"I have a flight to catch."

As her hands halted from applauding for Miss Gorata's speech, Allea turned her head toward Aris Slavadge and gave him her response —not accepting his request, and also not directing rejecting it but giving a reason. At her words, he didn't say anything, just stared unwaveringly, as if he expected such defiance. But the man beside him, Nial Delton, couldn't seem to control the laughter that escaped his lips and was trying to cover it with unnecessarily loud coughs. Still, Allea's gaze not once moved toward Nial Delton, and she once again faced ahead to praise the woman who now once again took her seat beside Allea.

"It's not like you can't talk to her here," Nial Delton leaned toward his friend, and playfully suggested as whispering near him, "Is this why we are here?"

Moving his eyes away from Allea, he glanced at his friend, no words left his mouth but with Aris Salvadge's blank stare, it was enough to convey the soundless words. Seeing this, Nial Delton attempted to fade his smirk and straightened his back, gesturing toward the stage and started praising the auctioned things --while claiming how good the words are of spokespersons, and also pressing that events like such automatically demands your presence.

Aris Salvadge's eyes again moved toward the girl seated beside him, whose only side-profile he can look toward.

Before meeting Allea, he heard a lot about her —from his father, from the news, and sometimes from his business partners. In his life, staying in this field from a young age he has met, heard, and came to know all kinds of people in the world of business, therefore, he was used to listening to the praises of people and considered them trivial and only talks. Rarely he has heard his father praise someone, but his view didn't raise from; either she's truly worth of the words or just another arrogant and only-talk-no-work person. The type of person he's, the one who never believes or regards anything he hears, so when he met the subject of all the praises, at first glance, for Allea his views were more inclined toward the latter part.

What made him halt, and give his views a second thought was when his indifferent gaze was paralleled by her, just like his eyes, there was also nothing, absolutely nothing in her gaze. He's used to people looking at him with a diversity of emotion; recognition, intrusiveness, respect, desire, envy, and such but neither her unwavering gaze nor her words held any traces of them —just empty regard. So, it didn't take long for piquing of his curiosity, and the subtle desire to satisfy it also sprout inside him.

Only then did he really regarded her presence, and focused on knowing about her. Learning her success and the way she achieved it, standing just a few steps behind them, for the first time, he felt a tinge of admiration for someone.

Aris Slavadge's life has always been perfect to the brim, there's nothing that he could desire and not have, still, he has worked hard to make his own name, made his own path, and achieved to stand on his own achievements. Everywhere success has come to him, maybe that's why he deserves his self-adulation and vanity. He's just another human, every man in this world thinks of their own good before thinking about others, and he's no different, the only difference is probably that he only cares about himself and it has long ago become normal for him. Also, for him, the worth of money has long been left behind, sill, the man who's born in unlimited advantages, never is his life becomes willing to part from them, in fact, it has now become normal for him to achieve for the things that bring him usefulness.

So, when it comes to him, Aris Salvadge, he has developed one subconscious habit, and that is to characterize people who approach him. He has boxes for every one of them, a box where he put them according to the category they suit —the one that's always full is the discards box. Probably that's where the insignificant existence of Allea was placed before he met her and came to think about her. After knowing about her, meeting her, she eventually climbed up and his opinion changed as he placed in the box at the top for him —the box of lucrative.

And the people who he places in the top box are advantageous and they tend to stay near him. Now with her there, Allea too has to be one of those.

In Aris' eyes, she's someone who brought the Allgaier Corporation at such height and became the youngest in CEOs of the top fifteen companies in the world. But the company she worked for don't even belong to her, no matter how much success she brings in, it still is for someone else —she's willing to do this much for someone she's not even blood-related and one day she'll willingly leave all this in that person's hand. Perceiving this, he couldn't help the desire that grown inside him to have such a person to stand beside him. He's Aris Salvadge, the heir of the Salvadge Empire. One day he too has to have a life partner, someone who could handle this empire side-by-side, stand shoulder-to-shoulder next to him —then, who could be better than her. 

