RISE OF EROS

Although Candice had noticed Andrew's furrowed brow, she said nothing, siply smiled and after a few seconds she said, "Mr. Andrew, long time no see, please have a seat."

Andrew changed his expression and sat down in agreement with Candice's invitation. Oliver stood behind him noiselessly and Gaston did the same. "Mr. Andrew, you know I like to cut to the chase, so tell me, what business brings you here?" asked Candice quickly.

Andrew was still curious about the number of security guards in the store and the absence of the butler, but seeing that Candice wanted to get down to business right away, he forced himself to forget those issues and focused on the conversation.

"Well, I'll be honest, I need money," Andrew said seriously without a trace of embarrassment. This attitude surprised Candice and Gaston, so Candice immediately asked, "What does that have to do with me?".

Although it looked like Candice was upset, it really wasn't the case. She was curious and Andrew could tell. "Well, I'd like you to help me a little with that," he said without even the slightest hint of embarrassment.

"You know, just because you're a friend doesn't mean you can come asking for money whenever you want," Candice said inquisitively and Andrew couldn't help but chuckle under his breath as he listened to Candice.

"Of course, I know that Ms. Candice," Andrew said as he finished laughing and then added, "Obviously I don't intend to borrow the money without offering anything in return, if I did it wouldn't be called business."

Candice raised her eyebrow curious at Andrew's words, but said nothing, just motioned for him to continue. "I had promised to give you priority purchase of my designs six months from now remember?", said Andrew pretending to be interesting, to which Candice responded by nodding her head in agreement.

"Well, I have a proposal," Andrew said and added, "I have a design right now that I can give you in advance, to give you an idea of what I will offer. What I want is for you to pay me in advance for the designs and I promise to give you the one that's already done and a collection in 3 months."

Andrew stopped talking at that point and allowed Candice to think about the proposal. Candice was hesitant. It certainly wasn't a bad deal, as for some reason she knew Andrew wouldn't trick her, but that wasn't what she was thinking.

What she was evaluating was the reason Andrew needed money so badly. Information is power and while she had no ill intentions towards Andrew and his Heavenly Palace, she did want to know what business he was in.

"I don't think it's a bad proposition, but I'd like to know, why do you need money so urgently?" she asked even though she knew she was going overboard with her question.

Andrew contemplated for a few seconds whether he should tell her or not and after a few moments he said, "I don't mind telling you, if you clear up a doubt I have."

Candice was taken by surprise at Andrew's counteroffer, but quickly pulled herself together and assisted by showing him that she agreed. "I would also like to know if anything happened. Your security is pretty extensive, to say the least. Any enemies?".

Hearing Andrew's question, Gaston began to sweat a little, as he didn't want Candice to reveal that her most powerful warriors were absent, but he was underestimating Candice, as she was not a novice who would tell her secrets so easily.

She considered Andrew an ally and trusted him, however, she would not expose her weaknesses to him, so easily, so she replied, "Yes, some pesky characters wanted to take advantage of us during the chaos of the monster stampede."

It was obviously a lie and both Andrew and Oliver knew it because Candice's aura fluctuated as she spoke, indicating that she was lying. Andrew had grown accustomed to using his Eros eyes quite often.

He could not keep them Active all the time, as his divinity was not yet that strong, but he did every time he had an important conversation and this meeting with Candice qualified as such.

Seeing that Candice wasn't honest, he wouldn't be either. It wasn't that he stopped trusting her because he saw that her lie was not meant to be malicious. He understood that Candice just didn't want to tell the reason.

As a business person, Andrew understood that he couldn't be trusted blindly, so he didn't bother and said, "I see. Well, the reason I need money is because business in the red light district has suffered, and since I just renovated the place I'm short of money."

What Andrew said wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the reason why he needed money and even though Candice didn't have special eyes like Andrew and Oliver, she had experience and also caught Andrew's lie.

