Logan stepped forward to talk to his daughter, whom he had not seen for almost four years, but before he could make a move, George held his hand to stop him.
"Dad, let’s do it later," he said, his gaze flickering to Elara.
Elara, what is really going through your head this time? George thought before he looked at Daniel.
The man didn’t look surprised. It was clear that he knew she was going to appear here.
He then turned to Andrew, who looked like he couldn’t believe his eyes, and sighed.
Elara walked to her seat and sat on it, nodding at Daniel professionally before placing the contract file on the table.
Justin sat behind her.
Those who didn’t know who she was looked at her in surprise. After all, there was only one business in the conference that no one knew about, especially who its owner was.
Green Dream.
Elara’s presence alone told which company she was here to represent, and Logan sat, confused, surprised, and a bit angry.
His gaze moved to Andrew, many questions swirling in his head.
Elara was in love with that man after he saved her life, and she gave up her career and her talent, even forbidding herself to see them and the company to protect them from that stalker.
But if she was back, especially like this, something must’ve happened.
The government official entered the room, followed by two assistant managers.
"I would like to greet and thank you all for actively participating and coming forward with your brilliant plans. We will see your proposals one by one, and the decision will be made right here today itself to maintain transparency," the government official said.
The secretaries of the different companies started giving the presentations one by one, and soon it was Daniel’s turn.
Elara nodded at her brother, who walked to his seat after his presentation. They were really thorough with the research, as expected from the Frost group.
Daniel looked towards Elara before shifting his gaze to the government official.
"If the other company is ready, can two people collaborate on the project? I want the best for it," Daniel asked.
The government officials looked at each other, turned their mics off, and talked among themselves for a couple of seconds before turning them on.
"If the other party is willing, we don’t see an issue here. However, you’ll have to submit and sign a contract about the pay beforehand to remove the risk of any messy handling of currency later," the government official said.
Daniel nodded.
"I understand. In that case, I would like to collaborate with Green Dream," Daniel said.
As soon as Daniel said those words, Logan nearly jumped off the seat to smack the guy, but George’s hand stopped him from doing anything rash.
Andrew looked at Elara, and the photo came to mind.
"Do you have a problem, Miss?" The government official asked.
Elara shook her head.
"I would still wait for my chance to present," she said.
The officer nodded, then turned to another one.
"Mr. Cooper, it’s your turn," he said.
The man stood and corrected his collar, a confident smirk lingering on his face as he walked forward and plugged in his pen drive.
Andrew, still unfocused with his mind returning to the way Daniel was looking at Elara, looked up when Jason patted his shoulders.
"Sir, isn’t that our proposal?" Jason asked.
As soon as the man heard those words, his eyes widened, and he finally concentrated on the presentation.
Apart from a few figures and images, everything was the same. How was this even possible?
"What kind of joke is this?" Andrew stood, slamming his hand on the table angrily.
"What’s the problem, Mr. Lloyd?" The government official asked.
"This is our presentation. The Lloyds group prepared for this. How come he is presenting our project idea? How dare you?" Andrew loosened his tie, ready to throw hands, already frustrated from everything going on around him.
Mr. Cooper looked least fazed by his accusations.
"I think there is a mistake, sir. This is our presentation. How will we even get something that belongs to Lloyd? Are you questioning your own security system?" The man asked, his question a direct blow to the project’s security, and Andrew stood there, tongue-tied.
He seethed in pure fury.
"I don’t know how you got your hands on my presentation. What I know is that I had been working on it for days and nights. Elara, say something; you saw me working—"
Andrew opened his mouth before realizing they had long since divorced, and it wasn’t Elara who had seen him working on this project. It was Beatrice. Be it at home or in the office, he never allowed Elara even to come close to his workspace, thinking she wouldn’t understand it either way.
And the same woman he thought was worthless and dumb when it came to business was sitting right before him as his competitor.
The thought alone made him want to look down in self-mockery.
He knew he had underestimated her a lot, but to this extent?
How could someone be so good at hiding their identity?
"You tell me who you bought it from. Who is the mole in my company working for you?" Andrew asked, rushing to Mr. Cooper before he grabbed the man’s throat, ready to punch him.
The guards rushed forward, trying to pull Andrew away from the man as he landed a hard punch on the man’s face.
"Mr. Lloyd, please behave. You might be an important guest and businessman, but so is everyone here," the government official said.
Elara remained seated in her seat, watching the drama unfold before her with a neutral expression. She hadn’t expected something like this to happen either.
She didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for the man.
Elara turned to her left side when she felt someone’s gaze on her and saw Sean’s father glaring at her.
"You, just because the police didn’t get anything on you, doesn’t mean I have forgiven you. I’ll punish you with my bare hands if it comes to that. How dare you show your face here and try to strike a deal when you should be rotting in prison?" Sean’s father stood from the chair and walked to her.
Daniel, displeased with the way the man was talking to his future wife, was about to let go of all the rules and pull out his gun to show the man who was the real boss here when someone beat him to it.
"What did you say to my daughter?" Logan asked, having taken enough shit from everyone.
Sean’s father, who was well aware of Frost’s reputation, turned to Logan with raised eyebrows.
"Sir, you have no idea how vicious this woman is. You don’t need to protect—" Sean’s father paused when the weight of Logan’s words dawned upon him.
What did he say? His daughter?
Logan Frost’s daughter? Sean’s father looked at Elara, who still sat there, unbothered, not even an ounce of fear in her eyes, and he knew the reason why.