Variety Show (12)

Beep! Beep! Beep!

As her alarm went off early in the morning, Valentina dragged her half-conscious body through her morning routine as she showered, brushed, got dressed, and attempted to tame her wild curls. As she was fixing her eyebrows and applying some lip tint in her dressing room, she heard a knock on the door.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

"Good morning. You're up early." Kaiser commented as he poked his head in, fully dressed in his all-black suit like usual.

"I have a busy day. I…ahh, have to go to my apartment then go see you and go see Lia. We have a lot to talk about and not enough…time before I leave to film. " Valentina replied through several yawns. As she sleepily stared at Kaiser in the vanity mirror while putting on her earrings, he walked over to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"Shall I drop you off at Lia's studio? You can sleep in the car and rest there. The bodyguards will meet you there as they're still prepping a nondescript vehicle that's fully protected. So you can go to your apartment first before coming to my office."

"You won't be late to work? I should call Lia to ask if she's up." Valentina asked with another yawn. She was so tired.

"I'm the boss. How can I be late? And don't worry about Lia. She's a gremlin that doesn't rest." Kaiser gave her a sly smile as he grabbed her hand with one hand and grabbed her purse with the other. "Come on, I'll even let you take a nap on my lap."

Not knowing how she made it to the car, Valentina just felt followed along as she was led around until she found her head cushioned on something slightly firm. Inhaling Kaiser's unique, cozy scent, her eyes soon closed, and she fell fast asleep as his fingers gently massaged her scalp.

As Kaiser watched Valentina's sleeping figure as she began muttering 'body pillow' while burying her face into his stomach and hugging his waist, he poked her cheek, enjoying the soft, smooth texture.

"You have to stop this sleeping habit of yours. You can only do this to me, Valentina." He told her in a soft voice as he caressed her cheek.

As the car sped up, causing her head to bounce before slamming into his lap and causing her to grumble in discomfort, he shot a glare at the driver, who gulped and began sweating.

"Drive slower and more carefully." He coldly ordered the driver before raising the partition.

"Yes, sir!"

The rest of the drive passed peacefully and smoothly as Valentina slept, Kaiser held her hand while her intoxicating scent surrounded him until she was all he could smell.

"Valentina?" Kaiser called her name softly as he carefully lifted her so she could sit up and lean against the chair. As her body tilted to the side again, he quickly stepped out and held her upright as he shook her again.

"Mmm?"

Hearing the sleepy mumble and seeing as she stared at him with a dazed expression, he felt his heart soften. Her fox-shaped green eyes were half-lidded and shielded by thick, long lashes, and her pink lips were slightly open as she yawned. Watching her rub her eyes with slender fingers, he wanted to let her rest, but knowing that they were really pressed for time, he gently forced her awake. He would just have her take a nap when she came to see him at his office.

"We're here. Do you want to walk, or should I carry you?"

"And if I say you should carry me?" Valentina gave him a sleepy smile as she yawned once more while trying to wake herself up.

"That's not a problem. Just wrap your arms around me." Kaiser replied seriously, already leaning to grab her.

"I'm kidding. Help me out." Valentina mumbled, imperiously holding out her hand to him. As he pulled her out of the car, grabbing her purse and thermos, she was already sleepily leaning on him as he led her forward to the elevator.

It was simply too early, and she was so tired.

By the time she regained consciousness, she was in an elevator, and a brief moment later, they were in Lia's studio space. The elegant lobby area was as beautiful as before, with fresh vases of flowers complimenting the aesthetically pleasing cream and gold chairs. The doors to the other rooms were shut tight except for one that was wide open. 

However, even if it was open, the darkness inside of the room could not be penetrated.

An inhuman groan was let out, and slowly, a small figure stumbled out of the room.

First, she saw the bright green hair pulled into two messy pigtails, and then the rest of Lia's body followed. She was dressed in a black onesie with lime green markings and had on a thick pair of matching green glasses that covered the deep shadows under her eyes.

As Lia stumbled out and leaned against the door while blearily fumbling with a green hearing aid, Valentina woke up from the partial sleep stupor she had been in.

Seeing Lia look as if she was on death door, Valentina couldn't help but ask as she shook Kaiser off and approached the woman.

"Oh my goodness, Lia, are you okay?? What happened to you?" the woman had looked normal on the phone yestereday. What had happened in a 12-hour time span?

"I was joking, but you really do look like a gremlin. The green suits you." Kaiser snickered as he stared down at Lia. 

"Oh, Valentina, it's you. I'm alive. Need Coffee. Kai, you and your stupid jokes can get the hell out of my studio."

