“Alaïa. What are you still doing here?” A familiar voice sounded out behind her.
Alaïa turned around and saw Kaiser walking into the living room, his briefcase in one hand as he loosened his tie with the other.
“Ah ah ah. I am now the lovely Designer and Stylist Lia. Please call me by that name.” Alaïa waggled her fingers at him with a teasing smile.
Hearing her words, Kaiser sighed, “I see you still have that flippant attitude.”
“And I see that you're still dressed in such a boring black suit even after all the work I did to provide you with such a beautiful selection of colors and styles,” Alaïa replied with a smile when he rolled his eyes.
“It’s good to see you in person after such a long while Kai. You're looking good these days. Much happier.”
“So are you Lia. Back to my question, how come you're still here? It’s quite late.” Kaiser asked as he looked around the quiet house.
“I just finished consulting with your little girlfriend, and I wanted to talk to you face to face. If you're looking for her, both she and Luca have gone to sleep.”
“You met Luca?”
“I saw him this morning. Ahhh my little baby Luca. He's quite cute even though he came out looking like you. Although he’s a bit shy and quiet, he listens quite well to Valentina. Do you know he cutely introduced himself to me? He held up his little fingers and told me he was four. It was so cute I could die!”
“Mmm.” Kaiser gave a satisfied smile as he sat down across from her.
“So? How was Valentina?”
“She was good. I actually quite like her. She's pretty determined and not afraid to speak her mind. Strong focus and spirit too considering she looks like a stiff wind might knock her over. She has a lot of potential and her beauty is off the charts.” Alaïa reported with a smile that slowly faded away. “Does she know about…”
“No. And I intend to keep it that way so make sure to keep your mouth shut.” Kaiser retorted coldly.
“…got it.”
The two were silent for a moment, possibly thinking about the past before Kaiser sighed again.
“How did today go? Will the two of you be working together?”
“Maybe. Apparently, it depends on my performance. A whole me that people are begging to work with. It’s rather funny if you think about it. I was speechless when she told me.” Thinking about the analytical expression Valentina used to evaluate her, Alaïa couldn’t help but smile.
“Good. You better do your best and make sure she’s unmatched on that carpet and future ones. That’s what I'm paying you for after all.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I'm already working hard on tailoring her outfit and now you want me to add two additional suits on such short notice. Why? You have plenty of suits I've made for you in your closet.”
“Roman and I will be attending the same opening ceremony. Obviously, we have to look good.”
“I understand Roman attending because of his role but why are you attending?”
“I'm showing my sincerity.” Kaiser simply replied with a cheeky smile.
Alaïa: “….” What the hell did that mean? Was that an acronym for something or a new pop culture reference?
“I'm going to pretend I know what that means and keep it moving. Simply speaking I don’t have time to make something new for both you and Roman, so I’ll just be making something new for Roman. I have some premade things for you that I can add extra embellishments and embroidery to if that’s okay with you. Any preferences on color or design?”
“Hmmm. Just make it so it matches whatever Valentina is wearing. Not enough that others can tell. Just do it so that she and I will know.”
Hearing his words, Alaïa immediately glared at him.
“Kai, she’s an actress.”
“I know.”
“She looks like she’ll make it pretty far in the industry if she continues with this work ethic and continues to get lucky with her roles. Her beauty is already enough to be a celebrity influencer.”
“I'm aware of that.” Kaiser nodded.
“She’s gaining popularity quickly right now because of the Fallen Angels. Everyone is abuzz and she’ll quickly become hot. Every image and every appearance that she makes will be scrutinized and analyzed from every conceivable angle. You know how the media and fans can get. They will look for any opportunity, any hint to demonize her and find fault. You still want me to make your clothes match?”
“Yes. Make it as subtle as you need to, but I want us to match.” Kaiser replied with no hesitation.
“Kaiser. She’s early in her career you know. If she's caught being entangled with you, it will ruin her and stunt her growth. You know how your life is and how your family is. You see how well that turned out the last time. Do you plan on being overbearing and taking over every part of her life?”
“Not at all.”
“Kaiser.”
“I don’t plan on doing anything of the sort. Interfering, getting caught, or anything else.” Kaiser replied with a confident smile, “And even if I wanted to, Valentina wouldn’t let me. Don’t worry about it and just make the clothes Lia.”
“Argh, why can't you just fall in love with a proper regular person? Now you’re out here stressing me out.” Alaïa clutched her head in agony.
“Rather than worrying about my romantic life or family, shouldn’t we focus on you? How's your family?”
“Let’s not talk about those disgusting bastards. If I could, I would disown all of them today.”
"How's the lawsuit going?"
"Hmph. You know as well as I do. Those bastards are dragging it out." Alaïa angrily spat out.
“And romance? You know Roman asks about you all the time.”
“You tell that short man to keep away from me!”
“Short? He’s a foot taller than you.”
“And he’s still short! You better keep him away or I'll murder you in your sleep Kai! Plus I’ll have you know; that I am perfectly the average height!”
“5’1 is shorter than the national average,” Kaiser replied with a teasing smile.
“I guess it’s a good thing that I'm 5’3 and 3/4ths,” Alaïa replied confidently.
“In platform shoes.” Kaiser immediately burst her bubble.
Alaïa: “….”
“Get the hell out of my house Kaiser!”
“…you're in my house.”
Alaïa: “….” Fine! It was her fault for waiting to talk to this bastard. She should have just gone home. This is why she didn’t like talking to Virgos. She would just be angry afterward.
“Hmph! I'm leaving then!”
Seeing the short girl get up angrily, Kaiser couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Haha. Come on, I'll have the driver take you home. Thanks for coming over Lia. I appreciate it.”
