Theodore stood in his office with his eyes strained on the building below him. He held a glass of wine in his grip, trying to clear his mind of all things Kitten. He didn’t mean to rush out like that, but he knew that sooner or later, she would’ve realised why he seemed bothered, and it would only make her feel uncomfortable. The only good thing he could see from tonight’s performance was that he knew what to expect from now on. He squeezed his eyes shut as guilt gnawed at his mind. It was only a few minutes past eight, nowhere near the end of their hour together. But he could only imagine the turmoil that must be going on in her mind at that moment, even if she had already left. He had to be equipped to control himself for a whole hour for the next six months. If only she wasn’t so impeccably resistible. She had the body of a goddess. Theodore saw this much when she dropped the dress from her body. It almost made him jealous of all the nights she spent at the club. He could imagine how many men had already laid their eyes on her body and appreciated every curve as he did. There was one good thing, however. They weren’t ever allowed to run their hands over her smooth skin. For a second, it made him wonder what it would feel like if he got the chance to do the same one day. Before tonight, he didn’t want it this much. He respected her wishes not to be touched, and he still did, but he couldn’t help his newfound curiosity. The hint of a headache formed in his mind as he used his thumb to massage the pain away from his temples. Work, he decided. He needed to drown himself in work. Grabbing his laptop, Theodore eagerly switched it on but was met with a copy of the contract between him and Abigail, which only shoved the vivid image of her naked body swinging down a pole in his mind again. He cursed his decision to put it in the room. Her pole dancing only made it all more erotic. The bottom of his groin suddenly ached again as Abigail’s performance replayed in his mind, and he quickly tried to shove it away but failed miserably as he was already hard again. “Mr Adams?” a small, quivering voice called from behind the door, followed by a soft knock, and Theodore instantly knew who it was. His chest clenched at the way she addressed him so formally, but he acknowledged that she didn’t seem angry. With a deep breath, he moved towards the door and pulled it open. Behind it was Abigail—all Abigail. Her wig was done, leaving two pigtails of her natural brown hair. Her body was also covered by her coat, yet the only thing Theodore could imagine was the scandalous way she dropped it from her body earlier. He gulped and scolded himself to get control as he met her stormy brown eyes. His heart clenched at the evident hurt in them. Perhaps he made her feel embarrassed and didn’t even notice it. He wanted to apologise instantly. All he intended to do was make her smile again. Instead, he said something completely irrelevant. “Addressing me so formally? Why?” Abigail shifted from leg to leg as she kept her eyes downcast. “I just wanted to let you know that I am leaving. It’s okay if you don’t want me to come back—” “Why wouldn’t I want you to come back?” Theodore asked eagerly, grabbing onto her shoulder without realising. But unlike usual, she didn’t flinch away. Instead, she remained focused with her gaze on his hand as if it would fall off and decay. Soon, her expression softened, and she seemed to relax a bit, but her uneasiness was still evident. Theodore retrieved his hand slowly, noting that he needed to be more careful with his impulses. This could’ve scared her away. Luckily it didn’t. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I just don’t understand why you would want to terminate our contract so quickly.” Abigail felt embarrassed to say it. The hurt from earlier resurfaced as she made a bold move to meet his intense gaze. “Because you hated it, sir. You left in such a hurry and dismissed the rest of the night. I may not be able to read minds, but I can read body language.” If only she could, Theodore thought. Then and only then would she realise just how wrong she was. “Abigail, I didn’t hate it,” he admitted. “Then… then why did you leave like that?” She fiddled with the strings of her coat with her eyes on the floor again. Theodore resisted the urge to hold her chin and tilt her head up as he spoke his following words. “I…I….” Theodore had no idea how to approach this without scaring her. He didn’t know a lot about Abigail, but he could tell that men made her uncomfortable, and it didn’t take a genius to guess why. In addition, she made it pretty clear that she wanted no part in his erective hormones. “You…?” “I was just surprised, that’s all.” He wasn’t lying. “But I really wish to see you again. I am really sorry for making you uncomfortable or making you feel bad about yourself. Abigail, you are a beautiful, talented young woman. And I am honoured to have you as my personal dancer. You blew me away with your performance tonight, and I am looking forward to the other nights.” “Are you sure?” she asked as she nervously itched her arm, “because you seemed a bit off.” Theodore sighed. “Rest assured that I am quite fine, Abigail. I apologise once again for making you uncomfortable in any way. With a body like yours, you ought to be cherished and praised, and I am sorry that you felt the opposite.” Abigail nodded at his apology. It did make her feel a little better, even though the hurt still lingered. But she tried not to be disappointed too much. He