Daniel Cho was in the middle of a meeting when Alexander was trying to call him. When his phone rang, he glanced at the unregistered number and without thinking twice, he canceled the call."He"s not picking up.", Scratching his head, Alexander wasn"t sure if he should try calling Daniel again.
Hannah was helping her best friend puke her guts out inside the bathroom, she didn"t lift her head when she yelled, "Send him a text!"
He did as he was told and sent Daniel a text message, typing every letter very quickly.
Alexander: [ Mr. Cho, Samantha"s having a panic attack.]
Looking at his screen, he tapped his phone as he waited for a response while he glanced at the bathroom, "Everything okay in there?".
Samantha panted and wiped her mouth. She tried to get up but her legs were weak.
As soon as Daniel read the text message, he raised his hand to stop the presenter from talking. He paused the meeting and stepped out of the room swiftly while he dialed the number that just texted him.
"Who is this? What"s going on?", He spoke to the other line as soon as the call was answered.
Alexander: "President Cho, this is Alexander Li. Samantha"s having a panic attack, we were about to appear in front of her employees during tonight"s celebration but she suddenly hyperventilated."
While Alexander was explaining to Daniel about Samantha"s situation, Daniel could hear some m.u.f.fled noises of what seemed like someone who is vomiting.
Daniel stroke his forehead and sighed. He was currently in a different city a few hours away from City M. Without delay, he replied, "Where is she? Put her on the phone."
Alexander didn"t waste time and handed the phone to Hannah in which she accepted and held it close to Samantha"s ear, tapping her shoulder lightly.
"S, Daniel is on the phone.", she said.
Samantha looked at the cellular on her right and weakly received it. "h.e.l.lo~", her voice was a bit weak.
"Hey, honey… I heard you were having a good time.", Daniel replied, trying to lighten Samantha"s mood, he tried to smile in an attempt to make his voice calming.
Samantha was a bit out of it, "Oh shut up. I think I puked an entire elephant out of me.", she said, her head was now hurting from the hurl.
Daniel chuckled, his woman can still make jokes despite her situation. "I wish I could"ve seen that."
"Ugh… you"re not helping.", Samantha complained, holding her stomach as she struggled to get up.
Hannah helped her on her feet and guided her back to the sofa.
"C"mon, where"s the Ms. Daredevil that I know? You jump out of planes, jump off a cliff and even go car racing. Facing your employees is nothing.", Daniel started his pep talk.
Samantha didn"t respond but she thought about what he said and talking to him did make her feel better. She thought, "How much more if you were really here right now?"
"Didn"t you want to change? There are a lot of things that you want to do and this is just a small step. I promise you, you"ll be fine. We"re here for you.", just as Daniel finished his sentence, the waiting room"s door opened and Samantha"s family entered.
"Sammy, why are you still here?", Mrs. Kim said as she walked towards her daughter.
Samantha managed to utter a sound, "Mom."
"See, your family is there with you. You can do this, I believe in you.", Daniel continued.
Samantha breathed deeply and replied to her man, "Thank you, honey. I feel better."
"That"s great. Now get in there and break a leg. I"ll see you soon.", he said before Samantha cut the call.
…
The host delayed the program as he was told and when he received the signal, he announced the arrival of Trident"s CEO again.
This time, the crowd patiently waited.
When the doors of the hall opened, it revealed Trident"s COO, Alexander Li. Clad in a tailored black suit, he was looking so dignified as he walked forward. Next to him was a stunning woman in red. She was radiant as she put on a sweet smile, her dress was smooth and beautiful, it flowed with her without a speck of dirt on it. Her hair was in place as if nothing had happened earlier.
Samantha walked gracefully towards the stage, her arm hooked into Alexander"s and everyone in the hall gaped at the two people who just entered.
"I don"t understand, where"s the CEO?", a reporter asked.
"Wow, Mr. Li is really very handsome. Look at his smile! And his date, she"s a knockout!", a female employee commented and the others chimed in.
"Yeah, they look really good together. Is Mr. Li dating that girl? I wonder who she is?"
They watched as the two of them went up the stage. Alexander took the microphone from the host and addressed the audience from the middle of the stage while Samantha remained at the side.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my greatest honor to introduce to you… Trident"s CEO, Ms. Samantha Bella Kim.", Alexander"s introduction was brief and forward. He gestured his hand to his right and Samantha walked to the middle.
As soon as Samantha appeared, gasps from below the stage were heard.
"This woman is the CEO? I thought the CEO was a man?", a journalist voiced out his thoughts.
"I don"t think they said that. No one said it was a man.", another spoke.
A male employee from the center complimented, "Woah! Our CEO is very gorgeous! She looks so young, it"s impressive!"
She received the microphone from Alexander and smiled as she looked at the audience. Her gaze moved from left to right before she raised the microphone in front of her mouth and confidently uttered her first words, "Good evening."
Her angelic voice sounded from the speaker and they were enchanted to listen closely, none of them dared to speak.
"I am Samantha Kim and I am Trident"s CEO. It"s a pleasure to meet all of you.", her voice was calm yet there was a hint of fierceness in it. The feeling was strange yet everyone who was listening welcomed it.
Samantha said her speech as she practiced and not a single person dared to interrupt her. She was very captivating.
"I am also here to announce a piece of good news. We have been working on a bidding with a big company for months and we have won. We are now going to be collaborating with one of the leading companies in the country, we will announce this partners.h.i.+p in a few days. And I hope that everyone will continue to work hard. Thank you and please enjoy the rest of the evening."
The employees were thrilled. "A partners.h.i.+p with a big company? Could it be..."
A lot of ideas and speculations came to mind to everyone who was present but they could only remain patient and wait for what"s about to happen.