The Bargain Undercover

Subtle Battle

Slutty.

That was how a father labeled his biological daughter.

Eliana immediately felt a fire ignite deep inside, flames surging up. But she had to damp it down for the sake of Delbert's sponsorship, brushing off his hand and smiling. "Come on! Nothing is wrong with my dress."

Delbert obviously wanted to prove there was. "This tight piece of trash can barely cover you! No decent girl would dress like that!"

Eliana was about to say something, but Xander said before she did, "Mr. Benn, your words just offended half of my dancers."

Delbert laughed brightly, "Well, maybe I'm a conservative old thing, but I'd like Eliana to be the other half."

"Alright, alright, Uncle Delbert. I'm a kid, remember? I don't want to be involved when adults are talking." Eliana made fun of herself, intending to smooth over this topic.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Delbert shrugged, pity on his face when he looked at Eliana. "I forgot you can't take any jokes, sensitive just like your mother."

Eliana was still wearing her plastic smile, but his subtle insults almost shattered her composure. "You always make interesting comparisons, Uncle Delbert."

"See? You're overreacting again." Delbert sighed, "I'm saying this for your own good. You don't want to dress like a slutty mistress."

The air froze for a few seconds.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eliana saw Xander frown and was about to say something, but she beat him to the punch.

This was her battle, not his.

"Well, actually," she put down her fork and said casually, "I'm learning how to embody a good mistress because I have to dance as one."

Then, she looked at Delbert, her eyes curving into a sweet smile. "Do you have suggestions for me on that, Uncle Delbert?"

She was fighting back, which Delbert didn't like. He laughed jarringly and then looked at Xander. "Mr. Lane, I'm sure she can dance it so well."

His pungent insinuation cut Eliana up like a knife.

She spent two seconds to stanch herself, but during these two seconds, Xander spoke up, "Me too. Because she has the top technique."

Eliana was surprised to sense the coldness in Xander's tone, which magically quelled the burning anger inside her.

The way Delbert talked to her always frustrated her, and she always wondered if she was overreacting like he said. But seeing someone take her side, she knew that it wasn't her problem.

Delbert obviously sensed Xander's tone change as well. He shifted the topic in time for the sake of their cooperation. "Of course! OK, coming back to my sponsorship..."

"Mr. Benn, it seems you have issues with respect," Xander stopped him by cutting in.

Eliana was stunned. A chance to cooperate with a physical therapy institution was what Xander had been looking for. Now, the best chance was right at his hand, but he could lose it by saying that.

"Director Lane..." Eliana spoke up subconsciously, but Xander gave her a stern look, signaling her to shut up.

Now, even Delbert could tell Xander was serious. Surprised, he exclaimed, "Come on! Can we not be so serious about a joke?"

Xander looked at him. "It's not a joke when it's not funny. Eliana is the best dancer I've ever seen. I don't want to hear anyone demean her."

Eliana sat upright, exerting every effort to hide her shock. Judging by how Xander treated her with loathing and disdain, she couldn't believe Xander was defending her like this.

And it confused her more. What on earth did Xander think of her?

Maybe defending his dancers was simply his philosophy as the Artist Director, but at this moment in her restless subtle battle with her dad, it still meant a lot to her.

Delbert let out a tight laugh, pretending to be relaxed. "Mr. Lane, you are so protective of your dancers!"

Xander didn't respond, standing up and walking toward the door of the private room.

"Mr. Lane, seriosuly?" Delbert was loud, obviously not pleasant.

Xander looked back at him, his voice deep and firm. "Mr. Benn, let's pause here until you decide to respect my dancer."

With that, he opened the door.

Then, he shifted his gaze to Eliana.

"Eliana, let's go."

It was not hard to choose between a man who labeled her as slutty and a man who spoke up for her. Eliana instinctively stood up and followed Xander.

Before walking out of the room, she quickly took a glance back at Delbert.

And then, she saw the most furious look she had ever seen on his face.

Challenging others was Delbert's hobby, but being challenged wasn't. As a VP, he must have been surrounded by respect and admiration in his company. But today, he was refused blatantly by a potential beneficiary.

What would he do?

Eliana's heart sank for a moment. Before Xander walked out of her sight, she strode to catch up with him, closing the door behind her.

The night air outside the confined private room was a hundred times fresher. Eliana walked behind Xander, taking a deep breath.

Xander looked back at her. "Are you still hungry?"

Eliana hadn't eaten much. She rubbed her belly. "Yeah."

