4. The Attack
"What will that woman do?" Max thought in the middle of dinner. The rice on his plate was almost gone, but the debate in his mind was still not over.
"What kind of craziness is she going to do? Tsk, who is the person who paid for her for this play?"
"Sorry, Sir. There's a call from the guard,” a servant said while lowering her head and handing him a cell phone.
Max's eyebrows rose spontaneously. "The guard?"
His question was answered with a nod from the servant.
"Is it possible ... that crazy woman came here?"
Without wasting any time, the CEO answered the call. "What's the matter?"
"There is a girl insisting to meet you, Sir."
Max's expression suddenly turned stiff. "Who?"
"Her name is Gabriella."
A sigh escaped directly from the man's mouth.
“It's totally unexpected. Why does she choose to come here?"
"Is there any 'honesty potion' stored in the post?" Max asked using a code.
"Yes, Sir."
The corners of his lips were raised mysteriously.
"Give it to the girl. If she doesn't take two glasses, then don't let her come in."
"Two glasses, Sir?" the guard asked as if unexpected.
"Yes. What's wrong?"
“Isn't that too much? This girl looks very innocent. What if the dosage is too much?"
"Don't be easy to judge by appearance. Her face maybe innocent, but the true character … we don't know.”
"Okay, Sir."
Without stalling for time, Max got up from his chair.
"Your vitamins, Sir." The servant showed some pills in the small container.
"Ah, that's right. Thank you."
Without counting the number of pills provided, the CEO swallowed them all.
“A girl will come here. You don't need to welcome her. Just tell the girl to meet me in my room."
"Your room, Sir?"
"Protocol number one."
The waiter's eyes suddenly widened. “Protocol number one? Is that girl dangerous?"
Max arched a faint smile.
"I don't know yet. Now, hurry up and announce it. This house must be isolated by the time the girl arrives."
"Yes, Sir."
In haste, the servant approached her comrades. She whispered and in an instant, people left their jobs.
"Let's see! Can that girl lie after drinking the honesty potion?"
"What is this? I don't want to drink it!" Gabriella refused, taking a step back.
"Then, you must not come into this house, Miss."
"But, I have to talk to the CEO of Quebracha," the girl said pitifully.
"Then, you must be willing to drink this."
Gabriella grimaced. However, the guard seemed merciless. After sighing in resignation, she raised a glass and sniffed it.
"What is this?" the girl asked when her nose caught a strong scent.
"Just drink it!"
Closing her eyes, Gabriella took a sip of the yellowish potion.
"One more, Miss."
"One more?"
The girl frowned, but the guard pressed her hand to raise a new glass. Like it or not, she finished the drink.
As the gates opened, Gabriella coughed. With hands holding her throat, she walked towards the main building which stood majestically in the middle of the garden.
“This guy is so bad. He has such a large land. Why did he destroy my house?" Gabriella muttered before hastening the steps toward the large door.
"Good evening, Miss," a servant greeted with trembling hands. "Please go up the stairs then turn left. Enter the open door. Mister CEO is waiting for you there."
Before Gabriella could say hello, the servant had already walked out and closed the door tightly. Upon hearing the sound of the key turning, the girl's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"Is this a trap? Why did she lock it?"
Gabriella walked over to the door and tried to open it. "Yes, this door is locked," she sighed anxiously.
After a blink of eyes, the girl's hands were tightly clenched.
“I've come this far. There's no way I'll give up."
With bold steps, Gabriella made her way up the stairs. She was so focused, so she didn't even have time to check the photos on several sides of the room.
"Whoever the CEO is, he has no right to just destroy my house."
Finding the open door, Gabriella paused. After wiping her face and taking a deep breath, she nodded forcefully.
"I can't look weak."
A second later, she stomped her feet into the room. Her eyes widened when she found a bed. The girl just realized that she had come into a man's bedroom.
"Is this really a trap?" Gabriella thought as she blinked. The dizziness just hit her head.
“Welcome, Miss Gabriella,” a man greeted from the corner of the room. The girl immediately turned to the right.
"You ...?"
Gabriella's forefinger went up while her mouth fell open in disbelief.
"You're the CEO of Quebracha?"
Max stuck his hand in the trouser pocket and took a leisurely stride.
“There's no need to pretend to be surprised, Miss. Don't you already know who I am?"
An irritated smile appeared on Gabriella's face.
"Oh, I understand now. You destroyed my house because you were upset, because you felt humiliated, and because I was signing autographs carelessly."
Max folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you seem like a really great actress, don't you think? I almost got fooled by your acting."
"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked incredulously.
“Tsk, it looks like the potion hasn't reacted yet. I should have given her three glasses,” Max muttered while scratching his temple.
"Ah, well .... Let's just follow your game. How much do you want?"
Gabriella's face frowned spontaneously. "You think my house can be replaced with money?"
Max nodded proudly. "Of course. Isn't that what you're after? Otherwise, there's no way you could have bothered to come here and pretend to be angry like this."
Gabriella's chest burned at the CEO's words. Her breath was now racing while her lips began to tremble in anger.
"You think I'm pretending?" Tears began to gather without warning. "Do you know what that house means to me? It is a legacy from my parents. All our memories are there, and now, you have destroyed them all."
Gabriella closed her eyes for the sadness and outrage had put a lot of pressure on her brain.
"That house is my life. You destroy it, you destroy my life. Do you still think that my anger is fake?"
Max scratched his earlobe which didn't itch. The tears on Gabriella's red face seemed so real. He wanted to applaud her successful acting.
"Then, what should I do now? You want me to rebuild the house? Maybe ... the bricks can be re-cemented. Wood and planks can be joined with nails. Or, your favorite glass can also be glued. A thousand cracks won't be a problem, right?”
Gabriella's ferocity had no place to peak. A second later, the girl attacked the CEO with her long fingers and blunt nails.