Alice was always in great shape, and with my muscles, lifting her was a breeze. I could just grab her thigh with one hand and put the other on my waist, looking all strong and confident.
With another click of the camera, our second set of photos was done. The director couldn't stop raving about them. He even joked about printing them out and displaying them in the studio.
Alice laughed, "You better not. This is a joint shoot with another company. You better not display the photos. If my husband sees them, this studio might be in trouble."
She glanced around the studio as she said that.
The director quickly backpedaled, waving his hands. "No, no, I was just kidding. Please don't tell your husband."
"I won't," Alice nodded, then added, "I'm going to change and get ready to leave."
"Alright, take care," the director said, seeing her off politely.
Since Sophia's distant relative was arriving, I followed Alice to her dressing room to change.
As soon as I changed and came out, I overheard Alice talking to her assistant. She noticed me but didn't stop their conversation.
"Alice, your husband is waiting downstairs. He's booked a fancy restaurant," her assistant reminded her.
"I know. I'll just take off my earrings and go," Alice said, tilting her head to remove them.
Since she was already taken, I couldn't just break them up, so I headed to the elevator lobby to wait.
As the elevator arrived, so did Alice, and we stepped in together.
"Fancy seeing you here again," Alice said, breaking the silence.
"Small studio, hard not to bump into each other," I replied, one hand in my pocket and the other on my jacket.
"Judging by your age, you must be single, right?" she asked.
I didn't answer right away; I just watched her reflection in the elevator door. Her question seemed loaded.
"Are you hoping I am or hoping I'm not?" I dodged her question with one of my own.
"If I said no, what would you do? You make me sound like a wicked woman," she said slowly.
"If I asked you the same question, how would you answer?" I threw her question back at her.
Alice looked a bit stunned but quickly recovered. "You must've overheard me talking to my assistant. I'm married."
"I have a girlfriend too," I said casually.
"Really?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yes, but she's out of town right now," I replied calmly.
"Your girlfriend must be beautiful, right?" she asked.
Catherine was definitely beautiful. Alice was the sister of a major investor, and Catherine was the daughter of a billionaire. They were about the same age and moved in the same circles, so they probably knew each other.
"Yeah, her name's Catherine Price, Andrew Price's daughter. Do you know her?" I said directly.
"Catherine?" Alice's voice had a hint of surprise. "She's my good friend! We grew up together!"
"Really?" I was genuinely taken aback.
"That's quite the coincidence. But how did you meet her? You actually managed to win over someone as cold as her!" Alice asked, clearly curious.
The idea of Catherine being described as "cold" surprised me. To me, she was always the girl who blushed at my slightest flirtation.
"That's our little secret, I can't spill the beans," I said with a mysterious smile.
Not everyone needed to know about the things that made Catherine blush every day.
"Okay. Since we have a mutual friend, we can consider ourselves friends too! Let's shake on it!"
Alice extended her hand to me.
I stared at her soft hand for a moment before shaking it.
I was initially bummed because Alice had a husband. After all, if I couldn't get close to her, my plans to change my fate would be much harder.
But I never expected Alice and Catherine to be childhood friends! And Alice became friends with me because of my relationship with Catherine.
It seemed like my goal had been achieved in a different way, which was also a win for me.
"Alright, good friends," I said.
"Don't get too excited, I'll be keeping an eye on you for Catherine." Alice held up two fingers, pointing to her eyes and then to me.
Alice seemed like a good girl, helping Catherine keep tabs on me. But it seemed she had forgotten everything we did at the gym.
Had a phone call not interrupted the tension between us, we might have already crossed the line and had sex.
"Don't worry, I'll behave until Catherine comes back," I kind of promised.
At this point, the elevator reached the ground floor. Alice and I walked out of the studio building while chatting, with me mostly listening to Alice share funny stories about Catherine's childhood.
Her husband was already waiting for her outside next to his car.
When he saw her coming out with me, the smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a cold expression, and his eyes carried a hint of hostility, making me feel a bit uneasy.
Even Alice sensed her husband's change. She walked up to him, hugged his neck, and gave him a gentle kiss.
She reassured him, "Don't be mad. He's Catherine's boyfriend. We just happened to collaborate and come down together. And I was just talking about funny things Catherine did when she was young."
His expression softened a lot at this point. He hugged Alice and then extended a hand towards me, "Hello. I'm Raymond Edwards, Alice's husband."
"Hello, I'm David Jones. Catherine's boyfriend," I said calmly.
"We three grew up together, so don't mess with Catherine behind our backs, or we'll come after you," Alice warned playfully.
I nodded, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."
"By the way, we're going to dinner. Want to join us?" Alice invited me. "It's a good chance for us to get to know each other better."