technology. I really admire her for her talent. It’s not every day you see a girl so interested in tech.” Elara said, looking directly into Mr. Stewart’s eyes.
The man scoffed.
“What good is p>
“Just like it was unexpected for you to see me handling a machine gun, it’s not every day you find a girl full of so many innovative ideas. I am so happy I have a friend like her,” she said.
Candice looked up at her, her eyes brimming with tears, when she heard what Elara said and how her father didn’t rebuke her this time.
It really meant a lot to her.
“Is that so?” Elara heard a voice from behind her, and her heart skipped a beat, her hands becoming a little sweaty, a nervous reaction of hers as she didn’t know whether to feel giddy and if it was okay to be so excited.
“What are you doing here?” George stood, narrowing his eyes at the man who was definitely here to steal his sister away.
He must’ve found out that Elara had come out of her apartment and couldn’t help but come here.
“What do you think? I am here to have a meeting with the brand ambassador for our beauty line,” Daniel said, his gaze shifting to Elara, who was yet to turn to look at him.
“Beauty line? I didn’t know Macros Group had that subsidiary, too,” George scoffed.
Daniel shifted his attention to George and smirked.
“Of course, you didn’t know. We started that recently. It’s yet to be released. So we are here to meet our brand ambassador,” Daniel said.
George hummed. There was nothing he could say anyway.
“Okay. Go ahead with your work,” he said.
Daniel smirked.
“Why would I go anywhere when my ambassador is sitting here?” Daniel asked as if it were the most amusing thing George said.
George raised his brows.
“What—?” George opened his mouth before his gaze flickered to Elara.
“No way. She hasn’t even made an official debut.” George crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Daniel shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter. Will you stop me?” Daniel asked, a hint of darkness and malice appearing in his eyes when he looked at George.
George looked at the man and realized this wasn’t about the ambassador or anything. He looked at Alen standing behind him, and when the assistant nodded, he sighed, suppressing the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.
So the man came here after tormenting someone and now wanted to feel humane by holding his sister again?
Many mafia leaders had such a habit, and now that Daniel found Elara, there was no way he would go anywhere but come wherever she was.
Wait. Did it mean that if Elara hadn’t been here, the man would’ve gone to her apartment and then… George shook his head to throw off the thoughts that made him want to kick Daniel for even looking at his sister.
“So, my love, shall we go for a meeting?” Daniel asked Elara.
The girl still didn’t turn away, and he couldn’t help but lick his bottom lip with a smile. The harder she pretended to be hard to get, especially with everything they did together, the more excited he always got.
Rather than disturbing her, he casually pulled a chair from a nearby table and adjusted it between her and George, pushing the man further away.
Candice, aware of the new dynamics in Elara’s life, looked on in awe as the scene unfolded, her mouth agape.
“Who said I am ready to be your brand ambassador? I didn’t consent to it, did I?” Elara finally looked up at him, tilting her head.
The man leaned in his chair and gave her a lopsided smile.
“I know you’ll say yes. I have the kind of proposal you can’t say no to,” Daniel said.
Elara quirked her brows.
“Is that so? What is that? Let me hear it too,” she said.
“A personalized chef who will cook anything and everything you desire for the entire year, an unlimited card to buy any kind of food from any restaurant throughout the country. And you’ll get to work with five girls, all hot and beautiful, the best in the modeling field,” Daniel said.
Mr. Stewart, who knew Daniel as a man of few words and a genius of the business and mafia world, couldn’t help but raise his brows at his words.
What kind of lousy proposal was this?
The man didn’t even mention the price range even once. Who would fall for a proposal like this that just included food privileges? He wondered.
Elara looked at the man for a few seconds before shrugging.
“Where do I need to sign?” She asked.
Daniel smirked.
Candice – p>
Mr. Stewart – p>
George – The urge to slap his own forehead was surely growing. He sighed at his sister’s love for food.