Unexpected development.

Ariel observed the male lead of the novel, and she was not disappointed. After all, the author had wasted some two thousand words on praising his good looks, exceptional personality, honourable work ethics, and all the good things about him.

He was basically the God. The epitome of perfection. In all the aspects.

And then she recalled, she had to capture this man, Ariel little introvert nerdy heart felt a tumulance.

While she was at it, she also noticed Gerald, she second male lead. The villain and the male lead rival who had also fallen for the female lead.

She found him already looking at her. Just as their eyes met, he passed her a smile.

Ariana felt an uncomfortable sensation creep over her skin, but nevertheless, she passed back a professional innocuous smile.

'This man is a creep.' She remembered the things she had read regarding him. 'A playboy who had bedded countless women. He liked to torture those he hated. He had no morality to speak of. Drunk in power, he had even committed several murders. Yet he fell in love with the female lead and was soft with her.'

Ariana felt a sense of relief as she recalled she didn't have to get this man. The male lead was far better than him.

"Rosaline. Why don't you take the lead?" Gerald broke the silence in the room, calling everyone's attention to his secretary.

Rosaline stood confidently and held everyone's focus. She had a face that was a delight to eyes, so it came easy to her. "I just had an interesting conversation with Ms. Grey. I'm not going to lie. She has gained my respect for her comprehension of things. As both of our companies intend to reach a meaningful cooperation today, I would like for her to lead and take the initiative to propose from President Luiss side."

The way she said it, everyone was convinced she meant it. They had high hopes for Ariana now. Apparently, she praised her, but Ariana was put in a difficult position.

There was a slight tightening of Luiss grip on the arm rest. He could see what was happening, but he didn't take any action to stop it.

Everyone gaze shifted at her, Ariana could either accept it or deny it.

David displeasure wasn't as covert as Luiss. He was sitting with tight nerves, at the brink of objecting, but Ariana beat him to it.

"Sure thing." She stood up and made her way to the screen.

Now David couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. He leaned back in his chair in defeat and hoped.

'She said she read the reports I sent to her. Hopefully, she won't embarrass us as bad'

David discontent was noticed by Rosaline, and she was even more certain that Ariana wasn't going to handle this situation well. Her smile attained a sense of triumph and eagerness to see the events unfold as she took a seat and watched Ariana make her way to the stage.

While everyone had these thoughts occupying their heads, Ariana mind was focused on a single thing.

'Perform well or death'

She maintained an impassive face of the original owner and grabbed the presentation stick.

'It's okay. I can do it. I have through countless exams where I crammed last night and presented exceptionally the next day. It's just one of those things.' She consoled herself, took a final breathe and initiated the presentation.

She had ten minutes to explain. She started with a brief introduction of herself and jumped to the main points directly.

As she went through the slides, Luiss intently observed her. A frown converted on his face as he found the slides different from the ones he had sent her.

Of course, for what she had to say today, he had personally reviewed it and sent it to her.

It was important for it to be perfect.

One, two changes were fine. But her presentation was drastically different.

It wasn't bad till this point. But Luiss was at edge. She could go the wrong way on any next slide, especially since he was pretty certain Gerald secretary had fed her with false information.

However, as Ariana proceeded, no such error occurred.

Luiss feelings changed from unease to surprise and finally settled on admiration.

While Luiss change of expression was subtle, David was noticeable. It was as if he was drowning a moment ago and was now handed a saving grace. His expression settled on shock, never have expected Ariana to be this good.

While the two of them had their worries eased, there were people who were not very happy with this progression.