Handcuffed Billionaire

30. Friendly competition

30. Friendly competition

Natalía
"You are an evil genius."
"I know." All eyes were on us as we danced on the dance floor. Camera's kept going off every second. Clearly they were more interested in us than they were the charity. I didn't like that. "Relax."
"I am relaxed."
"No you're not. You're worrying about the charity not making enough money."
"How did you know that?"
"Call it a husband's intuition."
"I don't like that they are so focused on us."
"That's because there isn't anything else to focus on yet. Now what you need to do is be a good little wife and go make me some money."

"Are you trying to pimp me out?"
"It's for a good cause."
"I'm not doing it."
"There are a lot of potential investors here, both men and women. How about we make it into a competition?"
"A competition? Go on."
"Let's see which one of us can get the most contributions to the charity. You can target both male and female, but the catch is that you can't persuade them in anyway by talking about the charity."

I thought about it. "What do I get when I win?"
"If you win, you can demand whatever you want. If I win, the same goes."
"The only rule is that I don't persuade them by talking about the charity?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Then I agree. Prepare to lose Paxton."
"We'll see."

The song ended and we finished our dance. I needed a strategy. No doubt Marc had the upper hand in this situation. He knew all the investors and what exactly he needed to say to get them on his side. And let's not forget he's Marc Paxton, women would pay just to get a picture with him. I had to win. Not that there was anything in particular I wanted, but I had to prove that I'm better than him. It was going to be difficult, so I did what any sensible woman would do. I got help.

"Julia, you've worked at Paxton Corp. for a while now haven't you?"
"Yes, Mrs. Accosi."
"Call me Natalía, please." Julia was the only one who stayed strong when Marc got in that accident. I was a little fond of her and was even thinking of grooming her to take over the department. After all, I didn't intend to stay there forever. I had my own business to run. Besides, she was very useful.
"I need you to give me some information on all the top investors here tonight, the ones with the most money. Any information at all would be appreciated. What are their likes and dislikes, are they married, do they have any children, their hobbies and so on. A little background on their companies would be useful too."
"Sure."
"Depending on the outcome and the usefulness of your information, you might be able to go on a date with Mr. Paxton." I knew I was playing dirty, but I could not allow Marc to get the edge over me on this. "Mrs. Accosi," she blushed. "That's not necessary."
"Natalía, please." I knew she had a crush on Marc and if that was going to push her to give me the help I needed then I had no problem using it to bait her. "Natalía, that really isn't necessary." I pretended to ponder for a while. "Well, if you insist."

Julia was good. She gave me all the necessary information, information I knew would win them over. But still I was having a hard time. They wanted me to make promises that I was never ever going to keep. I don't care how much my pride was on the line. My company was not up for grabs. I already had enough investors, and with the Accosi-Paxton alliance in the future I really didn't need any more. I wasn't going to give up so easily though. I was determined to come out on top. So I used the information given to me to the best of my abilities and danced and flirted my way around the room. The men were easy enough to deal with, but the women I had to take a different approach with. Having a gown from Accosi's International Concept was one thing. Having one designed specifically by Natalía Accosi was another. No matter how rich or how famous you were, getting a gown designed by me wasn't easily attainable. With that in mind, I dangled the opportunity in front of their faces. There were less than ten female investors combined. How hard could it be to design a couple dresses specifically for them?