Chapter 26:

ODETTE'S POINT OF VIEW

Slowly, I open my eyes, seeing this guy beside me. The guy every girl dreams of being their boyfriend is the guy I'm sleeping with.

Flashback

"I can do that too; I can choose you over anything." I look at him; he holds my chin and kisses my lips. That kiss just felt like the first time. Slowly, everything around us fades. I can't hear the movie anymore. The only thing I know is that I was kissing this guy. It was like I had a butterfly in my stomach flying when his lips touched mine. When he whispers my name and says, "I love you," it sounds sexy to me. He broke our kiss and put his forehead on mine while looking me in the eye.

"I won't do that thing until we get married; I respect you and your family, my queen. Let's sleep now; tomorrow you still have work, right?" I just nodded, speechless. He carried me and opened the room door. He gently laid me in bed, and as I lay down beside him, he opened his left arm and tao.

"Sleep in my arms, my queen." I put my head on his arm and turned to him. He suddenly hugged me tight and kissed my forehead.

"Close your eyes; let's sleep now." I don't know, but I can't feel sleepy. I want to feel the moment I hugged him. A few minutes passed, and my eyes were still wide open.

"I said sleep now, my queen. I can feel your eyes moving." He brushes my hair, and the way he brushes makes me sleepy. The way it was a gentle touch at an angle

End of Flashback

Now I was looking up at this guy who'd been hugging me tight all night. I noticed how pointed his nose was. How smooth and chewy lips he had. Maybe those fans of him are dreaming of kissing it. But I can get a kiss from those lips without asking or demanding. I'm getting their idol's kiss for free. I can smell his fragrance at this moment. The burning sensuality of the orange blossom twisted with the aromatic boldness of lavender at the same time. I can smell him.

"Done checking me? Don't tell me you didn't sleep, my queen." He looked down and smirked at me. I slap his chest, let go of his hug, and sit in the bed looking for my slippers.

"Hahaha, I love teasing you, my queen. Where are you going?" He hugged my waist.

"I'm going to cook food for us; you might be hungry." He sat on the bed and put his head on my shoulder.

"Don't bother yourself with cooking." You're the queen, so the king should be the one who cooks for you. So don't miss me too much. I just cook for us, okay?" He kissed my cheeks, got up fast, and went out of the room. I smiled, looking at how excited he was.

I got up, got my towel, and got through to the bathroom. I was washing my hair when I heard the door open in my room.

"My queen, Clay, was calling you." I immediately washed my hair.

"Oh, can you tell her?" "I'll call her back after I finish taking a shower."

"Sure, hello Clay; Odette was taking a shower; she will call you back after." I wash off all the soap on my body. After taking a shower, I blow-dried my hair and wore my bathrobe before I went out of the bathroom.

I picked my brown long-sleeve turtleneck together with an A-lone checkered knee-length skirt. As I wear it, I fix the sleeve and put on some light makeup. I curled the ends of my hair before I went out of my room. I see him still cooking in the kitchen.

I went through him and hugged him from behind.

"What are you cooking?"

"Some pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage. I even made you fresh-brewed coffee. I don't know if you would like the taste. You should take a seat. I will serve it." He turned around and kissed my lips. He turned me around and pushed me out of the kitchen. But this is my kitchen.

I sit in the chair as he serves the food. I was drooling to eat; I thought it was just pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage, but this is the opposite of what he said. These are carbonara, steak, and even French toast.

"So where are the pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage here?" I raise my eyebrow, looking at him.

"I just want to surprise you on our first day." "So do you like it?"

"Wait, how can you cook all this?" I know I don't even have steak in my refrigerator, not even those ingredients for the carbonara."

"Well, I look for a delivery app that can deliver groceries and accept quick delivery. Lucky for me, I found one that can deliver all the things I need in ten minutes. So while you're busy taking a shower, I'm preparing everything. I don't even have stock in my refrigerator; all I have are fruits and bottles of water."

"Thank you for this meal; I appreciate this Kiel." I grab the plate of carbonara and put some on my plate. As I sip it, I can't tell how creamy it is. Shit, I'm loving how cheesy and creamy the sauce is that you can taste it. I grab a piece of French toast, and as I take a bite, the sound of crunchiness can be heard in the first bite.

I can't stop myself from drooling over everything he cooks. I don't know how many times I eat the carbonara; I even ask him to prepare it for me, and I would like to bring some into my office. I want this to be my lunch.

"How did you learn cooking, Kiel?"

"When my grandfather was still alive. He was always cooking for us, mostly for my grandmother. He even taught me everything he knew about cooking. As I remember, he even told me, "When you want to treat a girl as a queen, you must know how to catch her heart. If you want her to notice you without seeing your appearance, cook for her. That's the only way you can communicate with her and tell her how you feel. Even when we can't say those words we wanted to say, when we cook the dishes, they will say them. Honestly, my queen, it was my first time cooking for someone who isn't even my family. Most of the time, they are the only ones who can taste my cooking."

"I'm flattered to hear that, so I'm the only girl you cook for, but you and Sloan were in a relationship for quite some time. You don't even think to cook for her?"

"She doesn't like to eat at home; most of the time she wants to eat at the restaurant. She doesn't like the smell of her kitchen when someone is cooking, especially if you sauté the garlic and onion. For her, it was too smelly. Even eating fish, she doesn't like it. So I didn't try to cook for her."

After finishing my food. I put all the plates in the sink.

"I'll wash the plate; put everything there. You need to go to your office, right?" He smiles and kisses me. I look at my wristwatch. I only have thirty minutes left before the meeting with the executives. I kissed him, smacking his cheeks, and rushed to my shoe cabinet.

