Husband With Benefits

Demetri’s jaw clenched as he walked beside Arabelle into the shopping mall. He had never been a fan of shopping, and adding the company of a person he did not like had only made it more difficult for him.

Arabelle seemed oblivious to his anger and smiled up at him with sweet gratitude, "Thank you for accompanying me today, Demetri. I know what a busy man you are, and yet you made time for me."

Demetri only gave a nod of acknowledgement while he paused in the large courtyard of the mall. His good looks and aura earned him second looks from the shoppers; however, he remained unaware of it, standing still, looking straight ahead. If not for his expensive clothing, one would think that he was a security guard accompanying Arabelle.

Arabelle stepped closer and made a faint motion to link her arm with his, but Demetri subtly but smoothly shifted his arm, evading her attempt at getting closer to him. Before she could move again, he said, "Where do you want to go?"

Getting over the awkward moment, Arabelle smiled up at him and said, "I need to shop for everything. I haven’t shopped for a while, and everything I own is either last season or totally unsuitable for the approaching winters here. Let’s go."

Saying so, Arabelle led him through the mall to a large boutique on the top floor. As they walked into the large store with racks and racks of clothing standing like art installations, Arabelle chatted, "I think I am going to start with a few casual wear dresses and then formal wear."

As she said this, she moved forward to check out the dresses. As she pulled out a delicate white dress, smiling at how it looked like a wedding dress, she turned to get his opinion, "What do you think..."

However, she trailed off when a young saleswoman stood in front of her instead of Demetri. Scanning the store, she noticed that he was speaking to someone on his phone as he sat in the luxurious waiting area of the store. Quickly, she gathered a few dresses and suits to try on.

Today, he’d come shopping with her, so naturally, he would have to help her choose clothing. She’d like to see then how he would remain unmoved when he saw her beauty.

Excited with the beautiful dresses she had found, Arabelle quickly moved to the trial room, trying on the white bridal-like dress. It fit her perfectly, highlighting her slim waist and long legs. Her faded excitement returning at the look, she quickly slipped out of the dressing room, ready to seek his opinion. However, she was dismayed again when she found two new faces in the waiting lounge.

It was clear there were his subordinates from his work. Since Demetri seemed to be engrossed in his work as he gave instructions to the other two people who were taking notes, Arabelle felt like a fool standing there, waiting for his attention. However, her determination was not to be underestimated.

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat, her voice carrying a hint of determination as she approached the man immersed in his work. "Demetri, I’m done with the first dress. What do you think of this? Doesn’t it look like a..."