Chapter 9

Her eyebrows furrowed when she heard his statement. Why was he suddenly acting as though he was the one who had been wronged? She crossed her arms. "You had that chance, Damon. It was naturally given to you by the fact that you were his father but you didn't need it. What makes you think you need it now?"

"Avery…" He expected her to be unfriendly but that didn't mean it did not make him sad.

She ignored him and walked out, not sparing him a second glance.

"Damn it." His fists clenched tightly at his sides. It was going to take much longer than he expected. However, he did not blame her. If he were in her shoes, he would not be friendly either. Even so, he would not give up so easily.

….

Avery was still upset the following day when she went to work. How did her blind date turn into Damon? If she didn't know better, she might have thought that Mr. Baker was simply another alias of Damon's and that he had used it to get close to her.

"Are you alright?" Mina asked her as she brought a cup of tea.

Avery nodded. "I didn't expect Damon to stoop so low. What happened to Mr. Baker anyway?"

Mina let out a breath. When Avery told her what happened the previous evening, she had investigated the matter knowing that Avery would need answers. "He was offered a deal he had been negotiating for months, which he knew he was likely to lose." She responded.

"And he had to meet the other party last night?" Avery furrowed her brows. No such coincidence existed.

"No. The prerequisite was for him to ditch your date." Mina dropped the reality which was much worse than speculation.

Avery's eyes darkened. "That idiot. As expected, he is the most shameless creature on earth."

"What should I do now?" Mina asked for the next instructions, to which Avery smiled.

"Set up another blind date for me."

"But he…" Mina was uncertain.

"I don't believe he has the time to ruin all my blind dates." Avery smiled evilly. If this was the game Damon was going to play, then she would play along.

…

Avery's speculation was somewhat accurate. Damon didn't have the time to wreck all her blind dates. She had tricked him by setting up two blind dates at the same time of the same night. As expected, the first candidate regretfully gave her a call to cancel it.

She smiled in amusement and finished dressing up. She wore a long, black dress that was backless. Putting on a chiffon scarf, she applied a drop of perfume onto her wrist and went to meet her second date.

When she arrived at the restaurant that they had agreed on, there was a man sitting at the table that the other party reserved.

It was a handsome man, with neatly styled hair and a sculpted face. He was wearing a black tux and looked slightly nervous. It was normal, considering Mina did not reveal the identity of the woman he was meeting, only giving a surname. He must be wondering what kind of woman she would turn out to be.

"Excuse me, is this seat occupied?" She deliberately teased him for some reason.

"I'm waiting for my date. Her surname is…" He paused when he took a good glance at the woman before him. Her beauty stunned him and it took a while for him to gather his words. "You are Avery Vaillant. Are you my date?"

"You figured. That's not fun at all." She chuckled lightly as he rushed to pull a chair for her.

"It was a guess, actually." He confessed. "You are the most beautiful woman I've seen today-despite watching a live runway show earlier-so I didn't dare to hope that it is you."

"You are quite the smooth talker, aren't you." She smiled. She wasn't repulsed as she thought. At least she had a positive first impression of him.

"I am not saying this merely to flatter you. Forgive my manners. I'm Ethan Smith." He introduced himself awkwardly when he realized that he had forgotten.

"Hello Ethan." Avery was indifferent and didn't offer her hand for a shake, merely placing her bag behind her on the chair.

"You are actually more beautiful in person than you are on the magazines and screens." He was too busy admiring her beauty to mind that she was ignoring him.

She placed her order and paid zero attention to his recommendations. Although he had not expected the flame of first love between him and his blind date, it still bothered him.

"I get the feeling that you're not really interested in me." He mildly commented.

"What if I'm not?" She neither admitted nor denied the claim.

"Then we can skip the getting to know each other better part. Why don't we just have a friendly dinner? As acquaintances." He was neither impatient nor rude after being turned down. "Who knows, we might also become business partners in the future."

"You have a point." She couldn't deny that he was indeed a potential business partner. She heard of The Smith Group before, and all their companies had been constantly gaining increased fame in the business field.

He smiled when he realized that she was no longer completely ignoring him. If they couldn't get together, he would appreciate a business partnership. "If this is not too personal, what are you looking for in a man?"

"If you are asking so you hook me up with your single brother or friend, I don't know." She joked. "Though I would like your opinion on post-marital matters."

"Post… marital?" He tried no to let his imagination run wild. What was she asking?

"How soon would you want children?" She asked more straightforwardly.

He cleared his throat. This was a normal question considering they were on a blind date. "Honestly? Never."

"What?" She frowned, almost losing all the good points she thought he had gathered in her mind.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't hate children." He quickly explained himself when he realized that she must have misunderstood him. "I just… can't have any of my own."

Her eyes slightly widened. "I'm sorry." It must be a painful topic to talk about.

"It's alright. I wasn't planning to hide it from you anyway. It would be much better for my blind date to know what she is getting into before it is too late, right?" He reassured her, then took in her smile. How could a woman have such a beautiful smile? It was so captivating that he almost put a piece of steak on his nose instead of his mouth. He gripped his fork and swallowed. "The point is, my future wife should be willing to adopt or do without kids. This is my most important condition."

"There are other ways… " She suggested, impressed that he didn't think of it as a weakness.

"Adoption is the only one that works for me." He insisted.

"What about your wealth?" She asked out of curiosity.

"If I adopt a child, it's only right to pass my properties down to them. After all, he will not only be my son in name. I will treat him as my own." he answered and she believed him. How sincere.

She turned when she felt paranoid about being watched, but she saw no one who knew her. Strange…

"Is everything okay?" He asked when she looked troubled.

"Yes, yes. What if your future wife has a child with another man?" She continued her conversation with him.

Behind her, Damon placed down the large menu he had used to cover his face when she darted her eyes in his direction.

He had found out about her other blind date and followed her. He didn't interrupt it because he guessed that the other party would be at a disadvantage. On the other hand, he knew that it would be the other man's unlucky evening since Avery was not in the slightest bit easy to please.

But how did it turn out to be a smooth talker? !

"During our marriage?" Ethan asked in response to her question about his wife having a child.

"No, before your marriage." She secretly wanted to know about his thoughts of kids like Angel.

However, he laughed. "Avery, Isn't it too much to hope for that? Women who have children from their previous marriage are usually less trusting of other men. But why are we talking about kids anyway? We have already decided that we are not each other's match." He suddenly looked sad.

" You lying piece of scumbag!" A punch suddenly assaulted his face.

" Excuse me? " Ethan was caught off guard.

"Damon? " Avery was even more shocked.

"Ethan, I can't believe you." Damon punched him yet again.

"I don't know you. What is wrong with you?" Ethan tried to fight back.

"I thought we were friends. How could you turn back and try to lure my ex-girlfriend—who I still love, by the way—into marrying you? Are you trying to steal my son?" Damon kneed him in the stomach.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Ethan exploded into fury. A group of guards rushed over and separated them before their fist exchange could get out of hand.

Avery looked at the two men with furrowed eyebrows. Just what she needed.