Chapter 218: Strategic Plans and Prom Invitations

The next morning, since Caleb didn’t come in until late afternoon due to taking Avery to the hospital for her pregnancy check-up, Eric stepped in to cover for him in the CEO’s chair right from the start of the day. Since there were no critical board meetings, department head syncs, or investor pitches lined up by Sarah, Eric didn’t need to step out of the office, though he kept himself busy reviewing paperwork at the desk.

"Knock... knock."

"Come in," Eric called out.

The door swung open, and Katie stepped inside before shutting it behind her. Carrying a stack of documents and a tablet, she walked over to Eric’s desk, pulled out a chair, and set her things down right in front of him.

"Following up on our conversation from last night, I put together the name for the foundation, a three-member board of directors, and an outline of its social mission like this. We can hash out the articles of incorporation together later—the main thing right now is getting your sign-off on the structure and the name," Katie explained, handing the tablet over to him.

Eric took the tablet and skimmed through the document, his eyes darting back and forth as he scrolled down.

"Wait... why am I listed as the director, with Melissa as secretary and Avery as treasurer? I mean, I know Avery wants in on this because she heard us talking last night, but didn’t I say Melissa should be the director?" Eric asked, looking up.

"You need to be listed as the director for the filing, but don’t worry, Melissa and Avery are more than happy to handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes. More importantly, do you approve of the name?" Katie asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Hmm... Bright Future Guardian?" Eric read aloud, looking back at Katie.

"Melissa was actually the one who pitched that name last night. She said our goal is to protect the futures of kids who shared your fate by giving them the support they need to stand on their own two feet and pursue their education... just like you did," Katie answered, smiling as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Hmm... the name works for me... but is it really okay for me to be listed as director?" Eric asked again.

"It’s fine. It’s just for the initial registration since we need three board members on paper anyway. After that, you can hand the reins over to Melissa. I also told Avery to keep an eye on Melissa, and she gladly agreed," Katie replied casually.

"Hmm... alright, fair enough. Move forward with it," Eric agreed, handing the tablet back to her.

"Great... now for this," Katie said, handing a folder over to Eric.

Opening the folder, Eric realized it was a formal agreement contract requiring the school’s signature for requesting and already advertising performances by The Empress and Nobelia at their prom in two days. Eric read through it, his eyes scanning down the pages. Once he finished, he grabbed a pen and signed his name where required before handing it back to Katie.

"When are you sending this out?" Eric asked.

"Today. I’ll have a courier deliver it straight to the school and hand it directly to the committee. If they refuse to sign, I’ve already drafted a lawsuit for putting this event together without our authorization, they even printed pamphlets," Katie answered smoothly.

"Whoa... let’s not turn this into a full-blown legal war," Eric warned with a chuckle.

"That’s why if they refuse to sign, I’ll issue a formal notice demanding they pull all the flyers. If they still refuse... we sue. Simple as that," Katie replied casually.

"Man... you really don’t mess around, do you?" Eric remarked.

"Of course not. The Empress and Nobelia are the flagship acts of our label now. We can’t let people throw their names around recklessly like back when they were just viral internet sensations," Katie countered.

"Alright, alright, you’ve got a point," Eric conceded, not wanting to argue further.

"So... who are you planning on going to the prom with?" Katie asked, leaning forward across the desk and resting her elbows on the surface, propping her chin on her hands with a playful, teasing smile.

"Huh... I don’t even plan on going," Eric answered, startled by the question.

"Wait, why? Why wouldn’t you want to go? Did you skip your own high school prom last year?" Katie asked, confused.

Eric went quiet for a moment. Memory flooded back of what went down last year, he had fully intended to go to prom with Vivian back then, but after getting kicked out of his home and watching Vivian abandon him for Jason right before his eyes, attending prom was out of the question. He hadn’t even attended his own high school graduation ceremony, though Martin had finally handed over his high school diploma to him recently.

Observing Eric’s sudden silence, Katie recalled what he had endured the previous year. Her playful grin vanished instantly, and she brought a hand to her mouth,

"Oops... sorry. I completely forgot that around this time last year, you were just arriving in this city and meeting Mr. Richard and me for the first time," Katie apologized softly.

"It’s fine, don’t worry about it... that is what happened last year, but that doesn’t mean I’m eager to go to their prom this time around, haha," Eric replied with a light chuckle.

"Hmm... what if you went with me?" Katie teased with a playful wink.