is, after all, a man. And in her life, all men did was disappoint and surprise her, not even in a good way. “Would you care to join me for a drink? We still have thirty minutes together,” he asked suggestively, stepping aside to let her in. Abigail chewed on her lip in uncertainty. Her mood for the night was completely ruined, but he wasn’t lying about the time. So might as well oblige to his request this once. With a small, polite simper, she shuffled past him into the office. Just like most of the penthouse, the outermost wall was entirely glass, giving her a perfect view of the city and water under the moonlight. She appreciated the ambience of the room, as well as the instant calmness it provided. Theodore gestured for her to have a seat on the sofa as he grabbed a glass and poured her some wine. “Have you ever tried my wine?” he asked for the sake of conversation. Abigail shook her head dismissively. “I’ve seen it on shelves, but I’ve never been interested in drinking. When I met you, I went to buy a bottle, but I couldn’t afford it.” She laughed nervously at her embarrassment, but Theodore frowned. “I had no idea it was so expensive for a regular day-to-day purchase,” he mainly mumbled to himself as he handed her the glass. It was barely filled halfway, and it was crimson red. Its rich smell made her excited to taste it. “Well, perhaps for a dinner party or Christmas dinner, I could scrape to buy a bottle. It’s not that expensive. It was simply out of my spending range that day.” Theodore’s lips pursed in thought as he held his own glass to his lips. This brought about a storm of ideas in his mind. “Tell me, Abigail, do you think if the price is lowered on the market, I will get more sales? More people would be able to afford it, no?” The marketing student in her came alive as she quickly shook her head. “No. Let the price remain. From the research I’ve done and the numbers I’ve seen, premium pricing is the best strategy for you. With your quality and years of experience in the market, people expect that luxury when spending money on your product. Lowering the price will not only encourage competitors to challenge you even more but will give customers—especially ones who already love your product—the impression that the quality has lowered. Let the price be. Your numbers look good, I assume. I bet your net profit monthly outweighs your expenses significantly. Why risk all of that just because an average girl like me couldn’t afford a bottle at one go? The reality of life is that no one will always be able to afford everything, and that is how successful people stay successful.” Theodore’s mouth hung open as he observed the woman in front of him. How could she go from teasing vixen this minute to a remarkable financial advisor the next? She was incredible. “You are brilliant, you know that, right?” he asked, his voice coming out much softer than he intended—dripping with admiration. Abigail blushed at his words. “Thank you. This is what I do. I analyse numbers and implement the best strategy for success.” “Ah, then there is no doubt that your boss at SHI would let you go after you graduate. He would want to keep a mind like yours.” “I sure hope so.” Abigail dropped her gaze to her untouched glass with a blush heating her cheeks. To have one of the most powerful men in the city acknowledge her smarts was magnificent. “Perhaps I could steal you away.” Theodore leant back in his chair as he watched her over the rim of his glass. Her wide eyes didn’t go unnoticed, and so he elaborated. “If this were an interview or a meeting for a business pitch, I’d have you in my office by tomorrow. Even more so with a master’s degree in your name, how could I resist?” “Well, if things don’t work out with SHI, I’d definitely send in my resume.” She was only joking, but Theodore took it seriously as his smile broke out behind the glass. However, he still decided to drop the topic. “Go ahead and tell me what you think. I need your personal and professional advice,” he said, gesturing to her glass. She nodded in agreement as she brought the glass to her full lips. Theodore watched with his smirk in place as the liquid glided down the length of the glass until it disappeared in her mouth, and as expected, her expression was priceless. First, it was her eyes. The way they lit up as if she had tasted ice cream for the first time was what pleased Theodore the most. He didn’t get a lot of chances to see a person’s first impression of his wine, but the few times he did was incredible. And this, by far, was the best. He watched in pride as she gulped the entire thing down, and he had already grabbed the bottle to give her a refill. He sat in front of her as she lowered her empty glass. Theodore smiled at her as she looked at him with eager eyes. “Wow,” she mumbled, and Theodore chuckled. “I know,” he said as he poured more in her cup. This time she drank it slowly, appreciating the taste of each sip. “It’s incredible, Theodore. No wonder people love it so much.” Theodore leant back in his chair again as he rested the bottle on his desk, far enough away from his important papers. “Thank you. I could give you a bottle to take home. I’m sure Najay would appreciate it too.” “Oh, no.” She almost choked on her drink. “I couldn’t pay you right away.” He simply waved her off. “I said give, Abigail. I am gifting it to you. Take it as a way of saying thank you for tonight, and I’m sorry about earlier.” As always, Abigail dropped her gaze as her cheeks burnt. “I don’t know how you could be so kind