Chapter 5 I Want You To Be My Boyfriend

"Who is that man? I've been here several times, but I've never seen him before. He's so handsome." Robert was standing at the table next to theirs and Jean stared at him with hungry eyes.

"Oh, I've met him before," Mandy replied in a small voice.

"What? You have? When? How did it happen? Andy why haven't you mentioned this to me before?" Jean all but screamed at her, firing her questions one after the other.

"Shh!" Mandy pressed a finger to her lips and widened her eyes pointedly.

But it was too late. She had been trying to blend into the background so as to avoid the man she had practically ravished, yet her friend's exclamations had already drawn his attention.

The man cocked his head toward their direction, and the moment his dark eyes met hers, and unknown sensation resonated in her chest and made her skin tingle.

"Here you go, Mr. Robert." A waiter swooped in just in time, carrying a laptop and effectively rescuing Mandy from that cold, sharp gaze.

Robert accepted the laptop and set it down on the table, then clicked on the surveillance video icon. It opened to a collage of multiple screens, each one corresponding to a camera installed all over the stall. He zeroed in on one particular screen and clicked on it before handing it over to the female guest. "Here, go ahead and check for yourself. We'll discuss the matter of compensation when you're done watching the footage."

The people milling about all had their curiosity piqued by what had just happened. They now inched closer, until all the guests were squeezed around the tiny table to watch the video.

Once the footage reached its end, they all stared at the arrogant woman in unison, disbelief and shock written on their faces. It was clear as day what she had done -- she had suddenly reached out and tipped the bottle even as the waiter was pouring its contents. If it hadn't been for the poor man's quick reflexes, the entire bottle would have been emptied to the table or worse, smashed onto the floor. It was indeed fortunate that her clothes had been stained by only a few drops of the beverage.

"What a scheming bitch!"

"I know, right? How could she blame the waiter for something that was totally her own fault?"

"To think that the waiter was gracious enough not to reveal what really happened just so she won't lose face."

"These days it's usually the guilty party that files the lawsuit first."

The crowd was abuzz with reprimands and scornful remarks toward the female guest, making her feel awkward and mortified.

She didn't linger; she immediately picked up her purse, shielded her face with a hand, and fled the scene. Her panic was obvious as she escaped, every trace of her previous arrogance gone.

"Well, that's neat, isn't it? He's quite adept at solving problems. It could have blown up into a major issue, but he managed to get everything settled down in just a few minutes. And he is so handsome, too!" At this point, Jean was already convinced that she had fallen completely in love with Robert. He was attractive, intelligent, and very capable. He was exactly her type.

"Good job, you handsome fellow! Come over to our table and have some food. It's on me."

"Yes, and let me buy you a drink as a show of appreciation."

Apparently, Jean was not alone in her opinion, and the bolder patronesses were quick to throw their offers, winking and smiling at the man. They were all assuming that he must be someone of high position in the establishment, and wanted to seize the opportunity to speak with him. Little did they know that he was the president of the Xu Group himself. Well, if they did, their efforts to lure him would certainly become more impassioned.

Before anyone else could call out another invitation, Mandy shot up from her seat and rushed to Robert. She took his arm and held it close to her chest, then addressed the other guests. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm afraid he already has something to attend to, so he won't be able to grant your requests."

"Oh, what a pity. But it's no big deal. If you get tired of her, you can always call me! Here, take my business card." Most of them had understandably presumed that she and Robert were an item, and had shaken their heads and carried on with their own business. But the more persistent ones wouldn't let him go that easily, and as soon as one of the ladies had offered her business card, others quickly followed suit.

"Oh please," Mandy muttered under her breath. "Even if he did grow tired of this farce, he would go for another man anyway. None of you tramps stood a chance." She thought she was quiet enough with her mumblings, but the man next to her had heard her words perfectly clear.

"Another man?" he repeated, cocking his head at her in his usual indifferent manner. His eyes, though, held a measure of surprise. He glanced at his arm, tucked intimately against her warm body, and a faint smile played at his lips.

"Come and sit here," Mandy said hurriedly and cleared her throat. Her senses had gone hyperaware when she heard his deep voice from somewhere above her. Her skin was tingling again, and she felt an inexplicable urge to let go of his arm. She wasn't sure she liked his tone. But then something else came to mind: the prospect of having to go to blind dates on a regular basis. All right then! She decided that she was going to take this man, make him pretend to be her boyfriend, and parade him to her aunt.

Robert was more than a little curious over what this feisty little girl was up to now, so he let her pull him to her table.

Mandy plopped down next to Jean, her nerves all over the place. She cleared her throat again.

"Well, the thing is, I would like to ask you a favor..." She paused, trying to dredge up whatever courage left in her body to say her plan out loud. Thankfully, the waiter chose that time to come over with a cup of coffee on his tray.

"Your coffee, Sir," he smiled as he set down the beverage on the table.

If Mandy had thought that the brief interruption would embolden her in this endeavor, she would now find that she was sorely mistaken. What little bravado she had had was now gone, and her mouth opened and closed as though she was attempting to say something but decided against it at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Robert felt no need to rush and coax her. He casually picked up his cup and took a sip. His every move exuded elegance and nobility, and anyone who might have been passing a glance at him ended up staring.

"Just tell him what you need," Jean chimed in. "It's not like you to hesitate." She was not usually this shameless, and she knew very well that none of this was any of her business, but she couldn't help herself. She was much too eager to hear what Mandy might want from this charismatic man.

Her words didn't help at all, however, and only had the opposite effect. Mandy was now racked with nerves, and her mind went blank. Only the main concept of her goal remained in her brain, and she just went ahead and blurted it out without further ceremony. "I want you to be my boyfriend."

Clank!

Jean gaped at her friend and forgot all about the cutlery she had just dropped. God, when did this girl become so bold? Should a self-respecting woman really be asking a man to be hers so directly in public?

The man in question paused for a moment, his hand holding his coffee cup mid-air. His reaction was not as dramatic as Jean's, but his face did seem to turn darker and colder. "Hmm?" was all he said, his voice quiet but authoritative.