The next couple of days passed in a blur for Valentina. The auditions were a week away, so she spent the time watching dramas of that time period to get an idea of clothing and speaking style, reading through the script, and practicing her acting. Although her acting bar stayed firmly at 40/100, she felt better with memorizing the script frontwards and backward as this would be her first-ever audition.

During this preparatory time, she surprisingly became closer to Rio. He had continually checked on her every once in a while since their last encounter, and asked about her acting progress and any roles she had or was planning to audition for. Although he wasn't an actor, he had acted in a couple of things and she found that he was easy to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Usually, when he had time during his busy schedule he would message or call her, and they would chat here and there. It had been a bit awkward the first time he called out of the blue but she had slowly gotten accustomed to it.

Although she wondered why he bothered and was extra kind to her, she appreciated it as she didn't have any close friends.

While she prepped, she also continued her interactions with Luca, but she rarely saw Kaiser or even Roman. It seemed work had become extra busy for them, so she and Luca got even closer to each other.

At the time she was preparing for the auditions, it seemed all the projects she had worked on were preparing to be released. Firstly, a countdown clock had been placed on the Fallen Angels home page as well as on all their social media profiles indicating that in a week they would be releasing part 1 of the music video – Kill You Love. Each day of the countdown at midnight, a special visual from the music video would be released. They were mostly shots of Rio or Shawn, but occasionally there would be shots of Valentina or Yuri that didn't fully show their faces which began driving the fans into a frenzy.

Simultaneously, the Spring Love production team started releasing the visual photos and trailer for the drama. Valentina had been checking the site multiple times a day, but she wasn't in the first round of trailers, and she wasn't even listed as a cast member as well.

Even though she had seen scenes of herself at the premiere, it seemed that they had completely cut her out of the movie promotional material and possibly the episodes altogether. Although she understood that that was how show business worked, it still left a bitter taste in her mouth and put her in a bad mood.

Angry but having nothing to take it out on, she decided to go on a walk. Because it was late in the evening. Luca was in bed and Kaiser shouldn't be home yet. She dejectedly walked to the swing set at the back of the house and slowly swung herself while looking at the sky and trying to process her feelings.

Although it wasn't a role she got with her own hands, she had worked for it and had done the best she could at the time. She wanted to see her first role out in the world but clearly, it wasn't meant to be.

Sighing, she lightly slapped her cheeks.

"If they don't want to share this one, it's fine. I only have to do better on the next one. I can do it. I am awesome!"

"Yes, you are."

"Ahhhh-"

Shocked at the unexpected sound, Valentina almost fell from the swing but felt her back braced by something. Or somebody.

A large hand grasped her back and gently pushed her forward until she was stable. She grabbed the two chains of the swing and gently tilted her head backward.

Looking up, the person behind her was a familiar face.

"You're back early," Valentina stated as a greeting.

"And you're up late." Was his bland reply. He looked as if he had just arrived from work as he was in his usual black suit that was fully buttoned up. He moved to stand in front of her and asked.

"Why are you upset?"

"I'm not upset."

"You sound upset to me."

"Really," Valentina gave a bitter laugh, "I'm not upset, I am giving myself positive affirmations."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Smiling at the avoidant answer, kaiser shifted until he was standing beside her while leaning on the swing pole.

"Valentina. Why are you giving yourself affirmations at this time of night?"

Valentina swung herself a bit before responding,

"I...am a new actress and I just finished my first two roles. I was really excited to have finished the role and I thought I had performed to the satisfaction of the director. I was happy to see myself on screen when I went to the premiere. But...they've been releasing the promotional material for Spring Love, and it seems that they've made the decision to cut out my scenes. I am not in any of the trailers or cast photos or anything so that just killed my mood."

Seeing that Kaiser didn't say anything, Valentina continued as if talking to herself.

"I know I really shouldn't complain since I got paid, but it still sucks, and I was really looking forward to watching my scenes on tv. It would have been my first major accomplishment. Now that I'm prepping for another audition, I worry that even if I get the role, the same thing will happen again. You already know what my situation is like at Black Rock Entertainment. I've been lucky so far but I need to show some results."

"Still, it's okay. It just means I have to try harder in the future."

When Valentina glanced up at Kaiser, she saw that he was completely focused on her. His dark grey eyes, barely visible in the dark stared intently at her and there was an awkward silence.

Before Valentina could speak again, Kaiser interrupted.

"Do you want me to do something about it?"

"What?"

"I may not look like it, but I do have some pull in the entertainment industry. Roman could speak to the director-"

"Absolutely not. No way no way no way!" Valentina vehemently shook her head.

"I did not tell you all this with the intention of you to do something. I was just venting since you asked. Do not under any circumstance interfere with my work. That would invalidate all the effort I put in and would validate all the rumors that I'm someone who has no talent and sells my body to get roles. If you did do something like that, I would move out immediately contract be damned!"

