The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 59: Whired

"What the--" Evan spluttered incredulously. "Freiheit said what?!"

The lady chuckled at his reaction, making him question if she was joking or not.

Regardless, Freiheit would receive an earful from him soon for starting false rumors about him!

... Then it hit Evan.

They weren’t on speaking terms at the moment. Maybe in a long time.

"Never mind that." She said, changing the topic as she noticed the sudden scowl forming on Evan’s face. "Do you still not remember?"

Evan didn’t reply. She took it as a cue that he, in fact, didn’t.

"How could you forget me?" She sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Edelweiss Roth. Does it ring a bell?"

Fuck.

"Judging from your reaction," Edelweiss laughed mirthlessly. "You finally do?"

Of course, Evan finally did.

Edelweiss was Evan’s high school crush.

His younger self would do absolutely everything to have the opportunity to talk to Edelweiss! She was his obsession, which is why he studied so hard (aside from his feeling of indebtedness to Mr. Royall, of course) so he could impress her back when they were in high school.

Ultimately, she broke Evan’s heart.

"Edelweiss ’Roth’, huh?" But Evan kept his cold composure, not wanting to embarrass himself more than he already did. "Judging from the fact that you used your maiden name, I assume something happened with your marriage with the Prince of Oleumpolis."

"He’s the king now," Edelweiss corrected. "And yes, how perceptive of you. That’s right, something did happen with my marriage to the King."

He raised an eyebrow, expressing his curiosity. "Go on."

She gave him a perplexed look.

"I’m genuinely surprised that you haven’t heard of this old news already." She said, her eyebrows furrowing together. "It caused quite a stir in our community."

By ’community,’ Evan knew that she meant the elite class in their country.

"I mean, I understand their point." She laughed, though there wasn’t a hint of amusement in each cackle. "After all, I am the daughter and supposed heir of the largest oil company in the world. Looking at it from an outsider’s point of view, it must’ve been horrifying to see a woman of my caliber thrown away like a used toy by a man-child of a king."

Evan eyed her, waiting for her to burst out like a typical woman whenever they told their sob story.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she merely told her story as if she were talking about the weather.

He was suddenly reminded of why he was so into her when they were young adolescents: She was so different from other girls.

Even until now, she was.

"Oh, Evan," Edelweiss said, a bitter smile on her lips. "If only you knew how much of a disgrace I was to my family."

"Didn’t your parents marry you off to that man because his country was the source of where your family’s company extracts oil from?" Evan asked.

He wasn’t quite sure of the details himself since the last time he heard from her was a few days after her and Freiheit’s graduation from the academy.

Edelweiss nodded, sighing.

"My parents wanted to keep friendly relations with the government of Oleumpolis. And what perfect way to maintain it by marrying off their only daughter like she was just some sort of livestock for breeding?"

Evan merely saw women as a tool for reproduction and keeping mankind alive, but to hear a woman openly call herself as such was rather demeaning.

"Wait!" Evan had a sudden realization. "Why is the heiress of an oil company competing with me in the GLA?"

"I’m no longer an heiress of the Roth Oil Corporation," Edelweiss answered. "But the CEO of Whired Brewery."

Then everything finally clicked.

The stack of documents he was checking a while ago was a comparative report about Royal Blue’s sales for the past year in comparison to the sales of a newly established alcohol company, Whired Brewery.

Apparently, this company, which was basically a fetus in terms of age and experience in the brewery business, was close to catching up with Royal Blue, a 60-year-old and well-known alcohol and beverage company.

It was such a powerhouse of a brewery that it managed to overthrow Royal Blue’s rivals in a matter of five years. The board of directors feared that it would do the same to Royal Blue.

"Oil is a far more profitable business than alcohol." Evan pointed this out. "Why did you—"

"We live in a country known for its alcoholic beverages, Evan!" She interrupted. "Of course, I’d choose a business that’ll explode in popularity in my home country, then worry later if it can sustain itself in the international market."

"But it did," Evan said. "Sustain itself both in the local and international business arenas, I mean."

Edelweiss nodded. Even though this feat was something to be proud of, her expression said otherwise.

"I’m not going to lie. I didn’t think I’d get this far." She admitted it in a low voice. "It was supposed to be a small company created out of my love for beer. I didn’t expect it to rise up the ranks in less than 5 years since its creation."

"You managed Whired quite well," Evan commented, and he meant it. "It deserves the success it has achieved so far."

Edelweiss smiled, but it didn’t reach her brown eyes.

"My father did say a woman couldn’t possibly be the CEO of a billion-dollar company."

Normally, Evan would agree with the Roth patriarch’s sentiments. But he couldn’t bring himself to react misogynistically in front of her. Additionally, Whired had proven itself to be quite a successful company, so who was he to question good results?

"That’s why the position was passed on to my younger brother instead of me." She continued, her tone growing more glum with each sentence. "Oh, do you remember him?" Edelweiss asked as an afterthought.

Of course, Evan remembered that nitwit. Her name was Ulrich, and he was the polar opposite of his sister: mediocre, talentless, and dumb.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if your ROC goes bankrupt once he becomes the CEO." He muttered under his breath.

But it seemed like she heard him because Edelweiss slapped him playfully on the arm again.

"You’re so mean." But she was smiling wholeheartedly. Anyway," she said, changing the topic. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?"