Chapter 165: Popular Vice President
** Harper ** Harper made a short stop at her room and dabbed a thick layer of concealer on the mark on her neck. On her way back to the atrium of the clubhouse, she texted Eli a quick message about having to attend the evening event. She hoped that the change of their usual schedule wouldn’t upset him — she did promise to make it up to him tonight, but now, she was already cutting their precious time together short by at least an hour.
Eli’s reply to her message was prompt and succinct: [ Ok, I’ll be there too. ]
Harper waited for a few seconds, wondering if he’d have anything to add. He didn’t. A small tinge of disappointment pulled at the edge of her mind. He didn’t send those rows of hearts like he had the last two days ... Was he unhappy about her last-minute change of plans?
She didn’t have much time to think about it though, because as soon as she arrived at the atrium, Lindsey and Naomi spotted her and waved her over to their cocktail booth.
"I heard everything went super well for you girls today," Naomi chirped. "Way to go! Much better luck than mine."
Lindsey giggled, then explained to a puzzled Harper, "Naomi was just telling me about her presentation being extensively drilled by her counterpart at Sterling. Every possible question about marketing unpredictability has been asked. She said it was like a slaughter scene—"
"Hey, don’t say that too loud." Naomi hushed her coworker. "The butcher might pass by us anytime and hear it! It’ll really become a slaughter scene then."
The three of them chuckled together.
"Anyway. So Harper, which corner have you been hiding for the past couple of evenings?" Lindsey changed the topic with a curious glance, sliding a champagne flute into Harper’s hand. "We kept looking for you. Were you so busy making new friends that you didn’t even have time to come hang out with us?"
"..." Ugh. Why was everyone suddenly looking for her the one rare time that she decided to sneak away from a group activity? Since when had she gotten so popular?
"Why, of course not!" Harper exclaimed. Resisting the urge to facepalm, she wondered how much she should share to continue dropping hints about her new relationship without making it sound too scandalous. "I was ... well, spending most of my time away from the big crowds. As in—"