Chapter 203 - Deal or no deal?

Diana stood in front of her floor to ceiling mirror, admiring her reflection.

''You look beautiful Diana, very beautiful.'' Her makeup artist emphasized for the thousandth time. Diana had kept on asking her how she looked, she didn't know why she was feeling very skeptical about her looks, the previous times she had gone for events like this, she had always been confident, she didn't know why today was different.

''What of my hair, should I let it down?'' Mirabelle rolled her eyes, what in hell was wrong with her today?

''No, it's perfect this way… ''

''Did a car just pull in? '' Diana asked, cutting Mirabelle off, her eyes wide with excitement.

She just heard a car pull up in front of her house and her heart slammed against her chest. Damn, why was she so excited for a man who hasn't even taken interest in her yet?

''I think so… '' Mirabelle walked to the window and peeked outside; when she saw there was a car parked outside, she turned back to Diana, ''yeah, he's… '' her words caught in her tongue when she realized that Diana was no longer in the room; in shock, she turned back to the window to know who had made Diana so excited. Ever since she knew her, Diana had never been this excited about any man;

Diana walked out of the front porch in calm steps, her eyes filled with eagerness. The man standing beside the car had his hands in his pockets and his eyes were staring piercingly at her. Diana couldn't help the blush that tainted her skin.

Her steps faltered as she approached him and when she stood in front of him, she smiled;

''wow… '' That was the first word that left his lips as his eyes scanned her body; her blood-red gown hugged her skin and her perfect figure coming in view; her huge b.o.o.b.s were well sculptured in the gown as her perfect cleavage stuck out beautifully. Michael gulped, pulling his eyes to her face;

He closed the gap between them and took her right hand, kissing it;

''You are… enchanting right now, I'm really struggling to keep my eyes off you. ''

Diana felt heat radiate from the spot he had kissed on her hand and upwards to her face, exploding into a patch of redness, she bit her lower lip as her eyes fluttered;

She had indeed taken her time to look especially good; a lot of men had complimented her in the past but this was the first time someone she liked complimented her, and she couldn't help but feel loved.

''Thank you, '' she said shyly; she didn't fail to notice his outfit; he had worn a matching outfit; a black suit with intricate red flames designs on it; they looked like a real couple. ''You look ravishing, I must say.''

She smiled as she commented on his clothes; Michael chuckled lightly, his husky voice ringing in her ears;

Diana m.o.a.ned in her heart, why was she falling for every single thing about him, even his voice? Lord, she was in trouble.

'' didn't know you were this shy. '' Michael said, smirking; Diana turned her eyes to him, her cheeks blushing the more; ''I'm not shy! ''

Michael laughed; ''Okay, let's go, '' He held her hand as he led her to the back seat.

''m serious, I'm not shy! '' she whined, trying to defend herself as she watched him open the door for her to get in;

''Did I say anything? '' Michael asked, raising an eyebrow; Diana pouted in frustration, he didn't say anything but his silence and curt laughter meant that he believed she was shy;

''say I'm not shy. '' Diana demanded with a cute glare in her eyes; Michael couldn't help but melt in her gaze; jeez woman; How can you be so cute?

There was no way he would resist that stare; he didn't realize he had a weak point until now;

Michael leaned into the car and caressed her cheeks, his eyes moving from her eyes to her pinkish plump lips; ''you're not shy. '' she gulped when she realized where he was looking at, and she quickly looked away; ''Okay, let's get going now. '' she replied hurriedly, snapping Michael back to reality.

Michael cleared his throat, straightening himself; he walked over to the other side and got in, sitting beside her, he signaled the driver to drive.

The ride was barely quiet because once Michael got in, he took her hand in his and admired it;

''soft small hands… '' he said, holding her hand up in his palm; Diana bit her lower lip; did he know a mere touch from him made her insides burn?

