Chapter 164: Adapting

Shai could not take his eyes off Lisa as she spoke. There were many beautiful women in the room, including Luna lee, but she was the only one who confidently met his eyes and did not look away when he held her gaze. He had no idea who she was, but he was eager to find out, and if investing in her also meant he could get a few steps closer to the Lee daughter, he was fine with it.

Lisa continued to address the old man before she turned her attention to their intended target.

"To answer your question sir, if a two hundred million investment were to be made, the investor would hold a share of the rights to the company. However, they would be bound by the same rules of investment," Lisa said to the man she knew was Shai Cal. The man was staring at her as she spoke, and she made sure to keep the emotion off her face. Shai was handsome, but he was not her Ian. All she needed from him was his money, and if treating him indifferently would help her get it, she could do that all day.

"Where do I send the capital?" Shai said, and Lisa blanched. She was not acting this time.

"And you are?" She asked although she already knew the answer.

Shai smirked. "President Shai Cal," he replied.

"President Cal if you are genuinely interested. I am prepared to handle the paperwork now, but please do not waste my time if you are just trying to make use of me in an untoward manner." Shai grinned, the woman before him was no dummy. She must have been warned by someone.

"You've heard rumors about me," he said, "but I assure you, they are just that." Lisa shook her head and cast the man a sidelong glance.

"I find that statement harder to believe than the so-called rumors," She said coolly.

Luna's back was to Shai so he could not see her expressions, but she was glaring at Lisa. Her behavior was not a part of the plan. She was supposed to play innocent yet savvy. Not sexy and wise.

Shai laughed when he heard Lisa's comment. It was rare that a woman spoke to him so boldly. He did not know that she got her strength from her belief that President Lee would never believe anything President Cal said so long as she had Luna to back her up, but she did not know that her show of rude defiance piqued the man's interest in her. By this time, the old man had left the table, he was not someone who could throw around figures like two hundred million.

"Do you propose we do it here?" Shai asked Lisa. The woman arched an eyebrow at the suggestiveness of the comment.

"Here is as good a place as any." She retorted, and just like that a full transfer of two hundred million was directly sent to her family's business account. Both women did not know that this move would have far reaching consequences in the future.

----

Shai returned home feeling robbed of his dignity. He was aware he was being toyed with, he specialized in that game, but when he received the details, he felt even more aggrieved. Two hundred million was no small sum, and he had just invested that amount into a damned filming studio. There was no way it would require such an exuberant amount of money, especially since the Anders family already owned the building and all the equipment was being provided by Rouge Entertainment. Although that was bad, what was worse is that he owned thirty-three percent of the new company and the Lee group was not even mentioned. He was sure that Luna B*tch had tricked him.

Shai had originally been under the impression that Luna was weak, but she was cunning indeed, and that friend of hers was the type of vixen that he loved to have pressed underneath his body. He decided that he would use Lisa until he was no longer interested in her. Then he would turn his attention back to the Lee daughter again. In truth he could only blame himself. That Lisa woman was clearly flirting with him and openly teasing him. He was almost positive that she was not like the other women in Pan. That one knew who, and what, she wanted, and she went after it. So, what if he liked her personality, he would still make her beg him in the future.

----

Luna was silent in the car; Lisa did not even take notice. She was on the phone with her brother bragging about 'her plan,' and when she wrapped up the call, she dialed someone else. This time it was Ian. Luna listened as her 'friend' acted innocent and sweet on the phone. After a while she could no longer hold back her frustration and when they arrived at the hotel, she alighted from the vehicle and walked briskly ahead of Lisa. The woman still did not sense anything was wrong. In the end it was Luna who had to speak up.

"What was that back there?" Luna asked

"What was what?" Lisa responded seemingly just sensing her friend's poor mood.

"You were clearly flirting with him."

"I was adapting to the situation," Lisa said.

"Right, 'adapting' and if Ian were here, would you have adapted in the same way?" Lisa looked at Luna with fear in her eyes and she immediately regretted her words.

"Luna, you told me he prefers women who are uninterested in him, so I pretended to be interested to protect myself in the future," Lisa lied. The fire within Luna died down a bit. It was true, but the level of flirtatiousness her friend displayed was not only natural, but it was so risqué that Luna considered giving the pair some privacy. "That Shai guy likes to shock people, but he is probably harmless. I just fought fire with fire," Lisa shot back.

"Still you should be careful, he looked at you differently than he looked at me. It was unnerving," Luna said, and Lisa nodded. "By the way, I like this new style, it suits you." Lisa looked down at herself, she had yet to change her clothes as she was still making preliminary arrangements for the renovations. The dress she was wearing was quite conservative compared to what she usually wore, but she knew that Luna was comparing it to the style she usually kept whenever she was around Ian.

Realizing she had inadvertently exposed a little of her true self, Lisa tried to quickly recover.

"I told you, I still feel insecure regarding Mina. Your brother has never cared anytime I fell ill and to see him accompany her…" Lisa trailed off and sighed. "I just want to feel appreciated," she said. It was a lie, but the truth was that she did need to feel appreciated, and it was that need that led her into another man's bed all those years ago.

"Lisa, just be careful. Zane is not the only one who warned me about Mr. Cal," Luna said. Lisa smiled affectionately before speaking.

"Luna, thank you for all your help. I really could not have done this without you." Her compliment was genuine. Thanks to Luna, her brother would not be able to humiliate her at least for a while.