Seeing that Lia couldn't even muster up the energy to do her usual greeting, Valentina knew that the woman was truly tired.

"Wow, why are you so angry in the morning? This is why you're short, you know." Kaiser mocked her openly, laughing again as Lia shot him a glare that should have evaporated him on the spot.

"Out of my house! And it is my house this time!"

"I'm leaving o short, grumpy one. Take care of yourself. Valentina, see you later. The car and bodyguard will be waiting downstairs in about an hour or two." After pressing a kiss to the top of her head and gently rubbing her waist, Kaiser placed her purse and thermos on a chair and headed back into the elevator.

As he left, Valentina turned back to Lia, who was stumbling like a zombie into another room. Grabbing her things and following behind her, she stepped into a large kitchenette with a large bar counter full of equipment and syrups that would put a coffee shop to shame. As Lia stumbled around, Valentina quickly led her to a seat and forced her to sit down.

"Just take a seat and let me do it. What are you trying to make??"

"Coffee. Double shot of dark roast espresso separate and a cinnamon dolce latte with extra whipped cream." Lia muttered as her head slumped on the table.

"Okay. Coming right up."

Tying an apron around her waist, Valentina quickly gathered two small cups and began using the machine to grind the espresso beans into powder, tamp it down, and lock it in place.

As two espressos began dripping into the cups, she began gathering the ingredients for the latte.

Milk from the fridge, whipped cream, and spices. As the espressos finished, she made two more while depositing the double shot in front of Lia.

Despite the heat, Lia threw the espresso shot back, sighing in happiness as the rich, bitter taste woke her up. As she watched curiously, she found herself entranced by Valentina's motions.

From the careful tamp down of the ground coffee to the smooth movements while frothing and pouring the steaming milk to the elegant flick of her wrist as she topped it with a sprinkle of cinnamon. She felt as if she were watching somebody dance while making coffee.

As the delicious smell wafted through the air, Lia could feel herself being woken up as she continued to observe the carelessly graceful movements. She felt a burst of inspiration as she observed and wished she had her sketchbook to jot down her ideas.

In no time at all, Valentina placed a steaming latte in front of her with a small tulip in the middle.

As Lia took a sip, her eyes widened at the delicious taste. 

"This is amazing! How do you know how to do this? Without a recipe or anything? I have to follow a recipe step by step, and it takes forever."

"I used to work at a coffee shop in college as one of my part-time jobs. People tip more if you do extras like make pretty pictures in their coffee, so I picked up a few tricks." Valentina calmly replied as she took a sip of medicine from the thermos, feeling her body come alive at the uniquely horrendous taste of the medicine.

"Wow. You're not only beautiful, you're so talented." Lia told her with sparkling eyes.

As she looked down at the coffee she had made, Valentina couldn't help but reminisce about her younger days. Once she turned 14, she began working part-time jobs because the orphanage only provided basics, and if she wanted anything extra, like special books to study for college exams, extra food, clothing that wasn't too torn, and the like, she had to pay for it herself.

To be truthful, she not only worked at the coffee shop, but she had held all kinds of jobs while in school. Part-time librarian, part-time waitress, part-time bartender, part-time line cook, part-time social media manager, part-time daycare worker, part-time janitor, etc. She had held so many different types of jobs and gigs trying to put herself through school that she had accumulated a variety of useless skills that couldn't be used in the corporate world when she finally graduated.

Embarrassed at being complimented for such a useless skill when the person complimenting her was a famous designer who was much more talented than she was, Valentina quickly changed the subject.

"What happened, Lia? Why do you look like this?"

"I was making your dress. I told you. I would find it, make it, or die trying. Since I couldn't find it, I finally finished making a basic prototype of something similar this morning. Shall we take a look? It is quite pretty if I do say so myself." Lia gave her a mischievous smile.

"You really didn't have to. You need to take care of your body, and I could wear something else. I didn't know you would actually try to do it on such short notice." Valentina replied apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I told you the description of your vision inspired me, so I wanted to work on the dress as well as a couple of other pieces. I haven't felt this motivated in a while, so I had to take advantage of the rush. Anyway, shall I show you what I've done? We can have a proper chat once you've taken a look. Of course, it will be after you finish your medicine." Lia gave her a knowing smile as she took another sip of coffee.

Sighing, Valentina quickly plugged her nose and quickly chugged the medicine. As the last of it went down, she shuddered and wiped her watering eyes before standing up.

"Let's go."

"Sure."

Lia hopped up, taking her mug with her as she led Valentina to her main design space.