Chapter 237: New Pair of Shoes

Director Cristine wasn’t exaggerating.

She genuinely worried that one of her subordinates might accidentally offend Luca Hale.

Although she’d never personally seen him lose his temper, his reputation alone was enough to make anyone cautious.

As one of his subordinates, she’d made it a point to investigate every rumor surrounding him.

Especially after what he’d done to the Luiz family.

That story had spread through nearly every corner of New Orleans’ upper-class circles.

Almost everyone had heard it.

There were even rumors that Lady Francine’s death had been orchestrated by Luca himself.

Whether they were true or not didn’t matter.

With a boss carrying that kind of reputation, Cristine wasn’t about to leave anything to chance.

If one careless employee offended him, she might end up taking the blame as well.

Rather than risk it, she’d personally led the team herself.

That way, there would be no room for mistakes.

Listening to their conversation, Cecelia finally understood.

So...

The Grand Paragon Shopping Center actually belonged to Luca.

The place housed luxury brands from all over the world and was one of New Orleans’ premier shopping destinations for the wealthy.

Yet another surprise.

At this point, she’d almost grown used to being surprised by him.

The realization lingered for only a moment before her attention shifted to the stacks of shoeboxes behind Director Cristine.

Only then did she understand.

Luca had arranged all of this for her.

Her heart softened immediately.

Looking at him, her eyes grew slightly moist.

"Madam."

Director Cristine smiled politely.

"If you’ve finished eating, would you like to try on the shoes?"

Cecelia nodded.

"Alright."

...

While she tried on different pairs, Luca quietly excused himself and walked to the restaurant’s reception desk.

The restaurant owner immediately hurried over.

"President Hale."

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Whether because of Luca’s status as president of Hale-Viv Conglomerate or because of his connection to the Day family, the owner didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect.

"I’d like you to prepare another private room."

"It only needs to seat about eight people."

Luca had noticed that Director Cristine and the young women accompanying her hadn’t even had lunch yet.

Since they’d gone through the trouble of coming over, he decided to treat them.

"And tonight..."

"I’ll also need your largest banquet hall."

"The dishes can follow the usual standard."

"I’ll send you the final headcount later."

Cecelia’s pregnancy had put him in an exceptionally good mood.

He wanted to celebrate by treating every employee at Hale-Viv Conglomerate’s headquarters to dinner.

As for the staff in the other branches, he’d have their local managers arrange meals and simply reimburse the expenses afterward.

The owner’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Of course, President Hale."

"Please leave everything to us."

This wasn’t just a major order.

It was also an excellent opportunity to build a closer relationship with Luca.

Even though the preparation time was short, the restaurant had dedicated suppliers and could easily handle it.

Luca took out his phone.

"I’ll transfer the estimated cost first."

"If there’s anything left over, return it to me."

"If it isn’t enough, I’ll make up the difference later."

Moments later, the owner’s phone vibrated.

[$200,000 received.]

Watching the transfer notification, the receptionist beside him couldn’t hide her amazement.

"Boss..."

"President Hale is unbelievably rich."

Their restaurant regularly served wealthy clients.

Even so, casually transferring two hundred thousand dollars without blinking was something she had never witnessed.

And on top of that...

He was ridiculously handsome.

She silently swore he’d become the most attractive wealthy man she’d ever met.

---

When Luca returned to the private room, Cecelia had already changed into a new pair of shoes.

She walked over with a smile.

"What do you think?"

Luca looked down briefly before giving her a thumbs-up.

"They’re beautiful."

His gaze, however, never actually lingered on the shoes.

It was entirely focused on her legs.

Compared to Vivienne’s, Cecelia’s legs were slightly fuller, giving them a softer, more mature elegance.

Long, straight, and graceful...

Especially with stockings.

They carried a charm that was impossible to ignore.

Cecelia noticed exactly where he was looking and rolled her eyes.

She should’ve known asking him for an opinion was pointless.

Still...

She genuinely loved the shoes.

"I’ll take these."

She spun around once with a satisfied smile.

"They’re perfect."

Luca nodded.

"Then wear them."

Turning toward Director Cristine, he added,

"Please have the remaining pairs delivered to the address I sent you."

"Understood, President Hale."

"Oh, right."

He remembered something else.

"I’ve arranged lunch for all of you in the private room next door."

"Eat before heading back."

"There’s no rush."

The young women behind Cristine exchanged excited looks.

None of them had expected that accompanying their manager today would earn them lunch with the president himself.

Just judging from the restaurant’s décor, they knew the prices weren’t cheap.

If they had to pay themselves, none of them would willingly come here.

But...

Free gourmet food?

Who could say no to that?

Other than Director Cristine, who remained composed, everyone else swallowed excitedly.

After expressing their thanks once more, the group happily headed into the neighboring private room.

...

Luca carried Cecelia’s high heels in one hand while holding her hand with the other as they left the restaurant.

Back inside the white Mini, he mentioned the banquet he’d arranged for every headquarters employee that evening.

Handling logistics was second nature to Cecelia.

She quickly calculated the approximate attendance before using Luca’s phone to send the final numbers to the restaurant owner.

...

Meanwhile...

Inside Hale-Viv Conglomerate’s secretariat...

Roseline rolled her chair across the floor until she reached Jessie’s desk.

"Sister Jessie."

"You’re going to the banquet tonight, right?"

Jessie didn’t even look up from touching up her makeup.

Instead, she asked calmly,

"Would you normally spend three or four hundred dollars on one meal?"

Roseline immediately shook her head.

"Exactly."

Jessie continued applying lipstick.

"Then why would I miss this?"

Roseline blinked.

"But... aren’t you dieting?"

Jessie smiled knowingly.

"You’re still young."

"There are things you’ll regret for a day..."

"And things you’ll regret for a lifetime."

"As far as I’m concerned, missing this meal belongs in the second category."

The secretaries earned respectable salaries.

Even so, spending several hundred dollars on dinner wasn’t something any of them would casually do.

Compared to an opportunity like this...

A diet could wait another day.

After all, everyone knew this feast existed only because President Hale was in such a good mood.

Opportunities like this wouldn’t come around often.

The same conversations were happening throughout every department in the building.

None of the employees had ever worked for a boss generous enough to treat the entire headquarters to such an expensive banquet.

Everyone felt unbelievably lucky.

Sure enough...

Having the boss’s future wife working at the company really came with benefits.

Of course, none of them knew the real reason behind the celebration.

They simply assumed President Hale had finally succeeded in winning Secretary Cecelia’s heart.

What they didn’t know...

Was that his romance had progressed much further than that.

Far enough that a baby was already on the way.

Not that either of them had ever intended to stop it from happening.