"Chloe Grace, you're messing with me!" A furious roar suddenly erupted from the direction of the director's office, reaching the ears of all the designers in the outer workspace. Moments later, Chloe came dashing out, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. Naturally, trailing behind her was their esteemed Director Blaine Jackson. But the strangest thing? The usually composed and cold-faced director looked utterly flushed—his face as red as a boiled lobster.
"Chloe, what's going on?" Annie quickly pulled her aside, her face full of confusion.
Chloe chuckled and waved a small slip of paper in front of her friend. "He said that aside from not letting me go to Senrui Fashion, he'd agree to grant me one other request. So, I made him stand in front of all the designers and repeat this—ten times."
She handed the paper to Annie, her eyes twinkling as she glanced at Blaine's gritted teeth and barely contained frustration.
Annie took the note, glanced at it, and her eyes went wide with disbelief.
Oh. My. God.
Written on the slip of paper was: **"Chloe Grace is the woman I love most. Without her, I can't live!"** And Chloe had actually made their director say this aloud—ten times. And not just in English, but in Chinese as well?!
This was beyond bold! No wonder Blaine looked like he was ready to explode.
Even though it was break time, there were still 31 designers in the studio. Annie could hardly imagine how their famously cold and disciplined director was supposed to complete such an impossible task.
"Blaine, you promised! And it's not that hard. All you have to do is move your lips. Just ten times! You'll be done in no time." Chloe held out the paper to him with an innocent smile.
"You—!" Blaine nearly choked on his own breath. This girl was going to be the death of him! Who would have thought she'd make such an unreasonable request? Ten times?! Dream on! He wouldn't even say it once. He had no intention of dying from sheer embarrassment or never showing his face in public again.
"Oh? So you're going back on your word? That's fine. I'm already used to you making promises you don't keep." Chloe's voice was light, almost casual, but her words made Blaine see red.
Since when had he ever gone back on his word?! This girl was deliberately tarnishing his reputation.
Tch! She just wanted to go to Senrui Fashion, didn't she? Fine! He'd like to see exactly what gave Yuto Miyazawa the audacity to try and make a move on **his** woman—
Wait.
**His woman?**
Blaine suddenly froze, his thoughts grinding to a halt. When had he started thinking of Chloe as **his**?
"Director, you have a meeting with President Miyazawa in ten minutes." Annie's sudden reminder pulled him out of his daze.
Regaining his composure, Blaine nodded. Then, with a sidelong glance at Chloe, he said with feigned nonchalance, "Didn't you want to go to Senrui Fashion to see that… what's-his-name, Ichiro? Let's go."
"Huh? You're really letting me go?!" Chloe's heart leaped with excitement. Without thinking, she grabbed Blaine's arm and tugged him toward the door. He turned to look at her, his gaze lingering on her beaming face, and the hard lines of his expression softened slightly.
"Don't act so surprised. Your whole little stunt was just a way to make me take you to Senrui Fashion, wasn't it?" He smirked knowingly.
"…So you knew?" Chloe stuck out her tongue playfully and made a face at him. "If you'd just agreed in the first place, you wouldn't have had to make a fool of yourself in front of all the other designers." She sighed dramatically.
Blaine frowned and turned back toward the office. Inside, he spotted several designers pressed against the floor-to-ceiling windows, grinning at him with barely contained amusement.
"Chloe Grace, you—!" He exhaled sharply, watching as Chloe bolted toward the car. What could he do? He had absolutely no way of dealing with her.
---
Inside the dressing room adjacent to Senrui Fashion's grand runway, Blaine's expert hands moved swiftly and skillfully, applying flawless makeup to the models before him. His focus was unwavering, his movements precise and confident.
Meanwhile, Chloe sat nearby, her eyes burning with irritation as she glared daggers at the scene in front of her. If looks could kill, the group of women drooling over Blaine's face would have been obliterated on the spot.
Ugh! Why had she insisted on coming here? Not only had she failed to catch a glimpse of Ichiro Yamada, but she hadn't even seen Yuto Miyazawa. Instead, she was stuck here, watching a bunch of lovestruck women ogling **her** man.
Wait.
**Her** man?
Chloe shook her head furiously. What was wrong with her?!
"Chloe, what are you doing just standing there? Come hand me that brush." Blaine's voice interrupted her thoughts.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "You have a whole flock of women waiting to help you. If I step in, I might just get killed by their jealous stares."
Blaine turned to look at her, his sharp gaze catching every flicker of emotion on her face. "What are you thinking about now?" he asked, stepping closer.
Chloe crossed her arms. "Nothing."
His eyes narrowed slightly before a realization dawned on him. "Wait… are you upset that you didn't get to see Ichiro? Or…" His voice dropped to a teasing tone. "Are you disappointed that Yuto Miyazawa isn't here?"
She shot him a glare. "You're ridiculous."
Was she a little disappointed? Sure. But only because Annie's plan required Blaine to see her with Yuto to trigger his jealousy. Without Yuto here, the whole plan was useless.
"Then tell me—what's bothering you?" Blaine pressed.
Chloe scoffed, her gaze shifting to the group of models surrounding him. "Oh, nothing. I just think you should get back to entertaining your fan club. You seem to be enjoying touching their faces." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Blaine's brows lifted slightly, and then, a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes. "Chloe Grace… are you jealous?"
Chloe gaped at him. "Hah! You've got the strangest sense of smell. You can sniff out other people's jealousy, but you're completely oblivious to your own."
Blaine frowned. "Nonsense."
Without thinking, he reached out and flicked her nose—a casual, affectionate gesture that sent a ripple of surprise through them both. It wasn't until one of the models let out a startled gasp that they snapped back to reality.