Billionaire's Sweet Challenge

Chapter 10

They first had lunch at one fancy restaurant, having to take five tables to occupy all of them. Cornelia took them next to a beauty saloon for everyone who relished a makeover.

Lexi had her hair stylishly tied into a ponytail that rested at the back of her head with a few strands hanging down the sides of her face. The hairdresser complimented her style and the ladies marvelled at the outcome.

To complement her hair style, Lexi chose a light make up that brought out the beauty of her caramel skin colour, and the mascara brought out the smoky blue hue of her eyes.

"We're gonna wow those men and make their jaws drop!" Cornelia exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. She herself had made her blonde hair wavier so that it emphasised every strand.

She looked breathtaking and Lexi could already imagine Raymond swooning. But she wondered about Kris, whether he was going to be just as wowed when he saw her as even the ladies were. She found herself wishing it would be so.

Cornelia decided to take them to a boutique as the last venture for the day. "Listen, you ladies. Why don't we go without the bus and have some people swoon a little?" One of the older ladies suggested with mischief gleaming in her green eyes.

The suggestion was welcomed, and they, a bevy of beautiful ladies, paraded down the road, putting up walls of nonchalance as both men and ladies gawked at them. Lexi had to admit it was exciting.

The salesgirls at the boutique couldn't contain their glee. Obviously, so many ladies buying things in a day meant a better commission. Cornelia made Lexi buy three dresses even though she would've preferred to not get anything.

They returned to the house in the evening after their exciting day, the impatient men meeting them outside when they arrived. "Why did you ladies. Take. So. Long?" One of the older men, Kris's uncle, said, drawling on the last words as his mouth fell in awe.

Cornelia huffed, and just like they'd all agreed to do, the ladies held their heads high arrogantly and walked past the men without a word. They couldn't contain their giggles though. Lexi met Kris's gaze briefly, and he looked... entranced?

Unable to help it anymore once they were inside the house, they burst out laughing at the confusion on the men's faces when they'd ignored them. The hall had been decorated beautifully in their absence. It wasn't exorbitant decorations, just enough to create a party scene for the family.

Kris wouldn't stop staring at her, so Lexi walked up to him. "Hey."

"Hey." He said back. "You look..." He seemed lost for words for a while. "...breathtaking."

Lexi couldn't help the butterflies that burst inside her stomach.

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Lexi showered and changed into a simple golden gown Cornelia had selected for her and waited for Kris so they could go downstairs together. He emerged from the bathroom wiped dry with just his white towel obscuring him from below. He'd done the same thing this morning. Lexi was beginning to think he only did it to ruffle her.

And she hated to admit he was succeeding. Just which lady wouldn't swoon when they had all that rippling male muscles flexing right before their eyes? Pretending as if she was completely immune to his beauty was a chore, but she managed to do so until he was all dressed up.

As they descended the stairs hand in hand, Lexi thought of the day with Kris's relatives and realized she was getting too invested in her role. With that realization, she made it a point to try her best not to get attached to any family member of Kris's, especially Cornelia.

Said woman stood at the base of the staircase as she watched them with a such a lovely couple look on her face.

Lexi turned to Kris. "Your mum is so excited about 'us'. Why are you deceiving her like this?"

"It's the only way I can get my freedom." He answered curtly, his cyan irises conveying a warning as he looked at her.

Lexi didn't say anything even though she wanted to tell him he didn't have to resort to deception in order to get control of his own life. Not that his warning gaze fazed her. But she realized the man was just her boss. Just how much did she know about his personal life?

Cornelia met them halfway when they reached the base of the staircase. "Has anyone told you you make a lovely couple?"

"Let me see..." Lexi begun wryly, pretending to be counting on her fingers. "Oh yeah, like 5000 people."

Cornelia laughed, her pearly white teeth sparkling. "You have such a lovely sense of humour, dear. Anyways, all those people were so damn right. I can hear church bells already."

Kris seemed to stiffen, and Lexi squeezed his hand. "Of course, Cornelia." She agreed with a tone to match the woman's enthusiasm and turned to smile sweetly at Kris. He returned it with a rather sweet one as well.

