The CEO’s Substitute Lover

“No way, this can’t be,” Tredan Davi’s face was flushed, getting up and rushing to the bathroom, turning on the cold water and letting it drench his entire body. The coldness instantly sobered him.

Yesterday, he went after Octavia Gills at the airport but didn’t catch her, so he went for a drink by himself, and then what? Why can’t I remember anything?

After a long time, Lilian Drye knocked on the bathroom door from outside, “Tredan, Tredan, are you all right?”

Tredan Davi put on his bathrobe and walked out with a grim look on his face.

He saw Lilian Drye standing there wearing one of his shirts, a look that once again pierced his eyes.

Only Octavia Gills had worn his shirt like this, standing in this same place with a shy face, making his blood run wild. Now, Lilian was standing in front of him, a smug woman that made his blood as cold as ice.

Could it be that he did get drunk and betray Octavia Gills? Did Octavia Gills see this coming that’s why she brought up the Ten Commandments song with Woodrow?

Lilian Drye, however, didn’t care what he thought and bullied her way to him, grabbing his arm with a shy look on her face, “Tredan, now that I’m yours, you should be responsible for me.”

Tredan Davi regained his composure as he brushed off Lilian Drye’s hand and sat down on the sofa. “Lilian, didn’t you always want to save your innocence for your wedding night? I’ve asked you so many times before but you wouldn’t let me. I remember the last time we were at the mansion and you finally rejected me. We haven’t even reached our wedding night yet, and I was so drunk last night that I’m afraid I’m not capable of making you mine!”

Lilian Drye scurried over to Tredan Davi and grabbed his arm, tears streaming down her face, “Tredan, every girl wants to give her husband the best of herself, and I did that to show you that I, Lilian Drye, am not a casual girl. But now that we are engaged and soon to be married, I naturally won’t refuse you again if you want me to, but this attitude of yours hurts me too much.”

Lilian Drye let go of Tredan Davi, put her hands on his shoulders, and buried her head in tears.

Tredan Davi stood up, distracted, he couldn’t remember what he had done last night, all he could think about was Octavia Gills, had he mistaken Lilian Drye for Octavia Gills?

Headache!

Lilian Drye lifted her head, dried her tears and looked up, and said to Tredan Davi, “Tredan, even if you don’t like me, you should know that I am at least a self-respecting person and that I would not at least do something that would destroy my innocence, and you, you cannot deny it.” The tears flowed again.

Tredan Davi was silent, Lilian Drye was right, Lilian Drye had always loved himself in that respect, but how he wished nothing had happened last night!

He regretted that he hadn’t installed a camera in his bedroom, but who in their right mind would install a camera in their bedroom?

Tredan Davi could not help but let out a long sigh.

Lilian Drye watched Tredan Davi’s back with a smug smile.

Happiness, indeed, is something you have to earn.

Today is the day of the weekly meeting of the property project of Group Drye in collaboration with Group Davi.

That morning, Tredan Davi’s face was grim and his secretary was wary of his boss’ sudden outbursts. Ms. Lilian, on the other hand, looked so pleased with herself that her smile seemed to be oozing with honey.

Lilian Drye’s office is in Tredan Davi’s outer room. It used to be the secretary’s office, but she made it her office for the convenience of discussing business with Tredan Davi, and that it was okay if it was small. This way Tredan Davi could be right under her nose.

Lilian Drye looked in the make-up mirror to see if her make-up was even and everything was perfect, she stood up, took her materials, curtly walked to Tredan Davi’s door, knocked, pushed the door in, and said gently, “Tredan, let’s go to the conference room.”

Without looking up, Tredan Davi briefly tidied up the material he was reading, picked it up, and headed out the door.

In the corridor, Lilian Drye followed quickly and took his arm. Tredan stiffened but did not refuse, to the delight of Lilian Drye. After all, he could have pushed her away on the pretext of looking good in the past.

The departmental managers gave their routine reports to President Davi and President Drye regarding the work status of their departments.

Lilian Drye listened absentmindedly, her eyes occasionally glancing at the side of Tredan Davi’s face, enjoying the time. While she was downstairs, she even explicitly hinted at some of the important departments not to give their presentation too fast without affecting the bigger picture, because she hadn’t had enough of coming in and out of meetings together with Tredan, and she didn’t want it to end so soon. Not to mention that now it wasn’t just being seen together that she wanted. She wanted them to be seen together as a married couple.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

The lengthy meeting was finally over and everyone thought they could go back to their respective posts.

Tredan Davi, who had not been very vocal, spoke up, starting with the first department and each person’s report, he identified a few data problems and asked the department managers about them.

Tredan Davi said in a calm tone, “I need Manager Roe, who is in charge of building materials, to explain to me why he gave up his old materials company for a new one and the 400, 000 that has just come in, and the finance manager to explain to me where this money is going, I don’t see it in your statements.”

“It’s been over a month since the work started and the progress is ha a week slower delay from what is expected, Project Manager, I want your explanation.”

…

…

Each of the managers questioned held back from wiping the sweat from their foreheads, and several of the progress-related managers glanced at Lilian Drye, signaling for help.