Kaiser watched her for a moment before sighing and pushing his hair back "Okay, but I don't like seeing you upset like this."

"I've already said I'm not upset!" Valentina protested.

"You're swinging in the dark, at night, in your pajamas. You seem pretty upset to me. Come inside before you catch a cold."

"Achoo!" before Valentina could argue that she wasn't cold, her traitorous body let out a sneeze.

Sigh-

"Let's go inside before you really get sick."

Unable to argue back, Valentina trudged unwillingly behind Kaiser as he led her to the kitchen.

"Sit" he ordered, pointing between her and a barstool.

Valentina sat and watched as he moved around the kitchen gathering ingredients for hot chocolate. She watched as he expertly heated the milk on the stove, and melted chopped chocolate bars into it, she couldn't help but comment.

"Wow, I didn't think you would know your way around the kitchen."

"I know I look like the rich handsome type who hasn't done a day of housework, but I'll have you know I'm a very good cook," Kaiser replied to her with a cheeky grin.

Seeing as he threw her own words back at her, Valentina couldn't help but laugh.

"Touché."

Think about his familiar movements in the kitchen or even at the barbeque restaurant, she couldn't help but ask "How come you know how to cook? I know for a fact that Roman can't."

Compared to Kaiser's professional efficiency at the barbeque restaurant, Roman had managed to simultaneously burn his beef and pork to charcoal while still having it come out raw. The mess he made had been so bad, that the waiters left a stack of grill pans just for him.

At her question, Kaiser's face became immensely shadowed. Seeing the discomfort on his face, Valentina immediately retracted her question.

"You don't need to answer. I was just a little curious." It seemed there was a deeper answer, and she didn't want to dig up old wounds.

"I used to be briefly in the military." A calm voice answered her, "When you're deployed or on some missions, you don't have the luxury of having maids or a chef, so I picked up a few things here and there."

"Oh."

Shocked, Valentina stared at him. Why would a child of the wealthy Grayson family ever go through hardship and join the military? She wanted to ask for the details, instead, she maintained her silence. She felt that it would be disrespectful to pry since they weren't that close.

She didn't say anything else until he brought a mug of hot chocolate over. She gratefully took the mug before noticing that he had created a foam heart in the center.

Glancing up at him, she smiled before murmuring,

"A man of many talents."

"Naturally. Like what you see?"

Seeing the cheeky smile on his face again, Valentina just rolled her eyes at him.

Seeing him hold his mug out, she bumped it with hers.

"Cheers."

"Cheers Valentina. Hope your audition goes smoothly and we can celebrate you getting the role. I hope your work gets released as well. You deserve it."

"Thank you." Valentina felt touched and almost shed a tear. Seeing Kaiser still looking a little lost in thought, she hurriedly thought of a compliment.

"I hope any business deal you're working on is successful. And you make a lot of money for me to spend wastefully." As expected, his eyes brightened up as he smirked at her.

"You haven't even spent anything yet."

"If I get the role I'm going to splurge like crazy."

"When."

Seeing her confused expression, Kaiser continued, "When you get the role."

"Okay, when I get the role, I am going to spend your money like crazy!" Valentina said. Of course, she didn't add that she would be spending it on Luca.

"Mmmm, I'm looking forward to it," Kaiser responded, his eyes finally twinkling.

Seeing the man being happy that somebody would be wasting his money, Valentina thought rich people really had different hobbies.

The two sipped their hot chocolates in amicable silence and when she was finished, Kaiser walked her back to her bedroom.

As she entered her room. A deep voice whispered, "Good night Valentina. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Realizing that she did feel better, Valentina gave him a big smile. "Good night Kaiser, thank you for the hot chocolate."

"Oh and Valentina?" He stopped her before she could enter her room. kaiser slowly reached out and held her hand before bringing it to his lips.

"Hmm?" Slightly flustered, Valentina quickly pulled it back as she answered.

"If you ever want to prove the rumors correct, I volunteer as tribute. I can guarantee that I can give you a much better deal than a simple acting role. Have you considered being a stepmom to Luca?" Kaiser had a devilish smile on his face that made her see the demon horns and wings behind him.

"Hard pass."

Without even looking at him, Valentina immediately slammed her door shut. Sure enough, it was a waste to talk to Kaiser. At every opportunity, the man propositioned her to become Luca's stepmother. Although she found herself attracted to Kaiser, she had no plans to date much less marry as of yet. When her life was a bit more stable and the contract between them was done, she would move out of his house to put some distance between them. If he still felt the same way about her, she would consider dating or anything else then.

Until then, the two of them would just have to navigate this ambiguous air between them.

Ignoring the chuckle that she could hear through the door, she went to bed.