The end of the charity auction at the Sarawak Cultural Heritage Center was a whirlwind for Kaylee. She took a deep breath as she packed up her things, reflecting on the eventful evening and the unexpected turn it had taken. Her cheeks were still warmed at the memory of her encounter with President Victor, but she reminded herself that it was just an accident and nothing more.
She gathered her presentation notes and laptop, her hands moving with practiced efficiency. As she carefully packed her white jade earrings, a wave of satisfaction and joy washed over her. Opening the jewelry box that kept the earrings on a turquoise velvet cushion, she touched the beloved earrings, marveling at their exquisite craftsmanship. Gratitude filled her heart for the generous donor who had provided these beautiful earrings for the auction. She hoped to meet this kind soul one day.
After placing the earrings gently in her bag, she headed out, leaving the center with a light heart. Once home, Kaylee tidied up her stuff, did her laundry, and then showered. An hour later, she sat in front of her desk after applying her facial skin tonique, serums, and lip balm - her nightly routine. Flipping open her spiritual journal, her pink ballpoint pen started dancing on the paper.
She wrote, "Dear heavenly Father, search my heart as I come before You tonight, and forgive me for any wrongs I have done against anyone today. Thank You so much for today's smooth presentation at the auction. I give You all glory for the wisdom and favor You have granted me since the beginning of the preparation work for this renovation project. And LORD, thank You for granting me the white jade earrings, I really love them!"
Pausing for a while, she glanced at the white jade bracelet she was wearing on her left wrist, then she continued writing, "Indeed, a perfect match with my favorite bracelet. RM7,000 is quite a lot for an impulse purchase, but thank You for Your provision, LORD. I am so happy." The pink pen stopped scripting as the thought of President Victor came flashing back in her mind again.
She seemed to be struggling with some internal conflict for a moment before she continued writing, "LORD, I met a guy today. President Victor Langford from the Langford Group. I have read about him and his success stories in multiple publications before. He is like our pride of Sarawak, young and very capable, and" her pen paused again, and hesitantly wrote the next words, "really very charismatic."
After writing this, she blushed and put down her pink pen. She felt a sense of awkwardness to confess such a thought to God, she felt so shy because it had been many, many years since she ever talked to God about any guy. Yes, her heart had been hard like a stone for men since her heartbreaking past relationship, and she had put all her focus into her architectural pursuit ever since to heal her wound. Today was exceptional, that long-lost feeling of a young woman desiring love and affection seemed to have returned.
She stared at her half-written journal for a very long time, and finally, she sighed, Who am I? And who is he? she chuckled and shook her head lightly, laughing at her own naivety to think that there could be anything between the two of them.
Having thought through, her heart indeed lightened up, and she picked up her pink pen again and continued journaling, "Father, I ask that You continue to anoint him with Your spirit of excellence, and make him a living testimony of Your greatness. Send him the right people who can encourage and edify him in his faith. I give You all praise and I claim Your promise that the renovation project will go on smoothly as I continue to do everything for Christ. Amen in Christ Jesus' most powerful and faithful name."
She concluded her journaling, got up from her desk, and got onto her bed. Happiness and joy lingered as she drifted to sleep with a smile on her face.
Across town, at Victor's house in his spacious but minimalist bedroom, he was unbuttoning his black tunic suit when his fingers paused at the sight of a shiny mark among the Dayak motifs embroidery on his left chest. The scene of Kaylee falling into his arms flashed in his mind. Her lip balm, he recalled.
He sighed, perplexed by his inability to get her out of his mind. Her confidence, politeness, cheekiness, intelligence, her... tenderness when she landed on him, her smell... He couldn't understand why this woman affected him so profoundly when he usually didn't care about women after being scared by some psychopaths who did crazy things to get his attention when he was younger. Troubled, he went to shower, and still, the thoughts of Kaylee kept replaying in his mind.
Unlike Kaylee who was sleeping soundly and smiling in her dream, someone had a hard time falling asleep that night, his thoughts a tumultuous whirl.
***
Early the next day, Kuching town buzzed with trending news about President Victor and his supposed secret partner. While the charity auction was expected to make headlines, but reporters focused more on the reclusive President Victor than on the actual event.
A particular social media post from someone at the VR experience had gone viral. It featured a picture of Kaylee Stone in President Victor's embrace, capturing the exact moment he had caught her from falling. Netizens were quick to analyze their matching outfits: President Victor in a black suit and Kaylee Stone in an ivory blouse, both with Chinese-inspired standing collars and subtly embroidered Dayak motifs on their left chests. Rumors spread like wildfire, speculating whether they were a couple in secret. The post had gone viral with millions of reposts and comments overnight.
Kaylee woke up groggily on Sunday morning, her phone bombarded with messages and missed calls as soon as she turned on her internet. Confused, she looked through the many messages asking if she was okay.
Clicking on a shared link, she was stunned to see the post of her in Victor's arms. To her disbelief, it was reposted 2.1 million times and had garnered 7.3 million comments by then. She took her time to read through the messages from friends and the online comments, some of which were nasty and made her frown.
