Chapter 63 - Partner With Benefits

After returning each other's greetings, George offered to tour Winter around the place.

Since he's the host of the party, it's only a given that he'll serve his guests in any way he can. That said, there's nothing wrong with him touring her around. But then, what perplexes her is that the head of the Ratri's himself is using his precious time on someone like her instead of joining his social circle. Not to mention, they will be alone together the whole time.

'It's already a bit odd that he complimented how I look earlier. I used to think that he doesn't pay attention to such things. While there's also nothing wrong with getting called 'gorgeous' by him, I feel like he's being friendlier than usual...' Winter thought as she followed George to wherever it was he would take her. 

'Wait a minute. Putting that aside, should I be doing this without my guardian around?'

By guardian, she meant Marcellus.

She took him with her for this purpose. Since she still doesn't know the Ratri's that well, she hasn't gotten rid of the possibility that they might pull out a stunt on her again. She trusts that their leader is not that bad, but she doesn't trust his means yet. His motives may be good, but his ways of getting what he wants may not be.

"Ummm... Sir George, on second thought, I might need to see Sir Lexington first. Perhaps, you also want to talk with him?" Winter started again after a moment of silence between them.

"Oh, right. Sir Lexington, huh..." George blurted out and thought about it.

"Seems like you two are really closer than I think."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you can't just try to make an advance on your secret agent like that."   

"As I already said before, I'm not his agent or anything. And what advance are you talking about?" 

"I'm getting there. You see, I'm talking with some of my guests earlier. And we happened to see you two dancing together."

George didn't have to explain further.

Winter already had a gist of what he was trying to say - and as soon as she realized that he witnessed how Marcellus tried to kiss her earlier, she couldn't help but flush red and burn up from embarrassment. George only lets out a chuckle at how he ends up flustering her, which doesn't help her at all.

Now, Winter regrets letting Marcellus get in the mood at that time. Both of them had really become unaware of their surroundings. Not only did they get Jacob to see such a sight, but they also had George as part of their audience. Public displays of affection can actually be dangerous, it seems. 

"T-That's nothing, Sir George! I-I swear it's not what you think," she tried to reason out but failed to convince him.

"No need to be ashamed. While it did take me aback that he was interested in you romantically, it also helped me put an end to my suspicions that your relationship was strictly business-related," he reassured her, trying not to make her uncomfortable any more than she already was.

"But we're really not in a romantic relationship. You got it wrong."

"So, he's still courting you, then?"

"I-I guess... y-you can say that."

As much as Winter doesn't want to admit it, she knows that Marcellus is taking this as the starting point of his courting. There's no use denying it when there's already a strong evidence. Besides, she had let the situation escalate to this, and if she was to deny it, she might get taken for a liar once news spread.

"Now that I think about it, Sir Lexington is known to be a flirt, isn't he...?" George then brought up all of the sudden, making Winter stiffen.

"He never officially dated anyone, but he did play around with many women, though he hadn't been seen doing that lately." 

She's not certain about what is his purpose for bringing up that subject, but if he is doing this to get a particular reaction from her, she might end up giving him that if she makes her discomfort any more obvious. But then, she really couldn't blame him for recalling that - much like how she couldn't deny that the head of the Lexington's had quite a history of being a heart breaker. 

Winter doesn't know in what context George has decided to say that, but even though there's the suspicion that he's trying to make her think bad about Marcellus, it's still an important reminder that she still shouldn't disregard how he'd always play around with different women. 

'Then, does that mean I should disregard everything he has told me earlier...?' Winter brooded over as she remembered how Marcellus looked when he wore his heart on his sleeves while he confessed his feelings for her.

'How he said that he changed, and how he proved that even before he did so... Should I not believe them only because he used to be someone who did not care about how others felt?'     

George could see how she was trying to take them in.

He thought that she would be angry for trying to give her ideas, but it seemed like she was only contemplating over what he said. It's not that he's planning to make a mess here, though. Then again, he wouldn't be able to handle a certain someone's wrath if he were to convince her that once a douche would always be a douche. 

"For that reason, I find it surprising that it turned out he's really courting you..." George chimed in once more, making Winter snap out of her thoughts.

"It's because Sir Lexington used to play around with women that I found it surprising that he was serious about you. If this just happened to be his usual game, I wouldn't care less. But I saw how he was looking at you earlier when you were dancing with him. For that whole time, he had this fond and loving smile that others could not possibly consider as 'playing around' - and thus came my realization that I should no longer misunderstand your relationship."   

She was nonplussed to hear all of that.

At the last minute, he's able to provide a context that made sense. He actually meant well in the end. If the sincere and earnest look that he is giving her at that moment is anything to go by, she can see that he also wants to get on her good side. 

"If the two of you start dating, I don't doubt that many people will get interested in you..." George added while he regarded Winter in contemplation as well as amusement.

"Even now that he's still starting to court you, I'm guessing that some will try to approach you and get to know you. On the same note, if I decided not to appear and take you on a tour, you'll probably be surrounded by the other guests by now - those who saw you with him earlier, more particularly." 

Her eyes widened a little right then.

Again, he made sense. It also surprised her quite a bit - a pleasant kind of surprise, that is. After all, that's exactly what she wants. If the other guests decide to approach her on their own, she doesn't have to go around and join in random conversations despite being a complete outsider. That'll actually serve as a good way of making acquaintances. 

'But then, does that mean I will have to use my reputation as 'The Girl that Marcellus Lexington is Courting' to attract attention? Just what the heck is that? A partner with benefits? No way I'm going to use him like that...!' she thought and shuddered at the idea that she would still end up needing to consider a man as her love interest in order to climb her way up in society.

'That's understandable, though. I don't possess anything interesting that can attract attention. Apart from my knowledge of the future which is more or less limited, I don't have what it takes to be someone worthy of anyone's attention. Unless there's some news headline that claims me to be "The Big Boss' Girl" or something, no one will care.' 

While that does seem like a stereotypical mindset, she is only trying to be realistic here, though she knows that there can still be other ways to make connections. That being said, she should really move on from all these talks about relationships and courting. She should change topics while she still has her target with her - she's not about to spend their time together talking about someone who isn't even there.

And so, she finally decided to take the lead this time. 

"By the way, Sir George, congratulations on opening up a new business," she commended with a smile, earning a surprised reaction from him. 

"A... new business? What do you mean?" he asked, a little confused. 

"I'm aware, you know. You didn't really throw a party without a good reason, did you?" 

When George did not respond, Winter knew she caught him.