Ballroom Waltz, Initiation.

Act 2, A variable that no one expected

The day of the event. Alex was always thorough when he was inspecting the mission details, hence he decided to run a check one last time. Everything seemed to be perfect, so he felt relieved.

7 hours to go. Alex was called by Clara in her office. He didn't want to go, but being annoyed wasn't an appropriate reason to turn her down.

"What do you think about the support that I recommended?"

She had previously spoken to Hank, about what he thought of Alex. He was a pretty chill guy if you get to know him, so he didn't hesitate to praise Alex in front of his daughter-in-law. This further cemented her ambitions to add him to the family.

"It was a good decision. I am grateful for the support given by your side."

Monotone. He didn't want to seem like a bootlicker.

"Are you positive about completing this mission?"

"If everything goes as planned, the target will be here within 8 hours."

Alex responded. Something really needed to go wrong for things to not go in their way.

"Excellent. I will look forward to the good news. You can leave now, Miss Nadia has arrived."

Alex nodded and left. He was not looking forward to meeting this Miss Nadia. She was from the entertainment industry and she was a kid. This was the worst combination. She could be a real pain, but he had to act like a kid in front of her which was the really annoying part.

Well, anything for the mission. After failing last time, he wasn't going to make another blunder.

"So you are the noble from Europe?"

Nadia was looking at Alex with a smile on her face. The suit really made him stand out, and considering that his age was ten, he looked like the perfect younger brother.

The girl standing in front of him was definitely a film actor.

"Yes. May I know your name, miss?"

Alex began his acting. He was completely going to sell her on his childish persona.

Without wasting any time, Nadia grabbed his cheeks, pulling them as hard as she could.

"Miss? Aren't you a polite one. Unfortunately, you are too young for my tastes."

Alex felt humiliated. This was sort of the best-case scenario, but he was really mad at her for treating her like a child.

Nonetheless, he decided to play along.

"Ow-let me go! It hurts!"

She released his cheeks. While enjoying the expression on his face, she brought her face close and whispered,

"Remember to behave. You might be a noble in your country, but this is America. Here, a C-list celebrity has more importance than you."

'Damn. This girl really wants to make me afraid, doesn't she?'

Alex changed the direction of his sight. He was committed to his role, so a few fake tears started to roll down his cheeks.

"Are you crying? Not so tough anymore, are you?"

She started to smirk, with an expression of superiority on her face.

Only Sylvia had the authority to do something like this to him, and even she refrained from doing so. Claudia, who was observing them from a distance, was sweating bullets. She was surprised by the self-control and acting skills Alex had shown, but she was confident that if she didn't intervene, Alex would kill her friend.

"You made it."

She walked out of her hiding spot. Alex had already known of her existence from the very start, but Nadia proceeded to hug her.

"My friend asked me for a favour. How could I refuse?"

Separating from her, she then looked at Alex, who pretended to be scared and hid behind Claudia while looking towards the floor.

"Is it really necessary to take him though? He looks like a spineless brat."

Alex heard, his head bowing down even more. Not because of shame, but to hide the fury that was on his face.

'Focus on the mission, Focus on the mission, Focus on the mission..."

'I don't need to take this. I am a noble.'

He took a deep breath and stared straight in her eyes. His face was deadpan, showing no emotion.

"Oh? Looks like you have some courage after all."

Alex walked straight in front of her and continued looking into her eyes.

"Looks like you need another pinch..."

She tried using her hand to pinch him again, but Alex slapped her hand away.

"I didn't know that celebrities here lacked even basic manners. Even if I am less important than a C-list celebrity, at least I treat a spoilt nobody such as yourself with respect. Turns out, I really don't need to. You must choose your friends really carefully, miss Claudia. People like her deserve no respect, Especially not from me."

He walked out, not even looking back at her. She did this to herself.

Nadia stood there, speechless. Claudia sighed, looking at the expression on the face of her friend.

"Perhaps she misunderstood something."

Nadia looked at her friend, finally realizing that she had guessed wrong.

"Didn't you invite me to get rid of him?"

She needed answers. This sort of humiliation isn't something that she had ever experienced in her life.

"What gave you that idea? Alex is a privileged kid, but we were the ones that asked for his help with a project in our institution."

Nadia sighed. She had been a bit over the top in her threats. She wouldn't apologize to him seeing that he insulted her without holding back, but she felt a bit guilty for making him angry.

"I thought that he was trying to get close to you by using his status. Aren't all nobles like that?"

Claudia looked at her friend with an annoyed expression. This girl, she needs to change her reading material.

"Don't expect him to interact with you after this. His pride was hurt by your actions, and he would probably be ignoring you from now on."

Claudia was serious. She knew that Alex changed his persona for one reason, and that was to send her a message.

'Keep her away from me. I won't be giving her any of my attention.'

Nadia glinted in her eyes. She felt even worse, knowing that he probably doesn't trust Claudia anymore because of her foolishness.

"Don't worry. I will be careful from now on."

------------------------------------------------

"Three years. It's been three years."

A caucasian man with dark blue eyes and very formal attire was sitting in a white Rolls Royce. He was currently on his way towards the St. Claire Ballroom in Cleveland, where he would finally be able to meet the person he had been dying to meet for Three years.

The Variable which was going to change everything. The variable that no one expected.