With her chin held high in the air and firm steps, Stella continued to walk inside the banquet where the executives of Levinson's Corp. were already waiting to greet her. As she continued to respond to their greetings with a blank look on her face, a man continued to keep a close eye on her every movement like a mother hen looking out for her newly hatched chicks.
Under his scrutinizing gaze, Stella was having a hard time keeping her face expressionless. 'This man seriously needs to go easy on himself.' She thought to herself as her eyes met his worrying ones for a fleeting second. She continued in her tracks to the slightly raised wooden platform, where the MC was waiting for her. Replying to the greetings of her guests with nods, she continued to walk down the same path with her mother hen of a husband in tow as he kept a safe distance of a few feet between them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please." The MC spoke up in his crisp and resolute voice once he saw the lady of the night getting closer to the stage. As his firm voice resonated the hall, the mumbling sounds started to die down with people turning their attention to the stage, the soft mellow music dying down at the same time.
"Please put your hands together for Mrs. Stella Levinson, the CEO of Levinson's Corp." The MC spoke into the microphone and a loud applause followed his announcement. "Now, may I have the honor of having you join me up here, Mrs. Levinson." He called out to her and shifted to the side, leaving the center of the stage for the lady in black.
Giving him a nod, Stella joined him on the slightly raised floor and grabbed the microphone offered to her.
"Good evening, everyone. I hope you are having a good time here and thank you for your attendance. Your presence here means a lot to me and the company as not only Levinson's Corp. is about to put forward it's step in the textile industry, but also successfully taking over R&E Group of Companies." In her refreshing voice, she spoke into the microphone, garnering everyone's attention.
"We will have a separate session with the representatives of the media at the end of the event where I will be answering your queries. Till then, I hope you enjoy yourselves. Thank you once again for taking out a little time out of your busy routines." She continued in the same polite tone, showing her gratitude for the guests' presence.
"I'd especially like to thank the finance minister of our country for joining us. It means a lot to have you with us tonight, Sir." She added with a nod, pointing her chin towards the man who was dressed in a dark blue coat and matching pants. The man nodded back at her, as he raised his champagne flute in her direction as a token of appreciation.
"Please, carry on." She spoke her last words into the microphone before passing it back to the MC. She walked down the wooden platform and made her way to where the minister was standing with a bunch of the company's higher ups. In her occupied state, she didn't bother to pay any attention to the pair of black eyes which had been fixed on her figure from the very moment she had stepped inside, observing her every movement. She only had her eyes for the man who was following her like a fly buzzing over a dessert.
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"You are late." Carston spoke up looking at the lady standing before him.
"Bad weather. I had to wait for another half an hour before they allowed the jet to leave the runway." She spoke up in a bored tone as she had zero interest in attending a banquet she had zero link with.
Carston hummed in response as he opened the backseat door for her. "At least you are ready for the event." He added as he motioned his chin towards the sea green gown she was donning on.
"So are you." She replied in the same grumpy tone as her eyes caught the silver sword shaped pin attached to the lapels of his coat. "I thought you won't be attending it, but looks like I was wrong." She added before sliding into the seat.
"I decided to watch it with my own eyes instead of hearing about the whole ordeal from someone else." He gave her a sad smile before closing the door with a thud. He went around the car and settled himself in the driver's seat. He didn't want to attend the banquet and witness what was about to unfold with his own eyes at first, but decided against it at the moment. Instead of sending his most trustworthy lackey to pick the lady up, he decided to be her chauffeur for the night.
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"Excuse me?"
Stella was standing by one of the small square tables on her own when she heard a not so unfamiliar voice interrupting her thoughts. Turning her face to side, he looked at the owner and somehow managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"May I join you?" Taylor spoke up in a polite tone, but without even waiting for her reply, he walked closer to the table. It was then when Stella realized that he was holding on to two champagne flutes, one in either of his hands. Placing one before himself, he put down the other before her.
"I must say congratulations to you Ms. Stella. I didn't actually expect that you'd be able to run the entire business empire of the Levinson's this successfully when I first heard about you taking over the company. "One should definitely not judge a book by its cover or a parcel by its packing, right? And I apologise to you for thinking that a girl like you wouldn't be able to manage it."
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