2- Swooning

"Hello? Nina? Nina what's going on over there? I've told you a million times to hire a bodygaurd for your safety if something happens to you--"

My phone still in hand, half way to my ear, blares angrily at me in Cintia's voice.

"You gonna get that?"

I abruptly cut the phone as the guy whispers in my ear again. I swiftly turn around to face the hunk.

"What did you just say?"

"I said won't you get that? But I guess not since you turned off your phone."

"No, I meant what did you just say, before that?"

He shrugs his shoulders and answers nonchalantly, "That I've been waiting for you."

Swallowing the lump in my throat I ask him, "Why?"

Now the idea of a very attractive guy telling me that he has been waiting for me doesn't sound so bad. It's like a dream come true for a normal girl like me. But let's be serious for once all right? That only happens in books and movies. Never in real life. So this vey musculine man to be standing here in front of me right now, telling me how he has been waiting for me, is a huge red flag.

It should be a huge red flag, but not for me. Nope, me being the stupidest naive girl I am, I just loose myself in the depths of his deepest ocean blue eyes.

And how can I come in my senses when his hair as black as night, are literally begging for me to run my hand in them until I reach the  nape?

How can I think straight when his thin lips form a crooked smile on his godly face? His entire being looks like it's been drawn with so much precision by God himself, that even if you look with a microscope, you still won't be able to find a slight flaw.

But what does bring me back to my senses, like a bird once flying high in the sky, falling hard on the ground, is his sarcastic fake chuckle. A guy will always look sexy and nice and just perfect. Until he opens his mouth and you find out how cocky and sure of himself he is.

"Today was the appointed date, no?" He raises his eyebrows questioningly at me.

"Date? What date, date, DATE! Yes, date. Haha, of course it is 'the date'."

I smirked at him and was about to tell him how wrong he was. He has been waiting here, for no one knows how long, in the most sexiest suit, waiting for his date. But then I had this very crazy idea. Surely it's a blind date, the kind where he knows nothing about the girl he's supposed to meet. Why not go ahead with it? What's the worst that can happen anyway? Him finding out that I am not the girl he is supposed to go out with? I can take the chance.

So being the gullible piece of poop I am, I play along with it. And lucky for me, he falls for it.

"Sadly, I had forgotten about it."

"Astonishingly obvious." He states monotonously. "Let's sit down somewhere and induldge in our much awaited oration."

My my, such fancy words. One more word out of this mouth and I'll be swooning all over him.

"You know what, why don't we continue this in a little while, especially somewhere—" I glance at the surrounding, the street now becoming a bit crowded, "Somewhere nice and quiet?"

"Hm." He follows my line of sight with those squinted ice blue eyes of his and mumbles, "Very well then. Cozinha comestivel. You have one hour."

And just like that, he turns around and walks away from me brusquely with his hands tucked in his pants pockets. I watch his retreating musculine form and thank my destiny for giving me a date after so many fruitless years of aloneness.

Rushing home, I take a quick shower and wear my off shoulder black sequin dress. Being in this line of work for two years has taught me how to get ready in twenty minutes, without messing up my hair or my winged liner. Every girl knows the struggle.

Wearing my louboutine black heels and grabbing my essentials in a clutch, I head towards the restaurant which is fifteen minutes away from my place on foot.

Cozinha comestivel is the fanciest restaurant in Rio De Janeiro and hence getting a table here is highly unlikely. How this mystery man got one reserved even before making a call, is beyond me. But that just means he must be someone very important. A businessman most probably.

After searching for him in the restaurant for a few minutes, I find him sitting in the terrace drinking champagne idly. Thanking the receptionist for helping me find my 'supposed blind date', I make my way towards him.

The mystery man keeps lookng straight at me. He eyes me up and down and when I approach him, he pulls out my chair for me. He sits down opposite to me and I cannot help but feel giddy inside.

Being the hopeless romantic I am, I just keep pondering over the idea that maybe, just maybe, if I tell him the truth, he'll still want to be with me.

But that is only possible if I do tell him something. Because right now, all I'm doing is being nervous. I clear my throat and open my mouth to start a conversation but all that comes out of my mouth is my minty breath. Good thing I had a mint on my way but the point is, my voice betrays me. And he notices it because he starts the conversation instead.

"I must say I'm impressed, you are exactly on time, considering that you took extra five minutes in searching for me. Anyways, before we dive further into anything important, you should know that the source never gave me any information regarding you, just like you don't know mine."

I just nod my head, still unsable to speak. He gestures to the waiter who then brings me my champagne and some water. I gulp down my drink and finally manage to look at him without squirming in my chair.

"So, my name is Andre. And you are?" He holds out his hand for me, and I shake it.

"I'm Nina." 

"Nice to meet you Nina. Now that the formalities are over, let's proceed."

"What, that's it?"

"Yes, any and other details are prohibited to be shared, or discussed given the circumstances that it might end up being.... What's the right word? Aaah, perilous." He says the last word with the snap of his fingers, whereas I sit there dumbfounded as if a three year old being introduced to a seventh grade course.

"You make it sound like it's a business deal or something." I chuckle, highly confused at the moment.

"Is it not?"

"How am I supposed to know, you tell me."

"It depends on how you take it. For me it's nothing more or less than a business deal."

Unable to take it anymore, I reside to finally split the beans, because I'm getting a very bad idea about this suddenly, "Erm.. Okay, you know what, I have to tell you something. This is a big, big misunderstanding. I'm not who you think I am, in fact, I'm someone else. I don't know what came over me but I swear I'm not who you think I am."

He keeps a straight face for a minute and then bursts into a fit of laughter. 

"I knew you'll try that. Listen here, you cannot back out now. This deal was done the day you agreed to meet and discuss. Now, be a good little girl and stop trying pretending to be so innocuous. You and I both know how completely wrong that is. We know you are an actress and that is exactly what you have been hired for. Here."

He takes out a manila envelope from his pocket and slides it across the table towards me, very slowly.

"You don't understand, I am not lying, I'm Nina, before you give me that you should ask your sources—"

"Hey Nina?"

"Y-yes?"

"This is a done deal. If you so much so even think about running away, I'm ordered to kill you at sight."