Ambryan scowled.

When his romantic life consisted of questionable personalities, the public had their opinions. Eros Productions kept this business as usual. The world eventually moved on when they received nothing from him. Yes, he had staged multiple waves to gain public opinions.

But, never had he addressed them himself.

Why would this matter differ from those?

His violet eyes narrowed.

Clasping his hands together, Ambryan leaned over the desk. He settled his elbows on the table and watched his colleague above the back of his joint fingers. The angelic face stared back innocently.

That was where the problem lied.

“Madison, be honest with me,” Ambryan began to say and knitted his eyebrows. His gaze scrutinized the dainty expression. “Are you using the press as a way to ask me about my relationship?”

Luminous green eyes against murky violet ones, silence blanketed the pair once more. No trace of outside noise trespassed through the soundproof walls. The sound of munching a crispy croissant stayed at the other side of the door.

Only the rising and falling of chests hinted that there was life inside the room.

...

…

…

“Pfft, no.” Madison snorted. He threw back his head and cackled at the absurdity. “Pft, that is ridiculous. Where would you get such an idea?”

Ambryan relaxed his posture and tapped away on his keyboard. Except, his manner of speech remained stiff. “Good. Then. don’t ask about it.”

“But—”

The CEO ceased typing immediately and flickered his eyes to their corners. They met the sight of a shocked President. Madison had risen out of the chair, stretching his arm out towards him. Protest was written all over his face.

He had been caught red-handed.

Ambryan’s lips thinned into a grim line.

“Fine. I am.” Madison sighed, sitting back down. His fist banged on the table as Ambryan went back to work. “How could you not tell me? I thought we were friends!”

Ambryan hadn’t given him a clue beforehand. Not a single one! He only heard of the relationship because of someone else. He hadn’t been following the news as of late and missed the first wave of articles. Even so, his friend should have mentioned something.

It was an essential part of friendship!

“Is Richard in on this?”

“No.”

Ambryan gave him a look.

“Yes,” Madison admitted. He had been the one to tell him. And it was after the party! And they had been dating for like what? Two weeks? That news was two weeks overdue! “Point is… we’re your friends. Shouldn’t you tell us about it?”

The tapping sound of the keyboard resumed. “I’ve told Richard plenty of things.”

“None of which he shared to me, claiming it had to come from you.”

“That sounds about right.”

Questions crammed inside Madison’s head, threatening to split his skull open. Was it love at first sight? When, how and where did they meet? He read news about the woman. Evangeline Reed, they called her. She had embedded her existence in their minds.

Most feedback about her had been positive. She gained a fanbase overnight. Granted, it wasn’t as big as A-list celebrities but, for someone new, it was a big achievement.

But what about Ambryan?

What did he think of her?

Sulking for being in the dark, Madison inched closer to the monitor until his cheek hit the side of it. His bottom lip stuck out. “Come on, Yan. Details! Have you kissed her yet?”

Ambryan stopped typing for the nth time in one hour.

His fingers hovered on the keyboard. His eyes blinked towards the President. The attention brought an instant smile on Madison’s face, acting like a kid in a toy store. Lots of people find him endearing. His boyish charm always brightened their day.

Except for Ambryan.

“Madison.”

“Yes?”

“Have I told you how unprofessional you are?”

“Am I on duty?” Madison scoffed. He folded his arms over the desk and placed his chin on top of them. He only came for the mob, helping out the PR Team since their head contacted him directly.

Ambryan raised an eyebrow. “Are you not? How touching. The President went to work even outside his working hours. I should report this to your subordinates.”

Madison froze.

If his secretary knew of his whereabouts, he’d be dragged to his own office and be drowned in paperwork. Today was supposed to be his free day but he slacked so much that they’d want him to work extra hours.

He raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright. I got the message.” Madison caved. He didn’t like it but he had no other choice. “But let me say this. If you’re serious about this girl, your actions towards the media have to be different.”

“Didn’t I take her out on a public date?” Ambryan reminded him. That had been one of his media schemes. He made sure to imply the intimacy. The same happened last night.

