Chapter 9

ZAVIER CROSS

I walked into Raini's room and found her in a much better mood than I had left her in. It seemed like she had hit it off with Karla, which was a relief to me. I told her that we would be having dinner together and that she should get ready. I noticed her looking at me intently as if she was sizing me up. I could understand why, I mean, I was a stranger to her, a billionaire TV sensation that she had won in a contest.

"Hello, Raini," I say, giving her a smile.

She looks up at me, a mix of apprehension and curiosity in her eyes. "Hi, Zavier. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be having dinner together tonight," I say. "I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other a little better."

Raini looks like she's about to protest, but then she seems to change her mind. "Okay, sure. What time?"

"Let's say seven o'clock," I say. "And feel free to wear whatever you're comfortable in. We're not exactly formal around here."

Raini nods, looking relieved. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to be ready."

As I turn to leave, I can't help but notice that she's looking at me a little more closely than before. I wonder what she's thinking.

Later that evening, I make sure to dress up a little more than usual. I want to make a good impression on Raini, and maybe even show her that I'm not the uptight, demanding boss she might have been expecting.

When I arrive at her door, I can hear her bustling around inside, getting ready. "You almost ready in there?" I call out.

"Just about!" she calls back.

A few minutes later, she opens the door, looking stunning in a simple black dress. "Wow," I say, feeling a little bit awestruck. "You look great."

Raini rolls her eyes. "Please. It's just a dress."

I grin. "Well, you wear it well."

We make our way to the dining room, where our meal is already laid out. I can tell that Raini is a little bit nervous, so I try to put her at ease. "So, tell me a little bit more about yourself," I say.

I pulled out a chair for her. As we sat down, I asked her about her interests and hobbies. She said she enjoyed reading, watching movies, and listening to music. We had a lot in common, and I found myself enjoying her company more and more.

The conversation flowed easily, and we talked about everything from our favorite foods to our biggest fears. It was refreshing to have such an open and honest conversation with someone. We both had a sarcastic sense of humor, and we traded barbs back and forth.

Raini snorts. "What, so you can use it against me in some way?"

I laugh. "No, I promise. I'm genuinely interested."

Raini takes a deep breath, looking slightly skeptical. "Okay, well...I'm from a small town in the middle of nowhere. I moved to the city a few years ago to try to make it as a model, but so far, it's been pretty slow going."

I nod, listening intently. "That sounds tough. What kind of modeling do you want to do?"

"Anything, really," Raini says with a shrug. "I just want to be able to pay my bills and not have to worry about money all the time."

I can't help but feel a little bit sorry for her. It's never easy trying to make it in a cutthroat industry like modeling. "Well, who knows," I say. "Maybe this experience will give you a leg up in the business."

Raini looks skeptical again. "Yeah, I don't know about that. I mean, no offense, but I'm not exactly sure what being your fake wife for thirty days is going to do for my career."

I chuckle. "Fair enough. But you never know. Stranger things have happened."

Our conversation continues like this throughout the meal, with plenty of sarcastic jabs and witty comebacks. I can tell that Raini is still a little bit guarded, but I'm determined to break through her defenses and get to know the real her. Who knows? Maybe by the end of these thirty days, we'll actually become friends.

I asked her about her previous job with Giselle, her former boss. I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would work in such a toxic place. Raini told me it was for the money. I suppose I couldn't fault her for that, but it still seemed like a terrible trade-off. I narrated to her that I didn't always have wealth and

I could see the surprise in Raini's eyes as I shared my humble beginnings with her. She seemed genuinely interested, so I went on to tell her about the challenges I faced growing up and the hard work it took to get to where I am now. She listened intently, and I could tell that she was impressed.

At one point, Raini made a pessimistic comment about our situation, and I couldn't help but laugh. "You know, Raini, you're not as bad as you pretend to be," I said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't give me too much credit. I'm still not thrilled about being here, but I guess it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

I grinned. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Maybe we can make the next thirty days more bearable for each other."

Raini raised an eyebrow. "Don't get too excited, Zavier. We'll see how it goes."

I chuckled. "Fair enough."

The rest of the dinner went by smoothly, and I found myself looking forward to getting to know Raini better. Who knew, maybe the next thirty days wouldn't be so bad after all.

I walked Raini to her room, holding her hand gently as we walked. "I'm glad you enjoyed dinner," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, I have to admit, it wasn't that bad," Raini replied with a smirk.

I chuckled softly. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I hope we can have more enjoyable meals together over the next few weeks."

Raini nodded, still holding my hand. "I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about spending so much time with you, but you're not so bad."

I raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "Not so bad? I'll take it. But seriously, Raini, I want you to be comfortable here. If there's anything you need or if you want to do something specific, just let me know."

She smiled at me. "Thanks, Zavier. I appreciate it. I'll definitely keep that in mind."

I felt a sense of relief wash over me as we reached her door. I wasn't sure what I had expected from this arrangement, but I was relieved that Raini wasn't as difficult to get along with as I had feared.

As we stood in front of her door, Raini turned to face me. "Zavier, I just wanted to say that I appreciate you putting up with me. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around, but I'm trying."

I smiled at her. "Raini, you don't have to try so hard. Just be yourself, and we'll get along just fine."

She grinned back at me. "Thanks, Zavier. I'll try to remember that."

I leaned in to give her a quick hug before pulling away. "Goodnight, Raini. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Zavier," she said softly as she closed the door behind her.

I walked back to my own room with a sense of contentment. Maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad after all.

I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. My mind was racing with thoughts of Raini, her beauty, her wit, her charm. I couldn't believe I was actually enjoying spending time with her. But then, a troubling thought entered my mind.

When was I going to tell her? That I was a wolf. That I had this other side of me that I had been hiding from the world for so long. Would she accept me for who I am, or would she run away screaming?

I didn't know how to approach the topic, or when the right time would be. It's not exactly something you just bring up over dinner, or even in casual conversation. But I knew I couldn't keep it from her forever. She deserved to know the truth, especially if we were going to be spending so much time together.

But what if she didn't want anything to do with me after finding out? What if she was scared of me, or worse, disgusted by me? I had never felt so vulnerable in my life.

As I lay there, lost in thought, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. Would Raini accept me for who I am? Or would my true nature be too much for her to handle? Only time would tell, but I knew that I couldn't keep this secret forever