One of the downsides, once you get deep into Sena Erde's list of chums-- which was a very hard task to do by the way—, is when she starts being comfortable with you. Too comfortable that she would lose any inhibition. 

Like this instance for example. 

Remember the promise to take her boating when he returns from his overseas trip? They finally squeezed in a time for it. So here they are on a small island grilling seafood along with many acquaintances. 

Nicholas sat on the sand beside the dainty woman hunching over the grate flipping fish like an expert. From her hands to her bare shoulders and back, he let his eyes wander. A while ago she jumped from the boat when they were about five meters away from the shore soaking that flimsy red T-shirt she had on. 

The titillating wet look did him in. It would have been better if she had walked in a two-piece bikini entirely rather than teasing his eyes with the peek-a-boo scene. Seeing her sinful curves presented to him in their full glory, Nicholas had a hard time recalling his swimming skill. 

The darn girl forgot he wasn't one of her buddies. As much as he wanted to be one, the burning attraction he felt strongly disagrees. He wanted more than her slapstick partner. More than enjoying her company, he wanted to be by her side, cherish and protect her. To be the man who kisses her mouth, holding her close and showering her all the best things. 

Sena turned to him pushing the retro aviator sunglasses up her nose. With a provocative tilt on her lips, she handled the tongs with ease. He just knew she was thinking about his blunder a little while ago. Nicholas had never been so useless in front of a woman until he burned the fish they spent all morning to catch.  

And by the way, to pour more salt on his wound she added quite smugly, "I could have admired you for your fishing skill if you did not turn half of our food into charcoal." 

The grill hissed when she added butter and soy to the clamshells. "This one is okay, wanna try?" 

Sena blew on the glistening meat in the shell before handing it to him. Nicholas ate it from her hand and unconsciously grazed the tip of his tongue on her finger. 

"Good?"

"Good." He replied as the sweet-salty and unique umami flavour of seafood overwhelmed his palette. 

"I never expected we would have a cookout." She laughed. 

Not far from them, April and Layla are setting up the table for late lunch near the cabanas while Jacob and Michael are playing with the kayak on the beach. They could have stayed in the boat to eat but Nicholas rented the island for them to relax the whole day and it would be a waste if they did come down to enjoy the view. 

They toured the long stretch of sand to see the fossil cliffs and the overhanging rock formation. There wasn't much excitement to offer but having a change of view even just for a short while was still a lot better than constantly seeing the congested city.

"Thank you for today's treat, I enjoyed it." 

"Don't mention it," Nicholas replied with hands on the back of his head. "We all need this break honestly. Where did you learn to fish by the way?"

Sena tucked a lock of hair on her ear before answering, "I learned from my Grandpa Ye, he's a close friend to my biological grandfather. When I was in elementary school he would often take me boating in the river and to fish with his buddies. He taught me a lot from putting worms in the hook to casting the line-- are you sure you wanted to hear about this?"

"Yeah." He said grinning. "I want to hear more of tiny Sena Erde waving her fishing pole like a pro."      

His grin was so full of energy she smiled back and continued her story. "Grandpa Ye took me along because he felt that my environment might not be enough for me to explore and decided that the great outdoors might help.”

“You must have been a very naughty child back then.”

Sena paused, then shook her head trying not to wince at the memory. “I was very introverted when I was small. My playmates only consist of a few children my age and more older people. When grandpa Ye managed to bring me out, a new world opened up for me and I developed a deep love for water. Since then I had to always hang around his boat and beg him to bring me. I had a lot of fun in those days but when we got home one time that I neglected to tell my mama, she beat my ass so hard I couldn't sit properly for two days." Sena threw her eyes towards the glittering ocean and swallowed the emotion threatening to gush out. "I miss those days." 

"Getting your ass beaten?" He exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. 

The sombre mood evaporated. Sena raised her foot and kicked his shins. "Fishing with grandpa Ye, you dolt." 

Nicholas could avoid it if he wanted to but he figured giving the nasty woman her fun wasn't so bad after all so he let her kick to her heart's content. 

They were back on the yacht by three in the afternoon to snorkel over the bed of corals. Nicholas, who often went out for these kinds of activities, gave her some tips on how to see more fish.

"Sprinkle some breadcrumbs and they'll come crowding at you in no time."

Sena pulled her hair back and twisted it into a braid before putting on her goggles. She accepted the loaf of bread Nicholas had pulled out somewhere on the table and headed her way to the swimming platform. Nicholas leaned on the railing content for a moment with the view of her ravishing profile and the few furtive glances from those tantalizing romantic eyes. 

The tip was effective that as soon as Sena sprinkled the white crumbs, the small fishes swimming far away began coming to her side. There were striped ones from light orange to blue and black. But there was one thing Nicholas didn't tell her or maybe he did it on purpose just to see her reaction, it was that no matter how beautiful they are she shouldn't touch those fishes. Feeding them on the palm of her hand has terrible consequences. 

"Did you like it?" Nicholas asked with a mysterious smile.

She nodded while paddling leisurely. 

"Now try smelling your hand." 

Sena: ??? 

