Chapter 8: Exeptional Presentation

Rosaline was not happy. 'It's okay. She bought into the false facts I had fed her.' She thought and relaxed. Leaning back in her chair, her charming smile returned to her face. 'I just need to wait and have her divulge our company secret. From my understanding of this woman, she has a desperate wish to have an upper hand. She will stray from the guidelines and incorporate her new 'discovery' to score everyone's admiration' Rosaline had approached Ariana with the sole purpose of pretending to nonchalantly leak their company position. That was her purpose: to have Ariana use those points in her presentation. That would give Gerald a reason to stop and objectify, ending up in her total loss of face. Since her face now represented President Luiss's face, it would put their company in a position of lower bargaining power in the subsequent deal. Gerald had been keenly observing Ariana. Her confidence, her fluency, and the systematic way she approached the subjects. He wasn't expecting much, but until now, her presentation had been impressive. And he knew Luiss's style. He knew that it was not alLuis's creation. "While this is our proposal, I would like to add a few more points. We are aware of President Gerald Corporation's recent losses..." While Ariana reached this point, Rosaline could hardly contain her happiness. However, her happiness turned to horror when Ariana gestured at her and said words contrary to what Rosaline had fed her. "For this, I have Rosaline to thank. Our cooperation would bring in enough revenue for President Gerald's company to cover the losses of the investments in the real estate." Gerald's expression changed at once. All sort of charming smiles and keen interest was lost. Their loss in the real estate was a confidential matter. Only Gerald and his secretary were aware of this. If Luiss knew, everyone would know soon. If everyone learnt of this, the market values would go down even more. David's expression changed multiple colours today. Not knowing what Rosaline said was close to the truth, he was at a loss as to how to feel about this. But noticing Gerald's and those rival company staff's expressions, it appeared to be some real secret she had somehow gotten her hands on. As for Luiss, the admiration that had settled on his face had deepened a few notches. 'Judging from everyone's expression, I didn't do badly.' On the surface, she was smooth, but only Rosaline knew how hard her heart was thumping. When she revealed her 'trump card' that she knew beforehand because she had read the novel before this, the whole conference room was a sight to behold. Gerald couldn't contain it and directed her glare at Rosaline, who was already in panic; she shook her head in denial. Still angry, Gerald didn't glare at Rosaline anymore. 'Rosaline wouldn't be that stupid to divulge something like this beforehand.' He correctly guessed that Ariana found out about this through some other source, as he looked back at the woman speaking of their real estate business in detail. The more she spoke, the uglier Gerald's expression became. Not soon afterwards, Gerald regained his calmness. With a serious face, he interlaced his fingers, resting his chin over his hands, elbows on armrests, he looked at Ariana with a serious and thoughtful expression, accompanied by a deep frown. 'This person is not to be underestimated.' Were his final thoughts before they started the bargaining and decided on the terms of conditions? After the presentation, Ariana was given a respite. She headed to the side mess and got herself a well-deserved lunch. "Go, that was challenging." There was no one here right now, so she didn't need to maintain the impassive, professional face of the original owner. She slumped down on the comfy couch with her plate of sandwiches. She massaged the muscles at the back of her neck and rested her head against the comfy softness, grateful to be alone. While she was at it, she called her mind. 'System'. Task One. Performed admirably at the presentation. 100 percent, executed to perfection. Reward in the inventory. Gain President Lrecognition 80 percent complete. "What the fuck! I did so well, why is this man so hard to please?" Being alive told her she had passed, but Ariel was someone who didn't like to pass with less than a hundred percent. She was a competitive person. Alright then, wouldn't be the male lead if he were easy to please." Ariel begrudgingly accepted and clicked back. Clicking on the side tasks, she found. Staying in the original body character: Failed. "Of course, see that was expected. I had to behave differently to gain David's support." Gaining Second Male Lead Recognition: Completed. The reward is in inventory. Changing David Steverson's opinion: 40 per cent completed. Ariel clicked back to the main page while munching on her sandwich and clicked on inventory. There was a big reward for completing the main task. And there was a small reward for completing the side task. She clicked on the small one first. 'Caution: Resemblance level in Rosaline Smith has risen to a limiting extent. She might be prompted to action. The hosts warned timely to guard against the attack.' New side task. 'Make R. Saline Smith's attempt at demeaning the host unsuccessful'