Chapter 10
Dennis Carter, the guy standing next to him, wrapped up his report with his head down, but got nothing but crickets for a while.
He glanced up, puzzled, at Leopold. The cigarette in Leopold's hand was just a stub now, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes were glued to the screen. Dennis followed his gaze and saw the marathon leader was a girl.
She was running like a pro, rocking a green T-shirt and ZL Group sneakers. She was sweating buckets, and her face was as red as a tomato. Made you wanna pinch those cheeks.
"Tell me that again!" Leopold, who had shifted his focus back, opened the file and dove into work.
An hour and ten minutes later, Agnes blew past the former marathon runner-up and snagged first place again! Her speed cranked up the hype around her.
Folks from the School of Economics and Management started yelling, "Agnes, you rock! Go, go!" Even those who couldn't see her but heard she was leading joined in. The cheers were deafening.
At an hour and twenty minutes, just as she was about to catch up the third-to-last competitor, there were gasps from behind, and she heard someone shouting Jeremy's name.
Agnes, panting hard, looked back. Justin and the others had bailed halfway. Only Jeremy, who had been in sixth place, had somehow fallen and was struggling to get up.
Agnes swallowed and hesitated for just a sec before turning back amidst the crowd's gasps.
Meanwhile, the former marathon runner-up zipped past her and took the lead.
"Agnes, don't..." Jeremy hadn't finished his sentence when Agnes had already reached him and offered her hand.
Agnes had come over, so Jeremy had no choice but to grab her hand and get up with her help.
But he seemed pretty banged up. As soon as he stood up straight, the pain in his leg almost made Jeremy buckle. "Agnes, listen. My leg's messed up. I can't run the marathon. You go on, don't worry about me!"
Agnes glanced at his scraped knee and said, "Jeremy, it's just a scrape. Come on!"
She'd known Jeremy for years. This brainiac always had helped her in the class. No way she was leaving him behind now.
With Agnes pushing him, Jeremy gritted his teeth and started running again.
Their classmates, who had been cheering, screamed, "Jeremy, Agnes, you guys are awesome!"
"Agnes, I love you!" To everyone's amusement, this word came from a girl.
Agnes pulled Jeremy along, gradually passing the others. Eventually, Agnes finished third, with Jeremy in fourth place.
In order to help her classmate, Agnes gave up the first place, thus gaining her own moment of fame in the marathon.
Leopold saw it all from the VIP room.
At that moment, Agnes, who had finished third, was lifted by a dozen guys and tossed into the air, then caught again.
Leopold's lips curled into a sneer. She really wasn't a decent woman, so good at wrapping those naive guys around her finger.
The award ceremony was held at the half-marathon closing ceremony, and Leopold, the big boss of ZL Group, was said to have presented it.
In the dormitory, just as she was about to catch some Z's, Agnes nearly jumped out of bed when she heard the name. How the heck did Leopold get involved in this?
Bella shot her a sympathetic look. "Girl, you and Mr. Neville are like, seriously destined! Agnes, I'm really worried. You might bump into him at the award ceremony."
Agnes sighed. They weren't just destined; they were married, for crying out loud. "I won't clash with him. If I'd known he was presenting the award, and since I didn't get first place, I would've ditched the third place too." Anything but first felt like a loss to her.
Clara blew on her nails. "Agnes, I kinda envy you. I mean, your fate with Mr. Neville is something else. But then I remember how you two always butt heads, and yeah, not so envious anymore." Only Agnes had the guts to stand up to Leopold without getting squashed.
Could Agnes have some secret power stronger than Leopold's?
Clara quickly shook off that thought. In Lumina City, nobody dared to mess with Leopold!
Bella hugged a pillow, looking totally puzzled. "Agnes, Mr. Neville is so hot. Every time you see him, shouldn't you be swooning? How come you two don't get along?"
Agnes's smile froze for a sec. At first, she was totally smitten by Leopold's looks. But her fiery temper couldn't handle his snarky comments. Wasn't it just a kiss? Women always got the short end of the stick in these things, right? She couldn't get why Leopold was so petty!
She and Leopold hated each other.
"I just don't get it. Why is Leopold everywhere? Even at a marathon award ceremony? Doesn't he have a company to run? Isn't he the president of some big multinational group? Are these guys so free?" Agnes couldn't help but rant.
Bella had to explain, "Agnes, the marathon we're in, the clothes, sneakers, prizes, all that stuff is mostly from ZL Group. As the big sponsor, Mr. Neville's gotta be there."
"Plus, ZL Group is big on sports events. They've sponsored tons of them! For a big deal like a marathon, ZL Group's involvement is a no-brainer," Clara added.
When it came to Leopold, they always paid attention! After all, he was the most eligible bachelor in Lumina City!
At the award ceremony, Agnes stood cool as a cucumber on the third-place podium. It wasn't long before she saw Leopold, making the crowd go wild.
Leopold, in a dark suit and shiny black shoes, walked onto the stage with steady steps, bathed in the golden autumn sunlight.
Leopold had the charming vibe, and every move he made screamed class! The women in the audience were losing it. Even Agnes was momentarily dazed.
If Leopold were just like this, without messing with Agnes, he'd be super, super handsome! No wonder so many women went nuts for him.
The pretty hostess couldn't help but light up and excitedly announced, "Now, let's welcome Mr. Neville to present the award to our champion!"
When it was time for the third-place award, Leopold and the etiquette lady walked towards Agnes. Agnes, who had been keeping her head down, had to look up and face the indifferent Leopold. She finally managed to force a smile.
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