Dinner or Date
Sophia stared at the woman and did no forget to return the favor by looking at her from head to toe. She crossed her hands and glared at the intruding woman.
“Hey, who are you? And why are you butting in?” Sophia couldn’t hold it any longer and faced the woman. She was glaring at her but it had no effect on the woman.
“I’m the client that they were supposed to meet at exactly eight in the morning but it’s already eight fifteen but the CEO didn’t appear. Now, I won’t be signing the contract with them or even proceed with the partnership, because you made him late.” She waved at Vega who had been silently watching.
Sophia looked back and even tugged at Vega’s arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll let my father give you whatever partnership you want. You don’t need this woman.”
Kazandra chuckled and shook her head. “Ah, truly, ignorance is bliss.”
Vega pulled his arm and glared at Sophia. “Can you or your father compensate me for my loss today?” He was holding back his anger but the woman seemed oblivious to it.
“Of course!” Sophia answered without hesitation. She was confident in her father’s influence and power.
“Where’s the security?” Just as he said those words, two men in black appeared and held the woman’s arms. “Leave and I don’t want to see your face again. Please escort Miss Sophia out.”
“Unhand me or else I’ll let my father know about this! Unhand me!” Sophia screamed and flailed to let her go but the men did not budge. She didn’t understand why Vega was angry. It was only a partnership. Her father could easily give him that.
“Miss Hernandez, are you really leaving?” Evos asked after the commotion was dealt with and the spectators slowly scattered.
“I have nothing else to do here and I need to be somewhere else. You are not the only company who invited me.” She patted the secretary’s shoulder and gave him a smile.
“Is there anything we can do for you to consider our offer?” Vega finally spoke. His low voice and cool voice sent shivers to Kazandra’s body but she maintained her composure.
Now that a chance presented itself to her, she needed to grab it. “I’ll consider it, that is, if you invite me to dinner.” She walked away without waiting for them to respond before she stopped and spoke again. “I’ll be waiting for your invitation.” She raised her hand and gave them a wave without turning back.
Evos was stunned and before he could react, the woman was already out of the building. He couldn’t help but sneak a glance at his boss but Vega remained expressionless. They remained silent for a while before Vega walked to the elevator.
“Are you going to invite her?” Evos steeled his heart and asked.
“Reserve the best restaurant.”
Kazandra arrived at the restaurant on the invitation that was sent to her. She was wearing a black above the knee dress hidden by her long white coat. She handed the invitation to the man who welcomed her and she was led to the restaurant’s second floor.
She was assisted to a room with warm lighting and a table that was set up for two. Vega was already there and waiting for her. He stood up and pulled the chair for the woman. Kazandra couldn’t help the smile on her face even after the man himself was seated.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
“I didn’t think that you would actually invite me.” Kazandra’s gaze roamed around the room and was pleased with the minimalist theme.
“Empire can’t pass up the chance to be able to work with Vignier and the director of the hotel and restaurant really values Vignier.” Vega had a stern look on his face while speaking but Kazandra didn’t mind. She already knew that the man was not fond of smiling.
“I don’t understand why a company like Empire would show interest in my small café. I can’t even be compared to what Empire is right now.” Kazandra took the glass that was filled with wine and slowly swirled it before taking a sip.
“We value Vignier, even though it is small, the connections behind it are not to be underestimated.” Vega looked at the woman’s eyes without flinching.
Kazandra chuckled and shook her head. “You’ve done your research.”
“Empire also values the woman behind Vignier. At a young age, she built Vignier with her own hands and slowly grew it to what it is now, a café that is at the top of its game, well known to many and especially influential to almost all walks of life.” Vega leaned back and watched the woman.
He was looking for any reaction from her but all she did was smile and drink wine. “Do you always flatter your business partners in this way? You even did a thorough research.”
“This is only the bare minimum of what I can do to get what I want.” Vega answered without flinching. Vignier was an integral part in their plan of expansion. “But I have been curious as to the reason why you suddenly expressed your interest to work with us after rejecting our offer multiple times?”
Kazandra looked at the red wine on her glass and swirled it a couple more times before she placed it back on the table. She then placed both of her hands on the table and leaned forward with a smile. “This is only the bare minimum of what I can do to get what I want and I found it in Empire.” She leaned back on her chair and continued to say, “I need to put an effort if I want something to be mine.”
It was true that she ignored all of their offer because she had no interest. This was one of the things she regretted, if she had paid attention earlier, then she might have met Vega earlier. Luckily Kazandra saw who the CEO of Empire was before it was too late.
Vega narrowed his eyes but the woman in front of him wasn’t intimidated. Instead, the way she was looking at him made him shiver. An unfamiliar heat was slowly building inside of him. He never felt anything like that from any other person and it made him a bit uncomfortable with the unfamiliar feeling. He calmed himself and didn’t show anything outside even though all he wanted to do was leave.
“Then we are the same in that aspect and I look forward to working with you, Miss Hernandez.” Vega nodded as his expression remained cold.
The arrival of the food broke the ambiguous air around them as they finally enjoyed the food. The rest of the dinner was pure silence and they parted ways like nothing happened. Only they knew that that dinner was not a simple dinner.