“Alaïa. What are you still doing here?” A familiar voice sounded out behind her.
Alaïa turned around and saw Kaiser walking into the living room, his briefcase in one hand as he loosened his tie with the other.
“Ah ah ah. I am now the lovely Designer and Stylist Lia. Please call me by that name.” Alaïa waggled her fingers at him with a teasing smile.
Hearing her words, Kaiser sighed, “I see you still have that flippant attitude.”
“And I see that you're still dressed in such a boring black suit even after all the work I did to provide you with such a beautiful selection of colors and styles,” Alaïa replied with a smile when he rolled his eyes.
“It’s good to see you in person after such a long while Kai. You're looking good these days. Much happier.”
“So are you Lia. Back to my question, how come you're still here? It’s quite late.” Kaiser asked as he looked around the quiet house.
“I just finished consulting with your little girlfriend, and I wanted to talk to you face to face. If you're looking for her, both she and Luca have gone to sleep.”
“You met Luca?”
“I saw him this morning. Ahhh my little baby Luca. He's quite cute even though he came out looking like you. Although he’s a bit shy and quiet, he listens quite well to Valentina. Do you know he cutely introduced himself to me? He held up his little fingers and told me he was four. It was so cute I could die!”
“Mmm.” Kaiser gave a satisfied smile as he sat down across from her.
“So? How was Valentina?”
“She was good. I actually quite like her. She's pretty determined and not afraid to speak her mind. Strong focus and spirit too considering she looks like a stiff wind might knock her over. She has a lot of potential and her beauty is off the charts.” Alaïa reported with a smile that slowly faded away. “Does she know about…”
“No. And I intend to keep it that way so make sure to keep your mouth shut.” Kaiser retorted coldly.
“…got it.”
The two were silent for a moment, possibly thinking about the past before Kaiser sighed again.
“How did today go? Will the two of you be working together?”
“Maybe. Apparently, it depends on my performance. A whole me that people are begging to work with. It’s rather funny if you think about it. I was speechless when she told me.” Thinking about the analytical expression Valentina used to evaluate her, Alaïa couldn’t help but smile.
“Good. You better do your best and make sure she’s unmatched on that carpet and future ones. That’s what I'm paying you for after all.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I'm already working hard on tailoring her outfit and now you want me to add two additional suits on such short notice. Why? You have plenty of suits I've made for you in your closet.”
“Roman and I will be attending the same opening ceremony. Obviously, we have to look good.”
“I understand Roman attending because of his role but why are you attending?”
“I'm showing my sincerity.” Kaiser simply replied with a cheeky smile.
Alaïa: “….” What the hell did that mean? Was that an acronym for something or a new pop culture reference?
“I'm going to pretend I know what that means and keep it moving. Simply speaking I don’t have time to make something new for both you and Roman, so I’ll just be making something new for Roman. I have some premade things for you that I can add extra embellishments and embroidery to if that’s okay with you. Any preferences on color or design?”
“Hmmm. Just make it so it matches whatever Valentina is wearing. Not enough that others can tell. Just do it so that she and I will know.”
Hearing his words, Alaïa immediately glared at him.
“Kai, she’s an actress.”
“I know.”
“She looks like she’ll make it pretty far in the industry if she continues with this work ethic and continues to get lucky with her roles. Her beauty is already enough to be a celebrity influencer.”
“I'm aware of that.” Kaiser nodded.
“She’s gaining popularity quickly right now because of the Fallen Angels. Everyone is abuzz and she’ll quickly become hot. Every image and every appearance that she makes will be scrutinized and analyzed from every conceivable angle. You know how the media and fans can get. They will look for any opportunity, any hint to demonize her and find fault. You still want me to make your clothes match?”
“Yes. Make it as subtle as you need to, but I want us to match.” Kaiser replied with no hesitation.
“Kaiser. She’s early in her career you know. If she's caught being entangled with you, it will ruin her and stunt her growth. You know how your life is and how your family is. You see how well that turned out the last time. Do you plan on being overbearing and taking over every part of her life?”
“Not at all.”
“Kaiser.”
“I don’t plan on doing anything of the sort. Interfering, getting caught, or anything else.” Kaiser replied with a confident smile, “And even if I wanted to, Valentina wouldn’t let me. Don’t worry about it and just make the clothes Lia.”
“Argh, why can't you just fall in love with a proper regular person? Now you’re out here stressing me out.” Alaïa clutched her head in agony.
“Rather than worrying about my romantic life or family, shouldn’t we focus on you? How's your family?”
“Let’s not talk about those disgusting bastards. If I could, I would disown all of them today.”
"How's the lawsuit going?"
"Hmph. You know as well as I do. Those bastards are dragging it out." Alaïa angrily spat out.
“And romance? You know Roman asks about you all the time.”
“You tell that short man to keep away from me!”
“Short? He’s a foot taller than you.”
“And he’s still short! You better keep him away or I'll murder you in your sleep Kai! Plus I’ll have you know; that I am perfectly the average height!”
“5’1 is shorter than the national average,” Kaiser replied with a teasing smile.
“I guess it’s a good thing that I'm 5’3 and 3/4ths,” Alaïa replied confidently.
“In platform shoes.” Kaiser immediately burst her bubble.
Alaïa: “….”
“Get the hell out of my house Kaiser!”
“…you're in my house.”
Alaïa: “….” Fine! It was her fault for waiting to talk to this bastard. She should have just gone home. This is why she didn’t like talking to Virgos. She would just be angry afterward.
“Hmph! I'm leaving then!”
Seeing the short girl get up angrily, Kaiser couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Haha. Come on, I'll have the driver take you home. Thanks for coming over Lia. I appreciate it.”
