When Valentina looked up, her eyes briefly met with Rio's before she hurriedly stood up. What was he doing here?!
Seeing him kneel before her while holding on to her leg, Valentina could feel her face heat up as she blushed in embarrassment. Even though he was kneeling, his head was still very close to her belly.
Valentina immediately tried to move her leg away, but he held on tightly.
Glancing at her in amusement, he said "Hold still" before grabbing the ribbon and attempting to unravel it. She immediately froze and watched in shock as he helped her untie everything.
As if to mock her hard effort, the ribbon on her right leg quickly unraveled followed by the one on the left.
His cold fingers gently and diligently unwrapped the ribbons down her calves before he stood up and held his arm out to her.
Valentina looked at him in confusion, and he quirked an eyebrow at her before smirking and saying, "To lean on as you take the shoes off unless you were planning on looking like a flamingo?"
Caught off guard by his joking manner, Valentina immediately pouted and glared at him before realizing that this was her employer and she had to be courteous.
She hurriedly braced herself on his arm and quickly took off her shoes, collecting them with one hand.
As her bare feet hit the floor, the tile felt a bit cold, and she flinched before getting accustomed to the temperature.
She quickly released Rio's arm, bowed her head, and said to him, "Thank you for your help."
"You didn't want to try to catch yourself this time?" Rio asked.
Valentina looked up quickly as she heard him repeat the words she had grumbled earlier.
Seeing the smirk on his face, she narrowed her eyes before turning her face away quickly.
Hmph!
Clearly, he was such a petty, small-minded man. Who knew the great Rio of the Fallen Angels would hold a grudge? Why couldn't he treat her with politeness like Yuri?
Before she could respond, he asked again, "Do you want me to carry you, so you don't trip again?"
Turning back to him again, she gave him the stink eye and decided to tease him in return.
"I wouldn't dare sully the hands of the great Rio. Thank you for the offer."
"Don't worry they wouldn't be sullied. Still, let's go back, it seems she's waiting for us." Rio nodded his head towards Yuri.
Valentina then looked and saw that Yuri was standing further along and staring at the two of them. Although her expression was smiling, Valentina could see that flames were burning in her eyes.
Sighing internally at the trouble that just seemed to be coming her way, Valentina walked as fast as possible to distance herself from Rio.
Unfortunately, he just stretched his long legs out and matched her pace and in the end, it was Valentina who was out of breath and feeling tired. She swore she heard a chuckle.
It wasn't her fault; it was this weak body of hers okay!
Thankfully Valentina arrived with no further comments from either Yuri or Rio.
The café had 4 rectangular tables facing each other with Shawn and Sarah already sitting at one table. There was a pile of meal boxes and drinks on one of the tables and Valentina allowed Yuri and Rio to select a box first.
Looking at the options, Valentina selected a sandwich box and grabbed a bottle of water.
She chose a seat across from Sarah Lee and was surprised when Rio chose to sit next to her, and Yuri chose to sit next to him.
My good sir, please shift far away from me. My back is sweating from the flames being exuded by that young lady next to you.
As she opened her food box and prepared to eat, Sarah Lee asked.
"Rio, what do you think so far? Has it been a satisfying enough experience for you?"
"Not bad. It's capturing the essence so far." Rio blandly replied.
"This is your vision so speak up if you have any thoughts or tips to the actresses. While they're changing looks, we'll review footage and plan for the next stage."
"Mm," Rio agreed.
Nodding, Sarah Lee turned to Valentina and then Yuri.
"The two of you have been doing well so far so good job there! While Rio, Shawn, and I are deciding the next steps, you two go back to hair and makeup and get touched up got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" they both responded.
"Good. Make sure to fuel up properly because the next part really depends on the two of you!"
'Yes!" Yuri enthusiastically shouted while Valentina nodded.
Lunch ended quickly and they quickly headed their separate ways with Yuri and Valentina headed to the dressing room.
As soon as Valentina sat down, Yuri approached her and stood in front of her angrily, hands perched on her hips.
Sighing while rubbing her head, Valentina asked "Yes?"
"You- You have no shame!" Yuri almost shouted.
"It wasn't bad enough that you made Rio catch you when you fell, you also had the audacity to make him remove your shoes for you and you flirted with him. You. Shameless. Woman!"
"How did I make him remove my shoes for me?" Valentina asked.
At Yuri's silence, Valentina pushed harder.
"When did you hear me say the words, Oh Rio come and help me remove my shoes? Hmm?"
"You pretended to be incompetent so that he would help you. I know your tricks; I've seen them before! I won't let you get away with it!" Yuri shouted.
As Valentina looked at her quivering body and flushed face, she couldn't help but think that Yuri really reminded her of an obnoxious little rabbit.
But rabbit or not, she was tired of this girl always accusing her of one thing or another. If it wasn't cheating to get the role, it was acting incompetent so she would be noticed. It was time to clear the air once and for all because otherwise, this would continue for the rest of their filming days.
"Listen here because this is the first and the last time that I will be saying this. I am not interested in Shawn or Rio or any man romantically. I am here to do a job and complete it successfully. Please stop insinuating that I am doing anything to target Rio. He is an adult, and all actions are his own. Now if you don't mind, I'd like a quick break to collect my thoughts before filming starts for the next part. I suggest you distance yourself from me and do the same."
Ignoring the stunned look on Yuri's face, Valentina just looked away until Yuri decided to leave.
Rubbing her pounding forehead, Valentina sighed and hoped the day would end sooner.