CHAPTER V- Looks Like A Million Bucks

“I don’t recall reading this in the job description.”

“Turn,” Vincentio simply said, making a circling motion with his finger.

I gritted my teeth. I ought to throw these high heels at his stupid face.

He brought me to a high-end boutique and all afternoon, I had been trying work clothes and dresses for him. The experience would have been pleasant if only he threw some compliments here and there but he seemed more likely to choke before he could tell me I look beautiful.

“You can't expect that I would let you wear cheap crap while being seen beside me, can you? That would kill my reputation.”

When I didn’t turn at his command, he stood up from the couch and circled me like a shark. His intense green eyes almost held a predatory glint that I shivered in the strapless dress.

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “Reputation of what? Being a pig?”

He ignored me and stared at me up and down once more before letting out a sigh. 

“I guess that’s the best you could do.” Vincentio gestured at the shop assistant. “I’ll take everything that she tried on.”

“Wait. I have something that will suit your tastes more, Mr. Longoria.”

I shot the woman a look but she just grinned at my face. 

He thought for a second, checking his watch then he plopped back down on the couch, slouching like he owned the place. 

“Well, get on with it.”

I went inside the dressing room for the nth time this afternoon. Nina, the shop assistant, handed me the dress that she deemed would get his approval.

I doubt anything I’d wear would even make his jaw drop but I didn’t care much for his opinion. Yet, when I walked back to the lounging area wearing the fitted burgundy dress with the silver pumps Nina paired it with, something stirred in the pit of my stomach when his eyes widened an inch.

The stoic expression on his face resurfaced. He walked towards me and stared at my body through the full-length mirror on the wall beside me. I didn’t realize how much the dress brought out my curves and the color actually complimented my dull brown eyes. Standing by his side, I just realized my dress matched his tie as if we were on a date.

He nodded appreciatively as if assessing a new purchase. “Now you look at least fifty-thousand bucks.” 

“Please, you’re making me shy," I said sarcastically. “Are we done?”

