Chapter 49: Chapter 49 Unexpected Visitors
Aria’s POV
A few days later,I’d recovered, I ignored Damian’s advice and returned to work.
"The C-end data doesn’t look right. Leo, can you take the team and double-check the second half?"
"Got it."
I’d just finished reviewing part of the work with the team when my desk phone rang.
I picked up immediately. It was reception calling, saying there was a major client who specifically asked to see me.
"A client? Who?"
I didn’t remember having any appointments today. The investment was already secured. I needed to focus on finishing the project proposal.
"The client information is confidential. I’m not quite sure on my end."
The receptionist hemmed and hawed for a while without making anything clear.
But the one thing they confirmed was that this person was a big deal.
Company executives had personally brought them in, saying they were V&A Group’s most important guest in years, here to tour the company, and specifically requesting that I accompany them.
I was puzzled. "I’m swamped right now. Can’t Nathan handle it?"
No matter how important they were, the company’s vice president was more than qualified to entertain them.
"They said they only want to meet Miss Smith. They won’t take up too much of your time. If you’re busy, they’ll wait until you’re free."
I thought about it for a moment, handed the final data calculations to my team, and decided to go see who on earth had specifically asked for me.
What I didn’t expect was that sitting in the VIP lounge wasn’t some demanding major client, but rather an couple with kind faces and elegant attire.
An elderly gentleman and an elderly lady.
They both looked to be in their sixty.
But their bearing and appearance were impeccable.
The gentleman wore a high-quality shirt and suit with a black fedora. The lady wore a pale yellow quilted Chanel-style dress with an elegant mesh beret.
"Are you Miss Smith?"
The moment I entered, the elderly lady was the first to stand.
Though petite, she was surprisingly spry, walking over to me and looking me up and down before reaching out to take my hand.
I froze for a moment, but seeing the almost overflowing kindness in her smile, I didn’t have the heart to pull away.
"Yes, I’m Aria Smith. May I ask who you—"
"Oh, we’re just here to have a look around V&A Groups today. We’d heard so much about the Smith family’s new heir—so young, so beautiful, so capable..."
"Ahem."
Before she could finish praising me, she was interrupted by a light cough from the gentleman behind her.
He shot her a look, indicating she was saying too much.
Then he spoke himself, his tone more measured. "We’re here to tour V&A Groups. My wife was curious and wanted to see the famous Miss Smith in person."
"I see..."
When their gazes fell on me, there was an undisguised directness, but wrapped in that gaze was such warmth and tenderness.
I’d grown up without family around me. Never in my life had an elder looked at me with such warm eyes.
The Holt family certainly never had—Margaret had made it clear from day one that I was barely tolerated, and Sophie had followed her mother’s lead in treating me like hired help.
This sudden intimacy stirred an uncertain warmth in my chest, unfamiliar and almost uncomfortable.
The manager and V&A Groups executives nearby quickly came forward to ease the situation.
Apparently the elderly couple’s request was simple—they just wanted me to accompany them shopping at a nearby mall. An hour or two at most.
"I thought they were here to tour V&A Groups? Why suddenly go to a mall?"
An executive pulled me aside, voice lowered. "Miss Smith, I know this is sudden and not really your responsibility... but these two are extremely influential. V&A Groups really can’t afford to offend them."
"Influential enough that even V&A Groups can’t afford to offend? Who are they exactly?"
My curiosity was growing. I’d been here all this time, yet neither elderly person had even mentioned their names.
"Well... we can’t really say. They specifically requested confidentiality. The fewer people who know, the better. They said it’s... a kind of low-key inspection. Maybe you could ask them yourself later? Perhaps they’d be willing to tell you."
Just as he finished speaking, the lady had already walked over, her tone earnest. "Miss Smith, we’ve come such a long way—nearly eight hours by plane. We really hope you’ll do us the honor of spending some time with us... If you’re truly busy, then..."
Halfway through, she glanced at the gentleman beside her, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
He immediately picked up where she left off, his tone almost hopeful. "Then we’ll just wait here until you finish work. We’re in no hurry."
I looked at the elderly couple’s sincere eyes. On one hand, unfinished work. On the other, elders who’d traveled so far looking at me with such earnest hope.
I’d never been able to bear seeing older people disappointed, especially when these two were treating me with such unexpected gentleness.
That earlier uncertainty melted into something softer. I checked my watch. "I have about an hour free right now. Let me take you around."
"Wonderful, wonderful!" The lady’s face lit up immediately.
The look she exchanged with her husband sent an inexplicable chill down my spine.
It was almost as if they had finally gotten exactly what they’d come for.
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