5. Ms. Environmentalist

I'm guilty of imagining Chris Hemsworth as Arthur as I wrote this chapter. Not my fault, he just pops into my fantasies out of nowhere :P

Happy reading :):):)

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"Zendaya Evans" I stood behind Arthur as he tugged at his suit.

He has been at it for fifteen minutes, checking his perfectly made hair, checking for creases in his suit, wiggling his toes in his polished leather shoes, checking his reflection from different angles on the floor length mirror in his office "Arthur are you listening to me?"

He grunted in reply and continued finding the invisible defect in his hair.

I sighed but took it as a confirmation "She's twenty-three"

"Too young" he scrunched his nose slightly, his gaze still fixed on the mirror.

"Yeah! But perfect for your mental age" I nodded "She's five-three and a brunette"

"I like brunette" He hummed "Do you think I need a tie with this?" he tugged at the collar of his white shirt

"No that will be too formal" I replied.

He looked at me in the mirror. Our eyes met for a moment before he gave me a one over "Who asked you?" he said "With your dressing sense, I need no advice from you"

"One day Arthur Leoline, I'll kill you with my bare hands" I promised.

"You will have to touch me for that" He smirked "Keith do you think I need a tie with this outfit?" He raised his brow at Keith who was until now standing like a giant preserved mummy at one end of the room.

"No that will be too formal sir" he replied like a pre recorded tape "You look appropriate for a dinner date"

"Thank you, Keith" Arthur smiled proudly.

That's the exact effing thing I said. I grinded my jaws together audibly but didn't comment on it when I saw his smug smile.

"She is soft-spoken and kind. So please make sure you keep your vicious side to yourself" I reminded him.

"I can be the perfect gentleman when I want to" he defended himself.

"Good for you" I hummed concentrating on my pointers "She doesn't like sea food so make sure you don't order it even for yourself"

"Why?" he asked as he pumped some wood-scented perfume n himself and because I was so close to him, I think I unfortunately will smell like him for the rest of the day.

"That's the polite thing to do" I replied.

"But if I am considering settling down with her, she needs to get used to my habits too"

"I get it" I agreed "But there is a time and place for everything. You can slowly introduce her to your lifestyle. You don't have to do everything on your first date"

"Got it" he nodded "No sea food"

"She is an environmentalist" I read out from my pointer "Make sure you don't mention the Kapas project to her"

"Why?" he frowned at the mirror "It's my biggest achievement till date"

"You swiped clean the eastern forest for it" I explained "She will dump you the moment you remind her of it. If she mentions it, make sure you blame someone else for it"

"Man finding a mate is tough" he muttered under his breath.

"I can see why you failed all these years" I snorted.

"Very funny" He narrowed his eyes at me "Is there anything else or can I go now?"

"Just one more thing" I rummaged through my purse to dig out a Bluetooth "Here. Put this on" I held it out for him.

"I'm not wearing that" He refused straightaway.

"It won't be visible" I promised "and my team wouldn't interfere unless extremely necessary"

"You won't be the one handling it?" he asked.

"Nah!" I shook my head "I have hired a bunch of literature graduates. They can make even German sound romantic. We only do this for the first date. This ensures higher success rate. Trust me"

He looked unsure for a couple of moments before forwarding his palm. I dropped the Bluetooth on his open palm.

"If anything goes wrong" He pointed his index finger at me "I'll touch you" he warned.

I hissed and discretely looked at Keith who seemed unfazed by his boss' threat.

"He's my man" Arthur assured "He knows"

I narrowed my eyes at him "Just him. He handles all of your business so I had to tell him" he replied "I don't know half of the things he does to keep you in line. I'm not that invested in you"

I glared at the bull, looking at him with interest for the first time "You mean he does the breaking bones bit?" How did I not realize that Arthur would need manpower to spy on me?

He shrugged "Not like you never told anyone"

"I didn't" I deadpanned.

"Oh" He took a deep breath "Anyways" he put the Bluetooth on and checked his reflection one last time "I don't want to ruin my uplifted spirit bickering with you. I need a clear head to meet Zara"

"Zendaya" I corrected him.

"Right her" he nodded and walked towards the door with confidence.

I sighed and walked out after him. I don't think I'm as confident about this evening.

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Zendaya Evans is the kind of woman I would have taken home to my parents after one date. That is if I wasn't a straight mare. She is the kind of woman you would want to have kids with because your children will be both beautiful and good beings.

So I wasn't surprised when Arthur halted in his steps when his gaze landed on her sitting at their reserved table at Golden Spots, a restaurant owned by a Cheetah.

"He looks whipped" Mia commented from next to me.

We are at our base monitoring Arthur's date along with Samantha. She's the best we have. She's an aspiring author.

I gave a thumb up to Sam who nodded and pulled the headphone on herself, ready to begin.

"I hope we get lucky and this becomes the end deal" I replied to Mia as I watched Arthur walk up to Zendaya "But this is Arthur we are talking about. I'm sure he will find ways to ruin this"

Mia chuckled "You speak as if you have dealt with him for years"

Zendaya stood up as he came to a stop near her. I was too focused on them to reply. They greeted each other. I was surprised to see a charming smile on Arthur. The only expression I ever saw on him is a scowl. He then proceeded to surprise me even more when he took her hand in his and gently kissed her fingers.

Who is this man?

