Secretly Mine-Chapter 144: Charity Gala (2)

"Do you like them?"

Christian’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. He was looking down at the small fairy sculpture in front of me.

"Ah, yes. I find them to be very cute," I said with a smile.

"Ugh, you’re so childish." Morgan rolled her eyes at me and wrapped her arms around Christian’s arm. "I see Father over there. Let’s go say hi."

Christian nodded and led us over to where my father was standing. He was in a small group of people whom I recognized to be some of our family’s closest business partners.

"Ah, Christian! I’m so glad to see you here!" my father said, reaching out to shake his hand. "I appreciate you taking care of my daughters this evening. Let me know if they become too much."

"Father!" Morgan pouted, feeling offended.

Christian let out a small laugh, "Not at all. I’m honored to be in your daughters’ company."

One of the men beside my father looked at Christian with a curious look, "So this is the elusive CEO Vittoria. You look a lot like a woman I used to know."

"Oh, is that so? And who could that be?" Christian asked with interest. While his face showed only a small smile, the air around him turned cold. I could tell that he didn’t like the remark.

Is he being sensitive due to his mother?

The man pulled his hand away after a brief handshake. "It’s been so long now that I don’t remember her name. Either way, I doubt you’d know her; she was a nobody."

The air around Christian grew a few notches colder. "Well, if you ever remember her name, I’d love to know. Who knows, maybe we’re related!"

Christian’s intense gaze made the man uncomfortable. He averted his gaze and took another sip of his champagne. "Oh, yeah. Sure thing..."

My father introduced the other men to Christian and began discussing random business topics. I listened quietly, but Morgan was having a hard time staying focused.

"Let’s go walk around. There’s so much to see," she said, tugging Christian’s arm.

My father chuckled, "Go on, we can talk more later. The ladies want to be entertained." He motioned with his hand for us to leave.

Christian hesitated slightly, but as soon as he glanced over at me, he nodded. "Very well, let’s go take a look around".

We took a spin around the entire hall, looking at all of the fun decorations. I enjoyed them all, while Morgan seemed to point out a made-up flaw. We ended our tour near where we first walked in.

"Oh! Let me go grab you a drink, Christian," she said and walked over to the refreshment table on the other side of the hall, leaving me alone with Christian.

"You’re absolutely breathtaking tonight, Leslie. By far the most beautiful one here," said Christian, looking into my eyes.

"Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself," I replied quietly.

Christian took a step forward, leaning into me. "How about we ditch this event and have our own fun?"

He discreetly slipped me something under his hand. "Room 714. Meet me once the event starts. Everyone will be too focused on the event to realize you’re gone."

I glanced down, noticing a black keycard to one of the rooms in this hotel. My heart raced as I glanced up at him.

"I’ll be there," I said softly, placing the keycard into my purse.

Before pulling away, Christian gently stroked my arm, "I’m going to make you moan so loudly that everyone here will be able to hear your voice."

He took a step back, giving me a moment to catch my breath. Just as my heart rate finally calmed down, I noticed someone approaching us from the corner of my eye.

"Lucas?" I turned around, greeting Lucas with a big smile. He was wearing his signature cream colored suit, standing out among the other men who tended to wear dark colors.

"Leslie! I thought that was you! You look absolutely stunning! Wow!" He walked over and lifted my hand to place a kiss on it. His face was full of smiles as he looked me over a few times. "I must say, this dress was made for you!"

A small blush crept up on my cheeks from his compliment. "Thank you, that’s sweet of you to say."

Suddenly, Christian took a step forward, placing himself partially in front of me. "Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met before."

Lucas grinned, "No, we haven’t, but I’d recognize CEO Vittoria anywhere. I’m Lucas Christopher, nice to finally meet you."

They shook hands for slightly longer than normal. There seemed to be a strange air between the two of them that I couldn’t understand.

"So, how do you two know each other?" asked Christian, maintaining a friendly smile.

"Haha! We’re friends. Isn’t that right, Leslie?" Lucas laughed and turned to glance at me.

I stepped out from behind Christian and nodded, "Yes, we are!"

Lucas’s face brightened from my answer. He reached into his pant pocket and pulled something out to show me.

"I wasn’t sure if I’d see you here today. I picked these off the table to show you later, aren’t they just like the small fairies we saw at that park earlier?"

"Yes! I noticed them as soon as I glanced at the table over there! I also thought of the fairies in the park!" I answered, laughing. It was cute of Lucas to think of me and even pocket one of the fairies for me to see.

He looked at me with full gentleness. "Leslie, if I knew you’d be there, I would’ve asked you to be my date. You didn’t come with one, right?"

I momentarily paused and glanced over at Christian, who didn’t look too happy. "I...uh...umm...."

"She’s with me."

Christian linked his arm around mine, standing protectively at my side.

Oh? Is he feeling jealous?

I giggled to myself. "Yes, I came here with Christian and my sister Morgan. I appreciate the thought."

The next moment, Morgan returned, holding two glasses of champagne. Her eyes were glued to mine and Christian’s interlocking arms.

"What’s going on here?" she asked, pushing me away from Christian’s side. "Oh, it’s you. You’re Leslie’s friend, right?"

Lucas smiled and bowed his head slightly, "A pleasure to meet you, eldest Miss. I am indeed Leslie’s friend."

Morgan’s eyes lit up, "Oh! Perfect! Why don’t you take her to see some of the art pieces that are going to be auctioned off today? I just saw the staff place them in the display." She leaned against Christian’s arm protectively.

Lucas immediately perked up and looked at me. "I would love to. What do you say, Leslie?"

I glanced over at Christian and noticed that he was glaring at Lucas. The sight was so funny to me that I couldn’t help but giggle. "Sure, let’s go take a look!"

I flashed Christian a soft smile. A fire was burning deep in my eyes. "I’ll see you later."

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l