"Mr Desmond." The voice snapped me back to reality. "I hope we are not overwhelming you." Another reporter spoke while chuckling. "We don't want to get snapped by you or don't want you to walk out on us once again." They are enjoying this way too much. "Let's summarise the previous questions into one, and Mr. Desmond, it's our humble request: please open your mouth and answer this one." The same reporter who started all this spoke in a most sincere voice with a straight face. Like, he is not going to budge from the place without my answer. Well, this shit is turning interesting, and in the given situation, apparently, I am not panicked or having any thoughts of ditching this scene in any case.
"Are you jealous of Mr Morris? You must be. It's ridiculous even to question you, but still, we would love to hear from you." The whole room went silent, waiting. All eyes were on me, focused way too much, waiting for any wrong move or just a wrong word. Well, they are going to get plenty of it. I scrutinised everyone in the room, one by one, slowly taking my own time. I hummed when everyone had only one thing in their mindset, which was juicy gossip, and a target, that was me, to fill their gossip column. Well, I am here to give them exactly that.
For the first time, I was calm as hell. I called Mr. Danial and spoke. "Are they just recording, or was this airing live?" My secretary cleared his throat a few times before answering; well, I think I got my answer. "Your dad clearly informed them that the news should be everywhere by evening." "And?" I probed to confirm my suspicion. "You are on a livestream on every social site but not any media channel" That's all I wanted to know. These idiots are bold enough to telecast this live. "This is planned, and they have hidden cameras." He whispered further. "The head of PR called me to inform me about this. I couldn't interpret before because of the same reason." I hummed at that, still in place, not even slightly panicked. "We checked everyone; I made sure of it." He was tired and looked sad. "This isn't your fault," I told him firmly. "Please make sure no one enters, not my dad or Shreya for now." His eyes went wide at the request. "I can't, Rowan." I gave him my usual wide smile, to which he would melt and give in for sure. "There won't be any announcement for today, nor will there ever be. Daniel, uncle, this is my request; please make sure no one enters." He scoffed, as he knew I used the word 'uncle' when I wanted to get something done in return. "Alright, I hope I am not going to get fired." I chuckled at that.
As Danial was out of my sight, I gave a reassuring smile to my family and faced the room. Everyone is still watching with the same cunning smile, clearly enjoying and waiting for the downfall. I am going to make sure to give them something for the waiting period.
"Mr. Desmond, we don't mind if you want you can skip the question like usual, but we really love to hear your answer." The same reporter, provoking and enjoying. Everyone's eyes were trained on me, and I leaned forward on the table so that my voice was horrible enough for everyone. "Can you repeat the question?" I spoke too casually. I am not an idiot. Their proactive word 'jealous' is registered strongly in my mind, but for a different reason.
The same reporter smiled at me, knowing exactly what I was doing. The room went pin-drop silent once again when he spoke. "Are you jealous of Mr. Dante Morris?" I smiled widely in return at everyone, making sure not to show any other emotion than my smile.
I pondered over the question, taking my sweet time just to test them. All eyes were on me, keen and observing, waiting for one wrong word or move. I will give them exactly what they want to spread about me, a bloody rumour, and the reason that makes me go viral. I chuckled at the thought, and all of a sudden, I was feeling giddy. Finally, I am getting back at everyone.
I cleared my throat to gain complete attention on me and spoke. "Why would I be jealous of my boyfriend?" The whole room went completely silent in shock, and a few gasps escaped from a few. A few eyes went wide, acting as if I stole their fucking boyfriend or something. "Mr. Desmond", one of the reporters was knocked out of the news so soon and spoke hastily. "There was an agenda for this conference, so please stop bluffing." He has some audacity, and my smile didn't waver at that. "You are getting engaged to Ms. Shreya Merdith, and this conference was all about that." Another reporter added. "Desmond and Meredith confirmed the news." Another one added. "Any proof of the news?" I spoke to the same reporter. "Any official announcement?" I probed, clearly enjoying more than them. Everyone was taken aback at that, eyeing each other. "This meeting was all about the announcement." The first reporter who started all this spoke in an agitated tone. "So, your story is baseless; there is no official announcement from either of the families," I taunted them. "Your story, too, Mr. Desmond." The same reporter's retort had an already composed tone. "Well, good luck in proving me wrong, then." I stood from the chair, calm and composed, grinning in victory. "This meeting was all about a joint venture that was going to take place between Desmond's and Meredith's, which involves a huge investment. That's it, nothing else." One last time, I looked at the crowd, who had an unbelievable look on their faces, still in shock, and I spoke. "Dante and I are dating. We are boyfriends." This shit couldn't get any more interesting. I fucking love myself. "I am sorry, but due to some problem, either of the families couldn't join this conference, and you couldn't get exactly what you came for. This meeting will be rescheduled, and we will inform you. Please have the appetiser that's prepared for you before going." I started walking toward the exit with a victorious, satisfied smile on my face. Inwardly showing the middle finger at every one of them. Hell with them.
