Her Corporate Takedown: Entangled with a Billionaire

*CHAPTER 104: A SPY'S PROWESS*

On the second night, the plan was for the husband and wife to switch instruments. This time, the husband would be playing the violin concerto while his wife played the accompaniment. Ari and Andrei followed the program exactly as outlined and kicked off the night with captivating and passionate performances.

"Was there a reason that they performed in their place? Do they normally go that far when they take someone's place, or do they just want to show off?"

"If they just wanted to show off, then just playing for one night would be enough. I heard that after Paladin threatened the couple, they hadn't been playing well during practice. For months, they were looking forward to this chance of a lifetime that their performance would bring, but now, they were facing imminent danger. The wife had become tremendously anxious since then and could not perform to the best of her abilities. Seeing his wife like that also threw the husband off his game. Ari agreed to perform in her place and leave the scouts so impressed that the wife would receive a ton of offers so that she can go back to her life easily."

"That is so sad," I replied with a sigh.

"What did we just say about becoming emotionally attached?"

I should have kept the thought to myself. I didn't think Ari was the type to go that far. I suppose she was more upstanding than I gave her credit for. Then again, I had been the only one who received her hostility as someone who was in her way of marrying Andrei. That was also for the sake of the Japanese family branch, so in a way, it does show how much loyalty she has towards them.

After the performance, we walked to the adjoining hall to enjoy a few cocktails and investigate the maestros who had arrived today to see if we could pinpoint the fake one. That was going to prove harder than we thought as everyone gathered after the concert to meet the famous maestros. The large crowd became astir when the maestros entered the hall and they were instantly pulled in by shaking hands and shouting voices.

We looked to see if any of them looked slightly unnatural in their interactions, but nothing looked unusual to my untrained eye. The crowd soon welcomed and parted the way for the couple in the limelight to greet the maestros. It took me some time to realize that the couple who appeared this time were no longer Andrei and Ari in disguise. The difference, and the only reason I deduced that, was not in their appearances, but rather in their forlorn expressions. The poor couple had been having a tough time thanks to Paladin, but we needed Paladin to think they still had control over the couple's lives when they saw their dejected faces. So, what were Ari and Andrei doing instead?

Shortly after the meet and greet began, dozens of chaperones in black suits appeared to control the gathering and wall everyone off to the sides of the room. With the center of the ballroom cleared, the lights dimmed and two people walked towards each other in the center of the room.

"What are those guys doing?" I asked ambiguously when Kiran finally popped up beside me.

He first glanced at me, then looked back towards the center of the room and smiled. I then took a good look at the pair who they announced were performing an exhibition dance.

It couldn't be…them again?

"I thought this was arranged by the hotel."

"It was."

"What are they doing, then?"

"Working, apparently. Though a certain person is probably taking advantage of that job to make some memories with your man."

I knew it.

I knew nothing of ballroom dancing, but the two faux professionals overflowed with grace as they walked towards the center of the room. Her flaring ankle-length dress bounced around with each step, until she took her position in front of him. Andrei, who wore a standard black and white tuxedo, led Ari by the hand in her shimmering, bright violet dress with golden lacing.

All eyes were on the sensational duo in the center of the room. The man drew his partner closer with his right hand supporting her, and he brushed his hand against her bare skin as she arched backwards. She slowly turned her head to the side and her eyes drifted sharply to where I stood. As they stood still in a perfectly unshaken poise, her chest braced against his, she flashed a possessive smile when we made eye contact - only to make me feel jealous.

I couldn't help but think that as my mind flashed back to the time when Andrei and I danced (poorly) at the wedding we crashed. Since we got here, she hasn’t wasted an opportunity to demonstrate her superior prowess, a fact I have never forgotten since the day we met.

When the music began to play, the two of them elegantly glided across the room. The gallery watched their passionate dance in awe and several knowledgeable enthusiasts commented on their mesmerizing hold and step sequence. No one could take their eyes off their contemporary ballroom exhibition dance, which I later learned was based on the Foxtrot. Everyone traditionally kept their eyes on Andrei as the leader of the dance, but my eyes were drawn to Ari, who seemed to be transmitting some kind of inuendo only to me.

