Chapter 17 –The charm we Asians pull

Adrian stood up from where he was seated on the car bonnet, sliding his phone into his pocket. "Good evening." He greeted

"Good evening." Richard answered while I gave him a nod. "Hope you came with your car?" He added.

"Not when the media were hot on my heels." He answered with a frown.

"But they usually don't disturb you." I commented, unlocking the car. "How did they get your location?" I pulled open the car door.

"I think an important personality visited but they didn't see me though." Adrian answered, sliding into the back seat while Richard sat in the passenger seat.

I looked at the two of them, trying to process what just happened. "What's going on?" I asked.

"News flash, you're driving." Richard answered. "That's your punishment for wearing the same outfit as mine." He countered.

I looked at his outfit and then at mine and realized that they were the same.

"What?!" I laughed. "Who are you kidding?" I asked, looking at him as if he had grown two heads while he sat there typing on his phone as if nothing happened.

Sensing the gaze I gave him, he turned to me with an arced brow.

"Did you suddenly realise you are gay and you find me appealing?" He smirked.

I shuddered visibly and shook my head. "Gross."

"Then, get in the car and drive." He ordered while Adrian snickered.

We got to our destination quite late due to the heavy traffic that hit the streets. The place was nice, it gave off a very wild vibe. At the time we arrived, people were still trooping in and out of the club and from my observations, the club had a good security system that could sniff out unsuspecting paparazzi, it also had a beautiful interior with aesthetic paintings and lighting. Little wonder, the club was a place of choice for most celebrities.

"Ian, don't you think we're making quite a scene." Richard smiled and rolled his shoulders when we got into the club enjoying the attention he was getting.

"With complete backlight." I answered, staring at the scene before me. People walked up and down like they owned the place, others dancing on the dance floor with drinks in hand.

"And a good sound effect with drum rolls. That should make mhmn..... A glorious entry." Adrian laughed, placing his hands in his pocket.

"Glorious entry indeed." Richard raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"While I would love to enjoy this so-called glorious entry, let's get a seat." I said and pulled the neck of my shirt over my mouth. I detested attention particularly when it was excessive.

"That's right, Adrian did you make any reservations." Richard asked, scanning the room.

"Nope." He answered, shifting slightly so as not to obstruct movement considering we were standing at the entrance of a hallway.

"Why?" I frowned.

"I thought you didn't like the unwarranted attention." Adrian turned to me, a weird expression on his face.

"And what does that have to do with you not making reservations." Richard asked, cutting him off.

"I thought we could come in as regulars and enjoy the view instead of the other way round." He explained. "Besides, I figured that you wouldn't want to stay in the lounge."

I nodded, "That's fair."

"I've seen a nice spot to seat." Richard announced.

"What if the seats are taken?" Adrian asked, his face morphed into a scowl.

"Always cautious, I see. If it is taken, we'll bully them out of the seat." Richard smiled and went in the direction of the seat.

I turned to Adrian who regarded me with a funny expression. He seemed to be in shock. "Adrian, the look on your face is priceless, you should have gotten used to him by now." I laughed and went behind Richard.

"I just hope we won't have to bully anybody." Adrian replied.

Adrian had always been the most cautious one among us. He was naturally the type to avoid trouble when he saw one and his job as a manager heightened that sense. To him, every silly and little mistake could lead to trouble which will eventually result in a never-ending series of scandals. So most times, he always ensured to be on the safer side while trying to avoid or avert trouble.

Surprisingly, when we got to the seat, it was empty and it seemed Richard had said that on purpose to irk Adrian.

He gazed at him, a serious look and a crooked smile on his face. "Adrian, it seems we won't be bullying anybody." Richard winked and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"At least, you can breathe now." I bark out a laugh causing Richard to join while Adrian gave us his signature blank look.

"When you both are done, let me know." He replied and sat down with a straight face causing another round of laughs.

"Adrian, how do you get girls to fall for you with this extremely cautious attitude of yours?" Richard asked in between laughs.

"Well, I got my way of charming them." He frowned but eventually smiled.

"I'm sure you will be extra cautious with kissing your girlfriend because you wouldn't want scandals, yeah?" I teased, stifling a laugh.

"What the hell!" He snapped his head to me and I thought his neck would come off. "Dude, can we drop this already." He deadpanned and we burst into a fit of laughter.

He shot us a freezing stare, "You know this ain't funny any longer." Came his voice a little bit colder than what I usually hear.

Uh-uh, he was angry and an angry Adrian meant something else. I just didn't want to deal with that.

"Relax, dude." I raised my hands in mock surrender.

He angled his head at still laughing Richard. "Richard, I'm serious." His voice dripped with frost.

Richard cleared his throat and glanced at me, "I'll stop. Mianhae." He said, struggling to keep a straight face but failing.

"Just wait till I punch that smile off your face." Adrian smirked smugly and Richard immediately paled.

"You don't get to do that," he started, his tone serious. "I value my face. It's my selling point." He said smoothly, maintaining his tone.

I tilt my head upwards and looked at him. "Oh, yeah?" I let out a boyish smirk.

His lips twitched upwards to form a loop-side smile. "Yes, yeah."

"Hey, am I the only one who's thirsty?" He asked and without waiting to hear our answer, he signalled for a waitress who came and took our orders.

"Wow, Richard didn't flirt with her. That's surprising." Adrian commented once she had left.

"Probably because she isn't worth it." He shrugged nonchalantly, nodding to the beat of the song blasting through the speakers. "You just don't flirt with everyone, yes?"