On the other side, Victor just finished his morning workout at home when Hann burst into the room, visibly flustered. "President Vic, have you seen the post?" he asked, holding up his phone.
Victor, not one for social media, took the phone from Hann and examined the post. Contrary to Hann's expectations, the usual frown and annoyance didn't appear. Instead, Victor's eyes softened, and a rare smile crossed his face, his ears tinged with red.
"Do you want me to call the public affairs team to resolve this?" Hann asked, still processing his boss's unexpected reaction.
"Leave it, it's nothing," he said, surprisingly calm.
"But boss, this might evolve into something that could disturb Miss Stone's reputation and peaceful life," Hann insisted, trying to present the matter in another light.
Victor's smile faded slightly as he quickly scanned through some of the comments. Some were kind, praising their professionalism and chemistry, but others were cruel, criticizing Kaylee unjustly. His protective instincts flared, and he frowned at the negative remarks.
"She doesn't deserve this," he muttered. Handing the phone back to Hann, he added, "Make sure our public affairs team monitors the situation. We won't intervene directly unless it gets out of hand."
Hann nodded, relieved to see his boss taking a balanced approach. He left the room to follow Victor's orders, while Victor leaned back, the image of Kaylee flashing in his mind.
He sat down on the bench, wiping the sweat around his neck with his towel, and then awkwardly took out his phone to search for the viral post.
"Victor Kaylee," he tried to type that phrase into his Google search bar. Something foreign blossomed in his heart seeing their names spelled together. To his surprise but not too surprisingly, the viral post came up top on the search results. He clicked on the link, and as the picture loaded, he found himself staring at the picture of him holding Kaylee, for a very, very long time. He didn't even realize how much his usual cold demeanor had softened. Eventually, he saved the picture as his favorite on his phone, locking it away with a password, a private memento of a moment he couldn't quite explain but couldn't let go.
Meanwhile, at Kaylee's side, she was deep into reading the comments from the netizens. No one could easily accept a handful of ungrounded criticisms and negative comments, let alone thousands. Kaylee, too, found it hard to not be affected by some of the remarks she read.
One wrote, "She's just another gold digger looking for a rich husband." Another one wrote, "Falling? Please, typical schemer, using her looks to get ahead!"
Okay, that's enough, she thought to herself as she flipped her phone down onto the desk. Her heart was greatly disturbed by what she had just read, and she wondered if President Victor might find this disturbing too.
Trying to calm her mind, she reached out to her Bible on her desk, and she sat there for a while until some comforting Bible verses came to her mind: "Be still and wait patiently for Me. I always work all things together for good to the one who loves Me." She turned her Bible to Psalm 37:7, and wrote it down in her journal, and then to Romans 8:28, also wrote that in her journal. After reading these scriptures out loud and meditating on them, her heart gradually felt comforted, and she calmed down enough to worship the LORD and write her prayer - her daily quiet time - before going to church for Sunday worship service.
By the time Kaylee arrived at church, most of the nasty comments had disappeared. Some of her church members, who had managed to see the comments before they were deleted, expressed their concern and offered support. Her cousin Xiang Er teased her, "Did you already know his tunic suit design when you designed your blouse?" She laughed but then added, "How nice if you two could be a real couple. You look like a perfect match!"
Kaylee kept quiet, she wondered again if President Victor would be annoyed by the online chaos and noise. Would it affect him and the company? She became worried but soon found her concerns unnecessary.
As she was exiting the temporary worship hall for St. Thomas Cathedral, a humble black Honda Accord was waiting nearby. Hann stepped out and walked toward her as she was walking out of the church.
"Miss Stone," he greeted her politely, " President Victor was very impressed with your architectural design for the church renovation yesterday. He would like to discuss a potential collaboration on a construction project the Langford Group is embarking on. Would you be available for a meeting on Monday?"
Kaylee's eyes widened in surprise. When she saw the personal assistant of President Victor walking toward her, her mind ran through many scenarios of what message he could possibly be bringing to her. A reprimand? A warning? All those, but never this - an invitation for a collaboration opportunity. The Langford Group was a powerhouse in the industry, and an opportunity to work with them was beyond her wildest dreams. "Yes, absolutely," she replied, her voice steady though still in shock, but excitement was also bubbling inside her. "I'd be honored," she continued with a smile, composed as her usual self.
Hann secretly sighed in relief upon securing her agreement. He then delicately inquired if she was okay with the online news and comments, reassuring her that the Langford Group would take care of it. Kaylee conveyed her appreciation, and as Hann adjourned himself, she looked toward the Accord but couldn't see anything inside due to the tinted windows. Unbeknownst to her, Victor was watching her from inside, his hands sweating slightly as he waited to find out whether his invitation was accepted. The car door swung open shortly after, and Hann entered the car and nodded at the driver to depart.
It took him a few seconds to realize his President Vic had been staring at him since the moment he entered the car. How should he describe his boss' face... He looked like a child hoping to hear good news, with some nervousness of being disappointed. "Oh! She said okay," finally, he got what his boss was waiting for. And he clearly saw President Vic's face relaxed and turned back to look at the front of the car. Is boss in love? he wondered, that would be a big thing in his boss' life! But after peeping at Victor's quickly calmed demeanor, he shook his head. Sigh, don't be busy body, he told himself.