"Huh... you don’t even go to school there. On what grounds would I go with you? I don’t go there either," Eric countered.

"Hey... I’m an alum from that school! Look right here on the pamphlet, it clearly states alumni are welcome to attend. Read it yourself," Katie said, displaying the flyer on her smartphone screen.

"Oh... you went to school there?" Eric asked, surprised.

"How do you think I got my hands on this pamphlet in the first place? Come on now," Katie teased, pointing at her screen.

"Oh... I see. But pass. Besides, you just wanna go so you can tease the girls, right?" Eric asked with a smirk.

"Ugh... you’re no fun at all! Fine then, I’ll just take Mike," Katie replied playfully.

"What?! What if Jade catches you?" Eric asked, wide-eyed.

"Relax, I’ll just tell Jade I’m borrowing her boyfriend. Since she’s performing on stage anyway, there’s no reason Mike shouldn’t be there to watch, right? Hehehe," Katie answered casually, taking off her glasses to wipe the lenses clean.

"Why haven’t you gotten yourself a partner yet?" Eric asked.

Katie flinched slightly, her playful smile freezing right on her face. Seeing her reaction, Eric instantly realized he had touched a sensitive topic. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing down and back up.

"Oops... sorry," Eric apologized quickly.

"Hah... why are you saying sorry? I want to be number seven, I already told you that, didn’t I? Hehehe," Katie teased, intentionally leaning in even closer to Eric’s face.

Eric leaned back slightly. His eyes caught a brief glimpse of Katie’s cleavage as her blouse dipped forward, exposing her chest. Blinking, he forced his gaze back to her face and squeezed out a awkward smile,

"Quit playing around. They’re all downstairs practicing right now, so since they’re not in the room, why are you teasing me... hahaha," Eric stammered out nervously.

"I’m not playing around. I’m 24 and you’re 19, we’re only five years apart! That’s not a big deal at all, totally within a safe range. Besides, you’re definitely not a kid anymore, so it’s not breaking any laws," Katie said, locking eyes with Eric.

"Uh... lean back, stop messing with me," Eric urged, gently pressing his hands against Katie’s shoulders to nudge her back into her seat.

"Hehehe... okay, okay... relax, I was just teasing. Besides, I’m not really looking for a partner right now. I still wanna build my career and focus on being independent first," Katie replied casually.

Suddenly, "ding... ding... ding!" Katie’s smartphone on the desk exploded with a rapid-fire barrage of notifications like machine-gun fire. She glanced at the screen, a thoroughly satisfied grin spreading across her face. She spun the phone around and slid it toward Eric. Totally bewildered, Eric looked down at the display, his eyes widening as he saw around ten frantic incoming text notifications. He looked up at Katie,

"Aren’t you gonna read those?" Eric asked.

"Go ahead and open them yourself. I already know who they’re from," Katie answered casually.

"Seriously?" Eric asked, confused.

"Seriously, just open it," Katie said, waving her hand nonchalantly.

Eric picked up the phone and tapped on the notifications. His jaw instantly dropped. Every single text came from Emma, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, Priya, and Laura, each blowing up her inbox in separate threads. Eric tapped open Emma’s chat first and gasped. Emma had sent a crisp photo of Katie leaning across the desk toward Eric’s face as if she were about to kiss him, followed by three lines of angry texts below it:

"Hey... don’t try anything funny, Miss Katie... don’t take advantage of him!"

"I’m coming upstairs right now, don’t you dare go anywhere!"

"Hey... answer me... what are you doing up there?!"

Eric opened the messages from the other girls, finding virtually identical complaints, the exact same photo paired with a stream of texts calling Katie out. Eric rubbed his hands over his face, looking utterly exhausted despite it still being early morning. But a second later, a sudden question popped into his head: how on earth did the six girls get a photo taken inside his private office?

Before Eric could even speak up, Katie seemed to read his mind, pointing a finger toward the upper corner of the room. Eric turned his head and spotted the security camera mounted on the wall.

"Wait... they have access to the security feeds? Does that mean they’re hanging out in the security control room right now?" Eric asked.

"Yep... because on my way up here, I bumped into them in the elevator and they asked where I was going. Naturally, I told them I was heading up to get cozy with you, hehe," Katie answered mischievously.

"Give me a break... you really love pushing their buttons, don’t you? So instead of rehearsing downstairs, they’re sitting in the security room spying on us? What a mess," Eric said, shaking his head as a wave of fatigue washed over him.