Date The CEO.com

Chapter 177: Surrounded by Care and Concerns

"Absolutely not."

Eve closed her eyes, her brows scrunching together. She had expected this blunt rejection but a part of her hoped Ambryan would reconsider it if it came from Evangeline. She paced around her bedroom with a towel draped over her shoulders.

"It's better than nothing," Eve wailed, ruffling her hair. "He refuses to talk to anyone who comes up to him. Mrs. Hathaway also expressed that we couldn't break the law. This is the next best thing."

Ambryan sneered from the other line. He had just come home from work after finishing several reports. There should be only documents left for him to review. He pulled off his oxford shoes and placed them on the rack. "I understand your impatience, Evan, but I am not risking your safety for this bastard."

Kiri woke up at his last words. Her head shot up straight in search of him. Her albino fur glistened under the moonlight. She followed her hooman's silhouette with her purple eyes. He sounded more frustrated than usual.

What had gotten into him?

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"Yes. Any idea on how to catch him?"

"Bait him with what he wants," Eve said, going through their options. Elias wasn't hiding in the dark. He had a move for everything. Thousands of eyes were now on him, including them. Among those sea of gazes, there was one that he truly desired:

Evangeline Reed.

Ambryan went rigid.

"Giving him what he wants would mean letting him win," he replied. Cold steel blended with his voice. When the elevator doors opened, he marched out without looking back. "There has to be another way. There might be enough evidence for a restraining order. I'll have Wen look into it."

"But"

Eve swallowed her words. There was no point especially when he entered the office. While Ambryan searched for a different solution, she played with the one she had proposed. 'Baiting Elias Walker'

He was a photographer. Evangeline was a model. Those two careers intersect often. It could definitely be arranged. If it wasn't for the Hathaways' interference, he might have already done something similar to becoming the main photographer of her shoots.

She twisted a pen between her fingers. 

She had to talk to him too. He might reveal her fabricated past. What did he want from her exactly? Eve couldn't think of a single thing. A stalker wouldn't be this elaborate. His motivations were still vague to themand the best person to find that out would be

Eve sighed. Her head went around in circles.

She had no better idea, after all.

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And so, Eve gnawed on her bottom lip. A glass of hot milk sat on her bedside table. She opted for the floor instead of her bed. Static noise flowed into her ears. Neither her nor Ambryan had spoken again. 

It wasn't like she'd be alone during the situation.

Nanzie and her security team would also be there. There was no way she'd allow herself to be alone with Elias. But, she also couldn't sit here and do nothing. Others had been working even when she was the target.

Something had to be done.

"I hope your lack of response means you've realized how irrational that idea was," Ambryan said, breaking the silence. "Is this how biological females think? You and Eve proposed almost the same thing. Kindred minds instead of spirits."

'Haha about that' Eve mused to herself. She sighed and hung her head. Her brown eyes gazed at the ceiling. "What do you want to do then? Thought of anything?"

"I was thinking of increasing your security." Ambryan logged into his computer. He had switched to a bluetooth earpiece, allowing him to work with ease. "I'll personally have Wen to be part of your security team. I'd be more assured if someone I trust is onboard."

Eve had blanked out like her white ceiling. Buffering dots hovered above her head while his statement slowly sank in. When she replied, her voice sounded as absent-minded as she felt. "Ask her to do what exactly?" 

"What do your bodyguards do, Evan? Pose like mannequins?"

Scowling, Eve blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. 

Then, she jerked her sitting position upright. "I think my security team is more than enough."

Wen? As Evangeline's bodyguard? The woman would bury her alive!

It wouldn't take long for Wen to connect the dots. Not to mention the abnormal activities her security team didas adjustments to her dual identity. If Wen was there, she'd eventually discover about the switch of vehicles and clothes in between trips. 

Thus, she'd find out about Evangeline's secret as well. 

