Chapter 343 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“Babe. She said her name is babe always,” Bryan said with a chuckle, and Jade giggled.

“Okay, fine. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m sorry,” Bryan said apologetically, and Sonia turned to eye him.

“Yes, you shouldn’t have said that.”

“And you called me Bryan,” Bryan reminded her.

“Fine. I’m sorry too,” Sonia said, and Bryan shrugged.

“Give me a peck if you’re no longer upset,” Bryan said, and Jade rolled her eyes as she watched Sonia lean over to give him a peck, but Bryan turned quickly and stole kiss, making her giggle.

“I can drive the car if you both need to use the backseat,” Jade said dryly, making them laugh.

Although Sonia wanted to ask her more about her relationship with Harry, she didn’t want to do so in front of Bryan since she wasn’t sure if Bryan knew about it, or if Jade wanted him to know. So instead, Sonia asked Jade questions about her job, while Bryan bragged to Jade about how great a writer Sonia was.

“Any contrary ideas? What about contributions or constructive criticism?” Celsie asked for the fifth time as she looked at each of her teammates with disapproval. It seemed like they had all turned to yes-men, and nobody wanted to disagree with her because of her relationship with Benne.

“What is the meaning of all this? How can none of you have an opinion of your own?” Celsie asked, trying not to snap at them in frustration.

“I have less than twenty minutes before presenting these new designs to the board, yet none of you is making any meaningful contributions,” Celsie hissed as she gathered the sketches and walked into her office angrily, leaving them.

The other team members turned to Amy, “What does she expect us to say when she already did a perfect job?” One of the ladies asked with a slight frown.

“I will talk to her,” Amy said as she stood up and followed Celsie into her office, “Director…”

“Celsie.” Celsie corrected impatiently.

Amy looked at Celsie, “We agreed with your ideas and have nothing to add to or remove from it because it is perfect.”

Celsie looked at Amy, “In the past…”

“During the last meeting, we all brought our designs and ideas, and some of us even disagreed with one of your ideas and gave better ideas when we had better ideas to give. But this idea is actually really good, and we believe that the board would love it.”

“Am I to believe that you are all okay with my idea, and you’re not just accepting it because of what happened or my relationship with the CEO?” Celsie asked, and Amy frowned.

“Is that what you think?”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

“I don’t know about the others, so I can’t answer for them. But I won’t lie to you or kiss your ass because of your relationship with the CEO. We were all employed to do a good job, and I won’t jeopardize that just to curry favor with you. Your design is perfect, and the presentation is great too. That is what the board is going to want to see,” Amy assured her.

Celsie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to calm herself. Maybe Amy was right, and she was the one who was overreacting and judging them harshly.

This was going to be the very first board meeting she would be attending ever since she resumed work at the headquarters since Benne had graciously canceled the first one because she was late. And as a result of that, she was nervous since it would be the first time she would be introduced to the board. She was scared that if she didn’t do a proper job, they would all assume that she had gotten her promotion thanks to her relationship with the CEO, and she didn’t want that. She didn’t want them to undermine all the effort she had put into climbing this career ladder, and she also didn’t want to embarrass or disappoint Benne either.

“If you start doubting yourself, everyone else will begin to doubt you too,” Amy said softly as though she could read her mind before walking out of the office.

Celsie opened her eyes and watched as Amy walked away before walking following her, “I’m sorry for my outburst earlier. We are a team, and I trust your judgment. If you believe that my design is the best, then we will go with it. Amy, please make more copies of it,” Celsie instructed as she handed the sketch to Amy before returning to her office to prepare herself mentally for the meeting.

Thirty minutes later, Celsie was certain that she would have a panic attack as she sat in the boardroom with the other directors while they waited for Benne and Harry to join them.

“Hi!” Cora whispered to Celsie, who hadn’t raised her head since she sat down.

Celsie turned to her and immediately recognized her as the lady who had been flirting with Benne. So she was a director too? “Hi!”

“So you’re dating the CEO, huh?” Cora asked, making Celsie blink in confusion. If Cora was a director, did it mean that she knew who Benne was even while he was pretending to be a driver? Was that why she had approached him?

Celsie contemplated between snubbing her and putting her in her place, but she didn’t want to have any more enemies because of her relationship with Benne. Anita had caused her enough trouble already.

