Diamond Pumps

8. For the excitement

"Look up anything - and I mean ANYTHING about Misty Williams. Text me anything you find."

Alright, sir.

Ash hang up the call with his assistant. He was shaking his leg, and behind his aviator sunglasses, he was looking through the glass of his car, in hopes of spotting the redhead in this street again. This time, he had no time. He had to find Misty and fast.

He picked up his phone when he felt it vibrate. His assistant sent him several information about Misty.

"The agency is in this street!" Ash got off the car. He locked it and walked down the street, his steps quick.

He reached the agency building, not that far from where he hit Misty with his car. Ash adjusted his glasses and entered the building.

"How can I help you, sir?" A woman wearing too much makeup stood behind the reception desk.

"I want to talk to Misty Williams."

"Do you have an appointment with her agent? Please give me your name."

"No, no, I want to talk to her directly." Ash cleared his throat. "It's very important."

"I understand, sir, but Miss Williams doesn't greet clients and guests. Her agent is in charge of that."

"I-we talked before-she knows me." Ash gulped. "I made her an offer-just tell her it's Ash. Please."

The woman blinked.

"Just tell her it's Ash." Ash put his hand on the reception counter, under them a bunch of money bills.

Misty sat on the chair, her elbow on the table and her chin on the back of her hand.

"Look, I know this is totally out of the blue." Ash breathed heavily. "But... it's how it turned out to be."

"Let me get this straight." Misty crossed her legs. "You're MariGold's heir."

"Yes."

"You didn't want to be with the girl your family picked for you, so you told them you were dating me."

Ash frowned. "It was really the context - I could have picked another woman but they were talking about you and..."

"How exciting is this?" Misty beamed. She loved this. She was part of something. Her life - it will no longer be the same anymore.

"Sorry?"

"This is so exciting!" Misty spoke. "You hit me with your car, and since then, it's not stopping. Things just keep happening."

Ash was confused. "I'm... do you want money or something?"

"Maybe not today." She could use money, but she had other goals right now.

"What do you want, then?"

"Well, what do you want from me?" Misty smiled. "You come here, so you must want something."

Ash rubbed his neck. "Look, uh..." He looked down at his hands. "I may be asking for too much..."

"Okay."

"But I need this - my mom said she'd hand over the company if I do this."

"Please don't tell me you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend." Misty beamed again.

"I-I really don't understand - you hated me the first time we met..."

"You hit my precious body, Ash. My body is very important for my job." The redhead looked serious. "I can't risk one little bruise."

"Soo..." Ash licked his lips. "Do you like the shoes?"

"They're love." Misty smiled.

"I read the tag wrong..." Ash chuckled nervously. He regained himself, "So, uh, you really don't need to pretend - it's just for a dinner with my mom and grandparents. That's enough for them to believe we're together."

"No, Ash." Misty got up. "That's not exciting for me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd love to pretend I'm with you." She put her hands on his shoulders. "After all, I get to play Ash Ketchum's girlfriend, MariGold's heir. I'll be more famous and you'd get me some shots back at the company, posing with jewelry, wouldn't you?"

Ash nodded hesitantly.

"Great." Misty smiled broadly. "You and I are going to make a great team."

"Y-yeah and mom is just going to believe it, with time - you know..." Ash felt a little nervous, having Misty stand so close to him.

"You want her to hand the keys over?" Misty smirked. "She's going to hand them over."

"And Serena-"

"They're going to forget about her once they see me." This was it. She was back again. Misty was going to show. She was going to shine.

Ash rubbed his neck again.

"Oh, by the way." Misty stared down at her nails. "I need a new manicure." She looked at Ash. "Can you give me your credit card?"

"I thought you said you didn't need money!" Ash looked disgusted.

"No, I don't, but as my boyfriend now, you've got to pay those things for me."

Ash had a bad feeling about this, but did he even have a choice?