175 Platonic 3 The Sinners's Queen

When the second young miss of the Morgans faced the deep frown of Chris Meyer, she was of course, dumbfounded. No girl, not even a veteran actress, could immediately be calm and collected in front of somebody she was crushing on, especially if his expression was so fierce and dark as if she had just committed a very great offense.

For Alessa, it was already remarkable that she was able to smooth down her surprise into a calm facade. Her glossy lips parted, letting out a crisp but soft voice that haunted the dreams of many men in the country.

"Why are you so surprised that I am here? Didn't I already inform you? You forgot?"

"I didn't remember agreeing to anything."

This was the truth since the woman simply left after slamming his car door closed to his face and before he could say his refusal.

However, from the get-go, his responses had already spoken more than enough of his intention to not have any entanglements with her, no matter how small.

Why else would he insist for her to just email him if she had someone she wants him to check on?

Why didn't she understand that?

It was annoying that every time it was saying something seemingly truthful, making him have a little favorable impression of it, the system would then immediately bare its real intention to make him annoyed at it. Points. Mission. How damnably bothersome.

Alessa took a deep breath and tried to shrug off the iron-like hand locking her arm mid-air. His grip was not actually hurting her as he was still quite the gentleman to control his immense strength in order to not injure her or leave bruises on her fair arm. But his grip was still very firm though.

When the woman tried to free herself from it, she realized, she couldn't budge it even for a centimeter.

Blinking, she looked at the hand grabbing on her arm.

When her eyes trailed his wrist up to his forearm, she noticed that it was as pale and smooth-looking as hers which had been subjected to decades of maintenance.

She was at first puzzled, thinking when did his become like this. But then she remembered the current situation, her cheeks reddening as a result.

After scolding herself for being crazy at that moment, she tried again to get his hand off of her, but no result changed from the first attempt.

Feeling helpless, Alessa could only glare at him and say, "Release me, Chris." She added, "You're hurting me," even though this was not really the case.

Her words lived up to their intended purpose though. Chris' eyes widened and he immediately removed the hand grabbing onto her. He looked away, looking extremely guilty.

"I'm sorry. It's not my intention. I mean, I was just a bit incensed that you came in without my permission."

Though the man couldn't see any change in the coloration of her complexion there, he took a deep breath then turned around, "Wait, I'll check if I still have any ointment here."

As the man left after giving her a hesitant look, she pretended to be rubbing her arm to sooth the nonexistent pain there, only dropping the act when he disappeared from the doorway of the kitchen.

She turned around to her cooking and with a hint of craftiness flashing across her eyes, thought to herself with a cute giggle,

'He can see through all performances. So I'm sure he knew I'm just lying when I said that. However, he has no choice but to believe since it's me who said that it's hurting and it's only me who could verify if there's real pain or not.'

'Most of the times, he's really smart. And even now, he is. But he chose to be considerate since I'm of the fairer sex."

She sighed then, "Once he's back though, I'm sure he'll be back to his 'normal' self too. Why do I have to know him so much?'

Once again, she confirmed to herself she really needs some eye checkup. Okay, probably it was actually not what she needed desperately now since if it was only to the eyes themselves, he would appear very matching with her.

A heart check-up then? But was there already a technology or expertise which could deal with blind and stupid hearts that refused to see reasons and go along with their brain?

She stared blankly at the mushroom soup she was simmering in one of the pans placed over the fire. She thought, she was really in a pinch.

It was hard, knowing that her heart had chosen a tough iceberg, the type whose one percent visible to the eye was so sharp and piercing than any blade or knife.

'Alright, Alessa. You're the Queen of Primetime. And you're supposed to be maturer since you're older than him by two years. Stop being lead around. Don't let your heart and ambition be killed by this love. Or at least, if you can't really stop, use him then as much as you love him.'

'This, at least, until you reclaimed your rights as the Second Miss of the Morgans.'

...

It's been ten minutes since the young man gave him a scowl but still fetch his laptop to work on the person she requested information.

It's been that long since she began doing what she had always been doing whenever they were together and he was working on something. Watching him.

It was because she couldn't understand the codes and numbers flying here and there on the screen. She only understood that numbers and letters could actually form a tsunami there and dizzy people up to death.

For example, he saw him typing something like[cin>>num; if(num>10 && num<"what a="" mess!!";="" }="" else="" {=""></"what><"grrrr..!!"; }]="" which="" she="" didn't="" even="" how="" to="" rationalize.="" but="" then,="" in="" a="" blink="" of="" an="" eye,="" it="" went="" to="" the="" left="" tab="" where="" it="" vanished="" after="" a="" second.="" another="" line="" of="" inexplicable="" combinations="" of="" letters="" and="" numbers="" followed="" and="" like="" the="" first="" example,="" she="" also="" didn't="" know="" what="" happened="" to="" it="" two="" seconds="" after.=""></"grrrr..!!";>

Such a cryptic puzzle.

Her assistants also knew how to do this since both of them were also hackers. However, those two told her that this man was way out of their league, capable of digging even the deepest and oldest secret of any individual. How was he able to do that? She wondered, was this truly how he became rich so fast?

