My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Please Stop Flirting!
[Snap!]

Elara sneaked out a few pictures from the posed couple and, after getting one from a perfect angle, left to attend to more important matters—food.

The two grooms were gorgeous, so good-looking Elara couldn’t tell which one was Terrence’s brother as then it’d make sense with the angel-like gene flowing through his family.

The taller and more reserved male had long black hair, which he had tied neatly into a ponytail, and beautiful peach blossom eyes with pretty emerald pupils that left one dazzled at a glance.

The shorter and more chatty one had short black hair and intimidating pheonix eyes with piercing amber-colored pupils, which added to his sharp aura.

They were both lovely, almost like a yaoi couple who walked straight out of a manwha—no wonder many ladies were adamant about taking pictures with them.

Rich or not, it seemed even they couldn’t resist.

Merlin had left to attend something after receiving a phone call, so to avoid inconveniencing him, she dropped a text before leaving.

The good thing about going to a wedding where nobody could recognize you was that you could let yourself go without care and eat as much as you wanted!

Since it was a buffet-style serving to Elara’s pleasure, she bubbled about scooping whatever caught her eyes, stuffing herself full like a little glutton. It was worth skipping breakfast for this!

She thought no one had noticed her but was sorely mistaken. It was quite difficult not to notice a well-dressed pretty lady of unknown origin, especially in an event where most people knew each other, deviating from the guests congratulating the couple and instead going off to eat.

Elara didn’t notice this due to being too focused on the foods, even wondering if she could take some home with her when a tall shadow hovered over her. Her eyes widened as she stayed up like a startled chipmunk, bulging cheek and all.

‘Who?’ She thought sharply. Before her stood a tall lady who seemed to love red a bit too much. Every palette of her aesthetics, from her hair to her lips, outfit, shoes, and even makeup, was red or had a tinge of red in it.

Nevertheless, it suited her perfectly, enhancing her passionate nature, which radiated from her attractive phoenix eyes.

Elara swallowed before calmly greeting, “Hello madam?”

The red lady smiled, “Who did you come with cutie?”

The red lady explained that she had been curious for a while now after noticing her since she knew almost everyone but her.

Elara politely explained that even she wasn’t sure who had invited her and that she had simply followed her brother, who had been invited by one of the groom’s siblings.

The red lady scrutinized her and concluded there was no way someone could lie so straightforwardly, and, since there was no way to confirm, decided to overlook it for now.

She ended up accompanying Elara chatting about the wedding while eating as well. By the time they were deep into the conversation, she couldn’t help but find herself impressed by the lady’s socializing skills, perfectly being able to follow along with every topic introduced, even ones she wasn’t well versed in.

Outspoken, could articulate her words perfectly, and was very amiable—How come someone with such talents didn’t try to put them to good use?

“What do you do?” she probed with interest.

“I’m a writer.”

“You are?”

“I’m mostly secretive, so you probably never had of me, but I make decent money enough to support my living,” Elara explained.

“So if I invite you to work for me, you wouldn’t accept?” the red lady asked while handing over her business card, which Elara received gratefully.

“Showbiz? Oh no, that’s the last place I want to find myself,” Elara politely declined.

“What if you work only as a manager for my artists, you don’t need much, just your communication skills are good enough.”

Elara sighed, bringing out her card and handing it over to the lady who gasped in surprise.

“You work for Neva?!”

“Yes, as a writer, and even then, joining the showbiz world is the last thing I’d ever do. I just dislike anything that’ll put me in a position of scrutiny by the public; sorry,” Elara apologized while returning the lady’s card, who calmly rejected it.

“You can keep it; I like you, so even if it’s not now, I hope one day we can collaborate on something. I treat my people well so rest assured, I won’t bully you.”

Waving Elara’s card for a bit she stuffed it into her red purse before facing her, “I’ll be keeping this then. You’re fine with collaborating right? As long as you’re not under the public eye?”

Elara nodded, “Yes.”

“Alright, I look forward to our collaboration. See you then,” she waved with a smile.

“See you.”

After the lady left, the rest of the time before Merlin came back went on with Elara eating and sneakily taking pictures until he finally arrived.

“Sorry for the delay. I mixed up directions and took more time finding the boss,” Merlin apologized.

“No problem, it’s not like I wasn’t having lots of fun,” Elara chuckled.

“…. Just how much have you eaten Miss?”

“Oh, you don’t wanna know, but this cake is probably my third serving.”

Merlin: You sure eat a lot (;￣Д￣)

Elara: What are ceremonies for if not eating? (≧◡≦)

Eventually, after sweet-talking the servers into packaging more food for her, Elara left with Merlin to the hotel.

