The banquet hall of the hotel was brilliantly lit, exuding a sense of grandeur. This was a welcome dinner held for the arrival of Alex Hamilton, also serving as a meet-and-greet for him and the hotel staff.
Alex Hamilton, dressed in a sharp suit, appeared confident and poised. Sipping his drink, he engaged in conversations with those who approached him, neither warm nor cold. Emily Williams followed closely behind him, offering polite smiles to salvage any negative impression caused by Alex Hamilton's indifferent attitude.
As his special assistant, Emily Williams found herself at a loss. An hour prior, when she drove Alex Hamilton to the hotel and dropped him off at his designated accommodation, she couldn't help but sense a hint of unease.
Alex Hamilton seemed unfriendly towards her, and she racked her brain to find topics to engage him in conversation, just to prevent him from being too withdrawn. However, he showed no interest in her topics, leaving her to talk to herself. Finally, he curtly remarked, "Focus more on driving," effectively shutting her up.
Upon arriving at Alex Hamilton's residence, his dissatisfaction persisted. The villa assigned to him was situated halfway up the mountain, boasting beautiful scenery and tasteful interior decorations. Yet, Alex Hamilton wore a disdainful expression as he pushed his luggage in front of Emily Williams.
Emily Williams held onto the luggage, perplexed, and glanced at him.
"Organize my things, I'm going to take a shower. The suit I'll wear tonight should be placed separately," Alex Hamilton ordered before turning towards the bathroom.
"Alright, I understand," Emily Williams complied with his instructions.
Alex Hamilton glanced back at her, his usual wariness and distrust evident in his gaze.
Despite Emily Williams' seemingly innocent and unaffected nature, with no ulterior motives or any odd behavior when they were alone together, Alex Hamilton remained cautious. Regardless of the Chairman's intentions for assigning this special assistant to him, he was not here for seduction.
Of course, Emily Williams had no inkling of Alex Hamilton's deep-seated suspicion towards her. She dragged his luggage into his bedroom and began unpacking its contents one by one, arranging them neatly on the bed. There were a laptop, passport, clothing, ties, and some documents. Judging by the items he brought along, he seemed to be an organized and efficient person.
Emily Williams placed her laptop on the table, put her passport and documents in the drawer, and turned around to put her clothes and tie in the wardrobe. Remembering that she had mentioned keeping a suit separate, she carefully selected a black suit and took it out, hanging the rest of her clothes in the wardrobe.
As Emily Williams gently closed the wardrobe, she saw Alex Hamilton, wrapped in a towel, walk out of the bathroom. His strong chest and sexy abs startled her, making her face pale, and she quickly turned away, unable to look at him anymore.
Observing her reaction, Alex Hamilton felt somewhat satisfied. Through his probing, she didn't seem like a girl with heavy ulterior motives.
Fresh from his shower, he appeared refreshed. He dried his hair and walked to the edge of the bed, picking up the suit to inspect it before turning to look at Emily Williams. "The suit needs to be ironed. I don't like wearing wrinkled clothes."
"Alright, I'll do it right away," Emily Williams turned to fetch the iron, relieved that she wouldn't have to face him with his upper body exposed.
Emily Williams took the clothes from the bed and hurriedly moved away from Alex Hamilton. She spread the clothes on the table and began ironing the suit carefully.
Alex Hamilton glanced at her and asked, "How did you become my special assistant?"
Emily Williams was surprised by his sudden conversation but quickly put on a smile. "Oh, it wasn't originally my job, and there are many talented colleagues in the company who wanted this position. But for some reason, the chairman decided to assign it to me, maybe because I am the manager of the hotel's finance department, which will make it more convenient to coordinate with your work..."
"Did you arrange the interior decoration of this villa?" Alex Hamilton looked at the pink curtains, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Emily Williams seemed proud. "From renting this villa to the interior decoration, the entire process involved the company's financial expenses, so the chairman entrusted me with full responsibility..."
"No wonder..." Alex Hamilton seemed lost in thought, interrupting Emily Williams.
Looking at him, Emily Williams asked, "Alex, is there a problem?"
Alex Hamilton curled his lips into a mischievous smile, not saying a word in response to her question.
Emily Williams couldn't quite understand him and handed him the clothes. "Your clothes are ironed."
Alex Hamilton took the clothes but kept his gaze fixed on Emily Williams' face, remaining silent.
Emily Williams felt a bit uneasy under his intense gaze. It was impolite to look away, and disrespectful to look elsewhere, so she could only meet his eyes. But he kept staring at her.
