The concord of the melody of the piano and the warm ambience of the restaurant was just what the inhabitants of B City needed.
A waiter led Alex and Irene into a private room.
This welcome banquet was supposed to be for Lilian. But she opted out, saying that she needed to get acquainted with her assistant.
She needs to step up her game, Irene thought. Even at a mile away, anyone could see that lame excuse.
In fact, without Lilian noticing, Irene picked up her cry of victory when they separated, as if she just got out of a grueling interview—it was do or die, people!
Nonetheless, it was already booked and wasting money was a big no - no. So here she was with the host, and that blushing cutie-pie was nowhere to be seen.
To think that this maverick before her actually broke his years-long streak twice in a day stumped Irene. First, he accepted another artist. Second, he opened a backdoor for the said actress. He was more unusual than she was.
Lamentably, all she could do was conjure up infinite probabilities about why he did that. The novel's plot wasn't given to her, so the how's and why's of the characters could only be discerned through the original's memory and on what she saw in them.
So far, she was stuck on a tough question. But, if you could ask for help, of course you should.
Thus Irene said, "What's with Lilian?"
The receiver, Alex, understood what she implied behind those words. Yet, like with Carl, he was disinclined to share anything. He took a moment to respond.
Alex asked back, "What's with Vince?"
Despite saying she wanted a blockbuster, Alex didn't believe her.
But, since she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her. People had their own secrets. He was aware of that. He also knew full well how important privacy was to every individual. Hence, he would naturally respect her choice.
Since he didn't want to answer her, he backfired her question.
They were at a standstill.
His lackadaisical posture and the glee in his eyes were awful to Irene. F*ck.
She perceived his unwillingness. Well, at least I tried.
She didn't dwell on it more and moved on.
Irene dove back to her sea of theories. What a chore...
With no one wanting to budge, the both of them came to a ceasefire and went on with their lunch.
In the middle of cutting his steak, Irene shot Alex a question all of a sudden. "So where's mine?"
Alex's hold on the knife loosened. He stared at her and questioned, "What do you mean?"
"You now have more on your plate. I guessed that I would also have an assistant to lighten your load."
"Oh." His straight lips morphed into an arc, and his eyes turned crescent. "Why? Are you already sick of this nanny of yours?" Implying to himself.
Inside Irene's head, she already threw her hands in the air dismissively. F*ck off.
She studied him, and then slowly leaned on the back of her chair.
Two can play at this game.
Irene smirked. "Yes."
"No!!!" He feigned crestfallen and covered his face with both of his hands. His body went limp.
In pitch black, Alex observed his surroundings through his ears. Not hearing any shuffling, he peeked between the cracks of his fingers and saw the unmoved Irene.
Alex swiftly closed his eyes and muttered incomprehensible words. He resigned under this fruitless attempt of drawing pity.
"You're heartless." The ice queen was still at her peak.
He put his mischievousness aside and stated, "Don't mind me. I know my limits. And if I ever can't cope up anymore, you'll be the first to know." The amber pupils met the smiling blue ones. "I have to consult our queen's opinion when selecting an assistant."
Alex's ocean-blue orb enamored Irene.
"Fine," she relented. What a handsome devil.
***
Lilian watched Alex and Irene as they headed toward the elevator.
The moment the door closed, everything in her went loose.
"Ahhhhhh! Did you see her?! Did you see her?!" Lilian screamed.
She fiercely shook her assistant's shoulders, unable to contain her excitement. I held hands with Irene!
Meanwhile, the jogged up Maine Brooks was currently dizzy from the shake.
She held her head and escaped from the clutches of the villain in front of her. Maine also was a fan of Irene, but she didn't expect that she would be working with a crazier fan than her.
"I'm not blind. So please don't rattle me like a toy." Maine waited for her world to return back to normal. Though her head was spinning, she was truly looking forward to this new job of hers. Like any fan, imagining the encounter she would have with Irene later on was a bliss.
The exuberant Lilian got off from the state of pleasure and was now worrying about her actions. "I did nothing weird, did I?" she asked Maine.
Their first and official meeting was something that Lilian would remember for the rest of her life. Apart from her embarrassment, she recalled that she didn't act outlandish. To make sure, she ran through her memories thoroughly. Yup, I wasn't a weirdo.
Maine, who was left to deal with the discomfort, now felt fine.
"Don't worry. Ms. Irene wouldn't mind even if you trip yourself." Her reply earned her a glare from Lilian.
Maine could only summarize her first impression of Lilian as childish and naïve.
She shrugged Lilian's look off.
Then, she grabbed and pulled Lillian's hand and said, "Let's go have lunch."
Before leaving, Alex invited them to lunch. But Lilian didn't even discuss it with her before rejecting him. That was his welcome party for them!
Thankfully, Alex didn't fully buy into Lilian's excuse and gave them a sum of money they could lavishly spend at any restaurant. This time, she wouldn't miss this chance to indulge in luxury.
Good food could make anyone salivate, and Lilian was not immune to this.
She felt bad for saying those words earlier, but she was also relieved. As always, she didn't know how to handle herself in front of Irene, so she thought about escaping before she became more stupid.
She could sense Maine's discontent burning her back at that time. But then, an angel came and offered her amnesty.
Alex still treated them to lunch.
Lilian exclaimed, "Right! Let's go, let's go."
They grabbed their bags and headed downstairs.
Walking down the hallway, Lilian met some familiar faces.
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