The Bargain Undercover

Yellow Strapless Dress

Eliana blinked her eyes, her gaze flicked back to his phone.

She hadn't expected Xander to kick her out directly after some woman called Camila called.

But his private life wasn't her business. They weren't lovers, and she wasn't interested in whom he was seeing.

She put on her clothes and stood up, saying politely, "See you, Director Lane."

The spring air smelt fresh. Eliana left Xander's villa and stepped into the chilly night. The cab Xander called for her was already waiting there. She went in, looking out of the car window quietly along the way.

Everything appeared so lonely in the dark night. The grass, the trees, the lone pedestrian who was waiting at the red light... She looked, and her vision blurred as the piercing sense of loneliness overwhelmed her. She had been walking down this bumpy road alone, putting on a facade of cheerfulness to please others for her own sake. It drained her, but she couldn't stop because she had no one to rely on.

No one knew how badly she wanted a home, a place where she could find solace in someone's embrace, where she could rest and feel warm when the coldness outside was biting. But such a place didn't exist for her.

"Miss, are you okay?"

Eliana hadn't realized that she was sobbing until the driver asked.

She wiped away her tears in a flurry. "Sorry, I was just depressed."

"Come on! You are still so young. What do you have to be depressed about?"

Eliana answered vaguely, "Well, many things."

The real answer was complex, and she didn't intend to share it with anyone.

The driver grinned, not taking it seriously, "You just need to stop dwelling on the negative. Life is tough for everyone, kid."

Eliana smiled bitterly, "Sure."

And then, she kept silent, staring out of the car window along her way.

***

Time flew, and the following Friday came in just the blink of an eye.

Eliana reserved a private room in a fine dining restaurant a few days before. After training, she changed into a yellow strapless dress, formal and lively.

When she was waiting for the elevator, Alex passed by. "Wow! Look at you! Where are you going?"

Eliana answered casually, "To see a guy."

"Oh." Alex's pause was obvious. "Who is it?"

"No, I'm just kidding." Eliana pulled up a naughty smile. "I'm going to a family dinner."

Alex felt relieved. "Have fun!"

Eliana smiled back, watching as he walked away.

Then, she withdrew her smile, checking her makeup in the reflection of her phone screen.

For her own sake, tonight had to go well.

At 6 pm, she was the first one to enter the private room. A while later, Xander arrived.

"Hey," she greeted him.

They never talked to each other more than necessary in the company in case anyone noticed their abnormal relationship. These few days had been the same, but the distance between them had been more deliberate since their last unpleasant parting.

"Hey," Xander responded.

They sat opposite each other, silent.

Xander started to check his working emails on his phone. Eliana kept her eyes low, wondering if she should say something to break the awkwardness between them.

No matter how surly Xander sometimes could be, to her, he was simply a tool to advance her career. Rationally, she shouldn't have let his words hurt her.

But with that said, she still felt hurt.

When she wasn't sure about what to do, Delbert pushed open the door and entered the private room.

"Hey, my girl!" Delbert was all smiles, greeting Eliana like a caring uncle.

"Uncle Delbert, how are you?" Eliana stood up. After hugging him, she introduced them to each other. "This is Delbert Benn, my uncle, and this is Xander Lane, our Artist Director."

"Mr. Lane, nice to meet you!" Delbert shook hands with Xander passionately. "I heard Eliana talk about you a lot. I like talking to young elites. They make sense."

"Nice to meet you. Your company is well-known." Xander was giving compliments, but his tone was emotionless as usual.

Delbert laughed, "Well, strictly, it's not my company, but as the Vice President, I have the final say on whom to sponsor."

With that, he patted Eliana on the head. "That's why she came to me."

"For sure." Xander sat back down. "I look forward to cooperating with you."

"Oh, I bet you do! We have the best hydrotherapy in the country! Your dancers would love it!" Delbert sat down next to Xander, giving gracious and eloquent remarks on the products of PhysioFit.

