Ice Prince: Rewrite The Star

Chleo walked out of the elevator with languid steps. She had never felt tired like this before. She didn't do any strenuous activity, neither did she do anything, but it felt like she did something that drained all of her stamina. 

Today was the darkest day in her life for him.

Chleo was still pacing, and when her eyes caught a young man smiling and waving at her, she flashed a smile for the first time since she entered Mrs. Montgomery's office.

"Hey, what's wrong? You don't seem excited." Max asked softly.

"There was a problem at work."

"Are you okay?"

Chleo was silent for a moment. "Can I speak honestly?"

"Of course."

"I'm not okay. I'm angry, disappointed, frustrated, and... helpless. I'm not okay at all." Chleo answered it in a low voice while lowering her head.

This was the first time she had complained and also poured out her heart to Max. She was worried that the young man would even dislike her and stay away from her. That's why Chleo said it in a whisper-like voice and didn't dare to look straight into the young man's blue eyes.

A gentle tap on the top of her head made Chleo's worry vanished.

"It's a natural feeling. You don't have to be shy about it."

Chleo smiled at that. Her heart became even better hearing the very soft and gentle voice above her head.

"Want some ice cream?"

Chleo's smile widened at the offer. "Are you treating me like a child?"

"So you don't want to?"

"Of course I do."

Max chuckled as Chleo's mood started to improve.

After ordering their ice cream, Chleo told him what had happened this morning when she came to the company office. She came as usual and behaved like she used to.

But suddenly, Mrs. Montgomery came out, calling her in an unfriendly tone. Then blamed her, insulted her, and so on before accusing her of something she didn't do.

Chleo wasn't blaming anyone. She was just annoyed with herself for being so careless in letting someone stole the design so easily. In this case, Chleo was not entirely at fault because the key to Xavier's desk drawer has been returned to Mrs. Montgomery. Automatically, the key was the older woman's responsibility.

Even so, Chleo still blamed herself. She still contributed to the disappearance of the design. She should have handed the key directly to Mrs. Montgomery instead of just put it on her desk. Who could cure her over carelessness?

"Are you this careless?" Max asked softly, making Chleo feel ashamed of herself. Just now, she indirectly told the man her flaw.

"I am this careless," said Chleo honestly. "But I have a sharp memory. I'm pretty sure I've kept it and locked it tightly. Ah, I'm defending myself. Sorry, never mind it." once again, Chleo lowered her head.

Max couldn't bear seeing her guilty face and blame herself over something as tiny as the missing designs papers. It wasn't her entire fault, and she didn't deserve to receive all nasty insults from Mrs. Montgomery.

All he could do was stroke the top of her head as if to tell her that everything would end well.

Max doubted he could calm her down, but at least for now, he could see that her eyes weren't as cloudy as she walked out of the office building.

"Chleo, have you seen those 20 designs? The model, the color, and the details?"

"Hmm. I still remember them. All of them are so awe-striking to make me forget everything else. I even could see it directly inside my head. Why?"

"If that's the case, why don't you try redrawing it?"

Chleo widened her eyes at this suggestion. Such a thing had never occurred to her. Furthermore, is she allowed to redraw someone else's design?

"I… I don't know if that's allowed or not. Besides, what if they find out that the model they see is different?"

"Are you not confident?"

"It's not like that. It's just…."

"Everything will be fine. Just do it as you remember it. You can also improvise if you think it's better."

"Improvise? What if the director won't like it? Moreover, the missing design drawing has been approved by the director. I'm not sure…."

"Chleo. Just do it. Trust me."

For a moment, Chleo felt hypnotized by the young man's pair of sapphire blue eyes. She saw the light in his eyes that were so brilliant as if there was no doubt in them. Chleo found herself overcome with newfound confidence.

She felt Max could provide her support, a sense of confidence, and also an inevitable victory.

This had never happened to her before.

Chleo was getting more and more in love with this young man. If Max also had the same feelings as her, that would be great.

"Okay. I will do it."

Chleo took out the sketchbook that she always carried with her wherever she went and the necessary stationery and colored pencils. Luckily she had bought colored pencils of the same brand that the office provided. That way, she could use the same color as the missing design papers.

After opening a blank sheet, Chleo closed her eyes to recall the first design model she remembered. After a few moments of remembering every detail of the design, Chleo began to focus on drawing.

There was no more cheerful smile on her face. Her eyes were filled with intense concentration and great determination. Every now and then, her feminine eyelids would close to recall the details. The girl's current expression was solemn and only focused on her sketchbook.

Max looked at the face in front of him while smiling to himself. He propped his chin on his hands that he settled on the table.

The serious Chleo looked unbelievably attractive in his eyes. He really couldn't get tired of seeing the girl's face.

"Sir, here is your ice cream." a waitress brought their order of ice cream to their table.

"Leave it here. Thank you." Max said kindly when the waiter was about to place Chleo's order of ice cream in front of the girl.

Max didn't want Chleo's concentration to be disturbed, so he placed Chleo's order of ice cream near himself. He wanted to give the girl some wiggle room.

It seemed that this table was too small for Chleo. Sometimes Max has to pick up colored pencils that fall to the floor because Chleo just puts them carelessly without caring about the pencil rolling and falling. Next time he would take Chleo to a place with a long table. Noted Max.

Chleo worked on the design for almost half an hour and only finished two designs with the same coloring. Max had seen the picture and was very impressed with the young girl's talent.

There was one thing he didn't tell Chleo. Max has seen the 20 designs and also remembered all the details contained in the designs. He even approved the idea.

Because he was... Maximillian Navarro was the president, director, and owner of Daphnia Fashions, where Chleo currently works.