"I'm totally jealous" Mia gushed as they both took their seats "And I don't even know of whom. She's perfect. He's perfect"

I snorted "Perfect my foot"

Their date went all. Arthur was faking a gentleman with ease. Even though I couldn't hear them, I knew the date was going good. Sam didn't correct Arthur even once. She got bored after an hour of listening to them.

"Gosh" she yawned "Amy can I get some cold noodles please" she pleaded with a pout.

"Sure love. I'm hungry too" I replied looking up from my phone where I was busy texting Adam. We talk a lot. That's another thing we have in common.

Mia had already dozed off so I nudged her with my foot simultaneously placing an order for food on my phone. What can I say, I'm good at multitasking.

"Get that awful thing away from me" Mia huffed as she pushed my leg away "A horse's leg is heavy"

"Hww! Did you just call me fat?"

She rolled her eyes "What's up?" she asked nudging at the screen where Arthur was still displaying his ugly fake smile. I bet his jaws are going to hurt like a whip tonight.

"Nothing much" Sam replied with another yawn "They are talking technical"

The food arrived.

Mine was pizza while they both had soupy noodles so I took over Sam's duty for fifteen minutes.

"That's wonderful" I heard Arthur say as put the headphone on.

"Yes" Zendaya said elegantly "It's a nationwide initiative that we are taking up. It's a lot of work but anything for the spirits of nature right?"

"Of course" Arthur replied.

Spirits! Even his voice sounds different, laced with honey and everything dreamy.

"And then we united the local tribe and put a petition to the Supreme Court. It was a huge deal. One of our people got shot can you imagine?"

"That's horrible" he agreed.

"Exactly. How are these people so cruel? Plants have souls too you know....."

I felt a tap on my shoulder and realized I was drooling over Zendaya's kindness. Sam was done eating so I gave her seat back to her.

"I think Arthur hit a jackpot" I told Mia as I took my original spot again.

"What are they talking about?" Mia asked, slurping on the noodles.

"Something about saving trees" I replied "She's a big environmentalist. She runs an NGO that works for the betterment of the lives of tribes that live in deep forests. She teaches people to live in harmony with nature"

"Sounds noble" Mia muttered

"Exactly" I nodded excitedly "And she's a predator. Can you believe that?"

"They are leaving" Sam whispered with a hand covering her microphone.

We immediately stood up and moved towards the screen. Arthur was leading Zendya away with a hand carefully placed on the small of her back.

Pervert.

We couldn't see them anymore because we only had a camera on the table. It was a pact we had with Golden Spots. They gain customers from us.

"He turned his Bluetooth off" Sam said pulling the headphone away.

"What? Why would he do that?" I frowned.

Mia cleared her throat "He probably doesn't want an audience for what he wants to do next" she wiggled her brows suggestively.

"Ewww" I scrunched my nose "I don't want to imagine that"

She grinned "Doesn't matter, I think that was a success"

Sam hummed in agreement.

"Should I call him and ask?" I suggested.

"Spirits!" Mia sighed "You are such a virgin" she shook her head hopelessly "Don't do it. Arthur Leoline won't pay us a penny if you disturb him now"

"Oh!" I'm such a fool.

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'To my office. First thing in the morning'

This was the text I woke up to the next day. It was sent at around midnight. So I guess things went well. He probably wants to thank me in person.

Keith opened the door for me as usual. I wonder how I didn't realize that he knew about us the first time I visited Arthur. I could have glared at him like I am glaring at him right now. I remember smiling at him when I first met him. The bull doesn't deserve my smile. He gave me an uneasy nod before closing the door after him.

I took a deep breath before turning towards Arthur "So, how was it?" I asked with a smug grin. I know he was blown away by her.

"Why don't you mate her with a tree" He replied.....coldly? Strange.

"What?"

"That b!tch was batsh!t crazy" He spat out as if he had been holding his anger back for quite some time.

"You didn't like her?" My eyes widened in surprise.

"Did I look like I was enjoying it?" He questioned taking a step towards me.

"Yes" I nodded honestly.

"You fool" He breathed out hopelessly like Mia had done last night "What did I ever do to end up with you?"

"Stop insulting me" I glared at him "and explain it in a way I can understand. I thought you liked her. She is beautiful, intelligent and kind. What more do you want? You even took her home last night"

He rubbed his temple in frustration "She was horrible" he declared "She kept on yapping and yapping about trees like she's possessed by its soul. I almost threw up at the sight of salad this morning because I felt like I was eating her soulmate"

"That's because she has a kind soul" I can't believe he doesn't like nice women.

"I knew you are incompetent" he blamed it all on me.

"It's not my fault that you are heartless" I blamed back "You looked perfectly happy yesterday"

"That's because I'm too much of a gentleman to walk away in the middle of a dinner"

"I can see how much of a gentle man you are" I pointed at us.

"You don't count" he dismissed.

"You have no idea how much I dislike you" I told him.

"Good" he nodded "You can leave now"

"That's it? Why did you call me here? To yell at me?" I asked

"Why else?" He raised a brow.

"You are such a brat" I told him in disgust "You don't deserve Zendaya or any other woman out there"

"The spirits sure think I deserve you" He replied calmly "You must be as undeserving as me"

I stood there glaring at him, he glared back. We had quite a contest there before I decided he wasn't worth my time.

I looked away first "I need some time away from you to stop feeling suicidal"

"The feeling is mutual"

"Good" I nodded "The next one is Yulia. I'll send you her details"

"She better be good. I can excuse you once. If you do this again I'll have to do well of my promise" he reminded me.

I showed him my middle-finger before walking out of there. I heard him say something in the line of 'no thank you'

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