[Vixen accessible now by a perk to the arm.]
[Vixen's Name: Natty Adriana.]
[Age: 27.]
[Bond Status: Dean Jackson's fiancée.]
On hearing this, Tony stared at the hand he held, then at her other hand, and saw she wasn't wearing her engagement ring.
"Perfect move for a vixen," he hummed.
[Occupation: Concierge Supervisor at Pearl Gate Luxury Suites.]
Tony's chest deflated.
"What the…" he bellowed, surprised. "Sh-she works at a damn hotel?"
Tony was disappointed. He couldn't believe he thought she might have been among the big shareholders, VIPs, top investors, or at least one of the company's classy corporate lawyers.
But instead?
A middle-class hotel job.
The next information was more shocking.
[Accumulated Wealth: $7,000,000.]
Tony jolted.
"How the fuck does someone with that low job have that kind of money?" He winced. "How's that even possible?"
Manniak answered instantly, her voice dripping with dark amusement:
[Mr. Quin, she is a vixen… a Tier II Gilded Paramour. Though engaged, she still embezzles money from men… even her fiancé.]
Tony exhaled angrily. He couldn't help but imagine why such a beautiful woman would choose to live such a life.
Not like he cared, though; and speaking of caring, all he cared about was that he had nothing, and this lady had $7,000,000… all totally taken from men she used and threw away, men she cheated on and left with shattered hearts like his.
"I'm going to seduce her… screw her… ruin her… break her, do all sorts of things to her… and then bankrupt her," he muttered under his breath, jaw clenched.
Manniak went on:
[Estimated percent of wealth able to be laundered from her when the mission is successful: 20%.]
"What?!" Tony cried. "It's not even up to half…" he complained.
[Mr. Quin, your Karma Essence left is [13], and that is the amount in percentage able to be taken from her based on the capabilities of your karmic energy.]
Tony shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no…" he cursed.
But in the next instance, an idea hit his hot brain . An evil, wicked idea... and he smiled evilly.
"No, Manniak. Twenty percent is small." He leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing with wicked intent. "Hehe… I'm going to take all of it."
[Warning: Mr. Quin, Natty Adriana is a tough one.]
At that finalization, everything came back to normal and movement resumed. The music surged. Voices returned, and laughter resumed.
The frozen world thawed back to life as if nothing had happened.
Tony looked at Natty again…
and a slow, wicked smile stretched across his lips.
"Let's see how tough you are, then."
...
Indeed, getting a woman to love you, and more dangerously, to trust you, is never an instant affair.
It is a gradual climb, a slow excavation of the heart, often antagonizing, sometimes exhausting, and almost always riddled with uncertainty.
But...
But...
Should it really be?
Tony sipped from his champagne, the bubbles popping softly against his lips. Whatever was happening at the party now was utterly oblivious to him. The music, the laughter, the corporate smiles... all of it had faded into meaningless background noise.
His world had narrowed.
His priority was now Natty Adriana.
And more treacherously, and involuntarily, he found himself picturing her as Sarah, his wife.
However, that wicked curve of a smile never left his face. It was unsettling, dangerously so, yet irresistibly alluring.
Natty noticed it... how could she not? and despite herself, it stirred something warm and restless in her chest. The urge to keep looking at that handsome, infuriatingly hot face gnawed at her restraint..
"Tell me, Natty," Tony finally spoke, lowering his glass slightly.
"What caused you such a bad day?"
Natty smiled shyly, her cheeks warming as she turned her face away from him.
"Trust me," she replied softly, almost cautiously, "you don't want to know."
"Of course I want to know," Tony said with a faint sneer, adjusting himself on the chair so his body faced her fully. His posture was relaxed, but deliberate.
"That's why I asked," he finalized.
Natty arched her back and leaned on the counter, her sexy curved back blossoming enticingly.
"Look," she said, exhaling slowly, "I appreciate you caring… but I don't know you."
She paused. "Well, apart from your name… and being COO."
She sighed. "You're a total stranger. And besides, there's nothing you can do about my worries."
Tony raised a brow. An almost imperceptible smirk curved across his lips.