Ambryan stopped typing. He pushed the earbud into his ear further. His jaw locked, predicting a long discussion ahead. "Not if there's someone like Elias Walker around. The more people, the better. We don't know what he'll do next." 

Eve pulled the phone away and hissed. Then, she pressed the device back onto her ear. She didn't have a counter argument but she also couldn't agree to this arrangement. "I strongly oppose."

'Think, Eve. Think! There has to be a way to convince him out of this idea!' 

"And why is that?" Ambryan asked. He leaned back on his chair. Kiri hopped onto his lap and folded her legs under her. Whatever it was, she would be here to accompany him. His fingers brushed her fur.

"Elias has been around for several weeks. Nothing has happened to me or my security team." Eve made a face. Her statement was weak and she knew it. 

"Yet. Nothing has happened yet." Ambryan pushed the floor with his toes, rotating the chair. He looked out of the window. Maize City had many lights but they didn't totally eliminate the shadows. Even daylight was the same. Darkness was still around somewhere. 

Extra precautions had to be taken.

'No' wasn't an option.

He scratched under Kiri's chin. She purred. "Evan, reasonable or not, your well-being is my priority. I can't take chances that something terrible might happen to you. Do you understand?"

A lump formed in Eve's throat. Genuine concern laced in his voice. It was unfair. He had used it for his own advantage. How could someone reject after hearing that tone? The person had to be heartless in order to do it.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

If this was a game show, she needed a life line.

She needed to call a friend. She needed Avery. 

"Can we talk about this another time? It's getting late." It was a cheap shot but Eve didn't want to take more risks. This was also better in person. She hugged her knees and propped her chin on them. 'Please let this storm end soon.'

Ambryan checked the time. 

Then, he sighed. "Fine. Sleep well."

Kiri yawned on cue. She flipped to her back and closed her eyes. Ambryan turned to his computer. New emails arrived in his inbox. He ignored them, following the task schedule he set up for tonight.

"Don't stay up past midnight."

"We'll see."

Eve ended the call. She typed a quick message to the madam. Ambryan would be harder to convince unlike the first time. He was determined to have someone from his security team join hers. If it wasn't going to be Wen, it would be someone else. The risk of being found out was still there.

What could they do that would satisfy both sides?

Ambryan's phone vibrated. He took one look at the screen and answered the call. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he left comments on the documents given to him. For instance, some contract terms needed revision. The company had tried to swindle them under their nose.

He wasn't letting it happen.

"Wen, status report."

The bodyguard cleared her throat. She drove through downtown. Her keen eyes tracked every vehicle and pedestrians within sight. A hard expression painted over her face. "Elias Walker had reappeared at his apartment."

"Have you apprehended him for trespassing?" The tapping of a keyboard became harsher.

"Um,"

"What is it?" Ambryan demanded. 

"He had permission to be in the vicinity. One of the new stores wanted photos as marketing. They had also established the service contract before the billboard went up. He would have entered the perimeter even without our presence inside of it."

'So it had been pre-planned,' Ambryan guessed, keeping the theory to himself. The thought only solidified his resolve to increase Evangeline's security team. Elias could be on his next move. 

There was no way he'd let her go near that bastard.

Needing to calm down, Ambryan changed the topic. "How is Evangeline then?"

Wen paused. She debated on how much she should share. Stick to facts or speak about her concerns? The latter was only speculation. It might be taken the wrong way and cost her her job. 

In the end, she went with facts.

"Her security team reassured that she was well and safe. Two of our own went to visit the miss a number of times since Elias became known. Her bodyguards blocked their path each time but they always lingered around the area."

"And was she well and safe wherever she went?"

"Well..."

Hesitation? Ambryan frowned. That was a rare occurrence. "Wen. Elaborate please."

The bodyguard sighed. She had been caught. 

"Ms. Evangeline had gone out only once in the past two weeks. And that was the day you both met. That meant one day out of fourteen. I remember she had argued about grocery shopping for herself but she hadn't done such a thing. Neither did any of her bodyguards."