Chapter 50 A Grave Mistake
“I’ve cleared the room and food bills, and now you’re moving back with me.” With that, he walked out of the room with all her stuff. Alyssa stood there in disbelief. Instead of wooing her with a million excuses and explanations, how could he just dictate to her around? She shook her head, chiding herself for falling in love with such a weirdo.
The housekeeping staff came inside to clean up and she rushed out after Nicholas. She would maintain her distance till he explained his last night's behavior to her. She stormed into Nicholas’s room, but the wonderful aroma of food hit her nose and she realized how hungry she was.
“We aren’t here on a vacation. Just eat up and let’s get ready for the press conference,” he said gruffly, pouring himself some coffee. Alyssa rolled her eyes, noting his foul mood. Shouldn’t she be the one to be upset? Sulking, she sat down and munched a sandwich disinterestedly, without bothering to even look at him.
“Did your cat die last night? What’s the matter with you?” he asked in a grumpy tone.
“It’s none of your concern., Nicholas. I’m done with breakfast. So you can give me whatever work you want me to do,” she said, getting up.
“Sit down and eat, Alyssa. There’s no need to feel so jealous. You’re overthinking.”
“Really? So now I’m the one at fault. Right, I get it. Just leave me alone, Nicholas. We can just interact on a professional level from now on,” she stated before disappearing into the room to fume with anger. She was still waiting for his explanation and would maintain her distance until she got it. Since he seemed in no mood to explain himself to her, Alyssa sat down at her laptop to check out their latest financial software application that had been making a buzz in the US market, D-Track Capital. The press conference was called to create global awareness for the product.
After a while, Nicholas went out of their suite room and Alyssa released the breath she was holding. The lesser interaction they had, the better. She would release his apartment and rent one of her own when they returned. The rest of the morning, she was glad that Nicholas was away. She was ready for the press conference and waited in the living area for him. By now, she had a clear idea about the financial application they were about to promote.
It was 11:45, and Nicholas unlocked the main door and strode into the room angrily, giving Alyssa a glare. Alyssa’s heart sank more with dread. Now, what had she done? He banged the bedroom door shut on her face. Unlike the last time. After five minutes, the door flew open, and he strode out angrily wearing a dark blue business suit. Without glancing at Alyssa, he walked towards the door as if she didn’t exist at all to him. What was wrong with him? She meekly followed him out without a word as the press conference was their top priority now.
The events manager of the hotel led them to an auditorium where the reporters were waiting for them. A little nervous, Alyssa kept close to Nicholas as a staff member opened the door for them. Her eyes widened seeing a sea of reporters seated around the place. They got up to capture a better angle of them entering the place.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please have some patience. The conference hasn’t started yet. Everyone will get good coverage of the event. Please refrain from taking any footage before the event,” instructed the manager. Before Alyssa could realize what was happening, Nicholas’s arm went around her shoulders to guide her inside. It was a totally instinctive move to protect her, yet it touched her heart. Was she really overthinking? He led her to the front and pulled out a chair for her. Sitting down beside her, he adjusted his microphone while all the reporters looked at the two of them with interest.
“Ready to start?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Will they ask me anything?” she asked with wide eyes and Nicholas shook his head.
“I don’t think so,” he said, much to her relief. She had never faced a press conference in her life and felt a little apprehensive about what they might ask. She could feel all eyes upon her, but that didn’t bother her since she was used to receiving attention for her looks. However, what disturbed her was the curious looks they gave her. She was sure that they were bubbling with curiosity more about their personal relationship than about the product they had come here to market.
After a while, the press meeting started and Nicholas answered all their questions patiently, explaining their product.
“D-Track Capital offers outstanding reporting options, desktop capabilities, investment management platform, and spending tracking, and is doing very well in the US. The app is now available globally, and it’s really easy to use. All you need to do is link your bank accounts, credit cards, student loans, and mortgages, and the app will gather information to produce a full financial picture,” said Nicholas, eliciting applause from some reporters.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Donnelly. I’m Anthony Liang, the chief reporter from Singapore Economics Daily. We met at a press coverage when you were here six months ago,” a reporter reminded him and he nodded. “I want to know why you did not launch D-Track here on your last visit. Why was it launched first in the US?”
“The product was at the testing stage six months back. It was only after we received positive feedback did we make changes and launched it globally.” Nicholas’s throat had dried up, and the bottle was far away from him. He leaned toward Alyssa to ask her to pass the bottle to him. Taking the bottle from her hands, he took a swig while Alyssa opened the sales statistics of the product on her laptop for Nicholas to consult.
“Can you share some of the feedback to help boost sales of the product here?” asked another reporter. Nicholas coordinated with Alyssa and answered the question, taking help with the data on the laptop screen she presented to him. She had done her research well and knew where to find everything. The conference was over and Nicholas smiled at her, appreciating her efforts for the first time since the morning. She smiled back, happy to have been able to help him. He reached out and tucked a stray curl that had escaped from her bun behind her ear.
However, before they could leave, Anthony came forward with his cameraman following him. “Nicholas, won’t you introduce us to your lovely assistant? As far as I can remember, I haven’t seen her in any of your previous press meets,” he said, looking at Alyssa curiously. Nicholas was instantly on his guard and placed a possessive arm around Alyssa.
“This is Alyssa Van Every. She just joined us,” he introduced.
“Hello, Ms. Van Every! I am really impressed by your secretarial skills. Excuse my curiosity, but are you in any way related to the famous restaurateur, Alexander Van Every?” asked the foxy reporter.
“Hello, Mr. Liang. Thank you. Yes, Alexander is my older brother.” The reporter looked quite excited at the fresh piece of information.
“Oh, really? In that case, we should catch up sometime when you’re free. Alexander is an excellent friend of mine and always meets me whenever he comes down to Singapore.” Nicholas fumed with jealousy, noting the way the reporter was hitting upon her.
“We aren’t here on a vacation, Mr. Liang. So maybe next time,” he said, leading Alyssa away.
“I’m sure she doesn’t have a job to take care of in the evenings. How long are you here, Alyssa? May I call you that?” he pestered with a cheesy smile on his face while Alyssa hesitated, glancing at Nicholas for help.
“No, she isn’t free even in the evenings,” growled Nicholas, annoyed by his pestering. Couldn’t he realize Alyssa wasn’t available to anyone else but him?
“Aren’t you a hard taskmaster, Mr. Donnelly?” laughed the reporter, making Nicholas’s blood boil in the veins. He would have punched the smirk off his face if this wasn’t a press meet.
“I’m not just a taskmaster to her, Mr. Anthony Liang. If you were that good a friend to Alexander, he would have told you that Alyssa and I are in a relationship. We’re soon planning to get engaged,” gritted out Nicholas while Alyssa’s jaws dropped with horror. Had Nicholas gone out of his mind? What if he was really Alexander’s friend? Would Alexander spare him?
He steered Alyssa out of the auditorium, leaving a gaping Anthony Liang behind. Alyssa noted the grim expression on Nicholas’s face and stopped herself from making any comments with reporters all around the place.
He led her straight to their suite room and closed the door. Going over to a chair, he slumped into it, closing his eyes, knowing what he had done in his fit of jealousy.