The flaring hem of her dress possessively twirled around him as she spun around the room in his arms as if to ward off any intruders into their private bubble. While I wasn't jealous watching the two glued to each other as they danced, I felt jealous about their unshakeable trust in each other, as well as their skills and experiences they cultivated together over the years that I wasn't in his life.

I admired their breathtaking dance with mixed feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and jealousy all twirling around inside. After five minutes, the dance came to an abrupt and flashy end as expected of a routine choreographed by Andrei. Ari spun out from Andrei's hold to greet the guests, who offered a surging wave of applause for their spectacular dancing. Andrei also bowed gracefully in return.

Given the lack of attention following their performance, it seemed that they were not impersonating any famous dancers this time and were using normal disguises. They seamlessly blended in with the crowd who gradually filled the center of the room as another song began to play. I watched them like a hawk, as they each went their separate ways, offering to dance with the guests as they picked up other dance partners.

Was that how they were planning to get close to the maestros? I noticed Ari veered closer to the circle of European gentlemen that were gathered in the left corner of the room and became engrossed in greeting the Japanese musicians after the exhibition dance.

Ari and Andrei made use of their positions as entertainers and temporarily broke up the gathering as they encouraged them to dance. Ari tiptoed in a dance around the maestros as she tried to get one of them dance with her, while Andrei invited Yukina, the original female violinist, to dance with him.

The floor was filled with people who began to pair up and dance to the next song that began to play. A crowd soon formed near the pair who danced the exhibition dance, as they all lined up for 'lessons'. Andrei and Ari patiently fulfilled their roles as they danced with the guests. Andrei, especially, had his hands full with the large number of people who wanted to dance with him.

A hand tapped my shoulder and I looked to see Kiran asking me to dance to get my mind off the irritation that started to form knots in my chest. I took his hand and took small steps to hide my clumsy dancing. Kiran noticed, but didn't force the issue. He simply laughed and continued to lead me in small steps. However, he got swept up in the crowd's trend when they all switched partners at the start of the next song, and he let me go as we spun away from each other.

I spun into the arms of another man, this time, a complete stranger. He seemed confident in his dancing and I could barely keep up with him, but he spared me the humiliation of failing to dance similarly to Andrei and Ari's exaggerated dance.

"This is fun, isn't it?" he said during a turn.

"Yes, it is." I didn't like to dance, but for the most part, it was fun.

"A confident dancer is always beautiful, regardless of their skill level," he replied.

Easy for him to say. When I looked up at his face, I recognized him from the orchestra that had just performed. If I wasn't mistaken, he was the concertmaster of the orchestra. Sadly, he didn't have a chance to make a grave impression thanks to the duo who stole the show. He was also Japanese, and possibly close with the star couple who were supposed to have performed tonight. However, he was probably not aware of their circumstances and I refrained from trying to find out if he knew anything.

"The name is Akira. Nice to meet you…and goodbye."

Without being able to reply, I was released from his hold and collided with another person as the next song started. This time I looked straight up into the face of the guy I ran away from three nights ago after getting him drunk and leaving him naked in the room of a complete stranger. It took me a few seconds to hide the guilt on my face as he slowly took me into his hold.

"I haven't forgotten that night," he said with a sweet smile.

Did he not realize that I wasn't the one he slept with that night? I didn't refute his statement, though. Across the hall, I saw Ari and Andrei dancing with the maestros and other related parties. I couldn't hope to guess what their plan was and I was certain I wouldn't be told anything about it. Instead, I just needed to focus on what I could do on my own.

He brought me up into a rise and held our position for a couple of seconds. Before my legs gave way, he said with a smile, "I've been doing this job for decades now. From my experience, I've found that the only people who want to divert your attention from a spy are spies themselves. Am I right, madam?"

At the end of his statement, he loosened his support, and my knees buckled from the strain of standing in that position on my toes for too long. He caught me before I completely fell to the ground and I was afraid I was going to be captured for questioning. With his face close to mine, his eyes peered into my soul as he helped me to stand, but all I thought about was waiting for the perfect chance to get away from him.

"So…what do you want to know?"