My family members were rushing toward me, but I walked faster toward my car. I waved at them as the car passed, still grinning like an idiot. After a few minutes, I exhaled a strong, shaky breath and leaned on the seat. I sighed in relief. It's been fucking months; I couldn't breathe, always worried as if I were carrying a huge burden on my shoulder. Shreya was more than a bloody burden, a huge pain, and someone who swore to suck everything in me. Draining my energy when I was around her and getting on my nerves like hell. It's payback time. God, I am missing her badly already. I wanted to see her face at that moment. I want to watch her reaction and savour the moment for my lifetime. How the hell was she going to react? It's nothing, just a statement, and I am enjoying every moment.
I am a little terrified of this news reaching Dante and his response to this. He is not going to give any shit to any reporter, that's for sure, but I can't predict how he would react when the news reaches him. He has not given any interviews anywhere, so is it safe to think that I am safe for now? He is not going to give any official news about us, right? I totally forgot about his jerk dad, who hated me till I was in contact with Dante. Oops, would he get involved in this matter? Oh god, would I turn into a laughingstock due to my impulsive behavior? Did I do the right thing by involving Dante? Well, it was never my intention, but the reporters put me on the spot and nudged me with the idea. So, I grabbed it. It's not a mistake. I wanted a way so badly, so I grabbed him like a last hope; well, technically, he was. He can do whatever he wants to the reporters who thought it was a good idea to bring up Dante in the press conference. I nodded at that, satisfied with my justification. That's sufficient. If he corners me, I can give all the reasons I have. Moreover, he fucking owes me. I was more satisfied now.
My cell started buzzing. I chuckled when I saw the name. Well, Shreya, you need time, baby, to digest this news, and I disconnected her call. Once again, my cell started ringing. Now it was my dad, and there were so many notifications. There were too many notifications, and my head started to hurt with non-stop signals that were coming to my cell. I kept my cell on silent and closed my eyes with a triumphant, victorious smile running on my face. Well, this is fun.
I am not going to face anyone for the day; I will enjoy my day and postpone all the interrogation for tomorrow. A guy needs a break, and I am going to take one. My cell was nonstop blinking with either calls or messages; I didn't bother to check any. I entered the hotel, which I had booked to spend my remaining day. As I entered the room, I threw everything on the bed by stripping. I was in the bathtub, which was prepared.
I sighed when the fragrance hit my nostrils, and my whole body relaxed. I closed my eyes in the process, and my lips twitched when today's incident hit me back-to-back. I took the wine glass, which was near, and sipped it slowly, relaxing and enjoying every second of my peace with serenity. No one was lurking in my thoughts at the moment; I blocked the outside world, and I was in my own company, humming in the process. I deserve this after everything I went through, and I qualify for this fine one-on-one treatment.
I have not thought about the consequences of my action; my impulsive act at last came in handy for me. I don't know what made me drag Dante into all this. It was never my intention till the last moment. I never thought I would do something stupid. I don't know how this was going to affect anyone. Mostly, I am waiting for Shreya's outburst, and also, I am a little bit worried about Dante's reaction. He is fucking gay, which he proved to the world by kissing an asshole, so I am not twisting his sexuality. Besides, everything changed for me; I turned gay all of a sudden. I didn't serve any notice period before turning, nor had I any hint of it. I announced that I am gay to the world, and I don't know what's more stupid than doing shit like this. I was a ruler, bent just to escape a situation; well, they didn't give me any choice, and Shreya was on my neck, choking me. So, yeah, I just did, and I am not regretting it a bit. I know my sudden baiting for the same gender would choke a few people, especially that shitty old hag, my dad, and my precious darling Shreya. I smiled at that and gulped the remaining wine.
I got up from the bathtub and was under the shower, enjoying my peaceful nights after a decade of suffocating and being miserable. By wrapping the towel, I was out of the room, and I flapped on the bed without wearing clothes, naked. I sighed in contentment. Dinner was ready, near the table, calling for me to devour it, but strangely, my stomach felt full. Giddiness was overflowing, and I couldn't help the smile that was lingering on my lips. I am going to dedicate this weekend to myself. I hummed at the thought. Exhaustion hit me, and I was tired because of everything that happened today. My eyes started to feel heavy, and the last person to consume my thoughts was Dante, which was usual, but this time, things felt different. There was no hate; I didn't feel sad, and I was pleased, delighted with him consuming my thoughts. Strange, I mumbled incoherently and drifted to sleep.