The CEO’s Hidden Love Midnight Temptations and Deep Desires

Chapter 411

At the hotel's entrance, Zoe's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw Daniel exit the car

before he was followed by Elijah. What on earth is going on?

Elijah met her gaze and greeted her with a grin, "Hi, Zoe."

She forced a smile and waved at him. "Um! Daniel, can you accompany me to get something?"

He nodded, turned to Elijah, and said, "You should go up first."

"Sure."

As soon as Elijah left, Zoe pulled Daniel aside and demanded, "What are you doing?"

"What?" He was perplexed by her unexpected question.

"What exactly have you said? Why did you ask Elijah to come?"

"I was with him when you called, and you told me to invite my friend to Miss McKinney's birthday

banquet. So, I invited him." Then, he continued, "Aren't you guys his friends?"

She gritted her teeth and emphasized, "Of course we are! Perhaps you should have given this some

consideration. You knew Elijah had pursued Nana in the past, and President Pearson would be present

at this banquet. Don't you think it'll make things awkward later?"

Zoe's words caught Daniel off guard. "You didn't tell me President Pearson would also be coming."

She was at a complete loss for words and found it challenging to convey her point to him.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "It's nothing to worry about. Anyway, it's all in the past.

Besides, isn't Miss McKinney currently in a relationship with President Pearson? Moreover, Elijah has

moved on."

She drew a deep breath and sighed, "Never mind. You won't get it even if I explain it to you."

At that moment, Zoe pulled out her phone and was about to text Leanna alerting her to a potentially

awkward situation, when a Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of her. Suddenly, Aidan appeared in her line

of sight. She quickly hid the phone behind her back; perhaps her guilty conscience prompted her to act

in such a manner. Then, he cast a cursory look in her direction. Did he notice her odd behavior earlier?

Concurrently, Leanna exited the car from the other side. Although Zoe made a valiant effort to wink at

her, she failed to catch on and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

After a while, Leanna tentatively inquired, "W-What's wrong?"

Aidan averted his gaze from Zoe and then blocked Leanna's path, claiming, "Her eyes are hurt."

Leanna rubbed her neck as she attempted to sort out her confusion. As a result, Zoe had no choice but

to accept whatever path life had in store for them.

Meanwhile, the awkward atmosphere pervaded the room upstairs as well.

Daphne had a nearby job that day, so she headed straight to the hotel upon finishing work and was the

first to arrive. Shortly after she sat down and pulled out her phone to text Zoe, the door to the private

room opened. Then, Louis entered the room. Instantaneously, the entire room fell into a hushed, eerie

silence.

She was six years older than him, and while his words had hurt her at that time, she had long since

forgotten about them. Then, she decided to break the silence. "Did you come here right after school?"

He pursed his lips and lightly nodded his head.

Daphne continued, "I just got here, too. It may take some time for your sister to arrive."

"Okay." After providing a cursory response, Louis remained silent and did not say anything else.

Nonetheless, she was pretty exhausted and did not bother to come up with anything to talk to him

about, so she left him be. She picked up the glass and was about to reach out and grab the pitcher so

she could pour some water when a bony hand reached across her, grabbed the pitcher, and poured

water into her glass instead.

Daphne was stunned for a second before she said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Afterward, Louis sat beside her.

Suddenly, she began to feel uncomfortable. She had never anticipated that he would sit next to her and

assumed he would maintain some physical distance from her. As she tried to think of a way out, a

subdued male voice emanated beside her. "I'm sorry for what happened last time."

She bit her lower lip and responded, "Last time? I have entirely forgotten about it."

"You didn't forget."

His response left Daphne bewildered.

"You wouldn't respond in such a snappy manner at mentioning what happened between us back then,"

Louis replied.

She was left speechless as she huffed angrily, "Louis, are you trying to trick me by asking me that

question?"

When she mentioned his name, Louis could not help but frown. After an awkward pause, he said, "I'm

here to offer you my sincere apologies."

"Okay. You've been forgiven," Daphne answered.

When he heard that, he pursed his lips and was about to say something, but in the end, he did not say

anything.

She picked up the glass, drank from it, and said, "Have you told your sister about that matter?"

"About what?"

"Regarding your contract with Jellyfish Entertainment."

"Not yet," Louis responded in a low voice.

Daphne nodded and uttered, "This, I suppose, has nothing to do with me. Moreover, I have no right to

be nosy. When you're ready, just let her know."

"Didn't you tell me you have forgiven me?" he inquired as he raised his eyebrows.

She calmly replied, "Yeah."

When they were about to proceed with their conversation, the door to the private room abruptly

opened, and Elijah walked in.

Daphne had met Elijah at Leanna's house for a barbecue during Thanksgiving several years ago;

neither was a stranger to the other. After exchanging greetings, she could finally excuse herself to the

restroom.

She washed her hands at the sink as she thought about something that made her smile. Louis is still

young and appears to have learned a lesson from me today.

Women were notoriously vindictive, and many took pleasure in rehashing old grudges even if they

claimed to have forgiven and moved on.

After washing her hands, Daphne grabbed a paper towel to dry them. However, before leaving, she

caught a glimpse of her smiling reflection in the mirror. She was in disbelief and thought, I just made

fun of a boy who isn't even twenty years old; why is that funny? She retracted her smile and returned to

the private room, appearing calm.

At that moment, Leanna entered the private room and saw Elijah. In an instant, she was startled before

reflexively turning her head and meeting Zoe's gaze. Then, she learned that Zoe had been hinting at

her earlier. Afterward, Leanna quickly snapped out of it and smiled at Elijah. Since he is here, let's not

make the situation even more awkward!

However, not everyone agreed with her.

Aidan spoke indifferently, "President Parker, do you have a lot of spare time these days?"

Elijah smiled. "You may say so. I am certainly less busy than you, President Pearson."

"Then, shouldn't you reflect on yourself?"

When Leanna noticed the two men squabbling, she coughed and asked Zoe, "Have you placed your

order for the food yet?"

Zoe responded quickly, saying, "No, not yet. Why don't I go out and place the order right now?"

"It's fine; I'll go." While saying that, Leanna pulled Aidan along and said, "Let's go."

Aidan arched his brow and turned to look intently at Elijah.

Elijah withdrew the grin from his face and remained silent. It turned out that some words were simple to

express, but when he saw them with his own eyes, he was still conscious of their relationship.