Chapter 8：A Secretive President

Despite what Winter advised Marcellus, he chose not to mind it and proceeded with his plan to give Violet a diamond necklace as a present.

The outcome of both his ignorance to her words and his arrogance in his presumption turns out to be a bad one. Apparently, a while after purchasing his gift at the jewelry store, he eventually went to meet his date and presented his display of good will. But then, her reaction ends up to be underwhelming - she is not pleased at all.

"Thank you for the thought, though. It's what counts," was what Violet said in response to his gift, looking a little too awkward to even appear to be grateful.

For Marcellus, it is not really the thought that counts - it is not her not-so genuine expression of gratitude.

What he needs here is to form an established relationship. He needs this for his confidential endeavors. If he gets to set another meeting with her in the future, he might eventually catch the attention of the head of the Miller Holdings. That is his end goal - to build a strong enough connection with her family in order to fulfill more of his personal and business-centered objectives.

"I'll have to go now, Sir Lexington. Thanks for inviting me tonight," Violet bid right after an unsuccessful date - on his part, at least.

Marcellus only watches her stand up from her seat and make her way out of that place. He even reserved a table at this five-star restaurant, feeling quite confident that she would be pleasantly surprised by how well-prepared he was to treat her good. Yet in the end, she did not even ask to meet up with him again.

'Quite an unusual woman. Really rare, I say...' Marcellus mused with a peeved smirk.

'Don't tell me... What that girl said earlier was true? She doesn't like fancy things?'

Right at that very moment he thought about that, he suddenly caught sight of an unprecedented turn of events from a distance.

It just happened that Winter appeared with a small basket full of purple bellflowers.

Astonished, Marcellus can only furrows his brows together and gapes slightly as she approaches Violet with it. Only then did she make the reaction that he wanted to get from her the whole time - she was pleasantly surprised. The two then begin talking with each other until they turn to look at his direction - or rather, it is that girl who points at him and draws their attention to him.

Then, he reads her mouth - Winter is telling Violet that he is the one who sends the flowers.

"What the...?" was all Marcellus could blurt out, flabbergasted.

"What in the world is she really up to?"

As Winter offers the basket of bellflowers to the supposedly receiver, Violet is smiling so brightly that he can easily tell how well-accepted that simple gift is. She then waves at him happily before deciding to go back inside the restaurant to express her gratitude more properly.

'Seriously... What is happening?'

Though Marcellus should feel accomplished by this last-minute save on his plan, he can only focus on that unpredictable girl. He is utterly puzzled at this point. Then again, Winter has ruined that one time with Erica, but for some reason, she suddenly came saving the day when it came to Violet. He is beginning to badly want to know what is running in her mind.

Yet by the time Marcellus looks back to that direction, Winter is no longer there.

---

"How surprising. I believe you told me that you were only going to meet up with one of your targets..." said a blonde man in a sumptuous two-button black suit while driving an opulent limousine down the road.

"President Lexington."

Marcellus only exchanges looks with his secretary through the rear-view mirror of the car, still unable to get rid of his serious expression.

He just parted ways with Violet a few minutes ago and was picked up by his service right after. But before they left, he happened to notice Winter calling for a taxi cab at the side of the road.

As soon as he saw her, some unusual level of curiosity had gotten into him. He decided to follow her before he could retire for the night. Assuming that she was already going home, he made it her home address as the first thing he would learn about her.

'Ughhh... Who's the stalker again?' he then begrudgingly thought, not liking how this stranger was affecting him.

Now, Marcellus has his secretary trailing after the vehicle that Winter is riding on at the moment.

"What's with the sudden interest in the girl, Sir? She looks like she is still in high school. Please, don't tell me you are going to drag her into your-"

"No, she is not, Claude. I'll tell you about her once we get back. Follow her for now..." Marcellus cut his secretary off, leaning back on his seat and crossing his arms nonchalantly.

"Rather than interested, I'm curious in a slightly bad way."

Seeing his hooded expression, Claude only falls quiet.

It seems like whoever they are following has struck a nerve on him. He rarely looks impatient and uncertain. However, if this is going to be about the dates he either attends to or sets up, that reaction is understandable in a way.

Almost everyone thinks that he is only playing around with different types of women, but the truth is that what he is playing here is a game - not the people themselves.

In reality, Marcellus is meeting women to gather important connections, build a particular kind of reputation, earn an unparalleled amount of influence, and be as all-knowing as he can. It is similar to how a spy does the thing - collecting information under the guise of a flirt and establishing relationships that he will need in the future.

Running a business is not as simple as leading a group of people, after all. It is a lot more complicated on his part.

'Inheriting the conglomerate at the age of twenty-three... That is indeed quite the pressure. Fresh out of university, and he is already facing the real deal,' Claude thought in awe and high regards for his boss.

"Hey, Claude. Stop the car," Marcellus ordered right then to which he only complied.

At that moment, both of them silently watch from a distance as Winter emerges out of the taxi cab. There is only one building around there, and it is something they do not quite expect. Instead of her home, the vehicle drops her off in front of a convenience store.

"Huh? She's not going home yet...?" Marcellus thought out loud until he suddenly saw Winter turning to their direction and flashing them a mischievous, conceited grin.

With that, he immediately realized that she did this on purpose. That cocky look on her face made him click his tongue in annoyance, smirking with his brows furrowed together at the same time.

"That sneaky little brat. So, she knew we were following her the whole time."