Hearing Hera’s words made Rafael gently pull Hera’s hands closer and slowly gave them a kiss as gentle as a feather. "No, please don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to wrong you nor make you feel that I’m doing it on purpose. I also don’t want to push it under the rugs, I will definitely take responsibility. I only asked what you want forpensation because aside from my heart and body, I only have money and a little bit of power." Rafael said humbly, his eyes zed over like a pitiful doberman.
Hera felt her brows twitch upon hearing him mention his limited power. If she didn’t know better, she might have thought he was trying to impress her. ’<i>And what’s with the heart and body? Is he taking a page from Leo’s book?’</i> Hera wondered. Remembering Leo’s words, she realized she might not be able to escape Leo either.
She sighed inwardly as she watched Rafael. "Please, tell me what you want me to do," he said, his voice almost pleading in its huskiness.
"Then how about this: give me the ambassadorial contract for the ’Love Potion’ perfume making its debut in the country next week?" Hera had long coveted this opportunity, pondering how to wrest the contract from Rafael’s grasp. He had secured it through Xavier, who was the male ambassador for the perfume brand. Thepany intended to reward Xavier’s favor by offering the female ambassador position to hispany. Hera knew Alice also coveted this chance, which Athena had mentioned would be Alice’s gateway to industry recognition and a closer rtionship with Xavier following a serious ident.
As a reincarnator, Alice understood the value of seizing the best opportunities. Unfortunately, Athena, her best friend, and a transmigrator, was already privy to Alice’s ambitions and ns. This meant that Athena knew not only what Alice was pursuing but also had advanced knowledge of developments Alice hadn’t even discovered yet. They believed they were a step ahead of Alice in nning and execution.
So, in order to prevent Alice from gaining power over her destiny, Hera needed to secure this opportunity for herself.
"Alright, I’ll give it to you," Rafael answered without hesitation. "Will that makeup for my impulsiveness?" he asked, his tone tentative.
"Hmph! You think it’s that easy? You better carry all our shopping bags until the end and don’t even think aboutining," Hera retorted with a slight smirk. She wanted to give him some credit for being a great help and getting her closer to changing her fate. This was also to present herself to Rafael as good-natured and reasonable.
If Athena were here and heard her thoughts about being ’good-natured and reasonable,’ she might burst intoughter. How could extorting Rafael and turning him into her pack mule be considered ’good-natured and reasonable’? Right now, she felt more like a viiness, a bitch—calcting and unreasonable.
After everything was said and done, Hera couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about herself. She cleared her throat and tried to refocus her thoughts. Feeling she had gone too far, she murmured, "No, I’ll just ask them to deliver our shopping bags to my ce." She couldn’t bring herself to look Rafael in the eyes after reconsidering her actions.
Rafael chuckled softly as he watched Hera struggle with her thoughts, clearly troubled. Seeing her like this brought him a sense of happiness and a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, he still had a chance to worm himself into her heart.
After clearing her mind of unnecessary thoughts, Hera calmed her racing heart with a few deep breaths. "Alright, while I’ve asked for the ’Love Potion’ perfume ambassadorial contract, I also want to propose something of equal value," she said, retrieving her phone.
"You don’t need to." Rafael asserted himself, that it was something he wanted to give not just because she asked him, although it would give Xavier a chance to get closer to Hera but that was something he had earned for thepany anyway, so he did not have any qualms about it.