An Angel At Heart

Lina stood up and greeted the person who had entered.

"So? What do you think?" She wiggled her brows and got a thumbs up in return.

"This place looks great, Lina! A Karaoke machine? Yes!" Leon Jiu high fived her and quickly ran towards the machine set up on the mini stage.

"You like singing, huh?" Lina followed him, watching him scroll through the list of songs available.

"I will sing this… and this… this one too!" He was like a kid who was given freedom to buy whatever he liked in a supermarket and Lina chuckled looking at him.

"I don't want to fry my ears. Spare me" Someone spoke from behind and they turned to see who it was.

At the door, stood Julia and she waved at them as she walked towards them.

"Wow!" Both Leon and Lina said at the same time and glanced at each other before giggling.

Julia had worn a black spaghetti necked sleeveless jumpsuit with little clouds made on them with silver sequins. 

Though she wasn't that tall, she pulled it off quite well and looked great in it.

In the past week that Lina had known her, she saw Julia only wearing bland monochrome suits, sometimes even with a loose-knit cardigan. 

Seeing her today in such fashionable and well-fitted clothes, her beautiful body shape was clearly visible and Lina was gushing over her dress.

"What wow? Did you not look at yourself in the mirror? That's what I would say looking at you!" Julia pointed at Lina and Lina blushed.

Leon too just observed Lina's dress and nodded his head in appreciation.

Lina was wearing the dress that she and Stacy had bought just yesterday.

It was the Boho styled black mini dress that reached her mid-thighs. 

The dress had a slightly steeper neckline compared to what she was used to and hence she felt a little conscious when she felt their stares.

The skirt hugged her thighs and showed off her toned long legs. It also had a low scoop back that just gave a slight glimpse of her tattoo because her hair covered a major part of it.

Stacy had styled her hair in a half-crown loose braid and the rest of her hair freely fell on her shoulders and she loosely curled them to get a beachy waves vibe to it.

"Your hair looks very pretty!" Julia complimented and Lina proudly bragged about her sister who put in all the efforts for it to look good.

"You have a sister? That's something new I've learned about you today." Leon said as they walked to take a seat in the lounge.

"Well, she's my cousin. I do have an older brother though." She told them a bit about themselves.

When they were sitting and talking about various stuff about their work, Lina kept looking at her watch.

"Don't worry, they'll be here on time." Julia patted on her shoulder and reassured her.

In half an hour, Mr. Hitoshi and his team would arrive and her colleagues had not yet appeared.

Just as she was thinking of giving Director Bai a call to know about his whereabouts, the door was pushed open.

In came a big group of people, well four to be precise.

At the front was Old man Oswald with Director Bai happily chatting as they walked side by side. Following right behind them were Irene and Anthony.

Old man Oswald had opted for a festive looking red and golden tang suit which was different from his usual black and white suit he wore to the office.

Director Bai wore a sharp black suit with a silver striped tie and had his hair combed to one side by using styling gel.

Irene looked stunning in her navy blue long pencil skirt which she matched with a bright yellow cardigan. The colors were popping and bold but she carried them off effortlessly.

Lina complimented her unique yet gorgeous outfit and she chuckled.

She shrugged her shoulders saying that she loved loud colors because they made her feel energetic and full of confidence.

Finally came in Anthony Shen wearing ripped blue jeans with a simple grey button-down full-sleeved shirt. 

He looked casual and sexy as hell with his muscles bulging out of the tight sleeves.

"Yummy!" Lina skipped to him and looked at him from top to bottom.

He chuckled and he even twirled around for her amusement which was very much appreciated by her.

"Ten on ten!" She praised him and then gasped loudly.

"Anthony? Are those classic A4's that you are sporting today?" She pointed at his feet and yelled excitedly.

"I believe I've found a fellow sneakerhead." Anthony chuckled and Lina furiously nodded her head.

'I should have worn my black sneakers instead of these heels. Then we could have matched!' She thought as she looked at her 3-inch black lace ankle booties which had a ribbon lace-up front and then looked back at his shoes.

He was wearing Mario Brunesci's black sneakers with bright red laces and frankly, he was amazed to know that Lina was also a sneaker fanatic just like him.

"Totally! I own every one of his works, from the women's range of course." She squealed and dragged him to the couch so that they could discuss further.

The rest who were ignored silently followed the two chattering pairs and sat beside them.

After 15 minutes,  Stuart Bai could no longer hear them go on and on about their favorite pairs of shoes and decided to put an end to it.

"I'm going to walk out if I hear another word about shoes from you two!" He fiercely threatened and they immediately shut up.

"You mind telling us when Mr. Hitoshi's team will be arriving?" Old man Oswald asked and Lina looked at her watch.

"In another fifteen minutes. Where's Director Zhou?" Lina inquired about Ivan because he had not yet arrived.

"He'll be a little late. He was preparing the invites that will be sent out tomorrow." Irene informed them and they nodded.

"Okay, so let me brief you about LY's team." She stood up and spoke. They turned to her and attentively listened to what she had to say.

"Since the establishment of Obsidia, Mr. Hitoshi and his team have been a crucial part of the company and have been the sole makers of all high-end designs created by LY." Lina began.

She remembered how she had met Mr. Hitoshi on one of her vacations and had fallen in love with his craftsmanship.

She begged him and his team to work for her and only after many months of her working as an apprentice for him did he agree to work exclusively for Obsidia.

"As you might already know that the mass-produced jewelry is made in Obsidia by the in-house craftsmen." She looked at them and they agreed because this was common knowledge.

The Obsidia building had certain floors solely dedicated to jewelry design and manufacture. The same goes for the clothing department.

"Mr. Hitoshi and his team are the ones who personally make the high-end jewelry with their own hands using the skills that were passed on in their family through generations." She continued.

"So his team has only four members including himself and they are all from the same family." She saw them all gasp at this new information which no one else had.

"They will soon be here and then I can introduce you to them. Mr. Hitoshi may seem like a strict man but he really is an angel at heart." She said and they collectively gasped.

"Looks like my training hasn't been enough for you. Dare to call me an angel!?" A loud voice spoke in Japanese.

They all turned around and looked at the door when they heard a strong voice coming from there.

'Dammit!' Lina flinched and slowly rotated her body to face the doorway.

There stood an old man walking forward with a cane to support his weight on and behind him were two men and a woman. 

The three newcomers behind the old man hid their faces and held their mouths to stop the laughter that they were trying very hard to control.

"From which angle do I look like an angel to you, huh brat?" He spoke as he raised his cane and gently knocked it on her head.

Lina being the dramatic one, held her head and made a loud groaning sound.

"Was that too hard? Move your hand, let me see!" He hurriedly pulled her hands away and rubbed her head and blew on it.

"Pain, pain go away!"  He said as he continued blowing and saw her trembling.

"Let's go to the hospital! come on!" He held onto her hand and was dragging her along when he heard laughter from his team members.

Leon and the others just stood gawking at what was happening before them.

"Granduncle, she fooled you once again." The woman laughed and Lina too stuck her tongue out before giggling.