"Damn." I low whistled, shook my head with a small smile and turned to Adrian. He too had a weird smile on his face as he stared at Richard

He turned to us shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he stared back at us. "What?" He asked.

"That was harsh, Richard." Adrian laughed.

"Just imagine she heard that, what do you think she'll do?" I asked.

He chuckled for a moment, "She'll probably cry and talk trash about me." He answered, smiling.

"What about your rather esteemed personality?" Adrian asked, collecting the drinks from the waitress.

He kept his sly smile, "It will still be kept intact." He answered and winked at the waitress, she blushed so hard that I couldn't tell if it was her makeup. "Hey, beautiful, how are you this lovely evening?" He wore his so-called million-dollar smile.

She looked at him smiling, "I-I'm fine." She stuttered, blushing even deeper.

"Nice outfit by the way." He said after giving her a quick once over.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"How's the work coming for you?"

She batted her lashes at him. "It hasn't been easy but it's fine." She shrugged.

Richard nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see." He smiled. "It's good to know you're fine though. Such a beautiful woman like you shouldn't be subjected to too much stress."

She chuckled, lowly. "Thank you, mister."

"Oh, I shouldn't keep you waiting." He gingerly took his drink from the tray. "What's your name, love?" He smiled, looking at her from the rim of the glass he held while I and Adrian struggled to keep our cool so we don't mess things up.

She blushed and smiled back at him as she answered, "It's Vanessa."

"Vanessa."He repeated with an arced brow and half-looped smirk. "Such a lovely name."

"T-thank you." She laughed. "I have to get going now." She added, smiling.

"Oh yeah, too bad I have to let you go." He said acting all disappointed. "But thanks for the drinks though."

"You're welcome." She replied.

"See you around." He winked with his signature smile.

"See you too." She smiled and left our table.

He followed her with his eyes until she was out of his sight, and he raised his left hand for me to clap in a high five. He looked at us after that and smiled making us burst into fits of laughter.

"She's decent." He smiled softly, watching her attend to another table.

"Yeah, I saw that." I replied.

"Dude, you're such a hypocrite." Adrian said laughing.

"I was keeping my reputation intact." Richard defended, smiling.

"You got her." I said laughing.

"And she seems willing to do anything for you." Adrian added. "Gosh, we were invisible to her."

He sat back in his seat and crossed his legs. "That's the charm, we Asians pull." He said cheerfully, ruffling his bangs.

"I thought you said and I quote: "she isn't worth it." I clicked my tongue, pulling out my phone from my pocket.

He shrugged ever slowly and glanced at me, "Well, she's not that bad." He answered, looking over to the dance floor where a group of girls were dancing. "I mean physically."

"I don't think you got it all complete though, you didn't ask for her number."

"That's because I wasn't interested." He answered, with a bored tone. "Besides, I can somehow if I want to."

"Nice moves they've got there." Adrian said, sipping from his wine.

"Yeah, they're pretty good dancers." Richard replied.

"For some reason, they look oddly familiar like I've seen them somewhere." I muttered.

"Really?" Richard glanced at me, with an arced brow.

Adrian gave me a cursory look, "Of course, he knows everybody on earth." He answered.

"Hey now, that's not true." I replied and poured myself some drink. "I don't even know who Megan McKenzie is." I murmured but I was sure they heard me because they both snapped their attention to me at the same time.

"What?"

"You don't know who she is?" Adrian asked, placing his glass on the table.

I shook my head, frowning. "No. I wouldn't ask if I knew." I answered.

He looked at me and then at Richard who shrugged. "I don't know her." He said.

"Richard, you too?" He asked, his tone disbelieving.

"Yeah?" He answered nonchalantly, "That's because she's not relevant to me."

"Dude," I laughed. "Richard, I think you need to start filtering your words."

He stole a look at me and then smiled sarcastically, "You should get me one."

"So, you two don't know who she is?" He brought out his phone and pulled up a picture of her. "She starred as your best friend in home for Christmas." He said. "She was the second female lead."

"Oh," I mumbled, "I know her, I just did not remember her name." I passed the phone back to Adrian.

"She's pretty." Richard said. "So, why were you asking about her? She suddenly caught your fancy?" He asked, his eyes drifting back to the dance floor.

"She's gathering information on me." I clicked my tongue playfully. "So Erika said." And I raised my glass to my lips.

He simply shook his head, and a sly curve crossed his lips.

"She likes you and probably wants to be your girlfriend."

I was taken aback by his reply and choked on my drink.

"Easy." He laughed, gently patting my back.

I shot him a glare.

Adrian let out a throaty laugh and shook his head. "You're impossible, Ian."

I sighed. "What's impossible about me?" I asked him.

"Everything." He muttered lowly.

I frowned by myself and looked at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." He answered.

I let out a breath and turned to face Richard who had his attention on the people dancing. "Richard," I started, he angled his head at me to show he was listening. "When was the last time you visited the tennis court?" I asked, my eyes trailing to the dancers.

"Two weeks ago." He answered.

"Mhm, I see." I replied and poured myself more drinks. "I suddenly feel left out."

At that, he whipped his head at me, his eyes squinted as he crossed his arms on his chest. "You were somewhere in Asia shooting a movie." He answered.

I responded with silence knowing he was right. From the corner of my eye, I saw a movement and turned to see that Adrian had stood up from his seat. "I'll go get more drinks." He announced, shoving his phone into his back pocket.

Richard raised his head and smirked, "Are you going to get drinks or girls or both?"

Adrian smiled, adjusting his jacket. "Ay, just drinks." He answered, "I'll see you later." He said and started to walk away from us.

"Don't get lost." Richard shouted. I chuckled. He waved his right hand and continued walking.