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The man glanced at the bill and then back at her, his expression bemused. "Little girl, you can’t afford my appearance and acting fees."
"What?" Ellie frowned in confusion.
"I’m a model," he said smoothly. "I charge much more for an appearance, Ellie."
Ellie’s eyes widened. She clapped her hands in realization, letting out a small laugh.
"Oh my God, you’re a model? What a coincidence!" she said, stepping closer to him. "Turns out, you and I are from the same industry, handsome! I’m a choreographer by profession!"
She had stopped working after entering Sawyer’s house. Back then, after getting discharged from the hospital, she was just a low-level freelancer for a few months, barely scraping by to pay off debts, until she accidentally collided with Liana and was brought to Sawyer to be his new girlfriend.
"Great to meet a fellow workmate," the handsome man grinned. "Now as you see, five hundred dollars isn’t exactly gonna cut it. So how do you plan to pay me back for my help back there?"
Ellie frowned in confusion. "What? But I told you I'd give you this! Hey!" She snapped. "Don’t try to scam me. I don’t have that much money. I’m not one of those richie-rich people from that bar back there!"
The man’s grin widened. "The name’s Jeremy," he said, almost laughing at her reaction. Then, pointing behind her, he asked, "Do you see that?"
Ellie turned around and followed his gesture. Behind the bus stand, there was a large billboard on a building, illuminated with flashing lights. A video was playing on the screen.
Jeremy leaned in, his lips close to her ear. “That’s me,” he whispered. “Walking the ramp for Chanel.”
Ellie turned back to him, her mouth dropping open. “Oh my god. No wonder you don’t look like you’re from Earth.”
Jeremy finally burst into laughter. He shook his head, his gaze locking with hers. "I charge twenty thousand dollars for a fifteen-minute appearance. What do you think? Can you afford to pay me?”
Ellie jumped back, her mouth dropping open in disbelief. "Twenty thousand dollars?!"
Jeremy straightened with a proud smirk, watching her panic.
Ellie was absolutely freaking out. She didn’t have twenty thousand dollars!
She frantically rummaged through her pockets. A moment later, she pulled out another twenty-dollar bill and a few coins and handed it all to him with an embarrassed smile. “There. That’s all I have.”
Jeremy shrugged, his smirk never fading. "But it’s not enough," he said, stepping closer to her.
Ellie took a step back, panic rising. "I don’t have twenty thousand dollars, Jeremy. I—I can’t pay you that!"
Jeremy’s expression softened, and for a moment, he looked almost playful. He lowered his head slightly to match her height, his voice softening with a teasing edge. "I don’t take a loss, Ellie," he said, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Now that you’ve taken my service, it’s time to pay up."
"Dude, I don’t have twenty grand," Ellie scoffed. Then she straightened, her expression going blank as she deadpanned, "Just kill me."
"No," Jeremy said, his tone turning huskier. "I’ll kiss you."
Chapter 10 Burn Her
"What?!" Ellie breathed.
‘Am I losing my mind or just my hearing?’ she wondered. ‘I can't be going crazy over SNS's betrayal... not that fast, right?’
"I’m going to kiss you," Jeremy said simply, his breath warm against her skin as he stepped even closer, his body nearly pressing against hers. One hand cupped the side of her face, drawing her nearer. "A kiss in exchange for a fake kiss and some acting. Isn’t that a fair deal?"
"I'm not going to kiss you!" Ellie snapped, taken aback by his audacity.
He was barely an inch away from her lips, and by the look in his eyes, it was clear he wasn’t joking. He was just waiting for one more breath before he lost control and kissed her.
Even though the man was outrageously gorgeous, it just didn’t feel right to kiss him right off the bat after just meeting. Not that she was still thinking about Sawyer. It was just that she was still bound by an agreement with him, and if anyone—especially his mother—found out she was making out with another man at a bus stop, that five-minute kiss could cost her three years' worth of money.
Two million down the drain, all for a kiss?