[38]
“Giselle!” Brina squealed happily as soon as the finale was over. The culminating night, which ended half an hour ago, was over. The final photo shoot had also been conducted and ended smoothly. No smiles were missing from any of the contestants.
Although some of them could not make it to the finalists, or the winner, they also came out as one of the favorite contestants.
“You missed me, didn’t you?” asked Giselle as she spread her arms. She didn’t care if her actions were noticed by many of the invited guests.
“Not really, but I brought you a present.” Brina laughed. In the end, they embraced tightly as a way of relieving their homesickness since they had not seen each other for two weeks. Giselle was not bothered by Brina’s quiet life. And Brina was not bothered by a lot of whining from Giselle which really made her dizzy. Even so, Brina was quite lost.
She was also a little guilty about confiscating Giselle’s cookie jar. She had been thinking since she left the lobby of the Ford building, in case Giselle was stressed and somewhat depressed by the many activities during quarantine. And the girl couldn’t get a snack to take her mind off the pressure.
“Um… what’s inside?” Giselle was very curious.
“Can we talk while sitting?” Justin looked at the two girls in front of him in surprise. “You guys are so loud.”
“Justin!” Giselle didn’t care if Justin scolded her later. Without hesitation, Giselle threw herself at Justin, and luckily, Justin didn’t resist. Although there were growls of annoyance and a few scoldings from Giselle, but as usual, Giselle cared.
“You’re really in trouble,” Justin said as they broke their hug.
“What’s my problem?” Giselle stared at Justin in disbelief. “You should be congratulating me, you know. I won.” She pointed to the crown she was still wearing. Even the sash that said Favorite Champion.
“Yes-yes-yes.” Justin shook his head in surprise but then smiled widely. “You’re something I should be proud of.”
Giselle shook her flowing hair. The last dress she wore, though somewhat inconvenient since the theme for the last show was an elegant evening gown, did not stop her from moving freely. “You should count on me. Who knows, I could come in second or third place.”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
Giselle’s forehead was flicked just like that, making the girl squeal in disbelief that Justin would do that to her. “It hurts, Justin!”
“Your expectations are too high.”
“Hey, you guys! How long are you going to be there? Just get in the way of other people,” Irena said while waving but her voice seemed to be given a loudspeaker that was quite horrendous. Nico, who had been sitting at the table reserved for the SEO team, could only surrender to this horrendous situation. Luckily, in this spacious meeting room, many relatives and some colleagues of the models also came. Adding to the lively atmosphere and the excitement in the SEO team was camouflaged.
“It’s better to celebrate while sitting there.” Justin laughed at that. Before he knew it, Giselle was one of the finalists and had risen all the way to the top five. Don’t ask me how Justin’s heart felt every time the host or the judges asked him questions, including emphasizing the many statements Giselle had made on stage. Especially those related to social issues and her capacity as a public figure.
Although some of Giselle’s words were ambiguous and seemingly hesitant, the girl handled it very well.
“My celebration won’t be as simple as sitting there, Justin.” He took his boss’s hand without hesitation. “I want a big celebration. You know, things have been stressful for me during quarantine. I feel like I’m losing weight because of the pressure,” she complained.
All Justin did was glance over and chuckle. “You think I don’t know that you’ve gained a little weight from two weeks ago. When you were in your bikini earlier, I could clearly see.”
“Are you kidding me?” asked Giselle with a look of disbelief. How could Justin have noticed even one kilo of weight gain! Had he crossed the line into cheating? Gosh, if that’s the case, it’s going to be quite a day when he returns from Milan. Although it is not yet known what his next schedule will be, there will definitely be a week’s break that he will have to go through ordeally.
Lose weight to get back to normal. No chocolate for some time to come and that’s very scary.
“My weight is normal, Justin. I think you should check your eyes in case there’s a minus now.”
Justin gave Giselle a stern look. “You think you can escape my observation?”
Giselle spluttered and sat down with an annoyed face. “You’re annoying. It’s a historic day for me, don’t ruin my mood. My weight gain is only one kilo anyway. Why worry about it?”
“You?” Brina looked at Giselle with a look of disbelief. “What happened to you?”
Justin let them both argue about what happened during the quarantine. Certainly Giselle didn’t experience it because of pressure alone. Knowing Giselle since she left the club, not letting the girl socialize carelessly, made Justin understand how Giselle behaved even though he didn’t monitor her every day.
“Your weight gain must be because of chocolate. Right?”
“Where did that accusation come from? You confiscated my chocolate. Don’t just make me look guilty in front of you,” Giselle argued.
When it comes to chocolate and Giselle’s weight gain, there’s only one person Justin suspects could easily make the delivery without any suspicion; Andrew Kingston.
And what a coincidence, the man approached her. Smiling while carrying a bouquet of flowers. “Tsk! That guy really doesn’t know his place.”
“Good evening, Justin and colleagues from SEO,” he said kindly. “I’d like to congratulate Giselle on her accomplishment tonight.”
Giselle immediately stood up, greeting the greeting with a big smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Andrew couldn’t hide the happiness on his face. Although when the corner of his eye accidentally fell on his father, he had to quickly dispel the excitement. “You did your best.”
“Would the CEO of The Collage like to join us in celebrating Giselle’s victory here?” asked Justin with a grin. He knew Andrew wouldn’t be here long. The middle-aged man in the other corner didn’t take his eyes off the table. Nor the intimacy between Giselle and her son.
Justin has no say in other people’s feelings for Giselle. But he does have an obligation to protect Giselle from the potential heartbreak and devastation of their drama-filled relationship later on. But it all depends on the feelings Giselle has. Whether to give up on them, or move forward in pursuit of the love that comes her way.
As someone who is close to Giselle, all Justin can do is give her his full support.
“I don’t think so. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, Justin.” Andrew laughed. “Although I’d love to because there’s bound to be some fun there, right?”
“Depends on your perception of what ‘fun’ is.” Justin chuckled. He picked up the glass of wine on the table. “At the very least, I should thank you for supporting Giselle. Especially during quarantine.”
Andrew was a bit surprised by what Justin had just said, but out of respect for Justin’s offer, he accepted. A quick toast before he retreated to shake hands with one guest after another. Just like the organizer, Mr. Woddy, who also greeted all the winners. By his side, the champion was never without praise and congratulations.
“Justin,” Giselle called out as Andrew left them. It didn’t matter to her because she was more focused on what was in her head right now.
“Yeah?” Justin turned his head and smiled back at Giselle who looked different wearing a diamond-studded crown on top. “You really make me proud.” He gently rubbed the side of Giselle’s slightly damp forehead. “Thank you for fighting and exceeding my expectations about this event.”
The blush on Giselle’s face came unbidden. And that remark also made the girl look down deeply. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“But it’s something I need to dedicate to you.” Justin laughed. “You called me earlier, do you have something to say?”
Immediately Giselle raised her gaze. “I won the bet.”
Justin’s brow furrowed deeply. “Bet?”
“Yes.” She stood up. “I’ll take Harvey to see you. Hold on, wait for me to come back.”
Justin let Giselle walk away. At a safe distance, he said, “Nico, follow Giselle. I’m sure something bad will happen.”