-Levi POV-
"I'm sorry to interrupt sir, we've been discussing that with Aiden Clarke, and he's most likely going to give a positive answer." Haruka suddenly spoke.
What? Aiden Clarke? Seriously? Why don't I even know about this? Did father ask Haruka to deal with that? Or did Haruka himself deal with it alone? There are so many questions lingering in my mind.
"Aiden Clarke? Did you mean the famous young chef that people have been talking about nowadays? The one who won the Michelin Guide last year, the winner of the World Culinary Awards, the Saveur Culinary Travel Awards, and the Gault Millau Awards last year, the winner of the James Beard Awards and the Bib Gourmand Awards last two years." CEO Lorraine looks very excited.
"Yeah, indeed, he is, sir. We also got Thomas Ravier, the best sommelier in France, and the top 5 sommeliers in the world." Haruka added something I don't even know about one more time. Even Thomas Ravier! How far did he plan this without telling me?
"Even Thomas Ravier is involved. If those two amazing people will be a part of this, then I'll gladly agree to be a part of it too! I'll sign the contract here and now." Without wasting time, CEO Lorraine asked for a pen from his secretary and signed the contract in front of me. Wait. Just like that? Seriously? Haruka just mentioned two names, and he quickly agreed without any doubts.
"Sir, you should sign the contract too." Haruka's low voice snapped me out of my own thoughts. Without wasting any time, I signed the contract. Wow, we managed to secure this contract.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, CEO Lorraine." I raise my right hand for a handshake, and he gladly accepts that.
"Same here, Mr. Ackerman. Oh, how about we have lunch together at my restaurant. As a collaboration sign between us." CEO Lorraine suggested.
"We really appreciate that, sir. Thank you." I just smiled.
"Alright, let's go." CEO Lorraine led the way.
//SKIP//
Now that we're done with the meeting, discussion, and lunch, everyone is back at the hotel. I just arrived at the hotel because I have something to do. Something sweet, you could say. I smiled at myself. I walked towards the elevator, pressed the 16th floor, and arrived after a minute. Luckily, there aren't many people right now. I make my way towards Haruka's room first before going back to my room. I knock on the door. No answer. I knocked once more, and I could hear his voice yelling from the inside. The door opens, revealing Haruka's face with his towel on his head. I guess he's just done taking a shower. Well, it's a bit hot because of the summer season now.
"Levi. What do you want? Is there any work I need to do?" Without beating around the bush, he asked me straight to the point. I guess he doesn't really want me to be here, huh?
"No, there isn't. But I got something for you here." I handed him the things I bought earlier.
"What is this?" He asked, taking the things I gave him.
"Something sweet for you." I just smile, and he glares at me before taking a look at the content inside the paper bag. He looked shocked for a while, and I could see a faint smile on his lips for a while. I guess he really likes them.
"You should be grateful. I went to look for all the shops and cafes Felix mentioned to me just to buy this for you." I said that proudly.
"Really? Well then, thank you." He said that and was ready to close the door. What? Really? Just like that?
"Well, Mr. Auclair, I do have something I wanted to ask you, btw." I stopped him from closing the door, and he looked at me uninterestedly.
"What is it?" Even his tone shows that he doesn't want to talk to me any longer.
"What about Aiden Clarke and Thomas Ravier you mentioned before? Why don't I know about this, and how can you be so sure that they will agree to be a part of this project? Did you manage to convince them?" I asked everything I wanted to ask, and I could hear him sighing.
"Actually, that was just a backup plan in case CEO Lorraine still had a doubt about the project, and I was right. So, I asked both of them to be a part of this project earlier, just in case. That's why I didn't tell you yet and just handled it alone, because that's not official yet. But later, I guess you have to meet them to sign the contract." Haruka said that calmly, but I still wasn't satisfied with the answer.
"But how did you manage to convince them? Aiden Clarke and Thomas Ravier are both really difficult to convince." That's what I want to know. How?
"Sigh. I bet you'll be shocked to hear this, but I learned how to cook from Aiden Clarke, and we're pretty close." He said that, and like he said, I was clearly shocked.
"You learned how to cook from him? But he's younger than you." I'm still confused by Haruka's answer.
"What's the matter if he's younger than me? He's good, that's all we need if we want to learn about cooking. Well, you know my grandmother is the Princess of the British Royal Family, and Aiden's grandfather is the head chef for the Royal Family's main residence. It's my grandmother who asked Aiden to teach me, and we're good friends now, so that's it. He just agreed with that since he also wanted to live in Europe rather than in the States." Haruka's explanation makes sense.
"What about Mr. Thomas Ravier, then?" One more person needs to be explained, and again, he sighed.
"For Mr. Thomas Ravier, all I need to say is mention my name, Auclair, and, of course, your family's company, Ackerman Group. Both of us are big names in France, so rejecting the offer would be a waste, I could say. And one more thing, he's my grandfather's friend." That's all? Really? Just like that? Well, I agree that this chance can't be turned down just like that.
"Well, since we're on the topic, I want to ask you too. Since when did we get Frederick Einstein as the engineer for this project? Didn't William say he's going to be the engineer in charge of this project?" Well, I didn't expect this to be what he wanted to ask. I thought he didn't care about that bastard, William, anymore.
"Why? Did you want him to handle the project?" I replied to his question with a question as well. I don't know why, but I'm feeling a bit irritated.
"I don't mean that, and of course I don't want that." He said that, showing that he didn't mean that he wanted that bastard William to be a part of this project.
"Well, let's just say I have my own way to scare him a little, and he just backs off on his own." I said that, smirking.
"You sound like a gangster." He said that slowly.
"Well, because of this gangster, you don't have to meet a bastard like him anymore, right? You should be grateful, hahaha." I laughed and looked at him. He averts his eyes from looking at me.
"Btw, Mr. Auclair, since you're the reason we got to seal the contract, how about we have dinner together tonight? It's on me, of course." This time, I'm going to make sure we'll be having dinner together, just the two of us.
"Just the two of you? So mean. What about me?" Arghh, again!
TO BE CONTINUED…