"Come with me, dear." Cornelia said, taking Lexi's left hand. "Your soon to be grandmother-in-law, my mother-in-law, wants to speak with you. Kris honey, hope you don't mind me stealing her for a while?"

"Of course not."

Cornelia was just about pulling her along when a beautiful brunette approached them rather earnestly. "Hello, Cornelia!" She greeted with a huge smile.

"Hey, Cecilia! How are you? I'm glad you accepted my invitation." Cornelia let her kiss her on the cheeks.

"Yeah. I also came to see Kris." She walked over to Kris and hugged his right arm, not even seeming to notice it when he stiffen. "Hello there, handsome."

As she watched Cecilia clinging to Kris's arm like a leech, a surge of possessiveness swamped inside her, catching her off guard by its intensity.

Lexi tilted and raised a brow the said man's way, silently enquiring who she was. Kris only grimaced as he looked down at Cecilia who looked back at him dreamingly. Cornelia was the one who made the introductions. "Lexi, this is Cecilia. Cecilia, this is Lexi, my son's girlfriend."

Cecilia's smile disappeared so suddenly it was almost comical to watch. Shock washing across her features, she turned to Kris, her eyes gleaming with the need for assurance that she was hearing wrong. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"Well, you do now." Lexi chirped in unable to help herself from smirking at the glare the woman threw her way. "It was nice to meet you, Cecilia. Just know I'll be watching. Shall we go, Cornelia?"

"That was great!" Cornelia nearly squealed as they were heading to meet Kris's grandmother, surprising her. "I like that you protect what's yours."

A light classic. song was playing while the family members chatted among themselves with a few waiters going around. Adults and their Neanderthal tastes in music. The old woman who looked to be in her late seventies was sitting in the living room chatting with one of her nieces. She smiled at them when they approached.

Her warm smile was enough to dispel any uneasiness Lexi had felt. The woman with her excused herself and left with Cornelia. Lexi took a seat beside her. "I hear you're with my grandson, or at least I see." The old woman mused.

"What you hear is correct, Mrs. Reynolds. Or at least what you see."

If possible, the older woman's face broke into an even more broader smile. Even at her age, she looked beautiful with no make up, streaks of gray in her hair. Lexi could only imagine how stunning she looked in her prime.

"Just call me Elliot, dear. My grandson can be a pain in the neck. I'm glad someone has decided to put up with him."

For several minutes, she regaled Lexi with stories of Kris's childhood antics that made her laugh. Like the fact that Kris was still wetting his bed at age six. The funniest of them all was when a ten year old Kris had climbed to the rooftop of his grandmother's house after watching Tarzan for the first time, announcing he could jump and swing on the nearby trees like Tarzan did. He'd nearly given his grandmother a heart attack.

Kris came from behind his grandmother and hugged her from behind the couch, kissing her on the cheek. Elliot breathed a sigh when she tilted and saw him. "Goodness, I am too old to be getting startled."

"But I missed you grandmother." Kris pouted, rounding the couch to face them. He looked so cute when he did that.

"Oh, I guess not visiting someone in a whole year and only calling them five times is the trendiest way of showing how much you've missed them." Elliot mused, rolling her eyes.

"Grandma, please don't hold that against me. You know I've been pretty busy lately and..."

"Oh save your excuses, young man. I don't need them." She crossed her arms on her chest with a grudging huff.

Lexi nearly laughed as she watched them. Kris was so adorable in the way he dealt with his relatives, even those he wasn't close with.

"Can I have my girlfriend back now?"

His grandmother shook her head, twisting her lips in mock disgust. "Youngsters! They can't stay without each other for just an hour."

Chuckling, Lexi excused herself as Kris held her hand, and smiling, led her away. "So what is it now, Mr. Tarzan?"

"Mr. Tarzan?" He furrowed his brows at her. "Why are you calling me that?"

Lexi merely laughed without answering, knowing he would figure it out soon. "Why did you come for me?"

"I want you to meet a cousin of mine and his wife. They've just arrived."

"Okay." She said, wondering who'd come so late for the get-together.

Every fibre in her body froze when they faced the people he was talking about. Kris turned to her. "Darling, meet my cousin, David Levine and his wife, Rebecca."