CEO's Cat Lady [Complete]

Chapter 5

The day of the presentation finally came and gathered in the conference room were the director and the heads of each department of the company, along with their assistants. Chris was not the one who would stand up there to speak in front of people, but he could not help but feel nervous. After all, he was part of the presentation, and if this failed, some of the blame could also be put on him (which was not good because he was already suspended once).

Curiously though, it seemed that Ms. Amy was the one who appeared not to be rattled. She looked as composed and serious as ever. To be sure though, Chris was not able to stop himself from asking her.

"How do you feel, Ma'am? Are you nervous?" He smiled sheepishly.

Ms. Amy side-glanced at him briefly before she turned her gaze at the people gathered in the conference. "I am, but nothing I can't manage."

Chris mirrored her actions, though he felt elated inside. He did not expect her to answer his question. "You can do this, Ma'am."

Ms. Amy nodded and thanked him. He noticed how her grip on her index cards tightened for a bit. When the secretary announced that the most mysterious investor would arrive in a five minutes, that was his cue to join the people sitting around the conference table who would watch the HR Head's presentation.

"Hey, are you going to do something after office hours tonight?" Someone whispered on his right, surprising Chris slightly and making him jump in his seat. He whirled to look at who it was and saw Regine.

"Oh. I didn't know you're here," he responded back in a whisper too.

The woman winked at him cutely and said, "My suspension's been lifted. So?"

"Why are you asking anyway?"

Regine shrugged. "Nothing much. Just wanted to Netflix and chill. What do you think?"

If this offer was made sometime before this week, he wouldn't have wasted any second to say 'yes,' but curiously enough, that was not the case now. He didn't know why, but he suddenly lost interest in those kinds of things lately.

"I'll think about it," he sighed. "I haven't had much rest these past few days because of this presentation." He managed to give the woman a brief awkward smile before returning his stare to the projector in front where the presentation he helped prepare was displayed.

"Alright." Regine caressed his hand briefly, making Chris stiffen a bit. "Just call me once you've made up your mind."

Chris smiled uneasily. "Y-yeah."

________________________________________

Amy ran everything that she had read and memorized these past few days. She knew she was ready, but she didn't want to be complacent. If she were more honest with herself, she would admit that she was nervous. Of all the employees in this company, why did they choose an HR Head to present to investors? This was not her expertise! But there was nothing left to do but to suck it up and perform the job to the best of her abilities.

The soft murmurs of the people inside the conference room suddenly died down when the door opened, signaling the arrival of the person of honor. Amy stood straight to get her bearings. As for everyone, they were all interested in finally having a glimpse of the heir to the second largest hotel chain of the country since no one else has yet seen him before. That did not stop her from wondering on why the owner of a hotel chain was interested in making an investment to a medium-sized publishing company like theirs.

Amy had done her research and knew that the heir of the hotel chain stayed in Switzerland since childhood and only when his grandfather, the chairman, died a month ago did he return to the country. He had not yet attended any social function (probably still in mourning), so that's why no one from the alta sociedad had seen him yet. Needless to say, everyone was interested in him and their humble company was so lucky to be one of the first to see the aloof man in person.

The first one to enter was a middle-aged man in glasses who was wearing a pressed suit. As he was too old compared to the said 29 year-old heir, Amy surmised that it was the secretary. He was followed by a man in suit carrying a black briefcase, which meant that it was probably the lawyer. Lastly, the most-awaited man entered, looking sleek, tall, and polished in his gray-suit, his short dark brown hair framing a chiseled face. He had a square jaw that made him look very manly, but his expressionless countenance gave him an impression of a cold demeanor.

But what shocked Amy more than anything was the fact that this man was awfully familiar to her--he was the guy from the highway last week! The saying about the world being small had never rung truer as ever to her. As everyone waiting stood up to respectfully receive the guest, the secretary spoke up.

"Good morning. I present to you, Mr. Trevor Schwarz."

The expressionless man then walked in front of the room, not even sparing a glance to her, and surveyed the people gathered to listen to the proposal. His eyes looked bored, but gave a brief nod to his lawyer before he walked to his designated seat.

Amy's hold on her cue cards tightened and she could feel her heartbeat go fast. She took a deep breath to steel herself, and as she did so, she briefly caught Trevor's glance. She immediately averted her eyes and focused on her audience.

The show was on.

________________________________________

"Sales are expected to peak up in the months of June to August, and it is almost guaranteed to benefit all shareholders of the company…."

Chris listened with rapt attention at Ms. Amy's presentation in front. So far, so good, as their HR Head obviously studied well the materials that he helped prepare. That was not the case though for some employees present in the room, especially the females. It was obvious that some were having a hard time restraining their fan girl attitudes towards that particular Trevor Schwarz.

He was also just barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. What was so special with the guy? Sure, he was a rich young man who was slightly good-looking, but as he observed the heir closely, he came into the conclusion that this guy was boring to death. To be honest, he even seemed dead inside, with that blank face that hardly showed any emotion since he stepped into the room and those cold eyes that had a hint of mixed boredom and annoyance. Damn, Chris was sure Trevor Schwarz was not only a boring dude, but also an arrogant jerk.

"I didn't expect Trevor Schwarz to be that hot. Do you think he's single?" Regine whispered to him in the middle of the presentation.

Chris scoffed. "I'm not interested at all about that guy other than his willingness to invest in our company."

Regine pouted at him. "You're too mean."

Chris did not reply anymore and instead focused back on the presentation. He was thankful he did so because that was the time that Ms. Amy said something very interesting.

"If the highly-esteemed Snowdrop Hotel Chain group makes an investment, we would be able to better relocate our current employees to the new sister company our organization is planning to launch. It would also help us minimize the amount of employees that we would have to let go in our effort to downsize because in the digital age, publishing required less manpower."

What was this about letting go of employees? He never knew that there were even plans for launching a sister company!

________________________________________

The presentation was thankfully finished, but the debacle had not yet ceased for Amy. She was currently sitting down on her spot in the conference room while waiting for the decision of the investor they were trying to woo. The director took her aside briefly to tell her that she did a nice job, but it did not calm her that much. If they were not convinced, then all these preparation and efforts would just go to waste. Then there was also this nagging worry in her regarding the thought that Mr. Trevor Schwarz actually recognized her. For Pete's sake! She threatened to tase the guy!

To her surprise though, she had not even warmed her seat for a minute yet when the hotel heir himself strode in front to announce the verdict in his characteristic cold voice:

"Presentation-wise, I find myself positively convinced with the terms and conditions involved if ever we make an investment to your company. I would like to say a 'yes' right away but it will depend on Ms. Flores' answer to my last question." Trevor Schwarz then directed his gaze to her direction.

That got Amy to stand up abruptly as her heart pounded violently inside her ribcage, though her outward demeanor remained businesslike. "What is it, Mr. Schwarz? As my company's representative, it would be my pleasure to help you out."

The hotel heir's next words sounded surreal to Amy's ears when he said, "Would you go on a date with me?"