Watching the black Honda Accord leaving, Kaylee was relieved that President Victor did not avoid or dislike her because of the online news and comments. Xiang Er ran out and wrapped her arm around Kaylee's, teasing her, "Aiyo, your prince came so quickly to the rescue! No wonder I didn't see many of the bad comments already when I scrolled through the post just now. So, is he asking you out now? This is what I like! You are now my favorite couple!" She was eavesdropping from nearby when she saw Hann approaching Kaylee earlier.
Kaylee lightly slapped her cousin's arm, "Don't simply say. It's just a discussion on a potential work collaboration." Despite her excitement about the opportunity, she felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation about meeting Victor the next day. This weekend had had too much for her to deal with. I really need some break! she thought. "Come, let's go for some nice desserts," she invited Xiang Er. "Where!" Xiang Er's eyes widened, and her brows raised at that suggestion, she loved desserts! "Salt Cafe," Kaylee said, walking to her car. Xiang Er happily trotted after her.
***
Counselor George was having dinner at home with his family. The conversation naturally drifted to the latest buzz surrounding President Victor and the charity auction.
"You know," George began, "I thought that young president has no desire for women all these years. But it looks like he's taken action to protect this Architect Miss Stone. Hahaa! It makes sense, she's impressively talented and beautiful; any guy would be attracted to her."
His daughter Cherie, already seething with anger since she saw the news and the viral post, felt jealousy rise within her. The idea that her father was now teasing about Victor's possible interest in Kaylee only fueled her determination. She knew she needed to act fast to capture Victor's attention and heart. Her mind began scheming for new plans to encounter Victor, driven by a mix of envy and desperation. She knew she needed to act quickly and decisively.
"Daddy, I remember you are recently processing a permit request by the Langford Group for their upcoming new building officiating in Samarahan, right? When is their target date?" she asked her father.
"You meant that new branch? I think sometime in the next two weeks," he answered, wondering why that topic suddenly came up. And then something clicked in his mind, he gazed at Cherie worriedly, "Cherie, what are you up to? You've been on edge since yesterday."
Cherie feigned innocence, "Oh, nothing, Daddy. Just curious."
But George knew his daughter well. He sensed her jealousy and ambition, and while he admired her determination, he also worried about the lengths she might go to.
"Cherie," he said gently, "just remember, genuine connections are built on honesty and mutual respect. Don't lose yourself in the pursuit of someone's attention. And this President Victor, we can't afford to touch him."
Cherie felt a little ashamed that her little scheme didn't escape her father's instinct, she nodded unwillingly, but her mind was already racing with new ideas. She was determined to make Victor see her, convinced that she could win his heart if she just tried hard enough.
She took out her phone and seemed to scroll through the screen carelessly. She was actually looking for a contact, and when she located that person's number, she couldn't hide the smug that creeped out in the corners of her eyes.
***
Monday morning dawned bright and clear. Kaylee dressed meticulously, choosing an outfit that was professional yet understated, hoping to convey her seriousness about the opportunity. It was a simple and clean dark navy dress that extended to just below her knees, looking professional but with a unique taste in its collar design and choices of fabric. The collar was formed by two angular, pointed shoulder panels that extend from the neckline. These panels created a slightly squared-off, cap-sleeve look that framed the neck and shoulders in a structured manner. The texture of the dress was intricate, with a dark navy lace overlay in a floral pattern, set against a smooth dark navy cloth as its background, which very subtly highlighted the detailed floral motifs. Another piece of her own design, sewn by Xiang Er as always.
She arrived at the Langford Group headquarters early, her heart pounding with a mix of excitement and anxiety. As she waited in the sleek, modern lobby, she couldn't help but replay the events of the charity auction in her mind. The image of Victor catching her, their brief but impactful interaction, and the viral post that had thrown her life into temporary chaos - all of it swirled in her thoughts.
"Miss Stone, President Langford will see you now," the receptionist said, breaking her reverie. She followed the receptionist to the top floor, her nerves intensifying with each step.
In a spacious and luxurious office on the top floor of the Langford Group headquarters building, Victor just got back in his office after the daily morning meeting, looking out of the window as he mentally prepared for the appointment with Kaylee. He was eager to see her again, though he tried to keep his emotions in check. He wandered in his office, to and fro, and soon found himself stopping in front of a full-length mirror.
The mirror reflected a tall, athletic figure in a black suit with a dark navy turtleneck, black slim-fit trousers, and a pair of black chukka boots.
This is not a billion-dollar deal, get yourself together, Vic, he criticized himself in the mirror.
"Thud-thud."
The sudden knocks on his heavy wooden door echoed through his office, and for a split second, the mirror reflected a pair of panicked eyes trying to make sure that he looked alright, and then he swiftly walked toward his desk as the heavy door slid open slowly, trying to maintain his usual calm demeanor.
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