THIRTY EIGHT (The CEO is finally here)

The ground floor of the building was almost unrecognizable; the entrance had been decorated with Christmas decorations and balloons and it even had a backdrop of sponsors for photographs. There was even a red carpet entrance for their special guests.

The event center had been transformed into a modern ballroom, "We wish you a merry Christmas" in a classic style played in the background. It had dim lighting and, giving it this cocktail reception vibe. There was a huge stage and a podium with high table chairs, one part of the room had stand-up cocktail tables, while the other part had round tables and chairs all covered in white silky linen, then there was a huge center which was obviously the dance floor.

---

"….Hey you! Get that bottled water away from there!" Christian snapped at one of the random waiters, "Mr. Omar only drinks Omar Waters!" He announced,

"Table 16! Miss Vance has a pollen allergy, the sight of flowers either natural or artificial makes her sick! Get those off of there right now-"

"Yes Sir!"

"Chef Brie! The allergy chart? Has it been properly noted?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Good! Good! We're looking good people, the guests will start arriving in ten! Clear out and take your positions.

"Wow, they really did a lot on this place on such short notice, I mean it's almost unrecognizable." Mia thought as she hurriedly walked over to her spot.

The waiters all stood in a straight line just at the entrance to the hall looking perfectly coordinated in their fine black suits, finely polished shoes and hairs all parked in tight buns for the ladies.

"You're doing great Mia." Christian patted her shoulders as he returned to the kitchen.

---

The guests began to arrive, and Betty suddenly decided she wanted an Insta-worthy photo of the CEO when he arrived, so she literally dragged Mia outside to join her. While they were at it, the guest's cars were pulling up; these were mostly partners, investors and friends of Nowel Hotels. The camera men and paparazzi were already at their positions, and as soon as an important person stepped out, the cameras began to flash furiously.

While a paranoid Mia kept reminding herself to return to her post, Betty kept hoping she could get a good shot from their side door position, Mia wondered how public figures went around with the paparazzi on their tail. Just then, the flashes became even more serious and more excited as a black tinted Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the red carpet entrance.

"Oh my goodness!" Betty suddenly exclaimed, "That must be the CEO, he's finally here!" She squealed as she took out her phone to record.

As the young man stepped out into the blinding flashes, his bodyguards shielded him, making it was hard to tell who he was. In the midst of all that, he backed them all as he waited to lead out his date from the car.

Meanwhile, Mia and Betty struggled to see his face, but it was so hard to see in that entire rancor. Suddenly, the back of his head looked familiar to Mia, it was Ethan's.

"Hell no! No way am I seeing that jerk, you're just upset Mia." She told herself.

"Lady M!!!" Betty suddenly screamed as the place suddenly seemed to go wild.

"Lady who now?" Mia managed to ask under all the noise,

"Lady M as in Maelle. Kimberly-Maelle Shao!" Betty told her, "She's a goddess; I can't believe you've never heard of her, I thought you wanted to be an actress! How can you not know these things. There were rumors of her dating a very powerful Billlionare CEO, I can't believe it's ours! Tracey that Miss Goody Two Shoes, look at all the fun she's missing." She grinned.

At that moment, Mia turned and finally got a glimpse of the CEO, and at that moment, her heart paused and the world came to a stop. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

It really was Ethan, and this time, she was sure her eyes weren't fooling her.

She watched as Ethan led Lady M; whom she now recognized as the elegant lady from Tuesday morning, in. Her hands were clutched in his as he shielded her from the cheering fans and walked her in, they looked too good to be true; they were perfect.

"Hey! Mia, I know Mr. CEO's hot, but we both have to return to our duty posts." Betty told Mia, bringing her back to the present.

"C'mon, let's go in." Betty grabbed her hands and returned inside.

Mia was still in shock as she returned back to her spot, thankfully, no one had noticed she had disappeared a while ago. While they stood, Mr. Fisher took the microphone, welcomed and thanked everyone and then went on to introduce Ethan as the CEO, confirming it was really him.

"…So at this juncture, I'd like to invite to the stage, the man behind the this company, the brains, the president, Chairman and CEO of Regal Empire; a multinational hospitality company and its subsidiary group Nowel Hotels and Suites, Mr. Ethan Regal!" he announced while the guests clapped and Ethan took the stage. He looked as handsome as ever in his grey tux and slicked back hair.

"…Thank you Mr. Fisher." He said as he tossed him a smile began in that familiar voice that Mia had heard for an entire week.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, friends and partners. It is with great joy in my heart that I welcome you to the fifth year anniversary of this great hotel…Five years ago, two significant incidents occurred in my life, which birthed the establishment of this company…."

At that moment, Mia totally zoned out because her mind suddenly told her there was a puzzle she needed to solve real quick. She had suddenly decided that their meetings wasn't purely coincidental given the circumstances. What she wanted to know was, "why me?"

"…And once again ladies and gents, distinguished guests, I welcome you all." As Ethan concluded his speech, a loud cheer spread throughout the hall. Since Mia was sure he hadn't seen her, she decided to make a run for it. "Go home and tell everyone tomorrow that you suddenly didn't feel too well." That was the plan, but unfortunately, it was ruined when she bumped right into Christian.

"Great, Mia, it's time to serve- you've got this." He smiled as he nudged her in the direction of the kitchen.

After tactfully serving the tables away from Ethan's own for a while, she decided to make a real run for it before he saw her, but then again, she bumped into Miss Lin.

"Oh goodness, Mia! It's a party do you always have to make mistakes—"

"I'm sorry Miss Lin." She quickly said as she tried to hurry off,

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Why the rush Mia? Where are you off too—"

"I just wanted to step out for some air." She chuckled nervously.

"Oops! Unfortunately, now isn't a great time, because Mr. Fisher said the CEO wants to see you—"

"Huh? Me?!" Mia questioned with a puzzled look,

"Aren't you a part of the "insiders," He wants to see all of you and your HODs. " She gritted her teeth,

"Oh." Mia replied dryly.

"Say, Mia?" Miss Lin began with a sly smile,

"Hmm?"

"I've been meaning to ask, do you know the CEO… You know, personally?"

"No," She quickly replied without thinking.

"Oh." Miss Lin replied disappointedly,

"Why do you ask?"

"Mr. Fisher said he personally asked him to give you a day off out of the blue, when he's never let him go on a leave—"

"Wait, what?!"

"Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush!" She grabbed Mia and turned her to the direction of the stairs, " Now, let's all go to the meeting room and pretend we never had this conversation, okay?"