“Luna Athon, the owner of Athon Corporation.”

“Right.” Eve nodded, feeling absentminded. She breathed through her mouth and recovered the oxygen she lost. The room became clearer. Her brain wires reconnected.

It was slow but it was progress.

Ambryan returned to his computer. He flicked his glasses back into place. “I think Edward from the Marketing Division has her number. Tell her I need to talk to her as soon as possible.”

Hesitant, Eve opened her mouth.

“No questions asked.”

Defeated, Eve closed her mouth.

“Right away, sir.” She left the office and leaned on the door. Five years of office hours flooded her mind. Not once did she remember Luna’s name. Not once did they meet for business. As for company parties, she wasn’t sure if Luna had attended before.

So, what did Ambryan need from her?

He normally shared a brief reason. That would be part of her speech when she called.

Shaking her head, Eve went to her own desk. She bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want to overthink it. Yet, she couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with Evangeline. The timing seemed too much of a coincidence.

What was she supposed to do now?

She grabbed the handset of a telephone while her right hand hovered over the keypad. Her left eyebrow twitched. Something was off. She really couldn’t shake the ominous feeling. Nausea began to seep in her stomach.

Time continued to move.

It didn’t wait for her.

…

…

…

Then, Eve put the phone down and took out her personal cell.

The number she dialed rang two times.

“Eve! Hello!” Avery giggled through the line. The secretary sighed at the sound of her voice. At least, one of them was having a good day. Maybe hers could still turn around for the better.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Hathaway,” the secretary greeted. She collected her thoughts, contemplating on how to share them.

“So… how did the conversation go? I heard from the others that he was being difficult. Their opinions are also mixed. Since you work with him, I wonder how it went for the two of you.”

Eve blinked, remembering about the chat.

Chat. Evangeline. Ambryan.

Luna. Evangeline. Chat.

Screwed. Evangeline. Everlee.

“Well…” The secretary gulped. “I wouldn’t say it was terrible.”

‘It wasn’t a lie,’ Eve explained to herself. After all Avery had done, she would hate to say that the madam chose the wrong person. The latter had her hopes set high. The least Eve could have done was be a decent conversationalist.

Except, she failed at that.

“Well, that’s not bad!” Avery assured her, “There’s still a week left. You never know until it’s over. It will be fine.”

Before she could ask more details, Eve switched the topic to the urgent matter. “Anyway, Sir Hathaway wants to contact Ms. Athon. He didn’t say why.”

“Ah.” Avery gasped, understanding the trouble. “You’re worried if it’s about Evangeline.”

“Yes,” the secretary admitted. It felt good to hear the same opinion from someone. The weight lessened on her shoulders. “Do you mind giving me her number? I’m supposed to do it on his behalf.”

“Sure, I’ll message it to you. I’ll also inform her about it.”

“Thank you.”

Eve ended the call and waited for the text message. Her chatbox on the work computer lit up. Ambryan asked for the status about the call.

She sighed as her phone vibrated.

``Here is Luna’s number, xxx-xxx-xxx. My son is not allowed to investigate these women. I told him he needed to get to know someone by interacting with them and their close friends. If he asks Luna about Evangeline, you have nothing to worry about. We had thought of this. There isn’t anything he’ll discover that is outside of the photoshoot.``

A small smile tugged Eve’s lips at a corner. She sent a quick reply and dialed Luna’s number through the telephone. Since it seemed to be business related, it was best to use the company phone.

“Hello? You’ve reached Luna.”

Clutching her blazer, Eve cleared her throat. “Good afternoon, Ms. Athon.”

“Is that you, Eve?”

“Yes,” the secretary mumbled.

Luna hummed for a bit. “And Ambryan wants to talk?”

“Yes” Eve affirmed once more. Then, added, “He wants to talk as soon as possible.”

She heard the businesswoman sigh.

“Well, I have the time now. Put me through.”

Eve pushed a button. The small screen on the telephone asked for her next instructions. She picked the option for a separate call, placing Luna on hold. The speed dial led her to the phone inside the CEO’s office.

When the line picked up, she spoke immediately. “Sir Hathaway, Ms. Athon on the line.”

“Put her through.”

“Will do.”

Ambryan responded to the current email he worked on. Then, he opened a new one, skimming through its incident reports. Some of the studios needed repairs. The managers in charge asked for his approval on the budgets and the next course of action.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, stating the standard procedures. He remembered a news article from another studio overseas. It highlighted their efficiency when they hit a problem.

He had taken notes in case they’d experience it—which happened to be what the reports described.

Soon, a voice filled in the silence of the room.

“Ambryan! I think this is the first time you called me.” Luna Athon chuckled. “I was actually quite surprised. What can I do for you? I heard you’re creating a new tv series. Can I have a slot for advertisement in that?”

“We’ll see. It’s still in the planning process.” The CEO replied promptly. His hands continued to work. “I wanted to ask you about Evangeline.”

“The new model? She is wonderful. I was in complete awe when I watched her work,” Luna gushed. The admiration was evident in her tone. “Wait a minute, are you actually calling me for a woman? While in the middle of work? Is your mother’s plan actually working?”

Ambryan ignored the teasing. “Is there anything else you can tell me about her?”

“I thought Avery said you can’t dig information about the candidates?”

“This is not digging,” he defended, unfazed by the reminder. “You’re a family friend who interacted with her. Wouldn’t your opinion of her matter when I make my decision?”

Luna paused for a moment.

“Fair enough,” she remarked. “What do you want me to say? I think she’s lovely. Cale also likes her. He already wants her on the next project after the Rainbow Campaign is up.”

“So you have no suspicions of her?” Ambryan finished his email with the new plan for recovery. It shortened the time for repairs and lessened the costs.

“Listen to yourself.” Luna snorted. “Would I hire someone suspicious? Would your mother pick someone with bad intentions? She already did the investigations for you. Just talk to them and decide who you find the least annoying.”

The line went dead.

Ambryan stopped working. With his hands tied by the contract, he found it hard to satisfy his curiosity. His conversation with Evangeline lacked in a few areas. There were still things he needed to know before they met.

Realizing he didn’t have another option, a sigh escaped his lips.

He took out his phone and opened the web browser app. His thumbs typed out the site address. Like before, it asked for his username and password. The website loaded quickly. Once he clicked on the tab for the chat list,

He found notifications for two chat windows.

Neither of them attracted his interest.

He moved to the last one and composed a message.

“Ms. Evangeline.”

His phone suddenly began to ring after he wrote those two words. A photo of a smiling woman filled his screen. Her violet eyes stared up at him. Ambryan glared at the sight.

“Mother?” He said, answering the call. Of course, his mother decided to call now. Luna must have informed her about his inquiries.

“I saw you logged in but you haven’t responded to your messages.”

He grimaced at her words. “I will get to them. I’m at work.”

“Then, why did you log in?” Avery asked.

“I was simply checking.”

“Right because you do that by messaging Evangeline.” She smirked.

Ambryan scowled at his monitor. A nagging thought tickled his brain. Was this going to be a permanent thing? “Aren’t you receiving way too much information about our activities?”

His mother blew a raspberry. “Please. If I don’t monitor, you wouldn’t even use the site.”

He exhaled sharply. “Well, there is no way I can respond now, mother. I already used that time to talk to you.”

“I was surprised. I didn’t think you’d take the initiative,” Avery admitted, “I am so proud of you! You’re making great progress! I can’t wait for when you start dating. It would be—”

Ambryan ended the call, switching his phone settings to silent from now on. Any important call would have to contact his secretary first during office hours. That included personal ones.

No more shortcuts.