❤︎ 𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 ❤︎

❤︎ 𝓒𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 5: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝑼𝒑 ❤︎

The boardroom was so quiet that Aria could hear her own heartbeat.

Every executive stared at her.

One of the board members let out a sarcastic laugh.

"You've been here less than an hour, and you think you've found something our finance team missed?"

Aria swallowed hard.

"I... I could be wrong."

Adrian rested his elbows on the table.

"Go on."

His calm voice gave her just enough confidence to continue.

She walked to the projector and pointed at one of the figures on the financial report.

"This total doesn't match the numbers on the previous page."

The finance director frowned.

"That's impossible."

He quickly checked the report.

His confident expression disappeared.

"...She's right."

The room fell silent again.

A decimal point had been entered incorrectly, making the projected losses appear much larger than they actually were.

The mistake had caused panic among the investors.

One by one, the board members exchanged embarrassed glances.

Adrian looked at Aria, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"You noticed that in just a few minutes?"

She shrugged shyly.

"I've always been good with numbers."

For the first time since the meeting began, Adrian smiled.

"Excellent work."

The praise made Aria blush.

But not everyone was pleased.

Across the table, Victor Hale, one of the senior executives, narrowed his eyes.

"She's becoming too important too quickly," he thought.

After the meeting ended, Adrian caught up with Aria in the hallway.

"You saved us from making a costly mistake today."

"I only pointed out what I saw."

"Most people would've stayed silent."

He reached into his pocket and handed her a small black access card.

She looked at it curiously.

"What's this?"

"Your new employee ID."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"And there's one more thing."

He paused.

"I've decided."

Aria looked up.

"I still want you as my personal assistant."

Her smile faded.

"I already told you—"

"I know."

"But after today, I'm even more certain you're the right person."

Before she could answer, a woman stormed down the hallway.

It was Vanessa.

She had overheard everything.

Her eyes burned with jealousy as she watched Adrian standing so close to Aria.

"So this is the girl stealing his attention..."

Vanessa clenched her fists.

"If she won't leave on her own..."

"I'll make sure she does."

♡︎ 𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅... ♡︎