The Proposal

"You WHAT?!"

"Can you, like, not scream in my ear?" Lily bit out, her hands covering her ears. "You're literally next to me and I can't even hit you when you do this right now,"

Alice stuck her tongue out at her best friend, taking out another needle from the pincushion strapped around her wrist moving to pin the fabric of the dress Lily was currently modeling for her.

"You knew what you were getting into, I told you I needed someone to help model the dresses. Yet you still went and told me that you just had dinner with the Conrad Walter a few nights ago." The blonde retorted, eyes still trained on the outfit in front of her, "why did you even go to the dinner? I thought you didn't want anything to do with the man?"

"That was the thing!" Lily nearly yelled out in frustration, "I didn't want to go! But Michael was staring at me with puppy dog eyes and I didn't have the heart to say no,"

Alice snickered at how defeated the brunette sounded, circling around to make the last minute changes towards the dress as she did.

"Figures you couldn't say no,"

Brown eyes glared balefully at her from over a shoulder, "Hey, you have no room to comment on me here. When you can say no to that child's puppy dog eyes then you can comment all you want."

The blonde huffed but didn't reply, something Lily took as a win for her side of the argument. "So then what happened?"

"It was surprising enjoyable," the brunette grudgingly admitted, "we talked about everything and anything, but we stuck with topics safe to discuss around children. In the end, they dropped me off at my apartment with Michael managing to make me promise to go on more dinners soon."

Although she had said it as a complaint Alice could easily the spot the smile tugging on the brunette's lips, indicating that she wasn't as annoyed about the issue as she was letting on. "You don't seem to mind though," the blonde pointed out, Lily bit her lip as she silently mulled over the situation and how she felt about it.

"It does seem that way doesn't it?" The woman accepted with a sigh, "honestly, I can't help it. The kid's really too cute for his own good,"

Alice eyed here with a knowing look, "You're already attached aren't you?"

Lily groaned, bringing her hands to her face, "I know, I'm so screwed!" She wailed slightly, lips jutting out in a small pout, "why does that jerk have such a cute kid?! It's so unfair!"

The blonde motioned for her to step down from the small platform she was currently standing before she shrugged as she stated nonchalantly, "then just marry the guy."

"I am not going to marry someone I've only met twice," Lily hissed, cheeks turning pink. "Besides, I barely know him and all I've heard about him is that he's rich and he's a player. Not exactly prime husband material is he?"

"Alright, you can go change now, I'll fix up the dress and get it ready for tomorrow," Alice directed, gesturing towards the small changing space a few feet away. Lily nodded, only stopping to grab her own clothes before she headed off to change, "What time should I be here again?"

Her friend hummed, a hand under her chin, "probably at 8 with all the other models, since you're going to have to go through hair and makeup as well."

"Ugh, you're lucky that I love you," the brunette groaned from behind the curtains. "How'd your model end up quitting a day before the show anyway? Can they do that?"

"Don't ask me, even I don't know how she had the guts to do that to me a day before the show is scheduled." Alice stated, a scowl on her face. "Technically, they can but it's very rare that they do cause they need to pay compensations. Somehow though, she had no hesitation and even wired over the compensation money as soon as she was aware of how much she should pay."

"Wow, she has that kind of money?"

Alice shrugged "Apparently so, I don't really know much about her since she was one of the newer models we hired for tomorrow's show."

"Huh, wonder why she's a model if she's so loaded." Lily commented as she stepped out of the changing room, her dress carefully hanging from a hanger held in one hand.

"Let's just forget about her, now you better get home and get enough rest for tomorrow. You should probably only have a light dinner today to maintain your current weight for the show," Alice advised, taking away the dress and carefully placing it inside a garment bag.

Lily huffed, "you better treat me to dinner after the show,"

"How bout I book a place for us at that K-BBQ spot you've been eyeing?" The blonde offered with a grin.

"Deal."

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"That'll be all for today's meeting everyone, you're all free to leave."

Conrad Walter waited until all the board members had exited through the double doors before heaving a tired sigh. He had never regretted taking over his grandfather's business especially since he did had the aptitude for business itself. However, all these annual meetings are increasingly testing his patience in order to remain level-headed with his board of committees.

A sharp knock caused the man to cast a glance towards the doors once more. "Come in," he intoned, shifting in his seat so that he was leaning more comfortably on the chair.

There was a brief sound of footsteps in the room before Ryan appeared in front of the raven haired man. "Sir," he greeted curtly, handing over several folders to the man. "These are the reports you wanted in regards to the recent acquisition of the publication company and the new mansion. "

Conrad hummed and acknowledgement as he flipped over the papers, "And what about the matter I asked you to handle earlier today?"

"Everything has been handled as you requested sir," the blonde assistant replied instantly.

"We managed to make a deal with one of the newer models, providing her with not only the pay she would receive from the job but also the compensation money she would have needed to pay for her abrupt resignation. As of now, the latest news we received is that Ms. Lilian has been contacted by her best friend to fill in the shoes of the model who had cancelled her contract."

"And what of the items I had asked to be prepared for the show?"

"They're all handled and will be delivered to the mansion before you leave tomorrow sir,"

The raven haired man nodded, handing over a few of the folders. "These need to sent back to their respective departments for a redo, have them be more precise in their business plans and target audience. They are to submit their new reports to me, latest by tomorrow afternoon. Once you're done, you're free to head home Ryan, good work."

His assistant nodded, moving to fall in step with the CEO as he exited the meeting room, heading towards the building lobby to head home.

As he was being driven home Conrad took his time to open up his phone, the screen lighting up to display a picture of his son and a familiar brunette laughing. Something he had rather sneakily took during their dinner a few days prior, being both meaningful to him and something that would help to cement his plan.

'I hope that you like surprises wife, because I've got quite the big one for you,'

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"Looking good Lils!"

The brunette spun around at the sudden shout, only then noticing the familiar figure of James as he made his way through the crowd of workers and towards her.

"Hey James," Lily greeted with a smile. "You're here early,"

"Well, gotta support the girlfriend don't I?" He replied, with a grin, lifting up a shopping bag wrapped up with a ribbon.

"You spoil her too much sometimes," she replied with a laugh, "she should be nearby though, I heard that she's doing last minute checks on the outfits."

James grimaced, "she's really stressed out about this one huh," he commented, handing her a cup of iced latte.

"Oh, you got my favourite, thanks!" Lily grinned, taking sips of the drink before replying. "Yeah, it is one of her bigger shows so I guess it's to be expected."

"Speaking of shows—"

"Lily!"

A sudden shout behind her had the brunette turning around, blinking at the sight of a frantic Alice running straight towards her. "Alice? What's wrong?"

The blonde came to a stop only centimeters from her, huffing slightly as she caught her breath. "Did you tell Walter about my show?!"

Lily frowned at the panicked gleam in her friend's eyes. "No, I don't even have his contact, why could I tell him about your show even if I wanted to?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's right here, seated in the front row seats!"

"He's what?!"

Without hesitation Alice immediately grabbed a hold of her wrist, dragging the brunette towards the sectioned off area immediately behind the stage and gestured for her to look for herself. Something that she did readily, curiosity and disbelief coursing through her, the phrase 'this can't be happening' repeating in her mind. But just as Alice had said there, seated on the front row, directly across the edge of their runway was one Conrad Walter.

Lily whipped around to face an equally baffled Alice, "what the hell is he doing here?" The brunette whispered harshly, fidgeting slightly in her panic.

"How am I supposed to know that?!" The blonde retorted, steering her friend back towards the glam area in order to avoid being seen by the raven haired CEO. "Shouldn't you know more than I do?"

"I don't even have his number! I've literally only met him twice before this!"

Before the two could continue on bickering, there was a hand on each of their shoulders to ground them. "Girls, girls," James called calmly. "Let's all calm down, you're both going to end up having a break down at this rate."