“So it seems,” Celsie said with a stiff smile, hoping that Benne would come quickly so that the meeting would start.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. The meeting with the shareholders took a longer time than we expected,” Benne announced to Celsie’s relief as he walked into the boardroom with Harry beside him.

All the directors stood up as Benne walked over to his seat at the head of the table, and Harry went to the seat at his right hand.

“Before we sit, I’d first like to make a very important announcement. You all know Harry. I’m sure every one of you here has interacted with him much more than you’ve done with me. From now on, he is now my Co-CEO. That means he has as much authority as I have,” Benne announced, and the directors clapped and congratulated Harry.

“I’m tired of having you sit beside me. Kindly move to the other end of the table,” Benne muttered to Harry, who scowled at him before walking away from there.

Once they were all seated, Benne looked around the table, and his gaze fell on Celsie. One look at her and he could tell that she was very nervous. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed that she was avoiding his gaze. It was almost as if she was trying to put a distance between them. He wasn’t going to let her do that.

“Since I’m sure everyone in this room knows about my relationship with Director Miller, I’m sure you’d understand why I need her to sit next to me,” Benne said, and the other men around the table laughed while Celsie looked up at him in surprise.

“Come over here, Jewel,” Benne said, and Celsie looked down in embarrassment as she stood up. She had not expected him to use the endearment during a board meeting. What happened to calling her director Miller?

Once she sat down beside him, Benne looked around the table once again, “Although I don’t think I owe any of you an explanation, I would like to clarify something once and for all, as I have already done during the shareholders meeting. I never knew Director Miller personally until she was promoted and transferred down here, and I met her outside the company before realizing she works here. The head of the branch where she formerly worked recommended her for the promotion because of her devotion and dedication to her job. She got this promotion completely on merit, and so I hope you wouldn’t try to undermine her efforts because of my relationship with her. Knowing her, I have no doubts that she would prove to every one of you that she earned her spot on this table. Director Miller, you’re welcome.”

Everyone around the table clapped, and Celsie raised her head, surprised that Benne had known to handle what she was worried about. This reminded her once again of why she had fallen for him.

From there on, the meeting went on smoothly. By the time the floor was open for Celsie to deliver her presentation, she had regained her confidence, and she did such a good job that everyone else was commending her even before Benne could comment on it.

After the meeting ended, some directors left, while others gathered around Harry to congratulate him. Benne glanced at Celsie when she started to stand up, “You’re not leaving without me, are you? We are going to my office. It’s time for lunch,” he reminded her.

“Hello,” a feminine voice greeted from behind Celsie before she could respond, and Benne looked at Cora.

“Hi!”

“I didn’t realize that you were the CEO,” Cora said with a friendly smile, while Celsie tried her best not to turn around to look at the lady who she was beginning to dislike.

“Cora, right?” Benne asked, and she smiled happily that he remembered her name while Celsie tried to maintain a blank expression.

“Yes. I’m surprised that you remember,” Cora said with a bright smile, and Benne shrugged.

Knowing how jealous Celsie was, Benne didn’t need anyone to tell him that she wasn’t comfortable with Cora’s presence, “I told you I was going to try not to forget your name. Is there something you want?” Benne asked, and her smile faltered when she heard the dismissal in his tone.

“I just wanted to say hello to you. I thought since your girlfriend is here, she wouldn’t mind…”

“Thanks for saying hello. I’m sure you both know each other, so there won’t be any need for introductions. If you’ll excuse us, we have to leave for lunch now,” Benne cut her off as he glanced at his wristwatch before standing up.

“Are you ready to leave, Jewel?” Benne asked, ignoring Cora, who was still standing there, and Celsie bobbed her head.

“Yes.”

“Good,” Benne said as he picked up Celsie’s handbag before pulling her up. Seeing this, Cora decided to excuse them, so she walked away.

“By the way, you did great. I loved your presentation,” Benne said with a proud smile, and Celsie returned the smile as she took her handbag from him.

“Why didn’t you say anything just now?” Benne asked as he led her out of the boardroom.

“When?”

“When she was talking to me. I know you were jealous,” Benne said, and Celsie scoffed.

---