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In the rented luxury sedan, Audrey Hepburn and Robert Wolders sat in the back seat, fiddling with a sleek, ear-hook–style wireless earpiece.
Henry had passed it back to them during a red light, one of his own little pet tech projects.
The device was based on the Bluetooth transmission protocol, which had only been publicly released two years ago. In reality, it would still be another seven years before companies like Ericsson even began producing commercial versions. Henry, however, wasn't interested in waiting.
This was just for personal use anyway, and neither Audrey nor Robert were tech-savvy enough to leak the design.
He'd made it because, in this era, wireless communication still required a bulky signal relay unit—fine for military or corporate use, not so great for personal convenience. So he'd developed a lighter alternative: a one-ear Bluetooth earpiece.
And because appearances mattered, Henry had taken the time to give it a stylish finish, making it look more like a fashion accessory than a piece of lab equipment.
Once they had it on, Henry tapped the bone-conduction mic at his throat while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Mic check, mic check—one, two, three. Can you two hear me?"
Audrey blinked in surprise. "I can hear you perfectly."
Robert glanced at her, then nodded. "Crystal clear."
Henry switched off the mic. "And outside noise? Does it block what's happening around you? Can you still hear people talking in the room?"
"No, we can still hear fine," Audrey replied. Then, curious, "Henry… where did you get this?"
"I've got a friend who tinkers with little gadgets ," Henry said smoothly. "I borrowed a set for us to try—"
Ah, the classic 'I've got a friend' excuse. Always reliable.
"—That way I can still do my assistant duties without being glued to your side listening to old men talk politics, and instead sneak off to the buffet. I'm not the star here—you are."
"You…" Audrey chuckled, shaking her head. She knew just how much her young assistant loved to eat, and decided to let the jab slide.
The truth was, when Henry first started this job, he hadn't the faintest idea what an assistant was supposed to do at a formal event. In his mind, it was just knowing when it started, when it ended, and making sure there was a car ready to take his boss home.
But for social galas, especially charity dinners, an assistant's role could be as light or as heavy as their employer needed.
The light version was exactly what Henry had imagined—bare minimum, nothing extra.
The heavy version? Memorizing every guest's name and face, along with relevant background details, so your boss could greet them as if they were old friends rather than fumbling for an introduction.
With Audrey, this was essential.
Most of the events she attended were in her name, often fundraisers for UNICEF. It was her job to make every guest feel welcome, and the warmer and more personal she was, the more generous they tended to be.
People came prepared to —but whether they gave the lower or upper end of their budget depended on how valued they felt. And Audrey was a master at making people feel valued.
Which meant Henry needed to make sure she had the right ammunition.
They'd start by getting the guest list from the event organizers, then marking which names Audrey already knew well and which were complete strangers.
For old friends, no problem. But for the strangers, Henry had to find their public photos, match names to faces, and dig up professional details—CEO of a certain company, head of a certain foundation, that sort of thing.
Sometimes, it even meant understanding the guest's area of expertise, just enough to carry a casual conversation.
And since there was no internet to Google anyone, this meant newspapers, public records, or—if necessary—paying a private investigator.
Large PR firms had their own compiled dossiers of public business info that could be bought for a price. For anything more sensitive… well, that cost a lot more.
Once, Audrey had been staying up late memorizing names before a big event, and Henry had realized it made him look like a lazy assistant. So he took over the prep work entirely—research, memorization, and real-time prompting during the event.
Of course, that was the tricky part.
Western galas didn't have rigid seating like old aristocratic banquets. People mingled constantly. Henry could stand behind Audrey in the discreet "staff" position, but sometimes he'd be jostled closer, and people would mistake him for her date.
Which got awkward, especially when they asked who he was—he was about the same age as her younger son, after all.
And with Robert Wolders—Audrey's recognized partner—present, there was even less reason for Henry to hover. Robert enjoyed these events and took every opportunity to be at her side, which made their little trio look too crowded.
So Henry came up with the wireless earpiece system. Now he could stay out of sight, feed Audrey any name or detail she needed, and still have time to raid the hors d'oeuvres table.
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Hey everyone! Amazing news!
We've already smashed through 1800 Power Stones! 🎉 Thank you so much for your incredible support.
Since we reached this milestone so quickly, I've decided to give you the remaining 3 bonus chapters right away! One has already been uploaded in advance.
I trust that you'll help us push all the way to the 2000 mark! Let's keep the momentum going! 💪
Thank you for being such an awesome community!
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