In the elevator, Ariel kept her gaze on Raymond's face. He was so good at acting that one would immediately believe him since it was so out of his character.
"Sir Raymond, which books do you read for reference?" She boldly asked.
"I stopped reading." He answered. "Because I couldn't make time for it."
"Really? Then how are you so good at it?" She asked and he paused.
He couldn't answer that question either. The words just naturally came to mind and he said them.
"Ah, maybe it's the male lead gene."
"The what?"
"Oh, the male lead gene." She said but he still couldn't understand. "I watched a few videos about you while I was searching for my video." She said and darted her eyes as if she had committed a crime. "I was just curious and just watched them, it's all."
"What were the videos about?"
"Aside from bootlicking your name and fame, it was about how you were a young genius in the business world." She answered honestly.
"How does that give me the male lead gene?" He asked and her eyebrow shifted. "Don't do that, you'll ruin your makeup."
"Well, to put it simply, you're like a character who suddenly came out from a fictional book. Your name, your fame, your wealth, your looks... It's all so fictional that anyone would believe you if you told them you actually walked out of a novel." She simply stated and his own eyebrows shifted. "Don't do that, you'll ruin your face." She said and suddenly started laughing. "It's more surreal that you don't have a single clue about yourself."
"I'm not perfect, Ariel." Raymond suddenly stated.
"I never said you were."
"And I don't hold on to such flimsy feelings that the books stated either." He said, which for some reason, stung like a dagger being pulled out from her back.
Yet, she did not fail to respond.
"I didn't say you did." She said,
"The world is a battlefield." He suddenly brought up. "There's a war."
"I am... one of your soldiers, aren't I?" She asked, as if lost of words and swallowed.
Raymond heard this but couldn't agree with her. He looked away.
"This battlefield is a one man's fight." He said and she paused.
"But... You already helped me build my fortress." She said, rendering him speechless.
He looked down at her and stared at her. She always had a comeback for everything, didn't she?
"You don't seem to be scared of me anymore." He said, out of the blue and Ariel snapped out of whatever thought that was roaming in her head.
"Well, with this much body contact, I'd be a chicken to be scared of you on a daily basis."
"Does that mean there are times you still get scared?" She silently and slowly nodded her head, meeting his gaze for a second.
The elevator sound alerted them that they had gotten to their destination and Ariel tried to recollect herself. It was no good having others see her become so emotional.
But wait, why exactly was she getting emotional?
'What was that just now? Was that a spat between them?' White found himself wondering. 'If it was, then I'll say they both have a different way of arguing compared to normal people.'
As if he was normal in the eyes of others, White found the relationship between Ariel and Raymond strange. He was sure they were acting most of the time they were in public but some of their actions confused him so much that he couldn't tell which was real or which was fake anymore.
Ariel's influence on his master... He hoped it wouldn't cloud his rational thinking. But surely, his rational thinking was clouded the moment he asked for them to tail her that night. Why? He still didn't know.
He could check the surveillance to know what happened between them at the alley that night but unfortunately, the cameras were broken and even if they weren't, the alley was too dark to make out clearly on camera what went on.
"Can I use the restroom?" Ariel requested and Raymond nodded.
White opened the door at the extreme end of the office and revealed a room with a large bed, lamp table, wardrobe and another door that led to the bathroom.
"You can use that." Raymond said and she nodded. "There's a pair of slippers there. You can wear that." She nodded.
"Then I'm taking these off." She took off her shoes there in the office and walked barefooted towards the room. "And I might end up taking a nap so don't worry about me."
"You'll miss seeing your ex cower at me." He said and she paused.
"It's not like I'm dying to see him. I might just end up throwing your laptop at him in a fit of rage." She said and smiled at him. "We wouldn't want that, would we?" She made her way to the room.
Once she had shut the door, Raymond turned to White.
"Did you notice any movement from the Stein's family?" He asked and White shook his head.
"Madam Lucia concluded that you would be dead that night but was surprised when you were still sound and alive the next week." White reported. "They've not made any other move to claim your life but our Intel's tell that they've reacted strongly to the recent video with Miss Ariel at the boutique because she used the name Stein."
"Then, that means the reporters did what I asked?"
"Yes. They made sure to use the headline, 'A Stein's lover causes havoc'. Though Miss Ariel did not see her video with that headline or caption, every other person who comes across that video sees it as thus." He said and Raymond nodded.
"Do you think their reaction this time is enough for them to make a move?" Raymond asked but White shook his head.
"Not quite. They're still staying silent." He said.
"Then I guess we'll have to make a wave this time instead of a simple splash."
"Master, Miss Ariel doesn't look like she will be affected by her name and image getting ruined as long as she can get her revenge, don't you want to move on to more extreme measures?"
Raymond gave it a thought. He also didn't mind getting his name tarnished, as long as it bore 'Stein'. All that mattered were his business prowess and his ability to strike a deal at the drop of a hat.
But for Ariel, she was doing this just for her revenge. She didn't give in to death because of the deep hatred that lingered in her heart so he wondered, after all this was done and she had gotten her revenge, what would she do afterwards? Would she give in to death?
No, that shouldn't happen. He needed to keep her alive. That was the whole point of saving her. She had to live.
"White, draft me a contract."
"What will be the details of the contract?" White asked.
"That... "
"Knock, knock!" An interruption from the door broke their conversation.
"Who is it?" White asked.
"Sir!" His receptionist who sat at the little corner beside the office door called out. "It's Emily."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Chief manager of the finance department said you made a prior appointment with him." She said and Raymond clicked his tongue to White's surprise.
He glanced at the door and wondered if Ariel really decided to take a nap or if she was just buying time by resting.
"Come in.