Seeing through Andrew's lie, Candice also knew, that he had noticed her lie and she didn't blame him either, as she understood the reasons. You couldn't be honest with someone who wasn't honest with you that was her thinking process.

Not wanting to be caught in a back-and-forth of lies Candice, decided to change the subject, "So, how much money do you need?". Andrew contemplated for a moment and said, "20,000 small gold coins."

Hearing the amount, Candice narrowed her eyes because it was no small amount. "It's quite a bit more than the previous transaction," she said confirming that Andrew had lied to her, as it was a large amount just to keep up the expenses for the bad red light district deal.

"Well, it's because the designs I have in mind are better than the previous ones, plus the amount will double," Andrew said not caring that Candice was suspicious of him.

At that moment the office fell into a stony silence. Andrew wasn't going to say anything else and Candice still wanted to know what Andrew would use the money for, but knowing she wouldn't hear it from his mouth, she sighed and agreed saying, "Okay, but first I want to see the design you brought".

Andrew didn't keep her waiting and pulled the dress he had prepared out of his dimensional bag. It was a simple one-piece outfit, but one that on the right woman can be very attractive.

It is a dress for women with defined, but not exaggerated curves and who have a slim build. It's also quite short, barely reaching mid-thigh, so while it's not a dress a woman would wear to a fancy party, wearing it on a date will definitely keep her partner excited the whole time. powered by mpyr

Candice evaluated the dress for a while and although she didn't want to show it off, her eyes were shining like stars as she knew it was a perfect dress to wear on casual outings, but also very provocative despite its simplicity and she knew it would be very popular.

Pleased with the dress, Candice smiled and said, "I really like it. Will the next collection be all about casual dresses? Andrew hadn't really thought about it, but quickly replied, "Yes, but there will also be some lingerie designs like last time."

Andrew didn't want to miss the opportunity to promote lingerie, as he knew it would be big business down the road. Candice hearing him smiled as if she expected that answer.

She then turned to look at Gaston and said, "Bring the money." Gaston bowed slightly and walked away. While waiting for Gaston, Candice, and Andrew talked about casual topics, more exactly the monster's stampede.

After a few minutes, Gaston returned with the money, but before handing it over, he pulled out a contract stating the agreed-upon terms. Gaston took advantage of his departure to get the money, to prepare it and after they checked that there was nothing strange, Candice and Andrew signed it.

Andrew did not want to delay any longer, because they had a dangerous enemy lying in wait, and without Oliver in the Heavenly Palace, Andrew did not feel at ease, so he wanted to return quickly.

Gaston dismissed them at the door and then they began their return to the Heavenly Palace. Unexpectedly, as they were walking back, they saw Duval, son of Baron Castal get out of a luxurious carriage accompanied by a beautiful lady.

Andrew did not approach to greet him, as technically they did not know each other and Duval did not seem to notice him. Andrew upon seeing him accompanied by a lady understood that he was on a date or something similar, as the girl looked his age and did not seem to be a familiar, as no resemblance could be seen between them.

This caught Andrew's attention because with Alfi, son of Johan the same thing had happened. Somehow, after their visit to the Heavenly Palace, they suddenly got a girl and he couldn't help but ask Fluffy, "Does everyone who visits the Heavenly Palace get a girl?"

Fluffy knew his master was joking with him, but he still replied, "It's all coincidence master, you don't have that power. That realm rests with the gods of love and affection."

Andrew laughed at Fluffy's response, although he was just teasing with that question, the reality was that a small part of him thought that perhaps he had had an influence because two coincidences in a row were strange.

After the brief monologue, he hurried along with Oliver towards the Heavenly Palace. Fortunately, nothing had happened in his absence and everything went smoothly until the evening when after a regular night of business, they closed early again.

Andrew was a little discouraged by this, as he was losing money, but above all, he was worried that the opening of the dance room would be affected, after all, it was just about 4 days before its debut.

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