This Crazy Rich Boy

Claire had intended to be at the restaurant at least 10 minutes before the agreed time, yet Jake's already there, sitting patiently like a tame puppy, waiting for her.

The restaurant is called Fastidio's, and of course, Claire had never heard of it before—how would she? She's never eaten at any of these expensive steakhouses in the city. Yet, she's ready, too—if the dinner turns sour, she could pay her share and leave, so Jake Magno wouldn't have any reason to bad mouth her at the office about being such a bitch. Paying for her share of the dinner, as the Dutch do, would take a bit out of Jake's sense of machismo and might somehow put him in his place.

"You're ravishing," Jake says as he stands up and pulls out a seat for her, like a true gentleman.

Claire smiles at the compliment. She knows the like of Jake too well. Somehow, the phrase "Jake the Snake" keepings flashing in her mind, not only because it rhymes, but also because it's uncannily appropriate.

"Have you dined at this place before?" Jake says, looking dapper in his black suite. To be fair, the guy looks good.

"Not really," she says. "I've never gravitated towards anything swanky such as this. I'd usually stuff my face with cheap unhealthy food."

Jake laughs. "I like your sense of humor. Which means you don't take yourself too seriously. I like that in a woman."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I've dated a few girls and it's mostly a huge turn-off for me when the girl is only too aware of how gorgeous she is, so she acts all fake and pretentious. So unlike you. You're pretty, but you talk and act like you don't know you're pretty."

Oh, my God, he has started to turn on the legendary Jake Magno charm, Claire thinks.

"So what would you like, for starters?" Jake asks as the waiter appears.

"Just the salad."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Claire says, looking around. The restaurant is just right—not too many people, but enough to create a lively ambiance. If she were honest, she'd like a slab of that meat, though. But she's wary about what Jake might think—after all, she's here on a mission.

"You should really try the New York Strip," Jake says. "It's heaven on the tongue."

"I'm sure it's heavenly, but I'm not really too keen on having some heavy dinner tonight, Jake," she says. "I have an early meeting tomorrow."

"Okay," Jake mutters, then to the waiter. "A New York Strip for me and a glass of your house red. And a salad for the lady. Maybe pair it with a glass of Riesling, please."

Suave, Claire thinks. She doesn't even know what a Riesling is, but it sounds just right for the salad.

"So," Jake says. "What's a beautiful blonde bombshell doing in the office of TXCI Industries, working for the most evil boss in the world?"

"For money, like everyone else," Claire says without batting an eye. "And he's not totally evil, you know."

Jake's eyes go round. "Really? You'd say that about him despite the little tantrum he threw this afternoon?"

She shrugs. "Was having a bad day, and I guess it's a secretary's lot to at least bear the brunt of it."

"That's not fair, if you'd ask me."

No one's asking you, she thinks. "To be fair, I think sometimes Gabriel only needs to diffuse his anger. He has too much on his head."

"Yeah," Jake agrees. "And on his heart, too. I'm sure you already know about the fiancée who cheated on him."

Claire feigns ignorance. "What do you mean?"

Jake makes a face. "I'm surprised you don't know. Does the name Michelle Alcantara ring a bell?"

Claire's brow knits in confusion. Or so what she hopes he'd think. "I'm not really into reading the society pages on the newspaper."

Jake makes a big production of showing his frustration. "Michelle is, for want of a better word, an idiot. Imagine doing something like that to someone like Gabriel? You've gotta be totally demented to sleep around when you're supposed to marry one of the world's most eligible bachelors."

"Oh."

"But on the bright side," Jake says, "Gabriel has a new fiancée."

This piques Claire's interest. "Really?"

"Yeah. I hear she's quite a stunner, too."

"I'm sure no one can hold a light to Michelle Alcantara's beauty."

"Maybe," he says. "But I hear Michelle's a tacky little blow-hard next to this new fiancée. And it's crazy because it has only been a couple of weeks, and already he has a new fiancée. Doesn't that sound too fishy, too contrived for you?"

She shrugs. "Maybe. Or maybe because there are so many women waiting for Gabriel's attention that all he needs to do is snap a finger."

Jake stares at her, his eyes running down to her cleavage, which at the moment shows milky white and promising. Jake wets his lips unconsciously, seemingly unaware that she's seeing it all, this lecherous behavior. "Oh, to be like Gabriel Tan and have a multitude of options," he says. "What I would give to be like him."

"Come on," she says. "To each his own. You have your own charms. I hear you've had quite a string of conquests yourself."

Jake's eyes go wide at that. "How do you mean? Who said that?"

"A little birdie told me."

"Come on, who said that?" Jake's half-smile belies his sudden paranoia. Who could be the office tattle-tale who threw dirt on him? "Was it Agnes of HR? Or Mrs. Gomez the receptionist? Or…"

"It was no one," she says. "I passed by the water cooler and overheard your name mentioned in a context that—let's just say—may be a bit too revealing about your sėxuȧŀ behavior."

"It's all bullshit," Jake says. "You know how it is in these places. You go on a date once with somebody, and that gets incredibly skewed. They begin painting you as this sėx-obsessed gigolo who's out for any pussƴ out there, pardon my language."

Claire laughs. "You're right."

The food arrives and fills the air with savory fragrance. Upon seeing the steak on Jake's plate, juxtaposed with the salad for her, Claire secretly regrets her choice. Her first chance to eat at a good steakhouse, and this is what she gets.

Jake animatedly talks as he deftly cuts his steak into manageable bite-sized morsels. "You can still order steak if you want."

Claire stops and thinks about it. "Nah, I'll stick with the salad."

Jake couldn't stop telling his stories. Apparently, he's been with the company for five years now, and in the past three or so years have been the top sales manager.

"What about you?" Jake asks at length. "How long have you been working? What else have you seen? Any dirty secret?" He snickers.

"I have nothing much to tell," she says. For a second, Claire thinks about what to divulge to Jake; she decides to keep it simple and dismissive. "First job. The offered pay was stellar. I was warned about the boss, but I looked at the pay and said, let's do this. So here I am."

"Any boyfriend waiting for you at home?"

"Would I be here with you if I have one?"

Jake's eyes lit up. "Unbelievable. Somebody as attractive as you, and nobody has captured you yet?"

"Maybe the world is looking for somebody else." She smiles.

"I say bullshit to that. I think you have such a high standard. Or maybe somebody broke your heart years ago, and even now no one could match how that guy made you feel."

"Or maybe," Jake says, intrigued by her silence. "You actually like other girls. Are you a lesbian?"

She has to laugh at that. "Hell, no!"

"Well, I'm running out of speculations."

"And I'm running out of bladder space," she says, standing up. "Excuse me, but I'll have to go to the ladies' room."

After she left, Jake looks at her glass of wine. He looks around, and when he's certain that the coast is clear, he takes out a small glass vial filled with white powder. He uncaps it, and deftly pours all its contents into Claire's glass. The powder fizzles out and is completely undetectable in just a few seconds.

Jake breathes a sigh of relief. What he feels now is a heady mixture of anticipation and excitement. Their table is right next to the exit door; he could do what he has planned without causing much commotion.

Jake slices another morsel of meat and leisurely chews it; he feels all the juices and blood oozing in his mouth, indulging in the taste and texture of it. Fastidio's is such an expensive steak place, but if all goes as he has planned, then the investment is all worth it. Tonight, Bella Xavier will be squirming in his bed.