“Not quite.”

~~~

“Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”

Andrew’s brown eyes were like saucers as soon as I walked into his apartment. He almost lost his balance as he was trying to maintain a side plank pose. The room was like thirty-two degrees celsius and smelled of sweats and stale air. 

I dropped the shopping bags on the floor. “I feel like a sellout.”

“You look like a million bucks, baby,” he grunted as he assumed another painful-looking pose.

“Can we stop putting a price on my appearance?”

The smell was even worse as I moved further into his living room. I strode towards the windows and opened it.

After Vincentio played dress-up on me, I thought I was finally going to do some real assistant work but no. He planned on giving me the full makeover like some twisted fairy godmother only in a suit and with money to swish around and left me in a beauty salon like he was dropping his kid off at boarding school.

Well, the experience wasn’t that bad. It was embarrassing at first. I didn’t start the day expecting that I would be getting naked with a stranger so I hadn’t prepped my body at all. But they were professional, so in the middle of it, I started to enjoy it.

That was the shame of it. 

Andrew stretched his arms to the ceiling, his face reddening at the effort. “What happened?”

“Did you know that Longoria bought Hamlet Corp?” 

“I vaguely remember one of the ladies talking about it in the morning session. But that doesn’t explain why you’re missing your mustache.”

Subconsciously, my hand went to the spot above my lips. The ladies at the salon waxed it without my permission. I could still feel the sting around my face from their torturous strips as they ambushed every patch of hair they could find.

“He hired me.”

“And dolled you up? He’s more generous than I thought.”

He and I both. It had been a weird day.

“He can’t be just doing this out of the goodness of his heart, can he?”

Andrew finally finished cooling down and was wiping the sweat off his body. He changed into a fresh black shirt, looking thoughtful.

“How else did he act around you?”

I put a hand on my chin, running through the events of today. After he picked me up from the salon, I didn’t hear any snide remarks from him. He even apologized to me before dropping me off. That was the weirdest part.

“Well, he was more compromising. He was still rude but he actually apologized for his behavior back in the boutique.”

‘Did he really feel bad about that day?’ I started to wonder.

Andrew suddenly clapped his hands together. “Oh no. I get it. He’s trying to seduce you.”

“How the hell is all that seduction?”

“Not sexually. He’s not actually trying to get you into bed but the process is the same," he explained, his hands gesturing wildly. "He's trying to lure you with these luxuries. Imagine you're in a bar, he's trying to get you drunk first, and then before you know it, you’re face down on his bed and getting f*cked from behind. In short, he’ll f*ck you up when you least expect it."

“Thanks for that mental image. It is now etched in my mind forever,” I said drily.

“You’re welcome.”

As ridiculous as it sounded, it made a lot of sense than him having a change of heart out of nowhere.

“Damn it. I believed him for a moment. I took his money. I had my hair blown from his pockets. ”

“Actually that’s good. Make him believe that you’re being seduced and,” Andrew paused, for extra effect, "you get to reap the benefits. When he gets too comfortable, that’s when you strike."

I bobbed my head as my mind tried to wrap around what he was trying to say.

"Use his strategy against him." 

Andrew snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

“So, should I act dumb around him?”

“Well, not dumb-dumb, that will just raise his suspicions. Just continue being you but this time, you’re going to seduce him without him knowing it.”

I snorted at the idea. “Me being seductive?”

His nose scrunched up as if he's just realizing my non-existent skills at enthralling males. “Yeah, you're going to need a lot of work. But, we will focus first on finding out Vincentio Longoria’s weakness because that’s more doable out of the two.”

‘Does a man like him even have one?‘

"Does he even have one?" 

I watched him stood up and got something from his room. Andrew came out bearing his silver laptop.

"Everyone has a weakness, darling," he drawled, plopping down next to me. I scooched closer to him. 

"What's yours then?"

"Nothing, I'm perfect." He rolled his eyes at me as if that was obvious already.

He began to type in the search engine. "Let's see..."

"Vincentio Longoria, son of Lucius 'the dragon' Longoria. He is the heir to the multibillion corporation, worth— yeah, yeah, we already know we can't afford him. We need to have more sauce than this," he mumbled, already annoyed at the lack of tea the articles were providing.

This is going to take a while. I pushed myself off the couch.

"I'll make us some coffee." 

As I waited for the water to heat up in silence, the huge wave of disappointment finally hit me. I couldn't believe that I actually felt down. Of course, he’s not going to take time off his day to help out a stranger who rejected his more than generous business offer. I guess I was hoping that the Vincentio whom everyone had talked about, who was kind and gentle, was slowly resurfacing back. 

"Still nothing?" 

I handed Andrew his mug and I folded my knees under me as I sat down, blowing softly on my coffee.

"I'm trying to search for articles about the two years he was missing but nothing comes up. Only this one from the Daily Owl, but the company is also one of their acquisitions so, I don't know about their credibility."

"They just want to own everything, don't they?"

Andrew started reading another article out loud,"'The heir, missing, is he backing out of the family business?' Well, that didn't age well," he chortled. "Oh wait— says here, he's engaged. How come I didn't get wind of this?"

"You’re not exactly the type who fights to read the business papers in the morning, hun."

His jaw dropped. "She's gorgeous!" 

I immediately turned the screen to me. 

Vincentio’s fiance looked like if Snow White was a real person, only with long black hair, designer clothes, and instead of being surrounded by dwarves, was accompanied by giant bodyguards. 

"'Lysa Hearst, the heiress to the clothing giant, refused to comment on her fiance's disappearance.' Hmmm, now that's suspicious.” Andrew scrolled through the page. “There is no more news about their engagement."

"Will that really make headlines?"

"They're like the royalty of the business world. Of course, it would. But then again, they were able to make his disappearance quiet."

Another dead-end. We both sighed.

I almost spilled my coffee when Andrew suddenly squealed beside me, his eyes on the shopping bags.

"Oh my God, is that Chanel?"

He jogged over to it and tied the twilly scarf around his neck while admiring his reflection.

"You're so lucky."

I buried my face against the pillow. I’m starting to feel that something worse is about to happen when I hear those words.

~~~

I flinched as Andrew clicked his tongue for the fifth time. "It looks like you're holding a lot of sh*t."

"Well, these heels make it feel like it," I whined, my ankles already starting to hurt. Whoever made these sure channeled all his hatred on women.

It’s already midnight and I was still yet to master the art of walking like a lady. I’m starting to lose hope in this plan of his.

"I'm not really comfortable seducing an engaged man." 

"We're not going to do anything wrong. You would just be flaunting your feminine charms. If he takes the bait, that's on him."

"Will he really take the bait? With that girl for a fiance?"

"Okay, you have a point but, you're good, as long as you're not in the same room as her. Now, straighten that back. Act like you own the room you walk in," Andrew scolded, rolling his shoulders back, his shapely butt sticking out proudly.

"That's really hard to do with half a million dollar debt on my back."

"Do you still want to do this?"

I threw myself on the couch, kicking off the deadly contraptions. "Sorry, I'm just exhausted."

"Here, maybe this will do the trick." He got something from his TV console. Before I knew it, I was being sprayed with a suffocating smell. When I started to cough, Andrew looked satisfied. "One of the ladies from the yoga class gave this to me. Says she seduced a Dubai tycoon with it."

The perfume smelled sickeningly sweet and sugary that I almost gagged.

“Go get that billionaire.”