The following conversation went on between Delbert and Xander. Eliana lowered her head and ate as if she were floating outside their conversation, but actually, she was listening to every single word they said, ready to interject if things took a strange turn.

Delbert and Xander were totally different. One was eloquent, boasting about every little thing; while the other was pragmatic, not saying more words than necessary. Eliana was almost positive that conflicts would arise between them, but she had to do everything to make sure the deal could be sealed.

However, their conversation went on unexpectedly smoothly.

This was the first time Eliana had seen Xander handle a business conversation. His tone was flat as usual, but that only served to emphasize him as a rational person. Eliana rested her chin on her hand and listened as he condensed Delbert's lengthy speech into a few sentences and asked questions to the point, gathering all the information he needed before making his decision.

He was the beneficiary party, but he could find a perfect balance in their talk, being neither humble nor pushy.

"Well, we'll be a generous sponsor." Delbert's face was radiant. Obviously, he enjoyed this conversation. "I'll give your staff a fifty percent discount on all our products. In return, I need you to promote our hydrotherapy."

"That's not a problem." Xander looked at Delbert. "I can tell how much you value the hydrotherapy of your company. You've mentioned it a lot."

Delbert laughed, "Forgive me for chewing your ears off, but I designed it. It's like all parents value their children."

Eliana didn't agree with his latter sentence, but his former one surprised her.

"You designed it?" She widened her eyes and exclaimed, not knowing that before.

Delbert looked at her, confidence all over his face. "Of course! That's why they realized I'm critical and promoted me to the VP."

"You're amazing!" Eliana was heartful.

Delbert let out a proud laugh, patting Eliana's head. "That's why your mother always wants you to learn from me."

Demeaning others to praise himself was his habit. Eliana forgot about it for one second, and now she regretted that. She curved her lips. "Right."

"Alright, Mr. Lane, now that you know what I can give you, I need to know what you can give me." Delbert looked condescendingly at Xander. "I want to expand our business worldwide, so I need you to spread our brand name during your world tours."

"For sure," Xander promised.

"Good. Let's try for one time, maybe a title sponsorship in your summer season, and if it goes well, I'll consider doing a long-term sponsorship. What do you say, Mr. Lane? "

"The summer season starts in a month. Isn't the time too tight for you?" Xander asked.

Delbert waved his hand dismissively. "Not a big deal. I'll ask that cute young accountant in the finance department to get things settled in one week. Oh, she's so good! You have no idea."

"Uncle Delbert, PhysioFit may go better with the winter season," Eliana voiced her opinion.

Delbert looked at her, somewhat surprised. "I said no big deal."

Eliana wanted to pick a better choice for him since Delbert wouldn't know how their show seasons worked. "We do self-choreographed dances in summer seasons and classic dances in winter seasons, so our summer sponsors are mostly new creative brands. PhysioFit is an old brand, so..."

But she couldn't finish her words because Delbert cut in rudely.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Delbert carried a superior expression. "Kid, shut up when adults are talking."

Here it came again. Never felt respected in her conversations with him, Eliana was so fed up with his arrogance, but she had to stop before Delbert turned more lunatic, because Xander didn't need to see this farce.

"Sorry," she apologized sweetly.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Xander frown slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Delbert was satisfied, looking back at Xander. "Alright, where were we? Yes, the summer season!"

Xander had no comment. "Sure, if you've made up your mind."

Delbert took out his phone and started to type. "I'm texting our accountant RIGHT NOW. And... Sent!"

Then, he put back his phone, grinning at Xander. "Speaking of her, Mr. Lane, do you have a girlfriend yet?"

Xander answered flatly, "No."

"How about I introduce her to you?" Delbert was motivated. "She's so young but so good. You can tell that by the way she talks, the food she eats, and even the clothes she wears. You know, T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, glasses... Decent and well-educated."

With that, he pinched a bit of cloth from Eliana's dress and added, "She would never wear slutty dresses like this."