Chapter 11 - A Convenient Secretary

Act 3

The meeting room was silent. Nobody dared to speak a word. All everyone did was quietly read the room. I sat with my back straight and waited for Keith to speak, just like the other executives.

“Hahh…”

Keith sighed deeply. It wasn’t a good sign.

“Did everyone read the article in the last issue of Forbes?”

Everyone turned toward each other, caught off-guard by the sudden question. Keith put down the report and rhythmically tapped on the table with his finger.

“You’ll find in it how much wealth I own. Of course, I probably have more than what has been reported.”

It didn’t take long to find out what was up with his sudden money-bragging. Keith twisted his lips up into a cold smile.

“Did you really think you could make me go bankrupt with a project like this? If that’s what you wanted to do, you should have made it even more pathetic. I spent more money buying my yacht than making this movie. Or are you planning to make a thousand sequels of this sh*t? You’d be spending your entire lives just making this movie. How fantastic.”

Keith even added a marveling “Wow” at the end of his harsh mocking rant, clapping exaggeratedly. Nobody was able to refute. Silence settled over the executives, who were reading the atmosphere with their heads tilted down. Keith erased the smirk off his face and grit his teeth.

“You wasted a year to make something like this? Hundreds of rubbish like this gets released daily. Rubbish won’t become a masterpiece just because you pour in money. Rubbish is rubbish. It’s just expensive rubbish. If it’s boring, it should at least be artistic. If it isn’t artistic, it should at least be able to please the audience. What am I supposed to expect from this?”

Keith tossed the report into the trashcan and scrunched up his forehead.

“No eye for art, and no brain for thought. If you truly have a brain in your skull and not spaghetti noodles, use it to think.”

Despite all the insults, no disagreeing voices were raised. For a moment, I decided to empty my head for a bit and let his words flow in through one ear and out the other. After all, God gave humans two ears so that we could listen with one and pour sentences out the other. As if he’d had enough, Keith violently swept back his hair that wasn’t even falling down.

“Scrap this project and bring me a new one from scratch. Three days should be enough. I would like it if you don’t waste my precious time with this kind of rubbish ever again.”

After concluding his sentence, Keith got up without hesitation. I immediately followed after him.

As he walked, he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. Keith didn’t once stop walking even as he deftly lit his cigarette and exhaled the first smoke. Of course, he didn’t look back at me, either.

“Tell Whitaker,” he said.

“Yes?” I answered right away.

Still walking with his gaze fixed forward, he ordered, “To increase the number of people for this weekend.”

“Understood. The security staff for this weekend’s cruise party, correct? Is there anything else you would like to add?”

He hadn’t even told me about the purpose of the party yet. When I subtly asked for more information, Keith looked back at me for the first time, though all he did was throw a small glance without stopping his feet.

“It’s your job to make everything go smoothly.”

“Understood.”

I repeated my answer and shut my mouth. He often skipped the details like this for regular social parties. All I needed to care about in particular was the guest list, but I knew that Keith would be providing me with one. I preferred parties like this, since it was quite low-pressure on my end.

Keith turned to face the front once again. For a split second, I thought I saw him smile. I was wondering about it in my head when Keith opened his mouth.

“I like that you can read the room.”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, I thanked him earnestly. I didn’t expect this fussy man to approve of me. Just as I was growing confused by his sudden compliment, he said, “It’s very convenient.”

He was talking to himself more than anything, but that made his remark sound more genuine. To this man, I was just a convenient secretary—no more, no less. It shouldn’t have come to me as a surprise, but I jolted. I hid my emotions and smiled like usual.

“Is that right? That’s a relief.” Making sure that my voice wasn’t shaking, I added, “I will continue to try my best.”

Keith looked back at me. This time, he was smiling for sure.

“You’ve never caused trouble, and you’re always diligent. How are you like that? Do you transform at night and go thirsting for men or something?”

He must be truly curious. As an Extreme Alpha who cannot last a day without sex, he was bound to be curious. But he was wrong. He and I were opposites, like two ends of a magnet.

“I do not. Besides, why do you assume that I would want a male partner?”

Keith seemed even more confused by my question. “You’re an omega. Female alphas are rare, so your easiest option are men since you wouldn’t care if they’re beta, either.”

I was stumped for a moment. I didn’t know where to begin correcting his comment. I used to have a girlfriend before I had transitioned, but I had never had a relationship with anyone ever since I fell for Keith. Moreover, ever since I became an omega, I had become unsure of my sexual identity and orientation, not even whether I liked women or men.

One thing I knew for sure, however, was that this arrogant man in front of me always managed to make my heart flutter—even so at this very moment.