"You know," he said quietly, lowering his voice into something intimate and dangerously sincere, "I used to be a drug addict."
Natty stiffened.
Tony leaned in just slightly, wearing the most fragile, caring expression imaginable. His head dipped faintly as he continued.
"Life was hard for me," he said. "I didn't even know who my real parents were. I didn't know if they were ashamed of me… or if they simply shipped me away."
He paused, allowing the silence to settle.
"I went through hell before I was adopted. And even then… my adoptive mother barely had time for me. Work was always her priority."
His voice dropped lower.
"I guess all that agony… all that lack of attention… pushed me to drugs."
Natty's heart sank.
"Well," Tony went on, "I told no one. Not a single soul. And that silence? That's where it landed me."
He let out a humorless breath.
"A silly drug addict."
Natty's eyes were glued to him now, pity etched openly across her features.
Tony continued.
"I went to rehab. I shared my problems. And here I am. Tsk...all sober. But the wierd part is that it, wasn't the rehab master that helped me change, or my therapist, it was this little girl, fifteen or so, and I didn't even know her as of then"
A weary smile tugged at his lips.
He sighed. "Well the truth is that the consequences of my drug problem still linger. I may be COO now, but honestly? I don't even know how this company truly works. I don't know anyone here. Everything feels… new and... and. Foreign."
He exhaled softly.
Natty hadn't moved. Her glass remained untouched on the counter, forgotten. His pain had dug into her, stirred something deeply human inside her. Tears nearly brimmed at the corners of her eyes. Somehow, instead of frightening her, his story made her feel strangely safe with him. And that exactly, was what Tony wanted.
Tony picked up his glass, absent-mindedly caressing its rim with his thumb.
Natty shook her head slowly, fully drawn in.
"I learned that anybody... no matter who they are, can change or help you."
He looked at her.
"Especially the people you meet for the first time."
"All you have to do… is share."
Natty smiled weakly. Something about Tony sent shivers through her spine, yet paradoxically, he made her feel comfortable. He was smart. He seemed kind. He was devastatingly attractive. And he had just revealed the ugliest parts of himself.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Tony felt it; the penetration, the emotional breach. Optimism bloomed in his chest. He definitely was penetrating her.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "It's all in the past now."
"Yeah, I know," Natty replied. "It's just… it's just that what worries me, when compared to what you just told me, doesn't even make any sense."
Tony nodded apologetically.
"I get it," he said quickly. "But sometimes, what seems light or stupid to others can carry a devastating toll on someone else."
Natty smiled. Her heart was already drifting closer to him.
He understands me, she thought.
"Alright," she muttered, her face souring suddenly.
"I… I had a f—"
She paused, glanced at Tony, then shook her head.
"I ca—"
She was cut short.
Tony placed his hand gently over hers, stroking it warmly, welcomingly. His smile was soft, reassuring.
"You're not alone,"
he assured her.
Warmth flooded Natty's heart. As she stared into his eyes, she felt different, comforted, held, like a child cradled in her mother's arms.
She smiled back, confidence blooming at last.
"I'm really poor," she said.
Three words.
Three innocent words that nearly choked Tony.
But his face remained calm, pitying, and sympathetic, as though he had no idea that seven million dollars were swimming merrily in her bank account.
Meanwhile, Natty continued, her voice trembling slightly as though every word carried weight.
"Me and my fiancé… we live at Ridgeway Flats, a run-down apartment just down the street," she said quietly. "It's… not much. And all I have is my waitress job at a hotel to feed myself."
She let out a soft chuckle, but it cracked midway. Tears brimmed in her eyes, shimmering under the golden lights.
"I thought today would be the day life would finally be easy," she continued. "The day everything would change. The day that would mark the beginning of something better for us."
She paused.
Her lips pressed together, her heart hardening under the weight of disappointment.
"But…" she exhaled shakily.
Tony tightened his grip on her hand, a gentle, reassuring pressure that silently promised things would still be okay.
Natty shook her head and went on.
"But my fiancé wasn't given the COO position after his father… like I expected."