Chapter 9 Familiar Scent

"Why are we giving this to?" asked Lea, when she received the box given by Nina. "What is this?"

The box was beautifully wrapped and decorated, with floral ornaments and ribbons. Nina gave it to Lea at the exit door near the lobby.

"This is just a gift that you can give to the jury, choose anyone from the judges that I have previously introduced to you," Nina said lightly. "It's nothing, it's just something small. They will be very happy to receive it. This gift has been prepared by our company since before the event started. It's common here, giving one of the judges or interviewers a small gift to make our chances a little bit better and bigger."

Lea stared at the box in her hands with great doubt. This seemed strange to her, because giving gifts to the jury or the interviewer could be seen as an attempt at bribery.

In America, there is no such tradition. Everything must be done transparently and there must be no element of bribery in it, even though in practice fraud still occurs here and there. Maybe it's like that at Skyhigg too?

Lea looked at Nina with a frown. "Why don't we give all the judges a prize like this? Giving only one of the judges a prize, feels unfair and weird, Nina," Lea said in a worried tone.

Nina laughed. "Oh come on, Lea, don't be so stiff. I've been in the entertainment world like this for more than ten years. I know what to do for the models under my management. You know what my reputation is, even Diamond entertainment believes me to represent you," Nina said in a sulky tone. "You must never doubt my good intentions for your betterment."

Lea felt uncomfortable hearing Nina's words. Maybe Nina was right. However, she hasn't been here for a long time, so she doesn't know what the trend is. She should have trusted Nina's judgment more because she herself wanted Nina to become her agent at Skyhigh. Nina must have known what was best for her.

"Okay, Nina, I'll find out first who I'm going to give this gift to," Lea said finally. "Can we go back inside now? I think in a little while the Franzine industry will be giving a presentation about the general overview of the duties and work of a brand ambassador."

Nina smiled happily. "You go in first. I'm going to check something in a bit. I'll catch up soon."

Lea walked back down the hall, but various thoughts plagued her. She still doubted Nina's request to give the box in her hand as a gift to one of the judges.

Lea shook the box and felt something soft rustling inside the box. What's this?

From a distance Nina could still catch what Lea was doing. The woman shook the box that she had given her. According to Fely's previous instructions, Nina had wrapped the gifts in a box very neatly and tightly. It's impossible to know what's inside without breaking the box.

Fely told her that the contents of the box were a pair of very sexy, bright red lingerie made of transparent lace.

The judges in this event are mostly men. They consist of fashion observers, designers, industrialists, conglomerates and prominent officials.

Franzine Industry has a very broad and diverse network. They want the chosen the brand ambassador to be able to reach all partners and networks that work with the Franzine industry.

The judges who have been selected are bound by a commitment to make a fair and honest assessment. They are notoriously strict with their judgment, because any kind of cheating, if they do it and get caught, will damage their reputation.

Franzine Industry is known as a clean company, everything must go through appropriate checks and procedures, without bribes, without third party pressure, and entrusted by anyone.

Nina knew that if Lea was caught giving the box to one of the judges, she would be in really big trouble, not only on this show, but she might also be banned from the Skyhigh fashion world.

Deep inside, Nina feels guilty because what she is doing might ruin Lea's career. While Nina was still thinking about what would happen to Lea as a result of giving the box to one of the jurors she had chosen, the phone in her jacket pocket rang.

Nina looked at the screen and sighed before accepting the call. "Yes, Fely?"

"How? Has she received the box yet?" asked Fely in a tense voice.

"Yes. The box is in her hands now and she seems to quite believe what I'm saying," Nina replied in an even tone.

"Very nice!" Fely said happily. "That fact makes me a little happy, because earlier I failed to approach Jayden Franzine. He was so arrogant and very rude."

"How did you manage to chat with him?" asked Nina enthusiastically.

"No! Instead he pushed and made me fall, jerk!" Fely said angrily. "Ah, well, I'm too lazy to talk about it. Just keep an eye on that bitch. I still need to meet some more judges."

Fely just hung up the phone and Nina took a deep breath.