to me. It’s been a while since a man has been so nice. It feels strange.” “Well, get used to it.” His voice was confident and assuring, yet Abigail told her heart not to take his words too seriously. After all, he is human, and that meant he had the capability to disappoint her, whether intentionally or not. “Thank you,” was all she said as she continued drinking with her eyes trained outside. She loved the view. “So tell me, where did you learn to dance like that?” Theodore asked after a moment of silence. Abigail rested her empty glass on the coffee table beside her as she met his curious gaze. “I used to dance when I was younger, but not like that. What I performed tonight was a mixture of self-taught lessons and advice from other dancers. I practised until I got it right. Luckily, when I went for my audition to work at Vanx Club, the manager, Andrew, saw ‘potential’ in me. I got better over time.” Theodore nodded as she ended, appreciating her perseverance. He suddenly felt intrigued by her background. He wanted to know more about her and her family. Of course, he wanted to know about her story of why she was like this, but he wouldn’t dare try and ask. At least not yet. “I like that,” he admitted. “You seem like a real grinder, Abigail. When was the last time you went on vacation?” She laughed humourlessly. “When I graduated high school, I think. By then, my mother was still single, and my life was somewhat normal.” The sliver of excitement that rose in his veins at the hint of part of her life. But her dismissive tone showed that she had no intentions of elaborating. So far, he knew that her mother was single, perhaps for a while since she said ‘still single’. She also said that was when her life was normal. Maybe her mother’s new relationship changed a lot of things in her life? Perhaps even worse. He looked at her again, seeing so much more that she could be, but was evidently stripped of so much too. “Maybe you should take another one soon. You deserve it.” “Oh, but I can’t. My days are far too busy to take any breaks. Maybe when I graduate.” “Do you have no free days?” Abigail shrugged. “Sundays. But even then, I am either studying or catching up on something I missed in class because I passed out from exhaustion.” Theodore hated how much she exhausted herself, yet he understood why she had to. He felt like he wanted to strip all her troubles away, but he knew she was the type of woman who would protest, especially since they were still strangers. “Tell you what.” He leaned closer to her as a thought struck his mind. “My sister is getting married soon. Knowing her, it will be a huge wedding at probably a very fancy hotel. It is on a Sunday, but I was thinking of leaving from the night before.” “Theodore, I—” “Let me finish,” he cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I am required to have a plus one. What if on that Saturday night, we scrap our session, and I take you to California with me. Then in the morning, you can relax all you want at the pool or on a beach until the wedding in the afternoon. You will be back on a flight home by Sunday night for work and classes on Monday.” “I—I ….” Abigail had no idea what to say. She tried to refuse, but she would be lying if she said she wanted to. Theodore’s proposal sounded heavenly, and as usual, kind. “It is in a few months, so don’t worry. We will be more acquainted by then. You will probably feel more comfortable leaving the state with me. Besides, this is also my request to a beautiful woman to accompany me to my sister’s wedding, so she doesn’t make fun of me for going alone.” His voice dripped in humour, but his proposal was also profound. “W-what about y-your girlfriend?” For a second, Theodore’s face fell in confusion until he realised who she was referring to. “Oh, don’t let that bother you. My sister never liked her anyway, and Cleo hates weddings.” So her name was Cleo. Oddly, even her name sounded threatening to Abigail. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll think about it.” Theodore smiled in satisfaction as he relaxed in his chair. He had no intentions of seducing her or using her on the trip home. But he acknowledged that Abigail more than deserved this vacation. He also knew that sooner or later, he would have to find a date for the wedding. So why not kill two birds with one stone? “Are you ready to go?” Theodore asked as he rose from his seat. Abigail nodded, even though she was just getting comfortable. “Yes. Thank you for tonight.” “Thank you, too. This has been lovely,” he said wholeheartedly. “Indeed.” Despite the downs of the night, Abigail felt much better. She followed Theodore into the lounge area after he quickly grabbed a bottle and handed it to her. “I can’t take you home tonight since I have a lot of work to do. But I arranged for my driver to take you. I hope that is okay. You would’ve met him on the night we picked you up, but you were um… asleep.” “I remember,” Abigail mumbled as she rocked on her heels. “Thank you, though. You are too kind.” “Anytime.” Theodore smiled as he watched her go. He met two sides of Abigail tonight. He met a part of her that aroused him physically, but also mentally and emotionally. She wasn’t only a stripper in his eyes. She was a brilliant young woman. He remembered how she didn’t run away when he touched her, and it had him thinking that perhaps she was getting comfortable with him, and he liked that. Because one thing was for sure: Abigail, Kitten or whatever side of her there is, she is definitely a keeper.