Dangerous Desire The CEO’s Hidden Woman

This year’s conference was a bit different from the previous ones. Usually, the scholarships were awarded only to postgraduate and doctoral students. But this year, four undergraduates, including Scarlet, had the honor of receiving scholarships too. As they were introduced to the audience by the master of ceremonies, the promotional video featuring all four of them played on a large screen behind.

At the end of the video, the provost stood up and walked up to the stage. A silver-haired old man, he rarely made speeches in front of the whole school. After adjusting the microphone, he started his speech.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“University of Irving is a highly inclusive, international university. We respect freedom of speech, and on our campus, we encourage healthy dialogue amongst parties who hold differing views on important matters facing our world today. We don’t, on the other hand, encourage prejudice or arbitrary judgments. We won’t deny the outstanding students this honor because their performance here at UI has been excellent. We disregard false rumors and strictly prohibit bullying in any manner. Based on a series of things that happened in the past month, I have a few words for the four recipients. Experience is the best training for a better self in the future. If you can get through all these difficulties, all of your efforts will pay off. Even in a league rich in talents, their outstanding performance still cannot be ignored. They are hard-working and with calm and kind spirits. The school unanimously thinks they all deserve this great honor. We applaud the excellent students and encourage everyone to strive to earn such honors.”

Loud and furious applause burst from the audience. The old president smiled and continued.

“Now, please welcome the four students to accept the award. We are honored to welcome our special guest, Mr. Francis Sandler. Mr. Sandler, if you could please come up to the stage to begin the award ceremony…”

When Scarlett walked up to collect her award, the applause was endless. The crowd went wild.

Francis noticed the especially lively applause and countless whistles that followed Scarlett as she went up to the stage. He awarded the certificate and the scholarship check to the four students in turn. When it came to Scarlett, he tried hard but couldn’t conceal his subtle smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Sandler!”

Scarlett felt an inexplicable pride to be awarded a prize by Francis. She seemed to be telling him never to look down on her again.

Francis left right after the awarding ceremony. It had not been easy for him to spare time to participate in this ceremony amid his intense schedule of business meetings and conference calls.

Meanwhile, Scarlett decided to treat her classmates to a meal, considering that they had always supported her and even defended her in the face of false rumors online. When they were walking out of the auditorium, her phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?”

“Come to the school gate.”

Scarlett didn’t recognize the voice. She took out a credit card and handed it to Bell. “I got a dentist appointment this afternoon. So you take the card and take them to …Irv’s Burgers, or CheeseBoard? Whatever! Up to you! I gotta go now! Bye!”

Bell took the card, a confused expression on her face. Since when had Scarlett needed work done? Nonetheless, she was happy to go out and grab a meal with close friends at one of the neighborhood’s popular joints.

Stepping out of the school, Scarlett spotted Francis’s car immediately and ran over. She opened the door and jumped into the car.

“Uncle Francis! My treat today!”

Scarlett was in a good mood and had forgotten how Francis didn’t like her calling him “uncle.” But today, Francis was full of delight, and he forgot to reprimand her. He put down some files he had in his hands and raised his eyebrows.

“Your treat, with my money?”

Scarlett laughed.

“You see, the wealthy are always condescending when giving money to the poor!”

Francis was amused by her words,

“I’m sorry. No offense. So what are you gonna treat me to?”

“How about some pho? I know a good Vietnamese restaurant!”

Francis reached two fingers out and knocked on Scarlett’s forehead gently.

“You can make money only when you know how to spend money. Don’t be afraid to splurge sometimes– you deserve it.”

“Alright, alright. But you know, there’s plenty of shortcuts to getting rich quickly. I could just marry a super wealthy man. But before I make that happen… your treat today!”

Francis laughed and told the driver a name of a restaurant that Scarlett had never heard of.

“Hey, if we’re going someplace fancy, though, would they let me in wearing this?” She looked down at her skinny jeans and crop top.

“You can get in anywhere with me. You look very nice today, anyway.” Francis said, staring straight ahead. Was he shy?

But Scarlett kept looking straight at him. She was not bashful like Francis.

“I know you like this style, so I dressed like this on purpose!”

“Oh?” Francis turned to look at her.

“Well, what if you didn’t like how I dressed today? Maybe you would’ve refused to give me the scholarship. That would’ve been a huge loss for me… I couldn’t have risked it.”

Scarlett burst out laughing. Nonetheless, her explanation had managed to silence Francis. He realized that he could never reject such a feisty yet adorable girl.

Francis took Scarlett to a farm-to-table restaurant focused on organic food. The place was tranquil, and the food was both tasty and healthy. Looking out from where Scarlett sat, she could see rows of green hills and clean creeks passing through the field. All the greenery around felt relaxing to her.

Scarlett also noticed that the waitresses at the restaurant were all beautiful and graceful. When one of them came to serve the dishes, Scarlett couldn’t help but stare at the girl intently. She didn’t get annoyed but instead gave Scarlett a sweet smile in exchange.

When the girl left, Francis asked Scarlett while spooning up the soup into her bowl.

“What were you staring at?”