Lea thought of Jayden and felt guilty for walking off with Nina earlier. She realized that Nada had recognized the scent of his mate and had been restless since earlier, and was even angry when Lea went out with Nina instead of approaching the man who owned her mate.

However, Lea asked Nada to be patient and said that they would meet the man again. Nada understood, but when Lea entered the hall, Nada felt the man was having a hard time, because Black was very nervous.

Nada asks Lea to help the man because after all he is the father of Luke, Lea's child. Lea was silent for a moment and thought that Nada might be right.

Meeting the man again was something outside of her plans, because after the incident five years ago, all the things she had experienced, the bitterness and hardships she had been through all this time, made Lea determined that she would no longer look for a mate.

However, Nada reminded Lea not to be selfish about Luke. He needs a father figure and has the right to know his biological father.

Lea decided to talk to the man, her mate from five years ago, the father of her child. He certainly didn't know anything about Luke, but she might be able to find a good time and place to talk to him.

He was only a bellboy when Lea forced herself on him, but that shouldn't be a problem for Lea. She would help this man, at least he could help her take care of Luke when Lea needed him. It will be a symbiotic relationship of mutualism, mutual benefit, although it doesn't need to involve feelings.

The phone in Lea's handbag vibrated. She took it and saw that it was Shery who called her.

"Hi, Shery," said Lea.

"Hey Lea, sorry to bother you. You must still be at your work event."

"It's okay Shery, I'm pretty relaxed actually. How's Luke, is he cranky?"

"On the contrary, he is very calm and pleasant. I just need to ask a little."

"Yeah, Shery, what's wrong?"

"I saw there was a glass vial of medicine in his briefcase, was it a vitamin or some kind of supplement? When should he take it?"

"Ah, I forgot about that. Yes, it's a supplement. Luke sometimes has a hard time eating, especially when he's too preoccupied with his gadgets. I never force him to eat when he's feeling reluctant, so I replace him with the supplement. It's enough every time need to eat it."

"Okay then, I'll take good notes. He's asleep now."

"I'll call him in the morning. Thanks for looking after him for me, Shery."

"No problem. You take care and take care of your health too. I'll keep you posted later."

Shery ended the conversation and Lea put her phone back in her bag. A woman previously introduced by Nina as a fashion magazine editor approached Lea and said hello.

Nada urged Lea to find the man immediately, but Lea asked her to wait. Leah thought, maybe the woman who approached her was part of the visiting jury who would give her marks as well.

The woman asked Lea a lot about her fashion sense, so Lea was increasingly convinced that it was part of her assessment. Lea thought about giving the woman the box in her hand, but she remembered Nina's words that it could only be given to one of the officially appointed jurors.

Inside Lea, Nada started to grow impatient as the woman kept asking questions and pressing Lea to answer. Lea tried to calm her wolf and find a way to end the conversation. She pretended to go to the restroom so finally the fussy woman let her go.

She seemed very impressed by the appearance and the answers to the questions she threw at Leah.

In a hurry, Leah pulled away from the woman and tried to avoid the other guests who seemed attracted to her.

Nada started sniffing the air, looking for traces of her mate. She could smell the scent of her mate, a large and stout wolf with long, shiny black fur, though not very clearly. Too much smell of perfume floating in the air.

Lea is a strong she-wolf and over the past five years she has also forged herself to be tougher, so Nada has also become more sensitive and tough.

Then, Nada grunted happily, when she felt the scent of his mate getting stronger.

"Cinnamon and musk, am I right, Nada?" said Lea in her mind, talking to Nada. "I tried to forget that scent, but unfortunately, the harder I tried to forget it, the more it stuck in my memory. Where is he, Nada, show me. Maybe it's time for us to meet him."

Nada squeaked happily and sniffed the air stronger. Lea followed Nada's directions, looking for someone among many other people and occasionally had to stop to make small talk to answer greetings and questions.

Lea's feet in high heels were starting to feel tired and she also felt thirsty. She had almost given up, when her sense of smell caught the scent.

Lea avoided a man who looked like he wanted to talk to her and it was then, she saw the man's familiar figure. Her mate from the past, father of her son.