My CEO Boss Is A Masked Internet Sensation-Chapter 157: Will He Smile Or Not?

(Arata)

"Arata, that was better than I had imagined. But there are certain aspects we need to work on. We will practice daily until the event and you will need to practice with Mr Karsten too," Halima narrated, her face adjusting to reveal a small smile of relief.

I understood she must have earlier believed I would need a lot of work and was only chosen because I was Karsten’s girlfriend.

"I will put in the work and effort. I am a perfectionist," I assured her and then my eyes fell towards an approaching Karsten.

Pride clouded his gaze and my heart calmed seeing it.

"Mr Karsten, glad you are here. If both of you could take the stage together just once. I need to observe how much both of you synchronise so we can work on the lacking parts," Halima shifted her focus towards Karsten.

"Yes, we can do one ramp walk before I need to go and finalise the dress," he answered her before turning to me. "Come Arata." Karsten offered me his hand and I took it.

He guided me towards the ramp again and whispered.

"You were phenomenal on the runway, I can’t wait to walk with you." I beamed at his praise. He had come a long way from never praising me to openly showering me with it now.

Why the subtle change?

We took our positions I held his arm

"You comfortable?" He asked, warmly staring at me. That coldness he always exhibited didn’t stare back at me anymore. A warmness had settled in his eyes.

I gave him an assuring nod while filling my lungs with much-needed oxygen.

Halima’s countdown began.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 began to blast through the speakers as we stepped on the flashing platform.

Everything fell away as I lost myself in the feeling of his closeness and perfecting my walk.

Rhythmically our feet synchronised, we eased into this walk and moved forward.

A slow smile climbed on my lips while Karsten tried to shift his gaze in every direction as Halima had instructed before.

"Try and smile, Mr Karsten," she shouted from the sidelines.

What an impossible task for my Iceberg.

"I can always tickle you if your robotic lips are unable to spread and smile," I muttered under my breath while trying to keep the smile going.

"You never said my lips were robotic when they consumed you with kisses," he retorted back, still not smiling.

"Not the time to talk about smooches." I tried to keep my composure.

We approached the end of the runway with Halima running down beside us and pointing with her hands towards Karsten to smile.

The woman was trying and I had to applaud her efforts. Working with Karsten or under him was equally challenging.

It wasn’t for the faint of heart, that was sure.

I subtly pinched his arm and muttered.

"Smile and I might let you kiss me goodnight."

My words worked like a charm and to everyone’s surprise, Karsten smiled, a full-fledged smile where his eyes crinkled at the sides.

"That’s what I am talking about." Halima happily bounced on her feet seeing him smile.

Ranold sent him a thumbs-up while others looked flabbergasted.

Karsten Chevalier was smiling. What a rare moment. So many phones flicked and flashed. I am sure everyone wanted to capture the rare moment which was like seeing a comet in the sky.

"You better keep that promise, Arata. This smile is not for them," he breathed in that heavy voice of his which always made my knees shake.

His eyes slowly wavered towards me as his words smouldered. "It’s for you."

God help me against this man. For sure I had turned into a walking cherry. fгeewebnovёl.com

We turned and headed back.

"I always keep my promises." I stole a glance and regretted it.

Hungry and ravenous—his eyes watched me as if he could devour me then and there, on this runway.

"We will see," he challenged.

We arrived at the end of the ramp and entered backstage through the curtains.

I didn’t let go of his arm and he didn’t seem to mind.

Halima ran forward to us, out of breath. Bending down she let her breathing stabilise before saying.

"That was incredible. But, your focus should be on the audience more and less towards Arata. And that smile, please try and keep it going."

Embarrassment shrouded me, even Halima was going to think Karsten was distracted by me or because of me.

"I was just giving her an instruction, Halima," Karsten answered and I let go of his arm, knowing he had to leave.

"Sir!"

"Practice with Arata, I need to go and get that dress ready," he instructed her while swiping his hair away from his forehead.

Turning towards me Karsten’s voice dropped a few notes when he spoke.

"Don’t tire yourself; if you feel exhausted, just rest. Remember you are still recovering."

I reassuringly nodded at him.

"Ayee! Ayee! Captain."

Another tiny smile graced his full lips and my heart ached with bubbling emotions. I watched him walk away.

The rest of the day was mostly spent in practice and Halima was satisfied with my progress.

Karsten returned to fetch me when it was time to go home and made the announcement.

"The theme of our Winter Gale will be: Winter is here with a splash of red."

Everyone rejoiced to hear the tagline and the theme. I now understood why his garb had red in it.

This Winter Gala was going to be epic.

Back in the car, I took off my shoes and relaxed against the comfortable seat, not caring that my boss was sitting beside me. My feet were killing me.

I closed my eyes and just let myself be.

"Tired?" Karsten asked from beside me and I only hummed, not opening my eyes.

"Bring your feet here. Put them on my legs." His request had me opening my eyes, and I saw him leaning against the car window, pointing towards his lap.

"Why?" I asked wearily, sitting up straight.

"So, I can give your feet a massage. Why else?" He deadpanned.