Especially, when he lost his first Corporation project to her, he had to acknowledge, that he truly hasn't met a woman more suited than Allea Ciarve to stand beside him.

Aris Salvadge is also a man of principles, if for him everything stands on the profit/benefits correspondence, then he also doesn't fear to return them. The basic rule of business, he has always stuck to it; you have to first invest to enjoys the profits later, and more the investment the merrier the gain. And that's what he did while approaching Allea. But It also didn't take long for him to realize that, whenever he tries to propose to her, talk to her or offer her, he always meets with resistance and not a forceful one —the way she does it seems so natural, like what she did now.

Aris Salvadge's eyes followed Allea's gaze, which was focused toward the stage where a person was talking about the outlets of money of charity, and during all this time not once she took the initiative to look at him.

"My words may hold another interest of Miss Ciarve."

As the activities on the stage were nearing their end, Allea once again heard the man initiating the conversation, this time his tone was deeper and she didn't miss the quiet subtle force on the words 'another interest'.

Once again facing Aris Salvadge, she smiled at him, which seemed to contrast with her distant eyes.

Her tone was casual, as she nodded and followed along, "I would have liked to hear it if only I had time," and once again politely rejected his offer.

But this time, Aris Salavdge didn't maintain his silence, and urged, "Will Miss Ciarve have time when she returns?"

Allea's brow raised slightly, as she lightly leaned against the chair and commented, her voice was plain, too plain, "Mr. Salvadge sure is adamant today."

Seeing his persistent gaze on her, Allea knew he was waiting for her response, not willing to quit it at her vague attempt of dropping the subject. As she stared back, for the first time she failed to hide the annoyance that filled her eyes for that instant. In the next moment, she regained her impassive demeanor, but that flash didn't go unnoticed by the man in front of her, who for the first time saw any emotion in her light brown eyes.

Without wasting another second, Allea proceeded to end the conversation as she acquiesced, "Probably, let's meet there."

Receiving a nod from him, Allea moved her gaze away from him and soon the event on the stage ended and they parted their ways to accompany people of their own interest.

When Allea turned away from Aris Salvadge, her brows frowned a little. This was the second time, she let her inner thoughts let pass through her eyes but strangely, she wasn't bothered about it. Probably because of the man in front of her as he contains no part of her memories, neither bad nor good --she didn't even meet him face-to-face. It was always also her own lacking and accountability, he was never the one at fault, past-Allea was the one who unbearably hovered around him. And Allea recognizes this fact, that's why Allea has always attempted to not be too hostile toward him, but that doesn't mean she's willing to let down her guards. 

[Disclaimer: This work is only published on watt/pad under profile: itsrujihere. The complete rights of the work: Allea belongs under this profile and Ruji. If you're reading [Allea] on some platform other than watt/pad(Unless I, Ruji, say so) then, I'm pretty sure they are stealing my work (i.e, a site that starts with novel), please don't support the thief.]

No matter how much he claims his words to be beneficial for her, all, in the end, will be his interest first. That's why not a single waver could be seen in her attitude when before excusing herself she held his gaze —her stance and that impassive eyes of her were clearly repeating her words; there's nothing that she would ever want from him.

Aris Salvadge remained halted in his position, ignoring the words of his friend who was asking his prying questions, and praising Allea for resisting his charm. Nonetheless, his words were ignored as the black-eyed man was only focusing on Allea's retreating figure. He knew her agreement was merely an attempt to make him silent, as much as her attempt amused him it also made him realize that after their five meetings, he only caught a glimpse of emotion that was solely directed toward him, and that too was abrogating and gone the next instant.

Then, how far he will have to have to go if he wants her to come to him, how much will he have to invest if he wants to gain from her, how long will he have to attempt if he wants to break her wall of resistance and find her standing beside him.

Too far, too much, too long.

Will it be worth it? He's a businessman, the fear of losing too has been long ago left behind. 

As Aris turned, after seeing Allea's glimpse one last time, his lips were curled in a smile and his enigmatic eyes were shining a little vividly, and through them, one realization that dawned on him could be seen reflected —this permanence of her is turning into stubbornness for him.