“Welcome, Mr. Gonzalez” the one who had seen him first was the one who greeted, smiling so big and looking over at the lucky lady he was holding. Ava seeing that almost everyone's gazes were sweeping back and forth around her face, Ava instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand from Zac's grip, but just as she tried to react, Zac grabbed her hands and trapped her firmly. With that, he walked through the group of reporters, inducing them to detach immediately. “He would never change” one of the reporters bemoaned, watching his receding figure. Ava, whose eyes had widened with horror and shock at his attitude just now, Ava stared at his side face and secretly shook her head helplessly. In the sumptuously decorated hall, people were toasting and chatting with each other. Men were wrapped in business suits, while women were in the most beautiful make-up.
Blake Wright, who had been busy with some other arrangements soon noticed the presence of his rigid boss and instantly scurried off to where he was standing, “Welcome, Mr. Gonzalez, and you too, ma'am” he greeted in a light tone with a slight chivalrous bow, “Your seat is right there, please come with me” he put in and turned around at onetime. Zac majestically followed in a suit behind his assistant, still holding Ava as if she were going to run away if he attempted to leave her for a second. Arriving at the table for just two people, Blake scampered a seat backward for his boss, and he was dumbfounded when he saw that his boss was dragging the other seat backward for Ava like a regular gentleman. He blinked rapidly to see if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. After being stunned for five seconds, Blake stooped, “Some guests have been anticipating your arrival, sir” he began, “So, if you would allow me to inform the host of your presence, sir” he said proficiently and expected him to just nod, “Must you ask me everything?” Zac glared at him coldly, a furious disapproval stamping on his face. Blake bowed directly, “I'm sorry, Mr. Gonzalez” with that, he spun around and disappeared into place.
Zac looked over at the varieties of wines on the round table and let his eyes search for a fruity wine. He found one and grabbed it immediately, he uncapped It and poured the content into a glass. “Here,” he muttered in his usual cold voice, stretching out the glass for Ava, who had kept her head lowered all the time, avoiding people's gazes on her. However, upon hearing Zac's gruff voice, she gradually lifted her head, and the scent of the wine Zac was carrying hit her nostril. Ava rubbed her palms that were wet and sticky with sweat against her dress and slowly collected the glass from Zac, “Thank you,” she murmured, liking the fragrance of the wine so much. “Attention, ladies and gentlemen, attention please,” the host said into the microphone, and silence stretched into the place in an instant. “This is to inform everyone of the presence of the president of Gonzalez corp, Mr. Zachary Gonzalez. Please give him a big hand to welcome him on stage” the host endorsed, and strong applause reverberated in the whole place immediately. Raising his chin slightly, his gaze swept across the guests, like a king inspecting the crowd. He showed no reaction to the host's words, his face expressionless and hard to read. The applause had quieted, and the guests were keenly expecting him to come on stage already. Blake's jaw clenched as he left where he was standing beside the stage and scrambled to his boss's seat, he bent slightly and whispered, “The guests are expecting you on stage, Mr. Gonzalez,” he then got on his feet, giving off an aggressive and domineering aura as he ambled to the stage. Blake frowned coldly behind Zac, “Must I always tell you everything too?” he mumbled under his breath. The guests cheered once again but stopped as soon as he arrived at the stage. Zac collected the mic from the host without sparing him a glance, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,” he began, looking, even more, intimating while his cold and rigid face was handsome and monotonous and the chill he exuded from his body made people flinch, “You're all welcome to this annual party and trust me, I recognized each and everyone's presence. Enjoy the party” he concluded his brief dialogue and gave back the mic to the host. The audience applauded him and this time, it was greater than the foremost.
Climbing down the small staircase of the stage, Blake appeared in front of him, “Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Robinson Green would love to see you now,” he informed Zac in a nature mood. “He came?” Zac quizzed, his eyes searching for Ava, and found her still sitting where he had left her. “Yes, sir” Blake responded quickly, “Let's go,” Zac said and Blake led the way. Meanwhile, Ava was starting to get bored and also needed to go to the restroom. She scanned through the crowd, looking for Zac, but she couldn't find him. “Hi,” Ava looked up to see a middle-aged and elegant woman staring at her, she stood up immediately, “Good evening, ma'am” she responded warmly, “You are beautiful, my dear” the woman praised and turned away directly. Ava gazed at her back as she walked back to her seat, and for a moment, their gaze locked. Regaining consciousness after several seconds, Ava realized that the woman was sitting among her associates, and they all stared at Ava with their eyes full of affection.
Ava came out of the washroom after staying there for over ten minutes. She hoped that Zac would just tell her to start going home once she got back. She was tired of the party already. Ava was shutting the door behind her when two ladies suddenly approached her with annoyed expressions on their faces. She scrutinized them and inferred that they were also here for the party, “Is there anything I can do for you?” Ava asked tentatively, looking at them bit by bit. “Yes. Stay away from our boss” Rose was the one who spoke first. Ava was thrown into confusion as her brows knitted, “What do you think? That our boss would take a liking for someone like you? Quit dreaming because that would never happen” Catherine inputs, wearing a brutal expression as if she could murder Ava right there. Confusion and a half dozen of other feelings swarmed through Ava like bees, “I'm sorry, girls, but I still don't understand…” “Stay away from Mr. Gonzalez, he's our boss” Rose interrupted Ava mid-sentence, and it was then Ava understood everything. She stared at their angry faces and put on a friendly smile and then opened her mouth to talk, but they already walked away, one of them brushing her hand against Ava's in the process. Ava watched their retreating figure and shook her head, “What's wrong with them?” she murmured. “Why are you standing there?” Instantaneously, Ava felt as if time and space were frozen around her upon hearing his voice. She raised her head to meet the eyes of Zac, who was much taller than her, “Nothing,” she managed to utter, “Let's go home” he announced and turned around onetime. Ava twitched her mouth and thought, was it okay to picture a home with Zachary Gonzalez?
Passing through the lobby to the elevator and going up. Ava soon realized that this was another penthouse of his. And as soon as they both set their foot into the place, Ava's guess was substantiated. Every single thing in the living room was entirely different from the initial places she had been before. “You're spending the night here. So, come with me” Zac notified, giving her no chance to protest. Ava's eyes widened very much in surprise as she stared at his back. Now she was stuck between a rock and hard place. She followed Zac into the bedroom and was welcomed by the luxurious fragrance of the room but wasn't ventured to take in the beautiful room as she continued to watch Zac movement who was rifling through the closet. Shortly, he brought out a white t-shirt with sleeves and gave it to Ava, “Wear this,” he told her and then walked out immediately. Ava shut her eyes tightly, her ears and face blushed deeply in a fit of frustration.
Zac sitted himself on a sofa, while he presses his phone. He suddenly tilted his head to one side as if sensing Ava's presence, and he felt his brain already melting at the sight of her long shapely legs. He loved how his shirt looks on her, so large and covered hardly her butt. Ava swallowed over the knot of emotion in her throat, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the way Zac's gaze was dwelling on her. His face didn't give away any emotion, making her unable to figure out his thought. “Come here,” his voice was low and deep. Ava gulped and summed up her steps to where he was sitting, pulling down the shirt as she walks every now and then. She made to walk past him to sit elsewhere, but Zac suddenly pull her, and she suddenly fell forward, plunging right into his arms. Ava quickly lowered her gaze, and he hooked his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes were like a dark ocean, full of ferocious waves, “Are you hungry?” he asked cautiously in a gentle voice.