Chapter 8: I Came to Propose

Andrea's apartment...

Andrea finally got up to fully read the note on the card accompanying the package once again.

'How on Earth could I think such a narcissistic rich brat would be so nice to me?' she thought with a dejected sigh, still staring at the note which said, 'Sweet dreams dearest Andrea. Hope you can join me for breakfast tomorrow. Time and place are at your discretion...if you do accept my invitation, of course. No pressure though....if you're not available tomorrow. There's the entire festive season ahead of us. Love, Austin.'

'Did Lana put him up to this? I mean he is sweet and all but isn't this weirdly extra for someone I've barely spoken to?' she thought, staring at the card and wrapped box on the table before her with a lifted brow. "Oh Lily Andrea, stop overthinking again," she said, face palming herself for being rude about a clearly thoughtful gesture. She placed the card down and opened up the box. "EEEEEE!" she squealed excitedly. "Chocolate!" she whisper-yelled. That is her all-time favorite. "I should give him a call now," she picked up her phone on the other side of the table. 'He's so thoughtful. I can't afford to turn down his invitation. The narcissist couldn't possibly take so long handing over a purse and giving his boring speech about how powerful he is. I'll just schedule our breakfast date for 9:00am at Royal Blossom. That should do. I believe he works there part-time while being a YouTuber as well. It shouldn't be hard interacting with him then,' she thought. "But this can't be a regular thing. Lana should have known that before putting him up to the task. I can't afford to let him so close to me," she said dejectedly, remembering her mother's harsh words, cursing any man who falls in love with her to die. "Whether it really works or not, prevention is better than cure," she said and made the call.

★★★

Next day...

Walking towards the cafe in her red long coat, with shards on, a white turtleneck sweater tucked into her black high-waist denim pants and a pair of high-heeled leather boots. Her curly black hair was partly held up on the top as a ponytail, with the rest let loose at her back and on her shoulders, with two strands free on her face, one on each side. The morning sunlight kissed her perfectly naturally tan-looking skin.

Just before she crossed the street to enter the cafe. She spotted a sports BMW car parked in front of the cafe. 'Nice car,' she thought and checked the time on her phone. "7:58 and I don't see him inside there," she thought satisfactorily, thinking to herself that she would most likely get to tease that he was late. She began crossing the road with a satisfied smile until a thought hit her halfway through. She immediately looked at the BMW and saw a hand from the drivers seat wave her, then noticing his bodyguard from the airport in the front seat. "Darn it" she said, losing her smile and mentally facepalming herself. 'At least I'm still not late.'

Rather than moving towards the car, she stood at the entrance of the cafe, a few feet away from the car. Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up, seeing very well that it was Antonio calling.

"What on Earth are you doing?" he asked, massaging the bridge between his eyes with two of his fingers, eyes shut, like he was exhausted.

"Geez, Manners really did leave you behind," she said as though indeed shocked, causing his eyes to fly wide open out of shock and irritation. 'Such disrespect,' he thought, still finding it hard to believe she still disregarded him. "Anyways, I'm waiting for the person I'm supposed to be meeting up with for my precious purse."

"Come get the bloody thing silly girl and stop wasting my time," he said through gritted teeth.

"In case you forgot, old man, the meeting place was supposed to be the cafe and not your car. I'm not going to get in so you can have me kidnapped and neither am I going to stand at the window like a beggar at your mercy. Got that?"

"Last I checked, you were begging to have your purse back and you really are at my mercy..." She was suddenly about to interrupt him as he predicted but he cut her sharply. "Zip it," he said calmly and continued, "Regardless of that, you should know that it wouldn't be in my interest to be seen with you in public."

"Excuse m..."

"In fact, you might not find it favourable unless of course you're desperate for attention and fame."

"Could you be any less of a narcissist? I'm not falling for your game. I'm not coming to your ca..."

"Very well then, I did warn you," he said and immediately, the door of the front seat flew open. Out came the other familiar bodyguard who then opened the back seat.

'Coming to think about it, he'll draw unnecessary attention. Maybe he's ri...' she couldn't complete her thought when it suddenly her eyes met him once again, holding a paper gift bag. She couldn't even deny it to herself. He was drop dead gorgeous. His neatly styled her had a little curled over his right eye, his perfectly bulky structure fit perfectly in his clearly expensive black tuxedo. He had a perfect jawline and a smooth extravagantly structured face, plump pink lips with beautiful hazel brown eyes.

After snapping his fingers in her face, Andrea was finally drawn back to reality, feeling very embarrassed for staring. "Ha! Geez, I know I'm good looking but staring is still rude," he said with a teasing smirk, causing a frown on Andrea's face. "Quit frowning lest you want to grow old early. Shall we go in before...." he was saying when a scream from across the street interrupted him, "....before that happens."

"AHHHH!!!! OMG! OMG!" a woman who was jogging kept screaming. "Mr. Antonio Robles! I love you sooo much," she began crying while trying to hold on to him. His bodyguards were swift enough to hold her back just in time. "You're my role model," she cried.

"That explains a lot," Andrea thought out loud, earning a sharp glare from Antonio. She merely shrugged and turned around to enter the cafe. By then, the entire neighborhood was staring at them, taking photos and screaming.

***

In the cafe...

"Now can I have my purse?" she asked the moment he occupied the seat in front of her.

"Let's move to a private room in the restaurant," he said and snapped his fingers.

"Hell no, I don't want to be left alone with you," she said sharply through gritted teeth.

Antonio looked at her with amusement. She was indeed scared he would harm her. "Be smart. If I wanted to harm you so intensely, I wouldn't allow myself to be seen in public with you first. That isn't to say you're completely off the hook. Anyways, as you wish."

The manager, Yvonne, suddenly appeared.  Andrea looked away from Antonio with irritation. He whispered something to the manager and in less than two minutes, the cafe was empty and the curtains were drawn to keep cameras out.

"I bet you're a shady person but you can take your shades off. The sun can't burn your vampire eyes here," he said cheekily before the manager requested to take their orders. They both requested nothing and in no time the entire place was empty. Andrea took off her shades, her beauty caught him off guard. She had a smooth even-toned face with no makeup. Her eyes were pitch black and slated yet puppy-like. He then noticed her cute plump pinkish lips covered discreetly with gloss. She was indeed stunning. 'She just might be the solution to my problems,' he thought, staring blankly at her.

"I don't understand how handing over a purse takes ages. May I have my purse now?"

"Here you go." He handed her the paper bag he had by his side.

"Great!" she said and looked into the purse, inspecting her things. Everything was in tact. She was grateful but wasn't sure how to show her genuine appreciation to the narcissist. "Thank you. Now you may leave," she said with a forced smile.

"Excuse me?" he said with a soft chuckle and a lifted brow.

"You said you're a busy man. I don't think you have much time to waste staring at boring me."

"You're darn right about that. I'll get straight to the point then."

"It's about time," Andrea said.

"I need someone who's talented, principled, hardworking and trustworthy. For some odd reason, I see those qualities in you...hence why I came to propose," he said and rose to his feet, walking over to her side.