''I can just cover them with mine. '' He said, fisting her hand and covering it with his manly palm, even though it did not fit in, his hand covered most part of it;

''was a spoilt little baby when growing up. Didn't do much with my hands, that's why it's this soft. ''

Diana spoke, trying to appear normal; she didn't want him to see the effect he was having on her. Michael released her but did not let go of her, instead, he held her hand, placing it on his legs;

''So tell me, what are you going to do if there are rumors about us tomorrow? ''

Diana gulped; there were actually going to be rumors, but she didn't want Michael changing his mind now;

''Haha; why should there be rumors, it's just a date for an event. ''

''Well, we should be making headlines by tomorrow because you're not dating anyone at the moment, and now you come to an event with the CEO of Warren Corporation; surely someone must talk about it.''

Diana cleared her throat; ''well, I've been going on events with dates too, and the rumors were easy to die down, you don't have to worry about it; ''

Diana tried to explain to him, she didn't want him to get worried about his face being on headlines, but…

''But you should have known that this might happen, didn't you? ''

She felt Michael stiffen by her side but she didn't turn to look at him;

''I knew, that's why I'm concerned about what you're going to say if it becomes news. ''

Diana took in a sharp breath;

''Well, we mean nothing to each other… so I'm just going to tell them we are friends… nothing more, that's if it gets to that.'' Each word that left her lips tore at her heart; she wished she didn't have to draw a line between them, heck, she wished he would just tell her that he wanted something more with her, but everything was just in her head.

Michael stiffened for a second; what was he expecting to hear though? That was the truth, there was nothing between them, but he could not help but feel sour as though he was expecting her to say something else.

''Caesar, how old is he? '' Diana asked, trying to divert the discussion since the car was getting stuffy for her.

''Five years, ''

''Wow, he's very big for a five-year-old. He looks like a golden retriever, is he? '' Michael nodded;

''Yeah, he is. ''

Diana smiled; '' mm, I noticed, that is the breed of our family dog. ''

Michael turned to look at her; ''Seems you like dogs a lot. ''

''Yeah, I love dogs, I'm going to get another one soon.''

''Boss, we're here. ''

The driver cut them off, pulling into the driveway. As expected, the place was filled with reporters and journalists, but they were kept off by the security;

Diana turned to Michael in the car;

''Are you ready? '' She smiled at him and he stared fondly at her; ''whenever you're ready; ''

Diana blushed; ''okay. '' 

The driver stepped out and opened the car door for them; Michael came out first and held out his hand for Diana. The cameras were still clicking as they wondered who he was with; suddenly Diana stepped out and that instant all cameras turned to them;

They were wearing matching clothes and with their drop-dead beauty, they were like a power couple. Most of the reporters turned to them as they stood for their pictures to be taken; Michael's hands were around Diana's waists as they smiled for the pictures; after a few pictures, they walked up to the red carpet to take pictures.

Unexpectedly, Michael pulled her close to him, staring into her eyes, he whispered something into her ears which made her eyes grow wide and her cheeks flush; they were just staring and laughing at themselves oblivious of the thousands of pictures being taken of them; or maybe they knew, they just didn't care.

Michael sat on his chair with Diana by his side as they watched the awards being given one after the other;

''what if you win an award? ''

Michael leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, Diana shook her head; ''I'm not winning any, I was nominated but the other persons with me have a greater chance at the award, and besides I won Hollywood's best actress last year, ''

''Hmm, you seem very sure, can we bet on it?''

Diana's eyes widened as she turned to him with an amused grin on her lips;

''you're joking right now, right? ''

Michael chuckled; ''No, I'm damn serious. ''

''Alright, what's the bet? ''

Michael thought for a second; ''I'll kiss you if you win and I'll do anything you ask if you don't?''

''oh my god; '' Diana laughed, her cheeks reddening, she wasn't expecting that kind of a bet; ''you're gonna lose you know, I've been in the industry for a very long time; '' If she had any chance at the prize, her manager would have given her heads up earlier.

''Deal or no deal? '' Michael asked confidently and Diana couldn't help but laugh;

''Alright, deal. ''