The Circle...My Maiden!

The Dance of Seduction

Someone repeatedly rang the bell of his apartment. Leo groaned, emerging from various folds of his comforter. Reluctantly, Leo opened his sleepy eyes and peeped at his mobile phone.

"7.10 am. Who the hell is it?" muttered Leo and would have gone back to sleep, had he not heard his grandfather's voice in the intercom. "Shit, what have I done now?" Leo jumped out of bed, pulled on a loose cotton slack, and ran to open the entrance door.

"Grandfather..." Leo stopped mid-sentence as he grasped the newspaper aimed at his bare chest.

"Explain that, will ya?" roared Senior Zhang as he walked past Leo into the living room.

"What now?" Muttered Leo as he unfolded the newspaper. He read aloud the heading, "Zhang Heir's New Love Interest." His eyes widened at the colored photograph of him kissing Min. There was a collage of small pictures of Leo holding Min's hand, Leo closing the car door for Min, and one inside the car with Min sitting on Leo's lap as the two stared at each other. But the most eye-catching one of all was one with Leo's face buried in Min's bosom with her hands wrapped around his head. Ouch! If only they knew, she was ready to bite his head off. Paparazzi and their shit. Leo cleared his throat before facing his grandfather. "I kissed her only to protect her from my friends..."

"Protecting? It looks as if you are the one debauching her," boomed Senior Zhang, full of sarcasm.

"I was just doing your job, trying to find her a decent guy to marry. I only kissed her so that my friends would keep their hands off her. You know they are not marriage material," reasoned Leo, sitting on the sofa opposite the old man.

"Instead, you ended up claiming her as yours in front of the entire world," spat Senior Zhang.

After a minute of racing his mind over the whole situation, Leo advised, "Relax, Grandpa." He added calmly, "Tomorrow, I will be with someone else, and Min will be out of the picture. Paparazzi like to follow me, not her. People will forget, and I will, in time, claim her as a close family friend." Leo hoped this would calm grandpa and made a mental note to clear things out ASAP.

"Keep this in your mind, Leo, my grandson; if you taint Min's image any more than this, I will announce to the media that you two are engaged and will marry soon," Senior Zhang said in a honey-coated voice. Then he muttered as if talking to himself, "Let's hope that Min's grandmother doesn't hear of this." He harrumphed and got up, then walked briskly towards the door. He paused before opening the door, "Sort this out, please."

Did grandfather mean what he said? Wondered Leo. Nah, the old man must be out of his mind to think he'll marry a naïve Plain-Jane like Min.

Leo's mind raced regarding the events of last night. A soft smile lit his face when he recalled how he usurped Jian Yu in claiming Min. Of course, he had to pull a few strings here and there before things turned out as planned.

While Jian Yu was playing a charming companion, Leo had sent an SMS to Xi-Wang asking her for a favor. Next, he had secretly passed a hundred-dollar bill to the barman and indicated with his eyes at Min's evening clutch. Smartly, the barman took Min's purse while playing with cocktail shakers. When Jian Yu took Min out, Leo had whispered to the bartender, "Give it to that bloke when he comes to inquire about that silver lady's purse."

As far as he was concerned, the evening was a success. Now, he only had to deal with the person who had captured and released his photos in the media. Frowning a little, he dialed his secretary's mobile number.

   *  *  *

It had been two days, and Min had not seen Leo. She was busy with her traineeship at Tanzick Wedding Planners. At this stage, they allocated her to whichever project needed an extra hand. This meant that she got to work under different project managers. However, not everyone was friendly with her. She didn't understand why such an attitude was dished out to her unless it had something to do with her making headlines with Leo.