CHAPTER FOUR
Cep was in Singapore for a week, he was requested by his corporate branch in Singapore to resolve certain issues. Now, he was flying back to Japan on his private jet.
His eyes drifted down to those documents on the small conference table in front of him. Lavigne managed to find out Cinderella's real name, the runaway Omega.
When he got the information, Cep wasted no time and sent someone to do a background check on the Omega, and he just received the result this morning by mail and printed it.
Cinderella's real name was Cade Saint, 22 years old, living alone in an apartment, and studying Architecture at one of the top universities in Tokyo.
One of the top universities in Tokyo? Darn, who would think that Omega was smart enough to study in such a school? Looking at his appearance, he seemed clueless and naive, but what if Cade Saint had known him all along? What if he planned everything that happened between them in the hotel? What if those guys who were trying to assault him were his companions and it was all being staged? There were so many what-ifs in Cep's head.
It could be possible. He knew people like that in the past and unfortunately it was still ongoing until now, to the length of pretending and lying to him in order to gain his attention and get what they want from him, but none of them succeed. He'd be able to tell right away who was scheming and who wasn't. Given his social standing, he learned to read people with a single glance and had his guard up at all times.
Cep's jaw tightened. If his assumptions were correct, then that Omega was indeed smart. Now, he successfully caught his attention.
However, Cade Saint's background said otherwise, he was a mere student who was part-timing for 3 hrs on weekdays in a nearby university where he was studying and working in a bookstore on weekends for 5 hrs and, there was nothing suspicious about him. That was all he knew for now.
That's a lot of part-time jobs for a university student, did he need money that much? Well, he'd figure it out, and he'd know sooner or later whether he was scheming something or not since the person he sent to check on Cade Saint was still on the move.
Cep picked one of the pictures besides those documents. It was Cade Saint's picture, working in a cafe and wearing an apron. Thinking the Omega was so cute in that outfit, but he looked much cuter wearing nothing.
He didn't realize he was grinning like a psychopath while staring at Cade's picture until his secretary cleared his throat in an attempt to get his attention. In an instant, Cep's smile was replaced by a stern expression.
He straightened his back and fixed his collar.
"What is it?" Cep asked, putting back the picture on the table, acting as if nothing happened.
"Should I ask the Flight Attendant to serve you something since it's beyond lunchtime and you haven't eaten since breakfast, sir?" Nathan suggested.
Nathan Miller had been Cep's secretary for years, smart and a reliable person, and he knew his personality so well. A perfect secretary he could ever ask for.
"Just coffee," Cep replied.
Nathan called the flight attendant to their table and instructed her how his boss would like his coffee. As Nathan was talking to the attendant, Cep couldn't help but notice those sneaking glances from the FA towards him since he boarded.
The FA was slightly startled and blushed as he caught her eyes, but she tried to hide it by looking down at her feet.
Cep was well aware he was fine and attractive as hell so he was used to that kind of attention from both girls and boys. If he were the same Cepheusz Oshiro from a week ago, probably, he'd be fooling around with the FA in this cabin by now. However, he was no longer interested in other people since he spent a night with Cade Saint. Wasn't that ridiculous? He was totally bewitched.
When the FA received word from her superior that she had been assigned to a VVIP, Cepheusz Oshiro, she couldn't sleep the night before, because of the excitement she felt and hoped that morning would come soon.
She was delighted to be a Beta for the first time in her life, she wished she had been born as an Omega because Omegas could utilize their pheromones to attract Alphas like Mr. Oshiro.
For some reason, Mr. Oshiro wouldn't like an Omega or Alpha on his jet, preferring a Beta like her, which is why she was chosen by her superior.
She even bragged to her co-stewardess and friends when she got the news. Who wouldn't be, right? It was a privilege to serve Cepheusz Oshiro, it was everyone's dream.
The FA's breath had stopped, it was like the air had been stolen from her lungs when Cepheusz Oshiro boarded his private jet and she greeted him politely. Wondered if she was still on Earth or in heaven because what was in front of her was a God-like person.
She had only seen him on the internet and in some top business magazines in Asia and those photographs and magazines didn't do him justice; the actual Cepheusz Oshiro was far more attractive and possessed a body that would rival a supermodel, yet he exuded an intimidating air around him, an epitome of dominant Alpha.
Her knees were about to give in and her palms were wet in sweat as Cepheusz Oshiro cast a glance at her. It felt as if her soul was about to leave her body.
He heard that Cepheusz was single. Fate was favoring her so she should not waste it and make a move, and this would be the right time for it.
