His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 253: B*tch Fight

** Eli **

Harper looked up at him with a soft smile. It took her a few moments, however, to pick up the meaning behind those last few words.

"Wait, what do you mean an evening gown designed just for me?" she asked in slight puzzlement. "I don’t have—"

Then her eyes widened as the implication dawned on her.

That expression brought an instinctive upcurve to Eli’s lips. "Of course I’m not going to make you lose the dress up game. I have a personal tailor, who also happens to be quite a tasteful designer. I’ve seen his collection of evening dresses, and if I’d have to hazard a guess, I’d say you’ll love them."

Speaking of those extravagant formal gowns, he was already envisioning his girl dressed up in the most beautiful one imaginable. Perhaps a silky A-line with a high split to show off her slender figure? Or an off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline to bring more attention to her pretty face and hair? Actually, nah, maybe not one of those styles that expose too much for other irrelevant people to see ...

As if seeing his thoughts through his expression, Harper laughed. "Looks like I’ve really gotten you into the dress-up spirit after last weekend. A bit surprising that you didn’t think of telling me about it then ... Oh wait, maybe that’s because you were too distracted by our other, not-so-appropriate-for-the-party activity to have forgotten about it."

Eli darted her a Look, and she laughed again.

"There’s ... actually a reason why I haven’t mentioned it to you till now." Jokes aside, they had to deal with an important conversation that came with the gala. Eli took a deep breath, letting Harper out of his arms so that he could look her in the eye. "According to my father, Vanessa Jones is going to be at the event, and he’s apparently been trying to do things to fix whatever happened at the baseball game last month."

The speed at which that smile faded from Harper’s face made him wince.

"I know we should’ve talked about this sooner. I’m sorry that I keep putting it off because I’m a chicken and want to avoid it." Eli sighed. "The story is pretty cliché. Vanessa’s father is the CEO of Voyage Bank. Sterling Trust and Voyage Bank are competitors in a lot of corporate business investments, but at the same time, the two companies go way back and frequently run large joint ventures together as well. My father has been trying to get on their better side and turn this business relationship more in the direction of partnerships than rivalries, and apparently the best strategy he had come up with is to set me up with Vanessa."

He paused, knowing that Harper would have questions for him. They hadn’t taken this conversation far enough at that swimming pool in Hawaii, with their own relationship still yet to be defined at the time and the whole situation made messy by too many family drama revelations. But now that they were both in this seriously, his father’s meddling was something that she needed to be aware of.

To his relief, Harper seemed to have taken the news quite calmly. "I imagined that much," she nodded. "When we were at the baseball game, Vanessa had said that the two of you were on a date ..."

"Because my father, unsurprisingly, told her so despite me telling him very clearly that it wasn’t one." Eli ran a hand down his face, grimacing once again for his fuckup. "Which is now making her very angry, somewhat reasonably. And therefore, to avoid her making a scene at the gala, my senseless father has apparently sweet-talked the whole thing to be a misunderstanding. Honestly, at this point, I have no idea what Vanessa thinks about it anymore, and I can’t predict what she might do or say if she runs into us at the event."

Exhaling another heavy sigh, he took Harper’s hands in his. "I’m so sorry, Harper, for being such an asshole and getting us into this situation. But I’m not going to let anyone try to get back at you again because of something stupid I did. If Vanessa dares to say anything spiteful to you like last time, I’ll personally make her and her company pay."

Harper blinked. "But ... wouldn’t that put the company relationship in a bad spot? I mean, I can just avoid her—"

"You are not going to avoid anyone," Eli blurted, cutting her off. "You’re going as my official date. That is not some kind of shady identity that you’ll need to hide. Either I’m not going at all, or I’m going with you precisely to show everyone who my one and only date is, and I’m not letting anyone think that they can make me change my choice."

She blinked again. Though this time, a hint of a smile slowly returned to her face. "So you’re saying," — her eyes started gleaming as she spoke — "you’re telling me about Vanessa just so that I know the potential drama coming with this unwanted attendant? And now that I know, I can be prepared and get ready for some good bitch fighting?"

There, that was the spirit.

Eli laughed, squeezing her hand. "That’s right. And to be honest, bitch fighting sounds like some amazing skill I haven’t even seen from you before. I’ll be quite thrilled to watch it from a front audience seat. While providing plenty of support, of course."

"Well, you’re already providing plenty of support ... with that evening gown you’re promising me." The girl was fully up for the challenge now, giving him a confident wink. "If the goal is not to avoid anyone, then let’s get started with me looking so dazzling that no one could possibly avoid me. I want to arrive on your arm in a way that makes everyone ask who Eli Sterling’s date is, and I want you to introduce me proudly, so that no other woman will ever get the idea that they can snatch you away from me— arghh!"

Her confident speech was interrupted when Eli picked her up in his arms and spun her in the air. "That’s my girl," he declared with a proud grin. "Yes, let’s do precisely that."