After placing Luca in his room, Valentina sat in the living room across from Lia while sipping a cup of tea. The two women examined each other silently before Lia broke the silence.
"Miss Valentina, I"
"Please just call me Valentina." Valentina quickly interrupted.
"Then Valentina, I have a proposition for you. I assure you it will be extremely beneficial to you."
"Sure. Let me hear it." Valentina crossed her legs and gazed at the designer before her with an arched brow. Although she didn't think that Lia was a bad person, she seemed like a bit of an airhead, and she had no plans of promising to do something if fit would not be beneficial to her. Regardless of whether it was to Kaiser's friend or not.
When Lia saw the cold expression on Valentina's face as the other woman examined her, she felt a chill travel down her back. This was the expression of someone who was evaluating how useful she would be. Seeing such a look, Lia gave a smirk of her own. As one of the top designers in the world who was people constantly begged for attention and favors, it was a real change of pace for her. it made her glad that she had come here undercover.
"Well, I've been following you since a good amount of the entertainment news is trying to figure out who Valentina Salazar is and what makes her tick. There are conflicting stories and people are saying you've changed from the weak-willed crybaby with a terrible work ethic and no skills." Lia intentionally made her words harsh to see what kind of reaction Valentina would give her.
Unfortunately, she was destined to be disappointed. Valentina simply arched her other brow and sipped her tea before giving her a two-word response.
"Oh. And?"
"I think you're at the cusp of a good rebrand of your image. You have one major project out right now with great reviews so I'm sure you'll be working on more things and you don't really have an identity yet in the entertainment world. I want to exclusively contract with you as a stylist. I want to be the one you contract with to help create the looks that you'll have for the next year while helping you craft your persona. "
"As a stylist? You mentioned that you're a designer. Why not as a designer? And why me?" Valentina asked curiously.
"While I am confident in my designs, I don't yet have the skills to tie you down to me as your exclusive designer. Besides, I am currently in a transitional phase and currently reworking my brand due to legal conflicts. I think I'll have more success being your exclusive stylist for now. As for the reason I chose you? For one, you're a friend of Kaiser's. But most importantly, I like your looks and appearance a lot. It fits my criteria for a muse. Long limbs, black hair, green eyes, a frail delicate appearance that can be cute or sexy, strong, or weak, aahhhh so pretty." Lia immediately began to gush, and Valentina watched Lia's gaze become unfocused as a crazed look appeared in her eyes.
"That perfect golden ratio is present. Although you're not quite my preferred height of 6'0, you're still tall enough to fully display the perfection of clothes and good tailoring. Ahhh, the symmetry of your face, the curvature of your nose, the lines of your body. I'm in love. I have so many ideas in my mind for how to dress you, you don't even know."
Valentina: "…." Luca my little nugget. You were absolutely correct. This person is so scary! How could somebody go from having a serious conversation to an extreme fan girl who was analyzing her body in 0.6 seconds? It was crazy!
When she saw Valentina's twitching face struggling to keep a smile, Lia immediately coughed and regained her cool with a slightly red face.
"Ahem, anyways what do you think? I'm not asking you to sign a contract with me now, I'm asking you to give me a chance to style you for one event and for you to evaluate me after that. Since you don't have a distinct image, I want to be the one to help you craft one at least in the beginning stage."
"Hmm well, would I be to see previous people you've styled?"
"No way," Lia replied with a bright smile.
Valentina: "…"
"How about designs you've worked on? It can be new ones or something from the previous years."
"Once we've signed a contract with each other, you can view any designs you want and even request some custom pieces," Lia replied with an even brighter smile.
"Any drawings or renderings I can see? Even fabric choices and patterns will do."
"Im. Poss. Ible." Lia replied cheerfully, her blue eyes twinkling.
Valentina: "….."
She somehow got the feeling that this designer cum stylist was secretly a con artist. She couldn't show her the previous people she styled, she refused to show her current designs and refused to show sketches. Was this going to be the case of the swindler tailor who dressed people in invisible clothes and called it the best garment possible??
"I'm not a swindler. I am a proper designer and stylist. All you have to do is tell me what event you're going to, and I'll make you the star of the carpet. Trust me." Lia confidently said while patting her chest.
Valentina: "….." Miss, that's exactly what swindlers say! You've given me absolutely nothing to trust. Rather than saying her true thoughts she simply sighed before firming up her expression.
"Designer Lia. It's not that I don't want to trust you, but it's the fact that you've given me absolutely nothing to trust. I'll be honest with you. I am attending an opening ceremony in a couple of days and I simply cannot risk my career on your flippant words. If you cannot show me people you've styled or clothing you've designed, let's just call it quits." After all, she had the threat of 'a health penalty' hanging over her head.
Seeing that Valentina was serious, Lia decided to get serious as well. She hadn't wanted to bring out this card since it might ruin things and get her in trouble with Kaiser, but if she didn't she might be rejected and sent away. She couldn't waste this opportunity. She sat up straight on the couch, an arrogant expression spreading across her face.
"Valentina. I come highly recommended by Kaiser himself. Although it's our first time meeting each other, I was the one who provided the selection of clothing that was eventually used to style you on your previous carpet. From the custom Alaïa dress to the other pieces, I procured them, tailored them to your body without meeting you, and passed them on to those two newbies who styled you. Can you still say you don't trust me? My words can be easily verified by Kaiser if you don't believe me."
Valentina stared at the confident yet arrogant expression on Lia's face before sighing in resignation. She couldn't reject the person who had helped with her first red carpet-look.
"If that was you, then I guess I can allow you to style this event as well. We can decide on a contract afterward."
"Good. Now tell me all about this opening ceremony you're attending. What role is it for? Who's attending and more importantly, who do I need to crush so you come out looking like a star?" Lia asked cheerfully.
"Pardon me?"
"Oh don't be shy with me Valentina. We're on the same team now. Just list the names of which female co-stars are attending the opening ceremony, specifically any you don't get along with. With your good looks and my magic styling, I'll make sure you oppress every other person on that carpet. The only person the paparazzi will remember seeing that night is you. What do you think, Valentina?"
Seeing Lia's devilish smile that was strikingly similar to Kaiser's, Valentina couldn't help but shiver.
What the hell had she agreed to?