Date The CEO.com

Chapter 245: Passionate as Red Wine

"Then, she could distract you back. Everyone wins."

Ambryan nearly pinched the bridge of his nose. His father needed to make up his mind. This wasn't about to become another round of an argument. He had other things to attend to. 

"Father, didn't you also say that it would be too fast? Evangeline thinks the same." Ambryan returned to his computer and checked the emails Riffle had filtered for him. "I don't mind the wait. It's better than completely losing her."

Jackson was stumped. 

There wasn't much to do when the couple already made up their mind. He slumped against the chair and glanced over his shoulder. "So I noticed you have a new secretary."

Ambryan nodded without turning away from the monitor. "Yes. Eve resigned effective immediately. Last time I heard she had gone back to her hometown."

"Really?" His father doubted. "I thought it was because she had growing affection for you."

"And where did you hear that?" Ambryan had a feeling but decided not to show it on his face. There could only be one person who would have shared that knowledge to Jackson Hathaway. The main reason would be for entertainment rather than the need to inform the Chairman.

And it wasn't his mother.

"From Madison."

"Ah." He uttered, unsurprised by the information. Then, he exhaled sharply and wished for this topic to end soon. "Yes, we found drafts of her resignation letters in the trash bin. That seemed to be part of her reasons but it's mere speculation."

"Such a shame." Jackson sighed. "I like that girl."

Ambryan stopped typing. His head slowly shifted towards his father. The latter wore a nostalgic look on his face and stared up the ceiling. At this point, Ambryan couldn't tell if his father knew about the secret or not and used this as a means to rile him up.

"Do you, now? I thought only mother liked her to be my girlfriend," he decided to say. This should hint on the answer to his suspicions. 

Jackson scowled in his direction. "I meant as an assistant. Her work ethic was impeccable."

"That I agree with." Ambryan relaxed his shoulders, realizing they had gone tense. So his father was still in the dark. It gave him comfort to know that. He resumed composing his report and let the keys fill in the silence.

"Oh, well. I wish her all the best despite the circumstances." 

Rising to his feet, Jackson stretched his arms lightly and turned around. He waved his hand as he walked to the door and without a glance back. "I'll be going."

"Take care."

"Chairman," Riffle greeted with a bow when Jackson stepped out. Relief flooded his chest. He could now forget about the mental debates he had. Eve wasn't exactly free to help him out. He wondered what could be keeping her pre-occupied.

"Riffle," Jackson greeted back, returning the gesture. He stood in front of the secretary's work desk and tilted his head sideways. "How's working for my son? Is it better than working for Madison?"

Riffle gulped. "They both have their pros and cons. I'm quite lucky to experience both."

It was the same answer he had given back then. Now that he was in this position though, he had a lot more to say. It was true that the CEO wasn't sloppy like the President but he still wasn't used to the former's pacing. 

He couldn't even begin to imagine how Eve felt when she first started.

"I see…" Jackson trailed off. He offered a small smile. "Hang in there then."

"Thank you, Chairman." Riffle sat back down once he left and opened the files Eve left him. It was naive of him to think that this wouldn't prove to be a challenge. Her system was far different from his—more efficient but also packed. 

Time was of the essence with her work.

It explained why she didn't do as much overtime as him.

Jackson stepped inside the elevator. He leaned on the back wall and watched the numbers go down. So much had changed since he left. His son finally found someone he wanted to spend his life with. That was something he didn't think would happen at this point in their relationship.

What could have tipped the iceberg? He covered his mouth in deep thought.

Avery refused to let him do his research on Evangeline. Despite trusting his wife, that still raised suspicion. The only reason he could think of was because she didn't think he'd approve of her once he found out. The possibilities were endless with that one. 

Maybe she'd let him do it now that Ambryan was this serious.

.

.

.

.

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Eve felt sick. 

The last minute photoshoot Cale booked for her was for a wine producer. Her manager thought she'd like the idea since Ambryan favored red wine. She hadn't seen many ads that featured people for this type of product. Most of them let the wine and the bottle speak for itself.

