Page 12 of Valentine's Miracle

“It’s not my first time at a hotel,” she remarks with a small wrinkle on her nose. The elevator starts to come up as indicated by the numbers.

I know that she’s talking about the times she has to attend meetings and events like these for the sake of finding a new employer. Sebastian had filled me in, and I reluctantly heard all of it because he wouldn’t leave me alone, but it’s a good thing since it saved me a lot of time doing research on her.

There is a rule that we have to research our clients, so there is less of a chance that this contract goes sour. It’s a lot of reading and researching on the internet, but the paycheck is worth all the hassle of infuriating clients.

We have access to databases that do tread on the line of privacy issues, but the clients have to sign an agreement to allow us to go digging and anything anyone finds is open in the air. There were one or two bad eggs in the basket and they used the information they found to blackmail their clients, and they were subsequently fired with criminal charges on their asses.

The floor we stop at is the fifth where we are immediately greeted by two women behind a table. The laminated passes lay out on the table while the woman with a clipboard asks for our names.

Victoria gives it to her, and we’re presented with passes to the event. The blue thread hanging from my neck is annoying, but it’ll have to do when the excitement on her face erases any traces of irritation in me.

Even after so long, she still has these subconscious effects on me. She’s truly a frightening existence in my life that I have tried getting rid of. It’s hard, and I don’t think it was ever gone as I had presumed; it was only buried under a mountain of denial.

It worked for some time, but every little thing triggers my memories of her. When the wounds were still raw, I wished that lightning would strike me so I can forget about her and the heartache that she caused because she wouldn’t admitit.

Today’s event is basically a sales competition to see who can get the most investors into their product. Victoria’s head keeps going back and forth; she’s unable to decide where to look while looking at everything at the same time.

She starts at the first table by the entrance, and it’s a bunch of technology pieces that can piece together on its own as demonstrated by a boisterous man in glasses. His partner also puffs out her chest in pride when Victoria is clearly taken back by their invention.

They were saying passive-aggressive things when they found out that she wasn’t an investor. When their nasty mouths open again, I make sure she’s looking somewhere else first before I glare so hard at them that they wilt under my gaze.

The rest of the afternoon is the same thing. Her interest in new products and people seeking to get her to drop her money in their product, but an incident sets me on the edge of my skin.

“Ah, Miss. Valentina!” A woman comes up to Victoria with a smile as if she had been looking for us.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria says with a sheepish smile. “You are?”

“I’m Gloria Cassidy. I’m the CFO of Ingrid Tech.”

The wise words of Sebastian, “Never trust a woman with two first names.”

The moment she came up to Victoria and pretended to be friendly with her, I just had this feeling of unease in my stomach that this woman is a tiger woman who will not take defeat easily. It’s confirmed by her title as CFO; that position is not easy to attain in a male-dominated world of business.

“It’s nice to meet you. Forgive me for being frank, but can I help you?” Victoria asks, straight to the point and cautious of the overly-welcoming façade.

At least Victoria had changed something about her when we weren’t on speaking terms. It seems that there are still a lot of things I’m unaware of her despite having to hear Sebastian’s animated stories about his sleepovers at her place.

It’s hard to take him seriously when he has damn sleepovers as if he’s still twelve.

“Our CEO, Mr. Zimmerman, would like to meet you.” The woman also doesn’t linger on pleasantries.

“What for?” Victoria has never been interested in working with technology.

“We would like to discuss your future avenue.” She keeps on the smile, and it’s turning her into a snake in my eyes. “You are interested in a new path for the future other than the government, if am I not mistaken?”

“No, you’re not,” Victoria says, nodding to agree with her. “I don’t know where you have heard about it, but I’m thinking about it. However, I am not interested in technology.”

“You do not have to worry about that,” the woman says as she claps her hand. “Ingrid Tech started out with numbers, and I believe that is your area of expertise.”

“I solve equations with more than ones and zeros.” Victoria is still not interested, no matter how much the woman sells her on the benefits of working at Ingrid Tech.

I’ll have to look up that company to see what they’re all about. I haven’t heard that name yet, so it’s most likely not a powerhouse in the world, but it could be a business that’s worth millions. This could be the possibility of them using Victoria to boost up their company and turn it into a multibillion-dollar company that can compete with the other ones that are on television.

“Numbers are the same as long as you get the proper training,” the woman remarks.

That is a direct jab at Victoria’s intelligence, and I’m glaring at her before I know it. The itch under my skin grows when she smiles at me; the daring look on the woman’s face makes me angrier.

“Businessmen are serial killers too, as long as you get the proper training.” Victoria raises an eyebrow at the brief flash of shock going across the woman’s face.

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