Beyond Duties

Chapter 6

"Is it true that you were adopted?"

"Where have you been hiding?"

"How long have you been dating?"

"Is Jordan Gallagher the reason why you never considered dating Conan?"

"What are your plans?"

Vee felt like her world was in slow motion as she found herself seated right next to Jordan in the boardroom not having a meeting with the Rustik-Yates executive board and stockholders, but conducting an impromptu press conference. She felt like her body had momentarily separated from her soul as she could see herself blushing while her fingers were intertwined with Jordan's. She could see him occasionally looking at her with smiling eyes or pulling her closer so he could lean over and smell her hair and kiss her temple. Most of the time though, he would look straight at the cameras and address the mediamen with a cold expression on his face.

"Let this be our official statement," he started speaking after the mediamen quieted down. "It is not a surprise that our families, the Gallaghers and the Yates, are closely knit. We have known each other for the longest time and yes, we were betrothed, but we were given the freedom to decline. I don't see myself not marrying an amazing lady, though." He paused to glance at Vee with a small smile. "Vee here has never dated my older brother Conan for the sole reason that we are dating. Now to feed your curious minds - I have not been hiding. I was just living the life I wanted away from the spotlight, and I guess Conan and Alannah have made that clear with their earlier statements. And no, I was not adopted - I believe you could see the dominant traits of our parents on each of the Gallagher siblings." He suddenly stood and helped Vee do the same. "I feel that those details are what you need for now. If you could please excuse us, we still have a meeting to attend."

Vee still could not help but stay awed as Jordan spoke with authority. She watched as the mediamen moved to the receiving area where they could stay for further interviews later on, hoping that they could get more hot news. She tried to clench her fist really hard to wake herself up thinking that she was dreaming, but the hard push of the ring on her finger suddenly alerted her. Looking down at it, she wondered when and how she had gotten to wear the diamond-studded crown-shaped sapphire engagement ring. Forcing herself to rewind what happened just half an hour ago, she remembered having felt a cold ring slide down her finger when Jordan appeared from out of nowhere. The sly look on his face when she glanced at him questioningly confirmed it. Smooth, she thought.

For some reason, she felt a lot comfortable as Jordan stayed in the boardroom with her. Without a tinge of nervousness, she showed the board members and stockholders what her plans for the company are, backed up with project proposals. She declared in one of her initiatives that the Yates would gain more assets once she gets married to the Gallagher heir, and she nervously glanced at Jordan to see if he would have violent reactions. When he motioned to speak, she felt like her heart stopped beating.

"My share of stocks in my company will be declared as joint assets the moment we sign our marriage contract," Jordan declared. "It is a quarter of the total shares which my family has for the Gallagher Industries. The reason for that being..." he walked towards Vee and lovingly caressed her hand as he clicked the projector remote to reveal the next presentation slide, "we have planned to convert our Asian branch into a mall."

Vee tried to hide her completely shocked expression as she stared at her modified presentation on the projection. This time, she could not figure out how Jordan managed to slip the changes in her laptop. Not that she disliked the idea, but she was more concerned about her laptop seemingly being hacked. She saw him wink at her with a quick whisper, "I'll explain later," and let him do the talking. Most of the board members found the proposal appealing, and the rest of the meeting was spent focusing on it. Even the two major stockholders who have threatened on national television to pull out their support from the Rustik-Yates Hotels applauded the project.