Lilian Drye was completely unprepared for the seemingly carefree Tredan Davi to find so many nuance issues, and her mind raced, unable to think of a response to so many questions.

“As you all know, this project is one of the biggest collaborative projects between Group Davi and Group Drye, most of you here are Group Drye’s elite, and was highly recommended to me by Uncle Drye. This project not only involves the financial interests of Group Davi and Group Drye’s businesses, but it also involves the well-being of Lilian and me!” Those words gave Lilian Drye a look that, although Lilian Drye felt like she was drenched with cold water, was deeply affectionate when viewed from everyone’s perspective.

“Lilian and I are in charge of this project and we hold the trust of the many shareholders of Two in the Group on our shoulders, and to have more than a month go by and have it come to this makes me feel very guilty and ashamed for the shareholders and even more ashamed for Uncle Drye’s trust.”

“I’ll let bygones be bygones, but from now on, please put your best foot forward and join me in a good, hard fight. As long as this project doesn’t end perfectly, Lilian and I won’t get married!”

Everyone froze and then burst into applause. Everyone here was the cream of the crop of Group Drye and Group Davi but had never done anything causing delays, but the Princess was managing the group so Mr. Tredan had left them alone. There was nothing they could do.

Now that Tredan Davi has spoken such resounding words, everyone’s blood can’t help but boil.

“No, no, Tredan,” Lilian Drye’s voice was drowned out by applause, exasperated, and her face turned pale.

When the applause stopped, Lilian Drye said anxiously, “Tredan, this can’t be right, we’re getting married in less than two months and this can’t be like a child’s play.”

Tredan Davi turned his head to look at her, his voice soft and firm, “Lilian, we are the successors of Group Davi and Group Drye. Both our fathers have poured so much of their hearts and souls into us, have given us this project to let us grow faster, and have sent so many elite uncles to help us. What qualification do we have to think only of our love and romance?”

Tredan Davi’s words brought tears to the faces of the Finance Manager and Engineering Manager, who were not so old.

Lilian Drye was so angry she was about to explode, but had to put on a decent smile and say through clenched teeth, “Yes, you’re right!”

This project, even at full speed, would not have been completed in a year anyway, and she had wasted a month by obstructing it in every way.

It’s like lifting a stone and smashing it on your own feet.

Lilian Drye returned to Group Drye in a rage and burst into her Dad’s office without knocking, “Dad!” Throwing herself into her dad’s arms.

“What’s wrong Lilian, who’s bullying my baby girl?” Grimm Drye hugged his daughter in surprise.

“Tredan said he wouldn’t get married until our project was finished, in public, and everyone supported him!” Lilian Drye cried pearly tears.

“Oh? What’s going on?”

Lilian Drye stammered, not daring to tell her dad that she was letting everyone down.

Grimm Drye sighed and called his secretary to call over some of the managers in charge.

When Lilian Drye saw that she couldn’t cover up her mistakes any longer, she had to tell him the whole story.

Grimm Drye’s eyes widened, “Lilian, how could you do such a childish thing. You, ugh!” Grimm Drye felt a pang of disappointment.

The managers came up and told the chairman exactly what had happened and assured him with great enthusiasm that they would finish ahead of schedule, praising Tredan Davi’s astuteness and ability, and happy for him to have found such a good son-in-law.

Grimm Drye smiled bitterly, not sure why, he didn’t dare to take comfort in the fact that without the previous threat, everything might have been as everyone saw it.

Grimm Drye regretted a little that perhaps he had made the wrong move.

It was hard to coax Lilian Drye away.

Grimm Drye pondered for a moment and called someone on his phone, “Anything unusual there at Blue Mountains Psychiatric Hospital?”

“No, boss, Tredan comes in for an hour or two a week to visit Althena Cockey, who is happy to see him, and the rest of the time reads and writes, and doesn’t look like she has any mental problems. She just stays indoors and wouldn’t even get out in the sun unless Tredan was with her.”

Grimm Drye didn’t say anything, hung up, and relaxed, Althena Cockey was Tredan Davi’s soft spot. With Althena Cockey in his hands, there was no fear of the boy pulling dirty tricks on his family.

Eddison has been in a bad mood lately.

Domino even told him that she was happy if Eddison and Octavia became a couple, but since Octavia had decided to make a clean break from the past if Octavia wanted to be with him, she would. We want to keep Octavia here, but we can’t.

Eddison is helpless, he was not at all important in Octavia Gills’ mind.

The Davi and Drye families will not get married until the project is completed, and the media is reporting that Tredan Davi and Lilian Drye will put their careers first. The Davi Family and Drye Family have been praised for their young and responsible successors, and they are the envy of all the rich and famous.

Floyd and Grimm Drye have lately been hearing such admiration everywhere they go, Floyd is happy as can be, but Grimm Drye is a little bitter because something doesn’t feel right, maybe he’s just being paranoid.

Ottilie, however, was sensitive to the fact that things were unusual.

She concluded that there was a problem between Tredan Davi and Lilian Drye taking responsibility for the project and looking out for Group Davi and Group Drye’s corporate interests, with the two of them now almost married and the two families’ shares still rising, with all the ways of making contributions?