"I am here to make things easier for you," He added and beat his chest confidently.
"My modelling skills are legendary and my acting is not lacking. I will help in coordinating our group members who will be participating in modelling and I will take part in the play too," Raymond assured her.
He was so focused on his conversation and didn't notice the way his manager gazed at him through the rear mirror.
[He sure makes a lot of promises especially when he knows that he barely has time for himself. And how come I have never seen him smile so brightly before?]
His manager who was in deep thought kept his eyes fixed on the guy whose loving eyes didn't move from Joanna's face for even a second.
"You are the best Raymond. I have always known that I can count on you," Joanna's eyes lit up and her smile spread across her face.
"I am glad I was able to put a smile on your face," Raymond said while smiling back at her.
Joanna allowed the air of excitement to die off before she talked again.
"Raymond, can you do me a favour?" Joanna asked in a calm tone. The seriousness on her face and voice made him stop to smile.
"Of course as long as it is for you," Raymond gave her his words without listening to what she had to say first.
"Don't tell our group members that the ideas were from me," Joanna blurted while looking into his eyes.
"What!" Raymond half-yelled. His eyes dilated and his eyelashes fluttered repeatedly.
"You are joking right?" Raymond asked and adjusted the way he sat on the seat.
"No," Joanna shook her head in negation.
"Everyone wants to be recognised for their works and ideas. They get mad if their ideas or works are stolen...," Raymond paused to catch his breath.
"So how come you are different?" Raymond asked as he stared into her purple orbs.
"Because I want nothing more than for everything to go smoothly. We don't have the time to waste trying to change their opinions or make them accept my ideas...,"
"But...,"
"As long as everything goes smoothly I will be fine," Joanna forced on a smile.
Although she sounded cool and looked as if she was fine just like she said, Raymond could still see some traces of sadness in her eyes.
Anyways, who in her shoes wouldn't be hurt knowing that she was hated for no reason?
"I really want our group to do well in the upcoming festival. I have never wanted to do so well as much as I do right now and I wish nothing will stand as a stumbling block to getting what I want," Joanna added.
She didn't avoid Raymond's eyes for a second as she talked.
"I know that all of them respect you. They will never go against you so please do me this favour hmm?" Joanna cooed.
"Miss Butterfly...,"
"Please... huh," Joanna mumbled when she realised that Raymond was yet to be convinced.
"This is the first favour your good friend is asking you after our reunion, don't tell me you are gonna be heartless enough to refuse her, hmm?" Joanna pouted her lips.
Joanna, who knew the strength of her charms, decided to put it to good use.
Just like she expected her charms worked wonders because not up to a minute later Raymond gave in.
"Ok, but on one condition," Raymond replied after a few seconds of silence.
"What is that?" Joanna asked.
"That you won't take the backstage even though they end up not able to hide their dislike towards you anymore," Raymond laid down his condition.
His condition might have sounded easy to others but he knew that wasn't the case for Joanna.
He knew this wouldn't be an easy task and that was why he laid down such a condition.
[I might not have been able to protect you from them in the past but now that I am back I will do everything to make sure that they accept you. It's a promise, Miss Butterfly]
Raymond stared at the lady who seemed to have a hard time agreeing to his terms.
"You can forget about the favour you asked me if you are planning to leave all the workload to a busy person like me...,"
"I will do it," Joanna finally said the words he wanted to hear.
"You made the right decision," Raymond muttered. He tried his best not to show how happy he was that she agreed to his terms.
The truth was that he would have still done her the favour she asked even though she didn't agree with what he wanted.
Too bad Joanna wasn't aware of this.
"Let's have fun working together in the upcoming days, Miss Joanna," Raymond teased and extended his hand for a handshake.
Joanna never planned to spend more than three hours with Raymond but she ended up spending the entire day with him.
She was so preoccupied throughout the day and forgot about the promise she made to Anthony.
At exactly 9:30 pm, a black van pulled over in front of a tall apartment building.
Soon a lady in a matching denim outfit stepped out of the car along with a guy wearing a flashy white jacket.
"I am sorry I stole all of your time. I promise I will make it up to you...,"
"Although I had no plans of following you about the entire day, I had tons of fun doing that," Joanna cut in meekly.
"I was able to forget all my problems even for a few hours and this was all thanks to you so there is no need to apologise. Instead, I should be thanking you," She added and beamed at him.
"My day wasn't boring as it usually is and this was thanks to you. I equally had so much fun," Raymond smiled back at her.
"Despite that, I have quite several commercials to shoot and even a signing event tomorrow. I will spare time for our meeting tomorrow," Raymond said. He moved away from the car and walked closer to where she stood.
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