Lily breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself while her mind raced over the current revelation that somehow Conrad Walter was sitting front row at her best friend's fashion show where she had to substitute as a model.

What in the world was happening to her life?

How did he even know about this show? Sure Alice might be gaining more and more traction in the media, but it wasn't enough that a well-known businessmen would be interested in her projects. Especially, a businessmen whose current businesses does not concern the fashion industry at all.

"Okay, okay," the brunette muttered, almost to herself. "It's fine, we'll be fine. Just pretend he's not there and go on with everything as planned."

Alice seemed to latch on to her words, nodding vigorously as if trying to convince herself. "Right, right, he's just another audience member. Okay, we got this," As if on instinct, the blonde snatched away the Starbucks labeled bag that James had been holding in one hand and downed her entire drink as if it was a shot.

"Okay, I'm going to head over and do the last overall checks. Lils, get back to hair and makeup and get a touch up and then head over to the runway entrance with the others. Let's go people we've got a show to run!"

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"We made it!" Alice cheered, clinking the glass of champagne she held to hers a little too excitedly that the beverage nearly spilled. "Now I can finally relax again,"

"Until your next collection comes up," Lily huffed amusedly, sipping at the fizzy liquid. "I'm glad it all turned out well, but I am not doing you a favour like this anytime soon, I hope you know that."

Her best friend grinned, cheerfully hugging her in glee. "You're the best Lils."

Lily's reply was drowned out by the sudden wave of clamoring whispers that filled the hall, causing the two women to turn towards the door in confusion. Which was when they caught sight of the cause of the sudden excitement, for standing just in front of the closing doors was one Conrad Walter. The man was holding a large bouquet filled with pink and red roses, seemingly ignoring the various women crowding him to instead scan at the occupants in the room. His gaze finally settled on where the both of them were standing, slowly his lips pulled into a smirk and he began walking towards them.

"You have got to be kidding me," Alice whispered in disbelief. "Is he really coming our way?"

Lily grimaced, "This jerk's up to no good, again," before her features settled into a scowl. The brunette carefully set down her empty glass on a nearby table before crossing her arms as she glared up at the man who now stood in front of her.

"What do you want Walter?"

Lily rolled her eyes at the new wave of shocked whispers around them but kept her sight on the smirking man in front of her.

"What?" The raven haired CEO drawled out innocently, which only caused Lily to further narrow her eyes at him. "Can't a husband come and support his wife?"

Loud gasps echoed throughout the hall at his declaration, which reminded the brunette of the crowd around them. Despite feeling how her cheeks burned with embarrassment, Lily aimed an unimpressed look at the man. "You are not my husband, we aren't even married!" She hissed, taking a step forwards and poking at Walter's shoulder insistently.

"Yet," Conrad replied smugly, which caused the brunette to stop in a stunned silence, blinking up at him bewilderedly. Taking the chance, the man swiftly presented her with the bouquet, waiting patiently until the brunette moved to take the, admittedly romantic present. As Lily blinked down at the fragrant bouquet of flowers she was given, cheeks turning a light pink at the unexpected but sweet gesture from the raven haired job. It was then that she received her second surprise of the night, the sight of one Conrad Walter moving to kneel in front of her admist a stunned crowd who unanimously drew in a surprised breath.

Eyes widening in surprise, Lily couldn't stop the immediate hiss of, "What are you doing?!"

Ignoring her protests, the Walter CEO kept his gaze on her as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box.

"Conrad Walter, you get up right now." The brunette whispered sharply, leaning down in an attempt to keep the conversation relatively private.

Instead of replying, the raven haired man simply lifted a hand to open the box revealing a white gold ring housing a giant glimmering solitaire round pink diamond.

"Lilian Chen,"

Lily felt as if the air had been punched out of her, mouth opening slightly in utter disbelief as the man smirked up at her and uttered the words she dreaded.

"Will you marry me?"