"Christian, bring the car out. I'm leaving now," he said, hanging up.
I stood beside him feeling a bit reluctant to follow him to my studio. I couldn't even trust the man, I didn't know him at all. While I was thinking of a million excuses to come up with, he turned to face me with a charming smile.
He had such perfect teeth, his smile was definitely what they called a billion-dollar smile. "You must be cold, here have my jacket," he said, taking off his jacket and putting it around my shoulders.
I was quickly enveloped in the intoxicating smell of his cologne. Was that his seductive measure? I wondered.
"My chauffeur should be here in five minutes maximum."
"You know—"
He cut off my excuse with, "Tell me about you. How old are you? You look pretty young despite all of the sophisticated makeup."
"I am twenty-three. I guess you don't bother about women not wanting to disclose their age," I said to him.
He laughed, it was a charming laugh. I scolded myself for finding him so attractive. He was so tall, he easily towered over me. His eyes, I realized, were hazel green. They had appeared to be dark brown earlier. I wondered why he had to look so good, his British accent was incredibly polished. He seemed like such a rich snob, but why was he taking an interest in someone like me?
"You are very funny. I like women who have a great sense of humor. I am already thirty. Oh, my car has arrived, let's go. I just can't wait to see those assets of yours," he smiled, taking my hand once again.
"Mr. Masterson, Ms—?" The chauffeur, a tall elderly man with white hair asked. I was so stunned by the opulence of the car. He had driven in a limousine for this event. 
I had the feeling that everyone who had seen me leave with Abel tonight was going to think I had some relationship with him.
"Ms. Ginerva Gallo," Abel replied, bringing me out of my thoughts.
He opened the car door for me and I got in still wondering why I was getting into his car. I figured that I was feeling rest assured because Abel was relating so well with the chauffeur.
"To the penthouse, Sir?" 
"Not yet, we are going to Ms. Gallo's art studio," Abel replied.
"You can tell Christian your address."
I told him and settled into the plush seat. Abel poured some champagne and handed a flute to me.
"Thanks," I said, fiddling with the lapels of his jacket.
"You can take that off now. We don't want to block the amazing view, now do we?" he said, his eyes straying once again to my chest.
His actions made me feel uncomfortable, but then I slid the jacket off of my shoulders. He pressed a button and a partition wall came down.
I wasn't sure why he needed any privacy from the chauffeur, but it made me nervous. "So about my work, I said they weren't too professional. I am only a young artist, I cannot promise that they would match your taste."
"Everything about you matches my taste, you can't disappoint me. I'm sure your work will be just as beautiful as you are," he said, taking a lock of my hair and fiddling with it.
"Your chauffeur is quite old. I assumed it would be someone young," I said, trying to change the topic of conversation.
"Christian is very dear to me. He has worked for my family for about forty years now before I was even born. My father knows how fond of Christian I am and hence he allowed me to have him as my chauffeur. Christian is now my secretary. He takes care of my daily personal life, the properties, my homes while my executive secretary and personal assistant handle official stuff," he said smiling.
"Oh, I see. I didn't see your parents at this event tonight. Why is that?" I asked. I needed to keep interrogating him to avoid him touching me.
This was a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent to a billionaire. My father wanted this and hence the reason he had allowed us to talk alone. I couldn't mess it up just because Abel was making me feel uncomfortable. 
The moment I asked the question, I watched his face contort into a scowl. He seemed irritated by my question. "Do not ask me such questions. My parents being at my event or not has absolutely nothing to do with you."
"I am sorry, I just felt like I could ask because you had already met my father."
"I never asked about your mother, did I?" He snapped.
The moment he asked the question, a wave of sadness engulfed me. I didn't say a word from then and Abel remained quiet as well.
I gulped down the champagne, trying to rein back the tears that always seemed to flow whenever Mum was brought up. She had died after suffering from an epileptic seizure. I was constantly reminded of how the paramedics had been too late to reach our house. If they had shown up sooner, Mum wouldn't have died.
"I am sorry for sounding that way. It is no secret that my parents and I have a strained relationship," he stated after several minutes spent in silence.
The car came to a stop and then Christian knocked on the door.
He opened the car door and Abel helped me get out. I felt a little shy about living in such a cheap apartment building. 
Abel looked around the neighborhood, his displeasure with the cheap environment obvious.
"You live here?" He queried, his distaste evident in his voice.
"It's what I can afford, let's go in."
"Christian, you can wait for me in the car. We wouldn't take too long," Abel said, following after me.
We got into the elevator and Abel leaned back on the wall, watching me with a strange expression. 
"What is it?"
"As much as I am disgusted by the environment, you are the only excitement that helps me ignore that."
I frowned, not sure what he meant by that. "Why don't we begin the show here?"
"What show?"
"I see you are trying to slow things down. I do hope that you will make it all worthwhile. I know you will," he smirked.
"I hope so too," I replied.
We got to my floor and I walked up to my apartment. Inserting my pin, the door came open and I led Abel in.
I thanked my lucky stars that I had remembered to keep the apartment clean that afternoon before leaving.
"So this is where you stay?" He remarked.
"Yes, I am sure it is way below your standards. Can I get you some coffee or tea? You can have your seat while I fix that up and get some of my artwork."
"No, there is no need for that. You can name your price first. I am feeling very generous because you are amazing. Just name any figure and Janet, my executive secretary will have it transferred to you immediately," Abel said, taking a seat and crossing his legs.
"Wouldn't you like to see the work first?" I asked.
He got up so quickly, that I was startled. "Well, if that is how you want it, then I can only agree with you."
Before
I could guess what he was about to do, he pulled me into his arms and his lips came crashing down on mine.