Bab 20: Casey: Back At Work
When I left the security outpost, I was in a daze. I could barely think straight. As I walked down the road, all I could think about was that someone was going to recognize me as Jace's lover and blow everything up in a way that would destroy everything we'd been trying so hard to keep under wraps.
I could feel my heart beating steadily in my chest, even as I was paranoid that at any time at all, pictures or videos of me getting into Jace's room could surface. Every few minutes, I kept refreshing my browser, expecting the gossip column to be lit up with evidence of my scandal.
I soon returned to the hotel and I immediately began packing up my things. I had already instructed my team to return to our office in the heart of Silicon Valley. Our job at the Royale Hotel was done for now, we had to begin planning for the main dinner and subsequent wedding.
As I packed up my things, I called Kira's phone but it rang without getting answered. I wondered if she was still sleeping. After everything she went through last night, it was only right that she got as much rest as she could, especially when I considered the fight she was about to get into with her uncle.
After the third try, I decided to stop. If I was being honest with myself, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to speak to her just yet. How could I look her in the eye knowing that I slept with her fiancé and enjoyed it? How could I have a normal conversation with her knowing that I was planning her wedding to the man I was madly in love with? Everything was just so messed up, no matter how I thought about it, there was no scenario in which I got to win.
Soon, I picked up my bag, it had everything of value that I brought with me to the Royale. Then, without a backward glance, I walked out of the room and hurried over to the underground garage where my car was parked. Just as i approached my car, my phone began to ring. When I took it out, it was Jace calling me. I ignored the call and let it ring out. After my conversation with Joan, I was still skeptical about speaking to Jace. The mere idea that someone had followed him to the hotel where we met up was daunting and it felt like the famed sword of Damocles, dangling right over my head. It was only a matter of time before it fell and cleaved me in two.
I got into my car and drove right into tight traffic that had me cursing all the way. Two hours later, I was at my office and finally back in familiar surroundings. Liam welcomed me joyously. He was my right hand when it came to our work and he doubled as my secretary and personal assistant. He also stood in for me when I had to go on-site, like the one I was returning from.
As always, his fashion sense was vibrant. Liam has always loved flashy colors and now, he rocked them with much happiness as he hugged me tightly.
"It's so good to see you again, boss." He said cheesily. "At this point, I've been watching you almost everywhere it's like you never even left. You've been on TV, you're all over the blogs… come on Casey, where are you not?"
I chuckled at that as I settled into my chair, "Come on, I'm not even the celebrant, nor one of those getting married. Why will the focus be on me?"
"Actually, there was an article that focused on you," Liam said as he pulled out his phone and began to tap feverishly. His well-manicured fingers flew over the screen before he handed the phone to me gracefully, "it's all about the genius who planned what could be known as the most exclusive dinner of the year. They talked an awful lot about us and this is a promotion because when I checked out their socials, there was a lot of engagement on everything that has to do with you. More people now know of you, Casey! Now, think about how it would be when we plan the main dinner and then the wedding!"
I swallowed as I handed the phone back to Liam and relaxed into my seat, this was good news. Matter of fact, it was one of the best news I've gotten in a long time. I had always known that planning such a wedding for Kira would define my career, but seeing it happen right before my eyes was still humbling. I was supposed to be happy and excited about this.
However, I was finding it hard to be. I was getting everything I had wanted out of the wedding, but I wasn't happy. This article about me that was currently online and gaining a massive engagement felt like it was only fattening me up for slaughter. Making me bigger so that when I finally fall, it would be hard! As long as there were people out there and there was a possibility that they knew of what happened between Jace and I last night, I just couldn't relax. I needed to get to the bottom of that matter, so I could move on!
Liam slowly took the seat on the other side of my desk, peering intently at me, "I expected you to greet this news with more joy and happiness, but I guess I was wrong. Casey, did something happen at the Royale Hotel?"