***

A broad-chested figure donning a beautiful gold and green accented suit held a glass of white wine, which he sipped on lightly.

The Elysian Grande Hotel towered up to a hundred meters and was filled with various luxurious rooms suited for its rich guests and worthy of its purchase. The hotel was his gift to his brother, which pleased him greatly despite his pretentious protests that it was too much.

He was at the topmost area of the hotel where the family of the groom had held a separate celebration along with a few special guests and had just finished taking a couple of group pictures with the family.

Sure, their family was messed up; however, being divided even during a one-time special event like this was just graceless and could propel the wrong message to outsiders.

Fortunately, everyone in this messed up family was an excellent actor capable of deceiving anyone who didn’t know better that they were in perfect harmony.

He raised his glass to sip when his phone vibrated and picking it up, a smile adorned his previously stoic face at the picture before him.

In the picture, Elara had changed into a Hello Kitty shirt with spaghetti straps and shorts with wide edges, along with a pair of cozy fur slippers.

She stuck out her tongue playfully as her eyes shone brilliantly, capturing a perfect angle for the picture. The light irritation that had built up from the bustling atmosphere dissipated immediately, and donning a stoic face once more to avoid garnering suspicion, he texted her.

[TERRENCE]: You look cute, what are you doing now?

[ELARA]: Eating. (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)

A quick smile flashed across his face.

[TERRENCE]: You’ve been doing that all day. Are you a black hole?

[ELARA]: I wish (;￣Д￣). Then I wouldn’t have to worry about getting fat from eating so much, I’m already planning my exercise routine as soon as I get back. But I regret nothing. Hopefully, angel still likes me even if I get fat. (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)

[TERRENCE]: I’ll still love you even if you become the fattest woman alive.

[ELARA]: Why do I feel more threatened than flattered?

[TERRENCE]: I wonder.

[ELARA]: Hey, send me some pics when you can. I’ve been sending you a lot since morning. I also want to see how you look.

(´･ω･`)?

[TERRENCE]: Gorgeous.

[ELARA]: I know. So hurry up and show me.

[TERRENCE]: Soon baby.

Elara felt herself heat up at the sudden pet name. What a flirt!

[ELARA]: That’s not fair. Flirting is against the rules! (￣^￣)

[TERRENCE]: Why?

[ELARA]:… Just don’t. TnT

[TERRENCE]: Baby, stop crying.

[ELARA]: Ugh, stop teasing me~. Have fun partying, I’ll be here enjoying my meal.

(≖︿≖✿)

[TERRENCE]: I wanna escape this hell.

[ELARA]: Endure it, I’ll give you something sweet if you do.

‘Oh?’ he thought with a sneaky smile; of course, he could endure this much, but getting something out of it was also nice.

[TERRENCE]: Like?

[ELARA]: Chocolate! (≧◡≦)

[TERRENCE]:… (¬_¬)

[ELARA]: Did I say something wrong, why the dots??

[TERRENCE]: We’ll talk about my reward when I get back babe. (¬◡¬)

[ELARA]: Wait, what—hey, don’t just leave me hanging and stop flirting! (ﾟﾛﾟ;))

Looking at the icon with the picture of a lamb plushie which had gone dim, Elara groaned loudly.

‘Holy, how did I frame this message to be so misleading?! Ugh, well, whatever, I’ll just deal with it when he comes back.’

Although she had permitted Terrence to pursue her, he still kept a dignified behavior and never once tried crossing the line like before.

Their relationship seemed to have returned to normal, and if there was something different, it would be Terrence showering her with gifts that she couldn’t reject and taking her to more hangouts that had now turned into ‘dates’.

She looked at the golden watch that he had gifted her and felt a sudden guilt overwhelm her.

She never liked receiving so much without giving back anything, yet she couldn’t give the male what he wanted and at the same time couldn’t reject his benevolence, or he’d throw a fit on how she was going back on their agreement.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Elara had never felt so unsure of the choices she had made or she’d make.

The fear of destroying what they had by rejecting him left her anxious but even more was the fear of entering a doomed relationship that’d only hurt them both in the long run.

She sighed heavily; no matter what happened, one thing was for sure—Terrence’s happiness was her priority.

…. Or was it? What if she wanted more? What if this time… she wanted to be selfish with her love?

The unexplainable emotions that filled her heart left her overwhelmed with confusion. Just as she was on the verge of screaming in frustration, the image of a certain woman surfaced in her mind.

“Hah… Maybe I have no choice but to involve Star.”