Echoes of Unrequited Love ( Hogan Zade )
Chapter 78

Chapter 78

I was just spitting facts, but Hogan’s brows were all knotted up like he was trying to solve the world’s hardest puzzle.

Just then, the elevator doors slid open, and I tried to play it cool as I stepped out. But bar, suddenly I felt a grip on my wrist. Hogan had followed me out and grabbed hold of me.

“Xaviera, say it again.”

His tone was urgent, his voice trailing off in a husky whisper, weirdly making him sound all wronged.

I took a deep breath and was like. “Just stating the obvious. Did you think there was something off in what I said?”

“Hogan.”

Cecilia’s voice butted in out of nowhere, making Hogan pause and instantly let go of me.

The girl trotted up to Hogan and latched onto his arm all lovey–dovey, “I just texted you. Didn’t you see it?”

Hogan responded with a chill vibe, the irritation on his face vanished into thin air, acting like the standoff we just had was all in my head.

“What were you and Xaviera chatting about so intensely?”

The subject suddenly swung back to me.

Staring into Cecilia’s big innocent eyes, I deadpanned, “Nothing much, just discussing the profound complexities of language.”

“Oh, really?” Cecilia looked up at Hogan, “Hogan, you’re into that stuff too?”

“Xaviera, finally found you.” Wallis was at the door, throwing me knowing glances.

I couldn’t have been more grateful, and I bolted towards her office..

“What’s up, did our cash cow wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?“. Wallis leaned in for the latest scoop.

Her sixth sense was always on point.

I sighed and said, “It’s my bad for playing the wise guy.”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday Mr. Zade schooled me a bit in economics, and today I hit him back with some crisp phrases,” I said, downplaying the whole thing.

Wallis let out a sigh and pouted, “Is this how you brainiacs always talk shop?”

We were veering off topic.

09:56

Chapter 78

Guess my skills were still not up to snuff.

Seeing I clammed up, Wallis quickly handed me a dark red, gold–embossed invitation.

“There’s a business mixer at the Vienna Hotel the day after tomorrow, hosted by Rich Frank. Lots of big names in the industry are gonna be there,” she paused, “the man you admire, Tack, will be there too.”

I was a bit shocked, “Tack, as in the world–famous software engineer?”

“Yep.” Wallis grinned at me. “So, feeling better now?”

My heart skipped a beat, and I was too stoked to speak.

Tack was this world–class software engineer I’d been fangirling over since my college days. His claim to fame was spotting bugs with just a glance at the code, no debugger needed.

To have a chat with a legend like that was on my wish list.

I spent the whole night prepping tech questions to discuss with Tack.

But word about me hitting the mixer somehow got to Cecilia, and the next morning, she hit up Wallis in the work chat.

[Wallis, I heard we got an invite from Glory Capital too. Mind if I tag along for the fun tomorrow night?] She even dropped a cheeky tongue–out emoji, all coquettish.

Wallis ain’t one to hold grudges, but the invite was crystal clear – each company could only bring one key person.

Glory Capital was this big–shot group, and they were sticklers for rules and regs. If they put it in writing, it meant the mixer had a strict guest list, and there was no way Wallis could bring Cecilia along.