Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 281

I glanced at Bonnie. She was gazing at Neil, her smitten eyes totally for real.

I admit, Neil’s looks were indeed flawless.

When Neil made an appearance, a lot of people would hop up to chat with him. Even though everyone present had some kind of status, Neil’s was still the top dog among them.

I pulled my gaze back and started to sort through the documents I brought. That day’s opening speech was for me to give. I had done ample prep work before and even revised the speech a few times.

Even though I had taken over the company only recently, I wasn’t scared, but rather a tad excited. Showcasing myself at the meeting could potentially help me reel in some partners.

Neil was seated a fair distance from me, so I felt pretty much at ease, but I could still feel his gaze lingering on me from time to time.

There were some rubbernecks who would look at Neil, then at me. Their eyes showed curiosity towards us.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Neil, “I pulled an all-nighter at the office last night, so I didn’t make it home.”

I took a peek at Neil, who was not far away. He was busy chatting with someone. His demeanor showed an air of arrogance, making him come off as a natural-born leader.

I didn’t reply to Neil, pretending I didn’t see his message.

About a minute later, Neil looked at me again. This time, there was a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

Bonnie had been keeping an eye on me. She glanced at my phone, then at Neil. She seemed a bit peeved.

I avoided Neil’s gaze. Just as I picked up my phone to check the time, a call from an unknown number came in. I hesitated for a moment, then answered.

“I know who offed Oscar. If you give me 20 grand, I’ll hand over the evidence,” an odd voice came from the other end.

Taken aback, I instantly asked, “Where are you?”

“Don’t worry about where I am. Is there a crowd around you? Too noisy. I’ll call you next time.” The person on the other end was about to hang up.

“Wait!” I got up and moved to a quieter spot, hoping to continue the conversation.

But when I asked again, the call had already been terminated.

I tried calling back, but there was no way through.

Who was that caller? The voice sounded like it had been altered, making it impossible to tell the gender.

The call got my heart racing. Oscar was still lying in the morgue. His kin would come to handle his affairs in the next few days.

His folks were just ordinary people. Even if they thought their son had died unjustly, they were powerless to do anything about it.

With a heavy heart, I returned to my seat.

The summit officially kicked off. Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, I composed myself and walked on stage with my speech.

Upon opening my speech, I froze. The paper in front of me was blank.

The venue had already quietened down. Everyone was waiting for me to start my speech. My speech marked the start of the summit, but there I was, standing under the spotlight, looking at the blank paper in my hands, feeling utterly lost.

If I made a blunder on this occasion, it could take a toll on both my personal and company image.

“Of course.” I smiled and answered calmly.

The main content of my prepared speech was actually a summary of that year’s Rosemont economy as well as a look into the future. Bonnie’s voice was clear and sweet. She held the speech I had meticulously prepared and delivered it confidently.

I stood beside her, not leaving the stage, attracting some strange looks, but I didn’t care.

“And the other part is…” Bonnie stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence. She looked at the next page of the speech, her expression suddenly becoming very complex.

The people sitting in the audience thought Bonnie was waiting for applause, so they all started clapping.

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly because I knew the rest of the speech was blank. I only wrote an intro to give myself a bit of confidence. For the rest of the content, I planned to improvise on stage. It was also a way to hone my public speaking skills.

Then it was the host’s turn to ask Bonnie.

“I…” Bonnie was biting her lip, not even daring to lift her head to look at the audience.

"Ms. Tueley, cheers for reading the opening of my speech," I forced out in a hoarse voice, "My throat's been acting up, and I didn't know how to start. I really appreciate your help, Ms. Tueley. You did a bang-up job reciting my speech. I'll take over from here for the nitty-gritty on market economics."

No sooner had I said that than Bonnie's face turned beet red, tears glistening in her eyes.

The folks who'd just been singing her praises were then feeling awkward, realizing she'd been reading my script. They glanced at each other and shook their heads.

Bonnie was representing StarGlow Enterprises. Her blunder was a direct hit to her personal and company image.

"If that's the case, Ms. Tueley, you might as well step down. Let's not waste any more time," Neil said coldly, adding salt to Bonnie's wound.