"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome you to this year's Corporate gala!" The voice of the master of ceremony echoed through the walls of the venue.
He got a loud applause in response before it quieted down. He began giving his opening speech with a few jokes to warm up the atmosphere. The venue was full of different business men and women, and of course being accompanied by their families.
The people at the Frost table were hardly paying attention. Victoria was still gossiping with Xavier because the function itself was boring for her, George was paying attention because his boss might require some of the information discussed there later on, while Zach was occupied with something else. He moved forward to plop his elbows on the table and shielded his mouth behind his clasped hands.
"How about later, when it's just you and me?" He proposed quietly.
"Fine. But your little exchange caused a situation", she reminded. The displeasure was still evident in her tone and Zach detected this.
"I expected this much. Don't worry", he responded with confidence in every word he uttered. To top it off, he stared up ahead and winked.
"Zach, is he here?" Victoria could not help but ask in a whisper before she looked around in the direction Zach had been looking. He looked in her direction and furrowed his brows in confusion. "Your boyfriend, is he here?"
"No", he answered in a flat tone.
"Then who were you winking at just now?" She continued to whisper as she voiced her confusion.
This was not a conversation he wanted to have knowing his wife could hear it all. He looked at Xavier who suddenly found the table cloth interesting. Turning to George, the man's brows were furrowed as he stared intently at the podium. The opening speech was suddenly even more interesting. He sighed, it was his fault, he would deal with it.
"I blinked", he said with his usual emotionless face.
"With one eye? That's called winking!" She fell into a giggle and slapped Xavier's arm. "What's wrong with your brother?"
The recepient of the wink felt her face grow red. Even in such a setting, she didn't expect him to flirt with her through and through. Amy patted her cheeks to ease the fluster. Zach on the other hand was expecting a scolding from Amy especially after his mother went on about him having a boyfriend. To his disappointment, Amy said nothing.
On the other hand, Gwen had found a room where she shoved Peter till he stumbled onto the floor. She turned her back to him as she locked. He quickly got on his knees with fear evident on his features.
"Boss, we can't do this here", he begged.
"You should have thought about that before you went running your mouth", she said in a quiet voice yet full of venom. The more quiet she gets, the more pissed off she is.
"Boss please."
"Now, now, Peter, don't waste my time. We have an event to attend. You surely don't want people to start speculating about our whereabouts", she mocked. Her lips curled in disdain as she threw him a side glance. A second later, she turned around and took him in. A pleased smile stretched on her face, he was ready for her.
Meanwhile, the gala was in full swing. The food was being served and light jazz music were played by a band to accompany the mood. But the mood had changed. Whispers now echoed among the tables.
"I heard they've made the Adalimumab and are looking for investors."
"Is that why they were sucking up to Mr. Frost just now? How shameless! Don't we all want that chance?"
"Right? Who doesn't want an investment from Frost Corporation?"
"A foreign investment would equally be appealing. Did you notice they're sitting next to the people from Italy?"
"Are they trying to hog everything?"
Zach could not hear what was being discussed among the different tables but he knew. It was the situation Amy was talking about just now. People misunderstood Gwen's actions especially when she approached Zach and George not long after they had come in. The misunderstanding and hateful looks grew when they saw the two return and settle on the same table with the Italian business representatives.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked as she sat down while twisting her right clenched fist's wrist.
"The last thing we needed was to draw attention to ourselves", Aldo responded with clear annoyance as he forked a bite. Gwen raised her brows in question not understanding what he just said.
"The drama you two just caused", Esmeralda responded as she elegantly picked up a glass of wine. She took a sip and placed it back down. Her gaze turned sharp as she looked between the two. "This better not cause a problem for us."
Gwen hated how Esmeralda talked to her like she was some superior. She wanted to snap at her because she hated feeling inferior but remembered her words. She was there to make sure the deal goes through. That shows her importance to The King or the organization itself. So Gwen gave Peter a look.
"I'll take care of it", he said as he left the table.
The servers came to Gwen's side and took her order. They soon served her while Peter was away. Meanwhile, Kris was fuming from the attention Zach had drawn on himself without even trying. Tonight was supposed to be about Logan and Tania. Victoria must have deliberately hid the news about his appearance tonight, of course, why would she?
"Kris, stop frowning", David sighed when he saw the unhappy look on his wife's face.
"Yeah, mom. It can't always be about competition", Logan agreed.
"You don't know what you're saying", Kris grumbled. She had barely touched her plate of food.
"If you didn't leak news about Tania and I to the media, this wouldn't have happened", he whisper shouted. Tania shifted in her seat uncomfortably, she had no idea how to deal with the current situation. Her only option was to drive her attention to the food which she ended up doing.
"I was doing you a favor. Do you know how much people compare you to Zach? What mother would stand on the sidelines and watch that happen? So for once, I wanted you to be in the spotlight, to be on top! To be on our company so excuse me since things didn't work out!" She snapped back in a hushed tone.
"Well look at you now. People will think we try too hard to compete with the Frosts. If you tried to not let that bother you, people won't have to always compare us. They do that because of what you do", Logan wanted to shout on top of his lungs but suppressed it.
"How ungrateful! David are you going to let him talk to me like this?" she scoffed in disbelief. The time she tried to do something for her son and their company and this is what she gets. "And Tania stop stuffing your face!"
Tania coughed on the food she suddenly choked on. Logan was quick to pat her on the back to ease the choking.
"Are you okay?" Logan's voice and expression grew gentle as he helped her. He took a glass of water and brought it to her lips.
"Aww, young love. Isn't this wonderful?" A voice spoke from above them.
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