“Lovely touch but, according to the launch party, she was the one who approached you.” Madison pointed out. “I’m just saying that you have to take the initiative too.”

If the first move always came from Evangeline, people would see her as the one who pursued the other. Not only that but they’d also constantly see her as the one chasing after Ambryan. Even if he returned the gestures affectionately, the mass might think that he responded because he had to.

Which could lead to many theories and many scandals.

That they’d have to clean up.

Ambryan considered his words and tucked them in his mental notes. “We only started dating. There shouldn’t be that much to work out yet. There’s still time to prevent that.”

“Good. Remember this one too.”

Madison rose to his feet. He planted his hands on the table and matched Ambryan’s eye level. The luminosity of his green eyes vanished, darkening into moss. “If you make her cry, you’ll receive a lot of hate which would also include me.”

“Why would I make her cry?” Ambryan questioned. Of course, he wouldn’t let it happen. That seemed to be in the things that couples shouldn’t do—which would cause problems to their arrangement.

“Who doesn’t cry with you?”

“If that is all, Madison, please leave.”

“No, wait. One question”

“Fine.”

“What do you call each other?”

Ambryan studied the President. He had a quick debate whether to answer the question or not. He chose the former to use it as a leverage to make Madison finally leave.

“Ambee and Evan.”

Madison pressed his lips together, testing the names in his head. They both had their charm but… there had to be something more romantic.

“Ambee is cute. Evan is… so-so.” He remarked and hit Ambryan’s shoulder. “Come on, you can think better than that.”

Violet eyes hardened in his direction. They showed no mercy. “Leave or I call your secretary.”

Madison flinched. His hand patted the table, reaching for the basket of bread. His other one grabbed the hibiscus tea. “I’ll be taking these then.”

Ambryan opened his mouth but Madison beat him to it.

“I’ll leave the scones, of course. I did buy them for you.”

Shaking his head, Ambryan finally concentrated on his work. He couldn’t wait for the peace and quiet. The medicine he took started to wear off. His headache was coming back.

“Do take care on your way home.”

Madison turned towards the exit. Halfway there, he sneaked one last look at the CEO. “And you. Try not to give Eve a hard time. I bet she’s working a storm already, catching up on the work she could have done in 15 minutes.”

“Then, she should have the time to call your secretary.”

“I’m going already. Sheesh.”

Grumbling, Madison marched out of the office. He only got the terms of endearments in the end. How was it possible that Ambryan knew his tactic? Although, what he said was true. Evangeline had an interview about their relationship. Ambryan should do the same for consistency.

‘Whatever,’ he fumed in his head and walked over to the secretary’s desk. ‘At least, I gave him the idea. Hopefully, they would be alright.’

The basket landed on the table.

“Hello, Eve.” Madison greeted her with a smile.

“President.” She responded, bowing her head. She had risen to her feet when he came out of the door. The butter of the croissant still lingered on her tongue.

“Mr. Hotshot CEO kicked me out.” Madison snorted. He picked out a few pastry bags and placed them on her desk. “Here are the rest of the croissants. I know you love them.”

“Really? Thank you!” Eve contained her squeal. After a hectic morning, this was what she needed—comfort food to replenish her soul. She counted the pastries and wondered if there would be enough for lunch.

Madison chuckled at her delighted face. The girl lit up at the simplest things. “It really is a shame. I always rooted for you and Yan to get together.”

Eve snapped her head up, the smile leaving her lips.

“Now, he’s in a relationship with a model.”

“He seems quite content though?” She replied, hesitating at the last second. The sentence sounded more like a question than a statement. She bit her tongue in case she’d say something else.

“I know. I’m just wishful thinking.” Madison sighed and sipped from his paper cup. Warmth flowed down to his stomach. Then, his gaze flickered back at her, curiosity knitting his eyebrows.

“Sometimes I wonder what if you had accepted the modelling deal I offered you? Do you think you would have ended up together?”

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End of Volume 1

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