Payback In Full

Alessia got out of the taxi, running towards Giovanni. If she didn't go after him now, she might not be able to see him again except by chance. Giovanni stood still, watching her run towards him. He never turned away, he had watched the taxi go.

She panted lightly as she held unto his coat under the umbrella.

She panted lightly, holding onto his coat under the umbrella. "We-We've met before! At the restaurant, where you walked away with a lady."

"Oh, I remember now," Giovanni replied, his expression unreadable.

"Yes, that mask made me remember."

That day was the first time he went out without any mask portraying his alter identities since he started using them. Like Thomas scorned, he had been stalking her since his informant at Vani Enterprise told him she cried. Since Alessia left Vani Enterprise, the company had been crumbling 'inexplicably'. Marco was jumping from one meeting to another, begging investors who had pulled out of his company.

"Thank you very much. I'll repay you for everything," she said breathlessly.

Since ending things with Marco, she had been wary about rich, kind men. She knew from events she attended and the media that they were all the same ;smothering women with luxury to get in between their legs. She had returned the car to Thomas, only taking the house because he said she should leave the job too if she was going to give up the house.

She demanded they take a percentage as mortgage installment, only for Xavier to increase her salary by twice the former amount so she wouldn't feel the mortgage cost. She was going to return the shoes too after appreciating Xavier. If she was ever going to give love a chance again, it would be to a kind gentleman with a humble background with pure intentions.

"You don't have to," Giovanni mumbled, wondering why a one-minute sprint made her so tired. They both walked towards his car, while Alessia continued to thank him profusely.

"May I give you a ride?"

"No, thanks."

"You must be uncomfortable with getting rides. How about you have the car then?" He offered as his eyes softened, and he gave her a small, worried smile.

"Have the car?!"

Giovanni went silent, realizing he had said something wrong but unsure what it was. "You... don't... like this car? I can get another," he said, scratched his head, looking genuinely puzzled. Wasn't giving the woman the car the best solution if she didn't want to share a ride? Besides, he knew she didn't have a car now.

Alessia chuckled. "Why do you look so cute doing something so ridiculous and egotistic?"

If he was trying to impress her, he would at least lean on the car and try to look cool, but he seemed genuinely concerned. "You're so easy to take advantage of. This is too much!" she said.

'Welp, my poor heart.' She thought to herself.

Alessia already viewed him as one of those old-money, sheltered Mama's boys. "You see, this world is very dangerous, and even though you don't know the value of this car, it's very expensive. This is a Rolls-Royce, nothing less than seven figures," she explained carefully.

Giovanni nodded slowly, not knowing if he should regard seven figures as a big amount. "So, don't go around offering people a car. I'll go take a taxi now."

"Under what guise can one offer someone a car?" he asked as she turned. She wouldn't accept a car from her boss or a kind stranger, so who would she take a car from?

"Marriage, a birthday, anniversary, promotion, any big occurrence" she listed.

"What if your boss gives you one?"

"That's not right, except the company itself offers me the car, and it's not going to be mine per se."

'This lady is strange,'he told himself.

Achoo, Alessia suddenly sneezed.

Giovanni took off his coat and draped it over her. "You should get going now."

"I should have your contact. I'd like to repay you."

Giovanni suddenly went rigid. Unlike his other identity that had national identity cards, registered names, and everything else, Giovanni had none—not even a phone number, since he didn't live as Giovanni. "I don't... have a... phone," he whispered, blinking like a lost kid.

Alessia laughed. "You're such a bad liar. If you don't want me to repay you, you should at least be creative about it. Or do you not want to have my contact? That's sad. I thought we were friends," she said, reaching for his now wet bouquet.

Giovanni raised the bouquet above his head, and Alessia tried to reach for it. He held her hand, and she raised her chin, meeting his gaze. The world seemed to slow down around them, the pitter-patter of rain from the umbrella falling incessantly.

Alessia gazed in awe, entranced by his deep brown eyes with red undertones, like chestnuts. They were filled with tenderness and masked sadness. She was distracted by his bobbing Adam's apple, her gaze traveling to the lower part of his face. Her eyes caught his luscious lips. She knew better than anyone how soft they were.

Giovanni lowered his head, and Alessia squeezed her eyes shut, gulping her saliva. Giovanni brought his lips close to her ear like she did at the suite. "Go now, or you'll catch a cold," he whispered, his lips brushing lightly against her already reddened ear. The whisper was so sensual, Alessia felt weak in her knees. She went blank for a second before regaining her bearings, realizing she had been tricked.

He hailed a taxi, and she hurriedly stuffed her business card into his pocket before sitting in the taxi. She was jolted by a knock on the window. She pressed a button, unwinding the window.

"I look forward to you paying me back, in full, 3D," he drawled before walking away.

Alessia's mouth hung open. 'What does he mean by in full? 3D?' She suddenly let out a scream when she remembered the part where she wanted to see his body in 3D.

'Does that mean he wants to see me in 3D?.'

"No, no, no. Giovanni is a gentleman," she consoled herself.

If only she knew the wicked and diabolical things he sorely longed to do to her,not that she would hate them, though.