I snapped myself out of my self-imposed worry and smiled weakly at him, "No, nothing is wrong. Believe me, no one is happier than I am about our accomplishments. This calls for a celebratory dinner. Can you organize it?"
"Me? Sure! I'd have to check out our calendar to know when we can all be there to celebrate. But if I'm going off the top of my head, it would most likely be on a weekday. The weekends are too choked up."
"Just make it happen. You all have been a big help in pushing us this far, we deserve this, don't you think?"
Liam smiled as he got to his feet, "I love this. Do I give you your schedule now? You don't look like you're in the mood just yet."
I frowned at him, "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
He shook his head, "the florist whose flowers you didn't like and had to return them at the last minute, she's not liking the switch one bit. She's been clamoring to see you, and has even threatened to sue for breach of contract, yada yada… I think she's just pissed that she gets to miss out on all the publicity that comes with such a high-profile wedding. But we shouldn't take her lightly either, she can cause some major issues for us."
"Fine… I'll see her. But not this morning, shift her meeting to later in the day. Maybe in the afternoon or sometime in the evening before I close for the day. When is my next appointment?"
"It's in thirty minutes," Liam replied as he riffled through his phone. "You have a meeting with the caterers and cooks. I think they already have a budget at hand for the 150 people that will be attending the dinner."
At that, I remembered my conversation with Kira and gave a sigh, "We might have to hold off on that for a while. Because 150 people might actually end up being 1000 people."
"What?"
I shrugged, "I'm still trying to figure out what is going on, so until then, the budget they have is incomplete. Shift their meeting till noon, I should have an answer for them by then. What's next?"
"Okay… in ninety minutes, you're to have brunch with Klevah TV. This is about them having sole coverage of the wedding and everything about it. He's also willing to renegotiate the terms."
I smiled at that, "Well, this is something I can do. But ninety minutes is too far off, I need you to call him and see if we can have that brunch in thirty minutes."
"That would be impromptu. Maybe an hour may be more realistic."
"He needs this more than we do, Liam. He needs the rating, not us. So, if we tell him to jump, he better ask us how high! Now, kindly ask him to meet for brunch thirty minutes from now. I should be ready for him by then."
Liam smiled as he got to his feet, then with a slight nod, he walked out of my office. I smiled as the door swung shut behind him. It felt good to be back in familiar surroundings and running my business as usual. Business talks were always good to get me back into the right frame of mind and now that I was here, I could think straight.
I picked up my phone and dialed Joan's number, when she answered, I wasted no time at all, "what's the update on the case?"
Joan's voice was low but clear as it filtered through the phone, "we were able to track the movements of those following Jace and Kira. For now, we don't know where exactly Jace went immediately after he left the dinner hall, but we're still tracking that down. And we know for sure that whoever was tracking him, followed him there."
"Why do I sense a but here?" I demanded.
"It's Kira…" Joan muttered. "They followed her to her hotel… and I think they found something."
I sat up straight in my chair, "what the hell does that mean? What did they find?"
"We don't know yet. But we do know that the tracker was stationed outside her room for the most part of the night, recording everyone going out and coming in. I've already instructed hotel security to apprehend him, once we learn more, I'll update you."
"Uhm,.. but Kira doesn't have anything to hide. I was with her last night before I… before I left. She doesn't have anything that would interest them."
"Well, you'd be surprised," Joan said and cut the call abruptly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I replayed the conversation in my head. It wasn't making any sense. I had assumed that Jace went to Royale Hotel immediately after leaving dinner, before going to lodge at the other hotel where we met. However, Joan was saying that wasn't the case. So, where had he gone off to that night? What did the tracker see when they followed him? And what the hell did Joan mean by the remark she made about Kira?
I slowly sat back in the seat. For some reason, things were just getting worse. I was watching it happen in HD and I couldn't do a single thing about it. Was this the price I had to pay for sleeping with my best friend's fiancé?
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Odd_Man
Odd_Man Things are moving right now! Will they be able to find the trackers before things escalate? Share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you!
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