The next day passed in a flash as she packed and dealt with her apartment and other miscellaneous tasks.

Finally, It was the day to film ‘Weekly Idol’. Early in the morning, before the sun was even up, Lia arrived at the Grayson residence to snatch Valentina up and drag her to her studio.

As Valentina was going through the familiar motions of being bathed and slathered with different concoctions, she prayed with all her heart that one day, she could earn an effect that would automatically do all things for her so she could sleep in late.

A couple of hours and one large thermos of medicine later, she was ready to head to the studio. As she took a final look at herself in the mirror, she had to say Lia and her staff had done a great job, as usual.

Lia had finished the dress and modified it a bit, adding some ink-like stains to the sleeves that blended perfectly into the white of the dress. Making it look like blood leaking. The dress hugged her body perfectly, highlighting her curves while still allowing her to move freely in the slightly stiff material. Her hair was straightened and styled in a half up half down way with a sword clip that had a black and white feather tied to it with a ribbon.

Since the dress itself was so ornate, her makeup had been kept light and simple, with only a coral tint on her lips and champagne shimmer around her eyes to bring out the golden flecks in the green. On her feet, she wore simple, white-heeled shoes that had faint engravings of feathers in black and gold.

All in all, she felt as ready as she was going to be.

As she arrived at the studio, she took a deep breath before stepping out of the car and entering through the underground entrance.

Although she had received instructions on where to go and a temp badge, since it was her first time at the building, she walked along cautiously while taking a good look around.

It looked like any other office building on the inside as people ran through the hallways while celebs were led around by their managers or staff.

She hadn’t walked far when she spotted a familiar face leaning against the wall. She took a moment to admire the handsome figure before rolling her eyes. Almost as if he was dressed as the yang to her yin, Rio looked like a decadent Greek god.

He was dressed in a silk robe-like shirt and pants clothes that loosely draped around him while still highlighting his lean, muscular body. The black outfit had traces of white bleeding into the black, especially around the heart, hands, and neck, as if brushed on by a paintbrush dipped in white ink. On his ears were black and white feather earrings entwined like the yin-yang symbol.

Rio’s golden skin peeked through the shirt, especially his chest, which seemed to be brushed with gold flecks that caught the light. The most surprising part, though, was that instead of the jet black hair she was familiar with, his hair had been bleached, a golden platinum blonde that shone as if it were golden thread.

As she walked closer, he glanced up, and his contact red eyes met hers. There was a moment of silence before their lips simultaneously curved up in a smirk.

“I came to get you because I know how you like to get lost,” Rio called out snarkily.

“Red contacts? Wow. Wow. You’re so cool, Mr demon lord,” Valentina snorted as she walked closer and clasped the hand that he held out to her in a quick side hug.

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“An armor dress, Val? A bit on the nose for a battle angel, don’t you think?” Rio shook his head at her with mock disappointment while clutching his sides as if he were in pain.

“Better that than to look like a rejected Grecian god. Are you cosplaying as Hades or something? It’s a bit too early for Halloween, don’t YOU think?”

“So what I’m hearing is you think I look like a god, and I’m built like one too. I’ll accept the compliment, so thank you.” Rio gave her a smug smile, his sharp canines flashing temporarily before disappearing, and Valentina couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

“You’re such a narcissist Rio.”

“So are you.”

“I know you are, but what am I.”

“Childish. You’re childish. And pretty rude for someone I invited to my show. You’re welcome by the way.”

“1800-did-i-ask you to do that? Take your ego and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” Valentina rolled her eyes as she retorted.

“You’re so childish, Valentina.”

“You already said that. I don’t want to hear that from you. On another note, make some time for me. I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Is that how you ask for a favor? Tsk tsk. No manners.”

“Of course. Do you have a problem with that? If you do, I don’t care”

“I’m a busy man. I’ll have to ask my secretary to ‘pen you in’.”

“The phrase is a ‘pencil you in’, stupid.”

“Takes one to know one.”

As they continued childishly ribbing each other, oblivious to the surroundings and the people staring at them, Rio led her through the convoluted halls until they arrived in the common waiting room area for women. After a brief knock, he carelessly opened the door and stepped in.

Immediately, all the sounds in the room stopped as everybody stared at him.

As Valentina followed behind him, she took in the occupants of the room.

Multiple beautiful women from different industries were spread out in luxurious waiting areas and chatting with each other. As she glanced around, the information from the email sent to her flashed in her mind as she recognized the different faces.

The six women to the left were part of Da Dolls, a pretty popular girl group who had just released a song called ‘Don’t You?’.

The woman with long golden blond hair in the center was Rita O'Leary, a popular Broadway actress.

The three women in punk clothes and styles were the Scarlet Letters, a punk alt band.

There were other people who she recognized from different roles or by their music; she felt as if she were probably the smallest no-name artist there.

“Sorry to interrupt. Everyone, this is Valentina. She, along with Yuri, will be joining Shawn and me during our segment today. I’m counting on you all to take care of her, as she’s new and not used to this.” Rio declared while looking around the room. As he met the eyes of the various women, their faces turned red as they blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

As the different women murmured their acceptance, Rio turned to her.

“Stay here for a moment. I have to finish getting ready, then I’ll come grab you and Yuri when it’s time to go. Some of us have private waiting rooms.”

“What, you have to powder your nose? Fix your eyeliner? Valentina snickered as she glanced up at him.

“You think you’re so funny,” Rio grumbled as he pretended to poke her side, “Go and sit before you trip in those god-forsaken heels and break your neck. I don’t want to have to catch you again.”

Quickly smacking his hand away, she rolled her eyes at him.

“Hurry up and get out of here. Can’t you see that you’re causing a commotion and being a nuisance?” Rather than a welcoming atmosphere, Valentina could sense all the women glaring daggers at her back.

Rio: “……” what did she mean nuisance? He was doing his best to try to take care of her. Such an ungrateful brat.

As he was about to fire back, he caught her gaze, glancing to the side and glaring at him. Peeking at the fiery gazes of the women glaring at Valentina before smiling innocently at him, he quickly got the hint and coughed before replying.

“Okay. I’ll be back then. Stay here and don’t wander around.”

Not paying attention to him, Valentina turned and put a bright smile on her face. Seeing the looks of the women, a mix of jealousy, curiosity, anger, and eyes of being a spectator, she took them all in as her eyes curved into a polite smile.

Even though Rio had tried to introduce her and soften the distance between them, he was a man and didn’t understand the interpersonal relationships between women. She was clearly the outsider and knew none of these people. Additionally, even if he meant well, Rio had clearly instigated some bad feelings in some of them, and they would likely shun her, especially the ones who had feelings for him.

Since that was the case, the way she should handle this was to treat it as a corporate networking event. They might not like her, but they could say nothing about her manners, and she could still try to make a connection or two.

After smoothing down her dress, she began making her rounds to introduce herself.

“Hello, my name is Valentina. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re Rita, right? I saw your work in Slayer, and I think it was amazing. It’s an honor to meet you. Please take care of me.”

“Wha-” As the actress was caught off guard before giving her a polite smile, Valentina calmly moved on. She continued introducing herself to each and every person and spouted off some basic facts she had memorized.

When she was done, she confidently walked to where Yuri was sitting next to another girl, the last two people she hadn’t talked to.

Not being shy in the latest, she confidently spoke out, “Yuri. Long time no see. You look beautiful. If you don’t mind, I would love to sit next to you since I don’t really know anyone else. Do you mind?”