Chapter 12 - A Convenient Secretary

“In any case, you’re wrong. I don’t have a nightlife. If I don’t sleep well at night, I would have great trouble assisting you during the day.”

“Wow.”

Keith intentionally exclaimed slowly. I quickly paced past him and pressed the elevator button. As I took a step back and waited for the machine to come up, Keith suddenly spoke again.

“So you’re the same, day and night?”

“Yes. Is there a reason why I should be different?”

As soon as I finished my sentence, I regretted instinctively talking back. I became anxious that I might have ticked this man off. Thankfully, Keith didn’t show any reaction out of the ordinary. All he did was scoff and mock me like usual.

“As boring a man during the night as you are during the day.”

I somehow managed to stop myself from answering this time. He had seen right through me. I was truly a boring person. I wasn’t a player like Grayson, and I couldn’t make witty jokes. That was how I had been until now, and that was how I would always be. After all, people didn’t change easily.

“Diligence is my only strength, after all.” The elevator had arrived just in time. I smiled and added, “I’m sure it will be very helpful to you, sir.”

The elevator door opened. Instead of getting in, however, Keith stood still while staring down at me. I hastily reached out in case the door closed on him and politely gestured him into the elevator with my other hand. Only then did Keith move his feet and get into the elevator. Before I could follow him in, he opened his mouth.

“It’s lunchtime.”

Ah. While I hesitated, the door began to close and I saw him press the button. A moment too late, I remembered that he had a lunch appointment today.

***

“Oh, is that so? Could you possibly send me the party’s guest list and the number of attendees first?”

When I relayed Keith’s message over the phone, Whitaker asked with a professional attitude. I replied by telling him that I would send him an email today after confirming the attendees.

After I hung up, I sorted the invitees in alphabetical order and distributed them to the other secretaries. I instructed them to confirm each guest’s attendance and report back to me before picking up my share of the list.

We got to work as soon as lunchtime was over. I returned to my office desk, which was connected to the CEO’s office, and began calling the guests one by one.

“Of course I’ll come,” said Grayson, having taken the phone from his secretary. “Are you coming as well, Yeonwoo?”

“Me?” I replied, taken aback by his sudden question.

His voice sounded like he was smiling as he replied from the other side, “Yeah, since there’s supposed to be a supervisor… or is Charles doing that instead?”

Although there was a chance that it might change, I knew I would probably be overseeing the event. If the party was to be held at Keith’s mansion, Charles, his butler, would be there to take charge. However, it was different this time since the party was being held on a cruise ship. In the case that the party was held at an external venue, I or a professional party planner oversaw the party.

However, hiring a party planner or having Charles supervise the party didn’t mean that I had no work to do. In case of an unforeseen emergency, I had to be there to clean up after the incident. Hence, I had to attend all parties, no matter what.

Of course, we hadn’t hired a party planner or asked Charles to supervise this party. Keith left everything up to me, and it was my decision not to do so.

I took a moment before replying, “I believe I will be attending.”

“… Yeah?” A strange silence took place before he asked out of nowhere, “You always have your meds on you, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

As usual, I replied formally to his sudden question. He murmured, that’s good, then.

“See you at the party, Yeonwoo. Don’t be too surprised even if you see something you’d rather not.”

Grayson hung up after leaving me with mysterious advice. I blankly stared at the phone that had been disconnected. In any case, I couldn’t call back and ask him what he meant. Despite the strange aftertaste, I had no choice but to ignore it and dial the next number on the list.

* * *

The party preparation went smoothly. I had done this many times, and there was nothing special. The only difference was that this was a cruise party.

Keith’s prized luxury cruise yacht was large enough to accommodate 300 guests onboard. Only 50 guests were invited to this party, leaving lots of room. Even if everyone brought a partner, the number shouldn’t go over 200. Just in case, I had prepared food and drinks for 250 people. All the guest suites were cleaned and organized just in case some guests felt ill or needed rest during the party. The preparations were perfect.

The party began at 7, but there were always guests who came early or late. To be honest, all I knew about this party was that it was a “social party.” I didn’t know that Keith had this many friends, but I took it at face value. There was no way for me to know about his personal connections, after all. For all I knew, the very definition of “friend” could be different between him and me.

That was probably the case. In fact, it was harder to find similarities between us.

“Welcome, Mr. … Norman.”