The FA approached Cep and Nathan's table, pushing a cart and 2 cups of hot coffee onto it, with a specific goal in mind. As she slowly placed the coffee in front of him, her hands slipped and the coffee spilled on the table, soaking the papers and other materials, and it was too late when she realized and regretted what she had done.
Cep, who was focused on his Ipad, reading reports, leaped to his feet reflexively, but the hot coffee had already dripped down his suit, leaving stains. While Nathan, who was seated across from Cep, was stunned for a second, when he recovered, he quickly grabbed the napkin on the table and wiped his boss's suit.
"What the heck are you doing?" Nathan, who was usually calm, yelled to the FA as he continued to wipe his boss's suit.
"I-I'm sorry, sir, my hands slipped, I'm very sorry," the FA apologized, her voice quivering as she bowed to Nathan and Cep repeatedly and aggressively, repeating the word "I'm sorry." She was terrified of what would happen to her next.
"I can't believe your hands slipped, how did you even get this job and pass the training if you're this incompetent?! How unprofessional!" Nathan spat, glaring at the FA.
"S-sir, I'm sorry, I'll g-get some ice," the FA was so agitated that she had just thought of bringing some ice as she was about to step out.
"Stop there, no need," Cep stated, making the FA halt.
"But sir--" Nathan trying to disapprove.
"It's fine Nathan," Cep said, taking off his suit jacket, and showing Nathan his inner shirt and he was okay, no sweat.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his boss's inner shirt was unaffected by the coffee, with no trace of the staining; he was concerned that his boss might be burned by the coffee, but he was still upset.
"S-sir, please don't report me to my superior," the FA pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes.
" I'll compensate for the damage," she added.
Cep fixed his steely gaze on the attendant. "You'll compensate for it?" Cep asked, giving the FA optimism that she would fix the problem.
She nodded in response.
"I don't think so, my suit costs at least 20 or 30 times your annual salary, can you even afford it?" Cep remarked, returning his attention to his Ipad, seemingly uninterested in the FA's response.
She was frozen on the spot when she heard the cost she would have to pay for the compensation, her lips parted like she wanted to say something but couldn't. In the end, she remained silent because Mr.Oshiro was right, she couldn't afford it. The suit was so expensive, she had no excuse.
"If you can't, then get out of my face," Cep replied sternly, not even glancing at the FA.
She wiped her tears away. " Thank you and again, I'm sorry sir, " she bowed to Cep and excused herself.
The FA regretted that she had imagined she could carry out her plan by pouring coffee on Mr. Ishiro and forcing him to remove his suit because of the stain. She would offer to wash it as compensation, and they would meet again later because she had to return his washed suit. Mr. Oshiro would then invite her to eat outside, and his feelings for her would develop, and he would ask her to date him. Of course, she would delightedly agree and they would live happily ever after.
That was how her plan should have worked out. It was usually effective in K-dramas and novels. What had gone wrong?
Her objective was to spill coffee on Mr. Ishiro, thus the coffee she served was not even that hot. Now, It was too late to regret it. It backfired, and her job was jeopardized.
Cep hadn't gotten much sleep since getting a call from Singapore and was simply too weary to make a huge fuss out of it right now, even though he knew the FA spilled the coffee on purpose for whatever reason, and he had no intention of firing her.
He was only thinking of certain someone and he couldn't wait for his jet to land and get to that person, it felt like it was the longest flight he'd ever taken.
On the other side, without his boss's knowledge, Nathan Miller reported directly the certain Flight Attendant to the Chief Executive of the airport, who also happened to be a business acquaintance of his boss Mr.Oshiro, and the Flight Attendant was fired that day, as she deserved. Nathan Miller wouldn't accept such incompetent behavior and disrespect towards his boss.
***
Cade was back to his busy and uninteresting life after a week and three days since that day. Those red marks on his body had disappeared completely, as if the incident in the hotel room had never happened, leading Cade to believe it was all a dream.
He went straight to his part-time work in the cafe after finishing his class that day. His working routine in the Cafe consisted of greeting customers as they came and thanking them when he passed their coffee to them.
There were only a few customers at that time, and no queue so he was standing by at the counter waiting for customers to come in. The Cafe's door opened and Cade prepared his greeting smile.
"Welcome--" Cade's smile had faded when he saw who was standing over the door, his breath had halted, and his lips were slightly parted. He couldn't figure out why his heart was beating uncontrollably fast when he made eye contact with the person who had been on his mind for several days.