Safe to say, she didn't have a clue on what the client wanted.

Her techniques on how to drink wine came from working with Ambryan. She figured they would like that since he was a wine lover. In other words, he was their target demographic. 

The clothing she wore reminded her of the Roman theme Athon Luxury did for the Rainbow Collection. Upon closer look, she realized it matched the logo of the wine producer and took inspiration from it—but instead of being surrounded by grape vines, she had a glass of wine.

Her back half-turned away from the camera, she sipped from the glass.

Red wine flowed down her throat and into her stomach where the others before it settled. Her vision became cloudy at the edges. Her face also must be flushed. The sun had decided to join them today in their shoot outdoors. 

If the client was satisfied any time soon, she'd be fully drunk.

Cale frowned at her state. He tapped the cameraman's shoulder and said, "Can we take a break? I think my model might faint if she finishes that glass and there's still more to do."

The cameraman flashed a sour expression. He addressed the crew over his shoulder and announced a short break of 15 minutes, walking away from the modelling manager. Cale didn't appreciate his attitude but the pictures came out well in his opinion.

Unfortunately, none of them matched what they were looking for.

"Are you alright?" Cale asked when Eve reached his side. "We can end this right now. I'll find you something else. It's ridiculous that they want you to keep drinking the wine when it's not a video shoot. You can always pretend to drink it."

"It's fine, Cale," she replied, swallowing a hiccup. "I can pretend but I'm sure they want authenticity. I should have done better research. I was with Ambryan not long ago. I should have asked him for opinions."

Eve sat down in front of her dressing table. She grabbed a mini fan and aimed it at her face, closing her eyes. It was mid-autumn but she felt hot. "I wonder if he'd answer if I call now."

"If he's not busy, he definitely would. If he is, he'll call back as soon as possible." Cale chuckled. 

"I should give it a shot then."

She turned off the mini fan and exchanged it for her phone. The DTC app appeared on her screen as soon as she unlocked it. Blood rushed into her already pink cheeks. She had left the conversation window open and spotted the last message right away.

.

``Yan: My father visited today. He wanted to know why you wouldn't move in with me.``

.

It had taken her aback. Then, they called for her on set before she could muster a reply. With a valid excuse for a delayed response, she had forgotten about the message until now. She bit on her bottom and pressed the call button.

Her fingers crossed in hope that Ambryan forgot about the message as well.

"Yes?" He spoke through the earpiece.josei

"Ambee. Hi." Eve cleared her throat. Cale came to her aid and held the mini fan for her. She mouthed a thank you in his direction to which he winked in return.

Ambryan turned his swivelling chair around so he'd face the windows. "I assume the reason for this call is not because you missed me."

"If that were the case, I would be calling you every second," Eve shot back. She knew that he wanted to catch her off guard. Well, two could play that game—especially when she had the advantage of being intoxicated.

"You wound me."

"Yet, you still adore me. You are a wise man after all."

Shaking his head, Ambryan hardly noticed how wide the smile on his face was. "So why did you call? Is there anything I could help you with?"

"Yes, I was wondering why you love wine."

"Wine?" He arched an eyebrow. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"I'm not that of a lightweight!" Eve defended a little too loud.

"But are you drinking?"

"It's for the advertisement."

"For wine?" Ambryan confirmed.

"Yes. Apparently, I'm not doing well. I can't seem to capture what the client wants. It's not like they specifically said anything. They don't exactly know what they want either so I'm left to interpret on my own—"

Eve closed her mouth when she realized that she was babbling. Taking a deep breath, she concluded the speech with, "Since you're an avid, maybe I can figure something out based on your opinions about it."

Ambryan thought for a moment. He could go on about his interest but it wouldn't exactly help Eve understand wine as if she was in his shoes. His mind scrambled for a common ground that could help her.

And he just had the right analogy.

"You can think of red wine like your coffee," he said, pressing his lips together to hide a laugh. "Like coffee beans, grapes come from different parts of the globe and their tastes vary in the climate they grew in and the process of extracting the juice. Appreciate it like it's your passion."