Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 75: Presentation

Chapter 75: Presentation

The rest of the day went by like a blur. These past few days were very productive, but each minute felt longer than necessary.

But today, it was like I just stood there, spectating everything.

Did I make a mistake in thinking that It’d be better not to confront it? Because even with the stares I’m getting, I still feel much lighter than yesterday. And definitely much lighter than this morning.

Even Jessica coming over to make a fool of herself did not dampen the feeling of floating in a bubble.

I could hear her words, which tried to sound knowledgeable, but they just went into one ear and then out of another.

"That’s not how exoskeletons work." I finally had to cut in.

"And how would you know that?!" She scoffed, trying to discredit me to our growing audience.

"Because we’re currently the largest manufacturer. Even the ones used by your firm came from us. And for that, thank you for your patronage." I then pointed to the booth name.

I’ve had more problems and more grueling experiences these past few days to be affected by her nonsense.

I even mustered relatively genuine smiles for my husband’s fans (stalkers).

And when Mrs. Grant replaced Jessica, who ran away like her ass was on fire, I still remained composed. The poor girl seemed traumatized as she ran even before giving me her two cents. It was not like they were anything valuable, but she still left mid-argument.

Mrs. Grant had a sense of propriety and only asked legitimate and product-related questions. The number of people watching may have helped deter her invasive "triple W" questions. Most were youngsters and would probably react to hearing questions that they also hated.

So, all that cramming finally got put to good use. I finally had a venue to talk about business-related matters. I just had to do it in front of a gang of meerkats.

Yep, they sort of

stayed. Rotating every now and then to look like they’re looking around the exhibit.

But that really didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.

What’s more bothersome was how I now had several eyes following me like a hawk.

There’s my dad, who returned from his demonstration only to glare daggers at my face. I even had to use eyedrops to look like my tears were artificial.

Then there’s my judgemental best friend and my similarly traitorous assistant.

And finally, my husband, whose eyes moved whenever I took a step.

I’d been looking for ways to divert their attention when Idris swooped in to save the day.

"Afternoon! I didn’t peg you to be such early birds?" His eyes roamed around us before giving my Dad a more formal greeting.

Lucian rolled his eyes at Idris and didn’t even bother to respond to him.

And Rina looked ready to claw someone’s eye out.

Wow. Where was all this antagonism coming from?

How’d it turn from being ready to offer her firstborn child to wanting to cause bodily damage?

"We’ve managed to find a relatively promising interior design firm. But we haven’t gotten anything for the softscape/landscaping works."

After abandoning me to look for landscapers, those two returned with nothing. Now, whether they actually looked or just ate at the stands, I don’t know, but we still lack a contractor.

"Won’t asking the general contractor would work better?" Lucian commented from behind.

Oh yeah, we’re supposedly on ceasefire already.

"Maybe Oliver has a list, I’ll ask him." Wanting to extort benefits to alleviate my barely there annoyance.

Speaking of Oliver, I haven’t seen the guy. Normally, he’s stuck to Lucian’s side, but I haven’t even seen his shadow today.

"Where’s your assistant?" I looked at Lucian quizzically, wondering if he was on schedule when Oliver wasn’t around.

"And look at you, remembering to look for my assistant." Lucian cocked his head, bemused at my reaction to his implication.

So I stalked over, wanting to flick him on the head for good measure. But a call came in, cutting into my vengeance. I’m a professional and had no problems waiting.

Lucian stood up after the call ended. It was about his presentation time slot.

"Do you want to watch?" Lucian asked me.

I hesitated because I felt guilty skipping out on Dad’s performance. But not because I didn’t want to see it but because we agreed to split ourselves between the booth and the auditorium.

Dad probably noticed my indecision as I sent him glances. So he cut me from my misery by shooing me away with Lucian.

"Go, I’m planning to head home soon. I just waited for your Mom to be done so I can pick her up on the way home."

My parents still did that. They still acted like teenagers who were hell-bent on dating all the time. Rina and I know to avoid the shower of dog food as much as possible.

"Then we’ll go ahead, Dad. Love you! Tell Mom I love her too." Dad flicked us with a wave after I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"At least you still remember your father at times like this." My Dad scoffed.

What’s with everyone acting like this today?

We were walking outside when I realized Rina and Mitchel were still standing inside.

Rina finally stopped throwing invisible daggers to see me calling for her.

The girl stalked to my side, and I couldn’t help but ask her, "What’s gotten into you?"

"I’ll tell you when you tell me." She responded, eyes still stuck at the back of Idris’ head like a willing bullseye.

How the guy can walk with his back exposed to such threatening glares behind him sure is something.

Thankfully, she decided to tell me about it later on instead. That story needed a secluded place and enough alcohol.

__

Lucian settled us before leaving for the backstage. This time around, he had Idris and Oliver. The poor assistant probably had to stay here to take notes when his boss skipped the presentations.

The auditorium was packed with people, but this time, actual industry stakeholders. These people were here to listen and gave their rapt attention to whoever presented.

Lucian was scheduled after this heavy equipment company that showcased their new boring and coring machines.

When he walked in, the crowd quieted, while the "documentation" slash live streaming cameras were turned more towards the podium than the center stage.

I couldn’t even complain because even I ogled my husband.

"You can at least close your mouth when you stare. The cameras might catch you drooling. I normally wouldn’t mind, but I’m sitting next to you." Rina murmured her threats into my ear, and I complied, remembering to shut my mouth.

Lucian didn’t change, much less freshen up before his turn. He’s the same guy I was with just earlier, but talking to a crowd with his commanding presence made him look extra dashing. Not that I’m willing for him to hear that, but being honest with myself shouldn’t be too bad.

SCC’s presentation delved into their newest best practices. Why a company would share such things is beyond anyone’s imagination, but SCC would do so because they’re confident that such things won’t be easily replicable.

Or by the time someone decides to replicate it, they would’ve moved on to better practices.

There’s also the fact that there are only so many projects that SCC could work on per year, so allowing others to develop more advanced technologies and practices wouldn’t hurt the bottom line that much.

And if we’re really being honest, it’s because they’ve got everything crucial patented. Of course, they did.

This year was a giant leap for their pre-fabrication and on-site 3D printing departments. I’m very interested in those because our project will employ such techniques.

Lucian once mentioned that using such light materials would allow for faster construction, especially when they only need to be assembled onsite.

Even Rina marveled at how much the industry has grown, and she should know better since she’s also related to SCC.

"At this rate, we’ll have it done within a quarter." Rina had a dazed look as we stared at each other.

"I think so, too." I grinned at her, finally able to actually enjoy something.

I have been feeling off this past week, but listening to such great news while looking at one eye candy was admittedly helping.