The Trillionaire They Taunted

Rounds of Dismay

“How about the slot for the uprising company?” One of the lady’s friends chipped in, returning just a spark of the light that was shining hopefully inside them,

“I don’t know. We might get lucky.” The lady muttered, her words struggling not to be slippery.

Ethan didn’t make it any easier for some of the guests who were hoping to be chosen for the project.

His momentary pauses appeared like he was testing their patience or trying to have a little fun.

Whatever the case was, many people were not pleased with him.

“I am sorry.” He apologized when he saw the clamoring frowns, but there was nothing to prove that he was not going to repeat what he did.

“The second on my list is…” He repeated, eyes on the screen of the tablet he held with both hands.

The Deputy Manager and the other executive were staring like they hadn’t seen the names on the screen, awaiting the announcement.

“Come on!” Pearl couldn’t wait, both hands covering her mouth as she prepared to scream.

She had already thought about her reaction; how she was going to walk up to Arya and jeer at her for not making it on the list.

Ethan looked at her one more time, causing her to lean forward, her elbows resting on the table.

“Pinnacle Holdings!”

No one clapped, not even a tiny bit.

Eyes rolled from one corner to the other, and jaws dropped drastically.

“Pinnacle Holdings? Is that even the name of a company?” A man in a white suit asked, scouring his head in search of anyone who was going to claim ownership of the selection.

But there was just silence, enough to cause the sound of a pin drop to echo.

Pearl’s face had turned sour, and she shifted her face to Romeo, in search of an explanation.

Her eyes were wide, her lips separated even when she knew not what to say.

Romeo was stunned as well, his body becoming hot gradually even with the cool nature of the hall.

“It can’t be!” He muttered loudly, his throat becoming dry as he stared.

“Something must have gone wrong.” He looked in search of Charles Sterling, but there was no sign of the Manager.

He should have read the signs. He should have known that something was wrong when he saw Ethan with the list instead of his own man.

“Say something, Romeo! Why was another company mentioned and not City Global?!” Pearl finally found her voice, looking Romeo in the eyes with panic glittering in hers.

“I don’t know.” Romeo’s voice dropped, his countenance a sign that he was even afraid for his own sake.

“I am sure there must have been some error. Mr. Sterling promised us two slots in that deal.” His words were meant to restore his confidence, but they couldn’t even be a consolation.

Arya was staring at them from their table, but she couldn’t even laugh at Pearl.

She had her own problem to think of, her heart falling deep into her stomach.

“If City Global was not chosen, then there is no way Link Tech will be chosen, Brian. They must have decided to go for Companies that no one thinks of.”

“You can’t be too sure.” Brian refused to let go of his smile, still staring at her.

“I think your company will be mentioned next, Arya. Don’t give up so easily.”

Arya scoffed, shaking her head slowly.

“You are just trying to make me feel better, Brian. There is no way Prime Tech will pick me over Romeo Jones. Do you know how many major projects Apex Ventures has carried out in the past few months?”

“Six,” Brian said confidently, and Arya nodded.

“How did you know?”

“I worked there, remember? Besides, I helped them with four of them.” Brian retained his smile even when he saw the disbelief in Arya’s eyes.

“I doubt if you know anything about Tech, Brian. You were just a Chief Security Officer in that company.”

“You never can tell, Arya. You never can tell…”

Brian exhibited a kind of confidence that was impossible to ignore.

It was not boastful, yet it was all over the place.

“Don’t worry, Arya. Just prepare yourself to share the good news with your Grandfather.”

Arya nodded, and with a forlorn expression, she returned her gaze to the stage.

Ethan was ready to call out the number one name on the list, eyes returning to his screen.

He cleared his throat, ushering in a dead silence while all eyes moved back to him.

“The number one company on this list, and the lead of the Power Line Project is…”

He paused just as everyone had expected, then he slowly lifted his head to look at Romeo.

“Of course, it should be me. There is no other company qualified for that position.” His shoulder pads went higher, and he overlooked Pearl’s annoyance while he waited for the name of his company to be mentioned.

Ethan chuckled softly while he was still staring at him, and then he returned his eyes to the screen, but only for a brief moment.

He looked at Romeo again, nodding as though he was telling him something.

“Say it already, Ethan! Come on!” Romeo was running out of patience, cracking his knuckles as it was something he did each time he was nervous.

He was certain of his thought, but not until Ethan looked away, staring at someone else.

Romeo’s smile vanished like smoke, and he was forced to look to his left slowly.

“Why is he staring at Arya Kirk?” He muttered, ignoring the thought that crawled into his mind.