"Fuck, sorry Kiel, I need to go. You can go home after washing the plates. Oh, my condo passcode was zero, four, twenty-four. Bye, see you later. I love you." I ran out of my condo and immediately took the elevator. As I got in, luckily, my neighbor Brianna was there.

"Good morning." I smile at her, but she ignores me. I stand up beside her and wait for the elevator to be in the parking lot. After a few minutes, I reach the parking lot. I ran fast towards my car. I unlocked it and went in.

I drove fast and went out through the parking lot. While driving I was looking for both sides to secure if I didn't have a problem on my way. I step onto the break when I reach the company.

I was about to went out of my car when I notice J forgot my bag in my condo. Shit, I give the car keys to the parking valet. As I walk in through the entrance of the company. Employees bowed while greeting me.

"Good morning." I went to the elevator together with the other employee. I saw Trisha was about to get into the elevator. I tap the elevator button to remain open.

"Thank you, Ms. Odette." She said when she get in, I smile in reply.

"We have a meeting with the executive together with the board member, regarding Mr. Chua's construction plan. Engineering Sky, confirm he will be at the meeting later. Your father's party planner send me the details and computation for the party this coming Friday. Everything was set for the party. Also, Mr. Chua wants to meet you tonight together with Ms. Aria and Mr. Kiel. The meeting with the construction supplier will be this afternoon. The building permit will be approved by next week. We can start the construction by the end of the week, next week."

"Is everything set up in the conference room?" Some of the employees went out in the elevator.

"Yes, Ms. Odette."

"Okay, after the meeting with the executive if you leave to pick up Dalle to his grandmother you can go."

"Thank you, Ms. Odette." I wave my hand and went out to the elevator.

I went straight to the conference room, and as I entered, I saw some executives and board members already inside.

"Good morning, Odette." I nodded to Sky as he greeted me. I opened the projector and connected my laptop.

"Good day, everyone."

After thirty minutes, all the executives and board members completed Dad finally arrived at the conference room. Everyone bows at him as he signs his hand to sit down. Everyone sits.

"Since everyone has arrived, good day." I pulled out the cover of the projector.

"As we all know, Mr. Chua wants his new video game company to be accessible to his employees. Especially for pregnant women to be comfortable in their working area. The blueprint, together with the design, was approved by our very own Daniel Chua." I showed the design to the board member.

"As you can see, once you get into the company, we can see different action figures together with a cyber-style floor and ceiling. computer-generated, but since he wants to be eco-friendly, we will use generators and solar panels for the energy consumption of the entire building. In the center of it, we can see the information desk. Instead of having an actual person standing, we have our autonomous mobile robots or AMRs."

"Why should we replace actual people with AMRs, as we all know they are just computer generated?" Do you think it will not be a problem to choose it?"

"Well, as we all know, the AMRs already prove they make decisions in real-time, and together with their sensors and cameras, they ingest information about the surroundings. It will be easy for those who want to come into the building. Instead of searching where the office is located, we can insert chips in them with all the information needed. Less hustle, more efficiency."

Dad cleared his throat; everyone was looking at him.

"I want to know about the progress of the project."

"We are just waiting for the building permit, so the ribbon cutting will be held next week." "After that, we can start immediately with the construction of it."

"Hmm, how much will this project cost?"

"The estimated cost will be 100 million dollars up to half a billion dollars."

"Quite a huge project; after this meeting, I want you to make a plan for the Yie Shopify. I heard they will have a beading project for their incoming project for more than two hundred stores and four hundred companies all over Asia. If you get this project, I will give the promotion to your secretary at the same time since I was planning to take down my position. You are next in line. You'll be the chairwoman of this company."

"Are you sure about that, Richard?" Mr. Kayne said, "Look at me.

"Of course, my daughter was trained by me, so if I decide to be the one who will be the next in position after me, it will be her or my son." Dad stood up and walked out of the conference room. I look at Trisha; we both look shocked after hearing what Dad said. I don't know what I should feel after hearing it.

The executive and board members went out after Dad walked out. I went to Trisha's.

"Did you hear it right?" "Tell me, do you hear it?"

"Yes, I heard it too." We both jumped for joy after we realized it was true. After all the effort we put in this year, we will be noticed and rewarded. I hug Trisha tight.

"Oh my gosh, after that, you will be Ms. Odette Lim, Chairman of Lim Construction Company." Hearing those words after your name makes me cry."

"We both deserve the promotion; we both worked hard to earn it. You even worked when you were in the middle of your trimester in Dalle. You even worked late for every project we had. All the preparation we made—those models, blueprints, and even the coffee we drank just to stay awake and meet the deadlines—we both do that; it's not only my effort; we both always remember that. Thank you for everything, Trisha." We don't know what to do if we cry or laugh at the moment.

As we get back to the office. I saw Kiel sitting in my chair.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Kiel Calvin Lopez?"

"Tsk, my queen, my name was incomplete." Huh? I give him a curious look, and he walks my way.

"Because it will be Mr. Kiel Calvin Lopez, my husband, but that's for the future, once you say yes." Right, Trisha?" He winked at Trisha as if she would agree.

"Yes, sir Kiel. That should be your name from now on." They both laugh and tease me.

"Tsk, you know what I can't believe? You will betray me over this, Mom."

"Well, what can I say? He was Dalle's uncle, Daddy." They high-fived each other. I sit in my chair, and Kiel sits at the table, leaning into the glass and coming closer to his face.

"Oh, by the way, my queen, will you marry me?"

"What did you say?"