Stella sighed and said nothing. With her head lowered, she pushed the flint on the metal lighter. Aflame materialized, Weston slowly moved the cigar towards the flame. His eyes were fixed on Stella as he leaned over.
White smoke rose from the cigarâs tip as it caught the flame. The tobacco sizzled slightly as it burned.
The flame illuminated Westonâs face, rendering his features even more striking. At such a close distance, Stella could clearly discern the stark edges of his strong jawline. She wanted to look away but was firmly held in place by Weston.
Weston maintained his intense gaze on Stellaâs face. He didnât look away as he smoked the cigar. He took a deep huff and released a cloud of thick rolling smoke onto her face.
Stella coughed immediately. Her eyes reddened, and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.
She covered her mouth with her hand, but it was shoved away by Weston.
He tried to look at her. He tried to look at her whole face without missing the smallest trace of emotion.
He liked watching her this way. He liked watching the emotions on her face that he caused Stella slapped his hand away. Once she recovered from her coughing fit, she took a deep breath.
âIs there anything else you want me to do?â she asked.
Weston smiled wordlessly and let her go. He leaned back against the sofa nonchalantly. The top two buttons on his shirt were now undone, exposing his collarbone. He sat there without saying anything, yet a cold aura that warned off everyone else from stepping into his personal space radiated from him.
The rest of the party could tell that his mood had drastically improved. His face might still be emotionless, but his glowing eyes clearly revealed that he was pleased with this woman.
None of them knew of the relationship between them, so they just assumed that Weston simply liked this woman. At the sight of that, they all knew not to mess around with Stella from then on. After all, she was Weston Fordâs favorite, and one would be foolish to mess with his woman They did find it odd, though.
Weston Ford had never shown interest in any women. He was well-known in the elite circle for being indifferent to sex and alcohol. All his life, there had only been one woman Guinevere Cohen, Weston and Guinevere had publicly announced their engagement. There were even rumors that their son was born not too long ago. There had not been any announcement of a wedding yet, but everyone just assumed that it would happen soon, obviously.
There were, however, a good number of men in the elite circle who had pristine reputations but were, in reality, less than honorable. They had a tacit rule among them â fool around as much as you like, but never let it affect the family.
No matter how Weston behaved today or what he did, the people here would sweep everything under the rug and never let a single rumor leak out. In short, Guinevere would forever be none the wiser.
Seeing that Weston Ford was pleased with Stella, the secretary sighed in relief. âServe Mr. Ford well,â
she whispered in Stellaâs ear. âAs long as you keep him happy, all your mistakes today will be ignored, understood?â âIâve told you a hundred times!â Stella looked straight into her eyes. âI really am here for an interview!â
âYouâ¦â
The secretary frowned when she noticed how earnest Stellaâs insistence was.
âYou canât be..â
She finally came to a realization. There was a flash of annoyance in her eyes.
âNo wonder you wereâ¦â
The lady pursed her lips and continued in a much lower voice. âIâll investigate this matter later, but the most important thing right now is to keep this gentleman happy. Do you understand?â
âWhy are you still not letting me leave when you know I came here for an interview?â Stella asked in disbelief.
She was about to get up, but the secretary pushed her shoulders down to stop her.
âNo, please!â she implored in a pitiful voice. âI beg you! Please stay and keep this gentleman happy! I promise I wonât make you do anything out of line! All you need to do is drink with him! Mr. Ford has always been a perfect gentleman. Iâm sure heâll treat you wellâ¦â