Xander glanced through the stores along the street and entered a cafe, holding the door for her to get in.

After they sat down by the window, Eliana browsed the menu, a bit shocked by the price. She asked, "Is it on you? I need to decide what to order based on that."

"On me," Xander answered.

"OK! Then I'll do the cod set, an orange juice, and a chocolate parfait." Eliana ordered her food and looked at Xander with her white-toothed smile.

Xander was a bit surprised. "That's ... a lot of food."

"The rehearsal was exhausting today! I'm starving, but I couldn't just gulp the food rudely when you were having a formal discussion."

Xander listened as she talked. Then, he asked, "How did the rehearsal go?"

Eliana's eyes lit up. "Quite good! We can finish learning the new dance next week."

"Good." Xander looked her directly in the eye. "Eliana, your role is challenging, both technically and artistically. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can bring to it. Don't disappoint me."

Eliana listened, her finger circling slowly around the rim of her glass of orange juice.

It sounded like a normal anticipation an Artist Director gave their dancer, but sensitive as she was, she could sense the real reason for him to say that.

He was explaining to her that he gave her the role of a mistress not because she had a cheap quality or anything like that, but because she was the only capable one to handle this challenge perfectly.

He didn't want her to stew in Delbert's words and doubt herself.

She pulled a soft smile. "I'll never disappoint you, Director Lane. After all, I'm the best dancer you've ever seen."

Xander nodded. "Good."

Eliana's finger stopped on the rim of her glass. A naughty light flashed across her cat-like eyes as she lowered her voice to the minimum. "Since I'm the best dancer, if I hadn't slept with you, would you still have promoted me?"

Xander didn't dodge her gaze. "I would."

"Oh." Eliana pursed her lips.

Xander's expression was gentle under the flickering candlelight on the table. "Regret it?"

"Yeah." Eliana nodded slowly, pretending to feel pity about it. "What a waste."

"Too late now." Xander's tone was stern but with an undertone of amusement to it.

"I guess so." Eliana cut a piece of her cod and put it onto Xander's plate, which had less food than hers. "This is my thank you."

"For what?" Xander asked.

Eliana lowered her eyes. "For speaking up for me in front of my ... uncle."

Xander said faintly, "Eliana, you don't deserve to be treated that way."

Eliana tugged at the hem of her yellow strapless dress. "Thank you for saying that. Otherwise, I might spend the whole night doubting if I'm truly slutty."

"Don't." Xander told her, "Your dress is beautiful."

Eliana looked up at Xander with shining stars in her eyes. "Really?"

She wasn't sure if she had seen it correctly, but there appeared to be a brief, gentle smile on his face, though it vanished the moment he nodded at her.

But that was sufficient for her to sense his approval, sufficient for her to be certain that she deserved to be treated better.

The only thing she was still worried about was the sponsorship. "What if he decides not to sponsor us?"

Xander seemed not bothered at all. "Then I'll look for another sponsor."

"I'm sorry, Director Lane." Eliana was heartful.

Xander shook his head. "It's not your fault. It was my choice to defend my best dancer."

Eliana widened her eyes slowly. "Wow! Sir, you've fed me too many sweets today. I'll get addicted."

Xander ignored her flirting. "But I think he'll still sponsor us."

"Why?"

"He wants to expand his business worldwide, so he needs to cooperate with an institution like ours. Plus, Eliana, your uncle enjoys boasting about himself. I'm sure he exaggerated his achievements when he texted his accountant about our deal. He won't jeopardize his dignity by turning around and saying the deal's off tomorrow."

Eliana knew it made sense. "You know him better than I do."

Xander looked at her. "You two are not close?"

Eliana shook her head.

"I thought you were."

"No." Eliana smiled bitterly, "The reason is ... pretty complex."

Hearing that, Xander didn't ask further.

And Eliana felt relieved about that.

The food was nice, the music was soft, and the man opposite her took her side. For Eliana, nothing was more relaxing than this after a long, bumpy day.

She finished the last bite of her food and let out a satisfied sigh.

The waiter brought the bill. She took a glance at the amount and felt sorry for Xander, who was taking out his credit card to pay.

She said sweetly, "Thank you for the food, Director Lane. Thank you for everything today."

Xander put back his credit card, expressionless. "Happy now?"

"Yes." Eliana wasn't supposed to serve Xander today, but she still asked in a low voice, "Do you want anything in return? Like an extra night tonight?"