Emily Williams lightly touched her own nose, "Do you have something else to tell me?"
"I need to change my clothes. Do you plan on standing here the whole time?" Alex Hamilton said as he began to untie his towel.
"Uh, of course not, I'll leave right away." Emily Williams blushed and hurried towards the door.
Alex Hamilton gave her a strange look as he watched her leave the room. After changing into his suit, he walked out of the room, tying his tie as he descended the stairs to the living room.
"Can we leave now?" Emily Williams stood up from the couch, her words laced with inquiry.
Alex Hamilton glanced her up and down, "Are you planning to attend the reception with me like this, without dressing up?"
Emily Williams touched her hair and glanced down at her outfit, "What's so strange about this? I think it's fine."
"I don't like having an assistant who lacks basic etiquette." Alex Hamilton walked past her, continuing to tie his tie.
"But I didn't bring any formal attire with me, and it would be too late to rush home and get it. This is the only outfit I have, and many colleagues just go directly to the venue after work, so it doesn't matter how I dress," Emily Williams explained to Alex Hamilton.
"Give me the car keys, and you figure out the formal attire yourself. We'll meet at the hotel later." Alex Hamilton rudely demanded the car keys, then left Emily Williams behind, walking out of the villa's door.
Standing in the spacious living room, Emily Williams realized time was running out. If she rushed back home to change clothes and do makeup, she would definitely be late. She had no choice but to make a phone call and summon a taxi.
This Alex Hamilton was truly despicable. She had only agreed for the sake of the highly respected chairman and had no choice but to accommodate him. But she refused to force herself to comply with his excessive demands.
When Emily Williams appeared in front of Alex Hamilton wearing the same suit, he was clearly unhappy. He ignored her the entire evening, not even acknowledging her existence. When female colleagues approached Alex Hamilton in their glamorous evening dresses, raising their glasses to him, they also cast disdainful glances towards Emily Williams, and Alex saw all of those glances.
"Emily, you must serve and take care of our Alex wholeheartedly. We had to painfully let go of him to give him to you." The head of the Public Relations Department joked in a convincing manner.
Alex Hamilton frowned. He wasn't an object to be handed over to any woman, even if it was just a cold joke.
Emily Williams knew that she had obtained the special assistant position that made many people unhappy, but she smiled and said, "It should be said that Alex is looking after me."
Alex Hamilton was pleased with what Emily Williams said and smiled at the women present.
"But Emily, we all dressed up in formal attire to attend this grand banquet. After all, it is a welcome party for Alex. As Alex's special assistant, you're dressed a bit too casually," remarked the supervisor of another department, who was dressed fashionably and looked sexy. She glanced at Emily Williams' suit, her words laced with sarcasm.
"So, are you implying that I haven't taken good care of her?" Alex Hamilton held a glass of wine, his tone calm.
"Oh, no! I dare not. I just feel that Emily should pay more attention to herself," the supervisor quickly intervened to smooth things over.
Alex Hamilton glanced at Emily Williams and said, "In this regard, our confident Emily doesn't care about her appearance at all."
"She's just a pretty face after all," several women sneered softly, their tone laced with jealousy.
Alex Hamilton looked at them, "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing, nothing," the women quickly waved their hands. "Pretty face" was the mocking nickname they used for Emily Williams. If Alex found out, it would affect their impression on him.
"Emily has helped me a lot today, so she didn't even have time to change into another evening gown or put on makeup. But I don't mind. Even if she attends the banquet without makeup, I am still very satisfied with her performance," Alex Hamilton affirmed Emily Williams with his words.
In that moment, Emily Williams gave Alex Hamilton a grateful glance, casting aside all her previous thoughts about him.
Alex Hamilton raised his glass to them and drank the champagne in one gulp.
The women looked at each other, reluctantly admitting that Emily Williams truly deserved her reputation. In just one day, she had captivated the newly arrived CEO with her beauty.
"Excuse me," Alex Hamilton placed the wine glass on a nearby table and walked away towards another direction. Emily Williams quickly caught up with him.
"Alex, thank you," Emily Williams whispered, her voice as low as it could get.
Alex Hamilton stopped in his tracks and looked at her with a strange gaze. "Thank me for what? Don't tell me you actually thought I was speaking up for you just now?"
"Um..." Wasn't he? Emily Williams swallowed, feeling embarrassed for her misinterpretation. She then turned her head and noticed the delicious food on the table, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to slip away from Alex Hamilton's sight. "I'm really hungry. Can I go grab something to eat?"