While it was true that his assets from being an actor and model grew at a speed comparable to a bullet train, those should still be not enough for him to afford a luxurious penthouse in one of the most superb locations in the city, right? Not to mention within one and a half years?

Then again, he might not have necessarily gotten his money through shady means. Given his prowess in obtaining information, it should be very easy for him to become a multi-millionaire through the stock market. He could even be manipulating it now as he worked on her request.

She shook her head and looked away from the screen.

A second later, her eyes became glued to his fingers also flying on top of the keyboard. Once again, she had confirmed that his skin was really as good and beautiful as hers. She just couldn't help but lament. It was so unfair!

'But this may also be why tons of women out there, even those decades older than him, like him. Frustrating. Why didn't he just become a director or producer? That way he could still be my asset but would be hidden from many eyes.'

She was in the middle of so many agonizing thoughts when his voice echoed to her ears.

"It's been almost three years. How are your spies at Dazzle?" He referred to the other major entertainment company in the country owned and ran by none other than one of the Queens of the Business World, Amelia Morgan.

Alessa awoke from her stupor to see him gently looking at her, his hands still typing without pause. Alright, the 'gently' part was only in her imagination. She cleared her throat and answered, "They're fine, I guess. That woman has planned to stage another fashion show this March and three of my models are chosen. Last year they fashioned their designs with Spring as their theme. This time, it seems they want to do something centered around females. You know, it's Women's History Month."

"Is there anyone from them who has been chosen for the showcase more than three times?"

She shook her head.

He meaningfully replied, "Unfortunately, it will be hard for them to stir up anything. Unless they want to alert her eyes. The trusted could at least do something without being suspected much. It's different with newbies though."

"It's just a matter of knowing what to watch out for and not. Can't we do a research of their patterns and the loopholes adhering to these patterns?"

Finally, his fingers rested. In front of the man, the screen was filled with small pop-up windows and screens with bars showing a green loading barrel or tubes, or whatever they were called. She didn't know since she only encountered those whenever she was transferring a file or loading up some FB games.

"Better concentrate on beating them through the Silver's own shows." He commented after some moment of silence.

"Are you participating then?"

"Not invited." Shortly after, he closed his laptop and gloomily stared at her. "Why are you still here?"

"What?"

"Go away now. It's done. Sent to your email. Encrypted. Bye."

Before she knew it, she was already pushed out of the house. She was staring dumbly at the closing door. When she regained her senses, she stopped its closing with her two dainty hands.

Alessa angrily raised her voice at the heartless man, making him who was about to contest with her strength stilled for a few seconds, probably to hear out what more she had to tell him.

"Chris Meyer! You're so cold-hearted! I haven't even stayed inside for an hour!"

The man frowned, "... Why do you have to stay inside my house more than what is needed when I already finished your request? If it's about the payment, just wire it to me. I won't be angry even if it takes a day or two."

She gritted her teeth and asked, "Won't you at least drive me home, or even walk me to the parking lot? Remember what you did to my arm!"

After the words came out of her lips, she hated how she was forced to appear so unlady-like and shameless again. When she saw his eyes staring at her face for a while, she couldn't help the blush that suddenly suffused her two cheeks.

It was really very embarrassing. And her heart was barely hanging on, but any time soon, it would most likely stop beating, dying of awkwardness overdose, if the disease or condition even exists.

He gave her a glare. "Remember to hide your face, hair and your body shape. Better if you make yourself appear like a man sneaking out of the building. I checked the surveillance a minute ago. Someone with a camera is on the left side of the parking lot. There's another one near the driveway and exit. In short, the paparazzi tailed you here."

"..."

'...Ah, paparazzi. Terrorists of the showbiz world...'

Behind the man, in the half-opened door of the place, she could see a part of the beautiful night sky and some twinkling lights of assorted colors and shapes of their dazzling city. It was because his penthouse walls were almost ninety percent made of transparent glass. The background was so picturesque that if she was to capture it using her phone and upload it somewhere, it would surely garner a million views and clicks overnight. After all, the background was superb, and so was the looks of the subject.

Only, how she wished his personality was as nice too!

But how could that be when this man wanted her to fend off for herself alone?

"I don't have any bodyguard with me today," she said.

"...You should have just stayed at home or requested your road manager to accompany you here."

"They can't because... because..." She was an award-winning actress and a skilled liar. Why couldn't she find the words to say this time?

He shook his head, then put on a serious look. "Please, just say what you want to say. Your current behavior is just making me doubt if even that person you made me check out is really a threat to you. So what do you really want from me?"

Sometimes, Alessa just really disliked how his expressive eyes could tell her so much and speak of so many hidden meanings. This time, they were seemingly asking her, he was already working with him for her a not-so-noble cause, and was still doing so even though he was already good enough to break away from her sphere of influence. What more does she want from him?

Another part of her brain reminded her of how she had him come under her banner. It was through sheer stubbornness and luck. She even had a hunch that something happened to him when he was hospitalized due to some weird organization's attacks. And it was only what really pushed him to accept her offer, no, plea, for help.

Right now, should she push the current heart matters through?

'The answer is clear, Alessa.' Her hands lost strength.

'He's spoken so much today but actually, all he wants is to remain in this 'platonic' relationship...'

...

...

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