"Liam, what a surprise? I didn't expect to see you here!" Lilith's surprised voice broke through Liam's drunken haze as he was grinding his body on a hot girl on the dance floor.
Liam shot an irritated look at Lilith as the hot girl moved away mid-dance. Lilith quickly stepped in to be his dance partner and kept the dance going.
"Did you have to interfere like that?" Liam asked in a disgruntled tone as they danced. "I almost had her."
Lilith didn't reply. She just danced without saying anything. To Liam the rest of the song felt stifling. He was getting it on with that girl. Lilith's arrival had driven her away. No matter how impressive Lilith looked while dancing, Liam felt as if he had been swindled out of an opportunity. And he couldn't just go up and grind against Lilith, could he? He wasn't that shameless.
So, Liam waited until the song ended and walked away from the dance floor. Strangely enough, Lilith followed him as well. Seeing Lilith follow him like a guard dog, Liam put away his intentions to go and find the hot chick after some break. He knew that until he sent away Lilith, he wouldn't be able to land a girl tonight.
Liam came directly to the bar counter and ordered a drink. Lilith stood beside him bold as a brass and looked at him shamelessly.
"What do you want?" Liam asked bluntly.
"I am just greeting a friend from work. Don't be a stranger," Lilith shrugged.
Liam let out a laugh of disbelief. He hadn't seen anyone this audacious recently. And her calling them friends from work! Please, they weren't work friends. He was the boss and she was an employee. Liam wasn't the type to forget boundaries when seeing a pretty girl.
"And you just cockblocked me," Liam said bluntly as James delivered him his drink. "In my book, that is capital offense."
"Trust me Lils, you don't want this guy mad at you. He is a vindictive bugger," James smiled at Lilith, indicating that he had a good relationship with her.
Liam shot him a middle finger, but restrained himself from going off on Lilith. That was a signal from James. He was signalling that he had good relationship with Lilith and asked him to not blow a gasket. His relationship with James was good, so Liam decided to let Lilith off the hook for him.
Liam simply sipped his drink and didn't speak. Lilith was here for a reason. So, she should be the most anxious to break the silence. James might have saved her from a verbal teardown, but she still had to jump hoops to get anything out of him. James was right, he was a vindictive bastard and he wouldn't make it easy for her.
"You told me if I did well, you will offer me a job at MusixZ. You went back on your word," Lilith began with an accusation.
Those who weren't aware might think he had reneged on a promise or something. Lilith's words were so ambiguous that it made Liam snort.
"It's been just three days since you did the event," Liam snorted. "Are you so impatient?"
"That's right. It's been three days since the event. You haven't even called to inform me about how I did. But, I know I did well. So…" Lilith looked at Liam with a hooded gaze.
"You did well? According to whom?" Liam asked sarcastically.
"Everyone who watched it said so. My friends, family, those in the production team, and even my professors…"
"Lilith, let me make one thing clear," Liam interrupted with a smile, "in MusixZ, only my word matters. I am the final arbiter, judge, and decision maker," Liam finished coldly.
Lilith looked stunned for a moment. It was clear that her strategy to pressure Liam into a favorable position had no effect. Liam's cold utterance of the words "only my word matters" let her know what kind of person Liam was.
"And what's your verdict then?" Lilith bounced back quickly.
"Decision pending," Liam said smoothly and sipped his drink.
Silence prevailed for a while as Liam calmly sipped his drink, leaving Lilith fretting. Liam had never liked people trying to force his hand. Even if it is towards the decision he would eventually make, he never liked others pressuring him. Lilith's tactics might have worked on some other guy his age, but Liam wasn't that easy to manipulate.
"Look, I will apologize for what I did there if you want. I haven't properly slept for the last three days waiting for your call. Seeing you there, I let my impulse control me," Lilith backtracked.
Liam smirked in his mind. He understood that she didn't really feel sorry. To her, it was a small thing. In fact, it indeed was. It wasn't the first time Liam was cockblocked. When you play the game, getting sometimes cockblocked is part of the process. So, Liam didn't really mind. But, he can never let Lilith think it was fine. It wasn't about being cockblocked. It was about establishing his position with Lilith.
"Heh, what a good excuse? If this is your way of asking me for a job, I have to say you are making a poor impression," Liam didn't cut her any slack.
"Alright, let me buy you a drink as an apology. I am sorry that I acted like that," Lilith signed after realizing that Liam wouldn't let her off easily.
"Do I look like I lack for a drink?" Liam asked, raising his drink. "Sweetheart, you just cockblocked me and now think that a drink would even that. You don't know men at all."
Liam wasn't going to play the gentleman game. He had never had much patience with it. That didn't mean he was ill-mannered. He had good manners, but he never pretended to be a gentleman.
"Alright what do you want me to do?" Lilith finally admitted defeat.
"Nothing," Liam replied decisively. "I don't want anything from you. You go do your thing. I will go do my thing. Don't bother me."
With that, Liam gulped his drink and left the bar to return to the dance floor.
Did Liam not understand that he could have had Lilith in his bed if he hinted at some promises and coaxed her a bit? No, he knew what kind of power he had over women who dreamt of breaking into the circle like Lilith. Especially with his new position, he was well aware that he could have Lilith tonight with some hints.
But, if he got Lilith that way, it would be like a transaction. Women like Lilith are quite practical. They were a different breed than Rosa. To truly conquer them, you need to make them come to you.
If he had acted like a typical lecherous dog right now, Lilith would never truly respect Liam. She would always look down on him deep in her heart. She would treat having sex with him like a transaction. She would always think that having sex with them would solve any issues that might arise between them. She would think that she could control him with a bit of sex and smartness.
That's why Liam left without looking back. It is not that he wasn't tempted by Lilith. As a young man in his twenties, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. But, Liam had his pride. He would never use his position alone to sleep with women. That's what those who had no charm or skill did.
Even before he went to college, he could charm the panties of hot women. His time in college had only increased his skills in this area. He didn't need to use his position to have sex. He had enough skills and charm of his own.
Liam wasn't hypocritical to say he didn't use his rich guy status to get girls. Because, he did it. He will do it in the future as well. It was part of his charm. He saw no problem in using it to woo a girl into his bed. Not using it would be stupid and fake.
Liam wasn't a romantic to hide his rich status and reveal it later to awe women. He wasn't that bored to indulge in such games. No, he used his status, his wealth, his charm and everything he had to hunt girls. Success or failure didn't matter. It was all part of the process.
But, he drew a line where sex became a transaction.
Rosa didn't sleep with him the first night or the second time for a job. They slept together and he offered her a job. Those two were different things. Rosa knows that Liam will not fire her if she stops sleeping with him. Liam might joke about that, but he would never do it in reality.
Rosa sleeps with him after becoming his secretary because she is attracted to him. If she had no attraction to him and genuinely didn't want to have sex with him, Liam wouldn't force her to. That is the fundamental difference that Liam adheres to. To others this might not be a big difference. But, to Liam, this was his code in life.
And he would never compromise on his code. Not for Lilith, not for any other woman.