Seeing her wincing and gagging after doing so Nicholas let loose and laughed hard. Sena narrowed her eyes angrily, she swam back to the lower deck with that god-awful fishy smell all over her body and practically jumped on him to smother his face with her hand. 

"Godammit Nicholas you did that on purpose, didn’t you?"

He was still laughing like a fool even when he was being grappled from behind. 

"Alright, alright I did. Don’t get mad." He said, holding back his laughter.  

Sena snorted, released him and exited with a triumphant smirk. "Deserve it."

He was flat on his back on the swimming platform looking at the pair of slender calves walking away. There was warmth forming uncontrollably in his chest and a helpless smile on his face. 

As much as she wanted to continue playing in the water, her stinky hand put a damper on her plan, thus she went to shower and decided to rest before the sun sets. April and Layla retired and napped in their rooms earlier. 

After cleaning herself of the scales and fishy smell, she pulled a soft light green maxi dress laid on the king-size bed and looked around for the sandals she had kicked somewhere under a while ago. 

Outside was quiet, she made it out of the private cabins to the living area. Albion-1 is as spacious and gorgeous as she had seen in the magazine. There are many entertainment areas like the bar and lounge for a large gathering.  It was also equipped with several water sports equipment like jet skis and water scooters. A giant toy fit for men-- not boys. 

Sena climbed the stairs leading to the aft deck and saw everyone enjoying the sea breeze. 

"Sena!" Layla called out sweetly and popped a sliced watermelon in her mouth. She rushed back to where April was resuming their game of Scrabble. 

She chewed slowly until the cool juice burst on her dried mouth. 

"You were out the whole day in the sun but you didn't seem to look sunburned." Michael sporting a tan noticed. 

"There's a magical item used for it. It's called sunscreen. Heard of it?"

"The lotion you were lathering yourself with earlier?" Sena nodded. "I thought that was just something you ladies put on a daily basis to prevent dryness or something like that." 

"It's to prevent us from being burnt and crispy," Layla answered from the back. "Sunburn hurts."  

Sena walked forward and went to Nicholas standing on the gunwale, binoculars on hand. 

"What's out there?" She asked, nudging his shoulder.

He lowered the binoculars and turned to her. "Another boat is coming."

Before the sun sets, unwanted visitors came. A 30-metre white yacht meandered on their big black one carrying several people in it. Nicholas' frown was seen clearly on the pink mirror glasses she was wearing, probably displeased with the newcomer.

"Didn't we have the island rented for a whole day?" Michael wondered, looking at the boat moving close. 

"Maybe it's a passerby or an acquaintance of the owner that didn't know," Sena replied. 

"Whoever they are, they are not supposed to be here anyhow. There is a strict regulation when it comes to booking this place, not to mention the hefty sum. The owner knows that."

Sena looked over the boat and recognized it after seeing the name Crisanta. It's the boat Mr Luz purchased not so long ago in order to enter the Royal Regatta Club. Why of all places she had to see this abomination here? 

On the other side, the model Ian put down the binoculars with a malicious smile. "I seem to have seen Sena Erde on the upper deck of Albion-1." 

"Albion-1?" The rest of the guests gasped and hurried to the bow. 

Maya, who was sitting on the lounger,  looked back in surprise. "Are you sure about it?"

Ian handed her the binoculars, "Here you go, knock yourself out." Then he ambled towards the table for his wine. 

Sena was indeed in there sitting on the cushioned seats with the wind tousling her hair. It had been a while since they saw each other, last was when she tried to arrange her and Dresden during the photoshoot but got nothing in return instead of being terminally upset. 

Her relationship with Dresden did not seem to affect Sena as she thought it would considering how likely she was to blow her top when she snatched things close to her. It had always been the case. She knew which switch to push to make her explode. Maya admits she didn't like Dresden as much before, she was only fascinated by the idea of getting close to the man who had been with Sena for so long.

She always gets the result she wants and she doesn't like it when things slip out of her control.

"It really is Albion-1," Yuni exclaimed when she saw the black yacht. "I never once imagined I would be able to see it in person!" 

Ms Gina crossed her hand to her chest and squinted against the orange horizon. "I heard it's owned by a European mogul that is not on our usual list of billionaires. It is rumoured that he is also friends with the owner of Turtle Song island over there."

"I guessed as much seeing how they are moored very close to it," Maya said. Father Luz met the owner of the island in one of the many business gatherings he attended. He was a wrinkly old man in his fifties and has sired many offspring. 

Thinking of Sena dating an old billionaire or even coming near the kind of person disgusted her.

"I did not expect she would fall as far as dating a wrinkly old man." 

Ian on the other hand snorted. Sena is a pretty well-known celebrity now. It wouldn't surprise him if she hangs around dubious people with money to sustain her career. Considering how she easily brushes off the online slanders and uses it as leverage to gain more fame, he figured there must be someone behind supporting her.

Almost everyone in this business does so, escorting some bigshots and becoming one of their pastimes. Even if you didn't like it you have to get used to it or you might end up losing the career you made. It's a world where it makes you appear glamorous on the surface while living your life worse than a slave beneath it. One word from people you displeased and the entertainment circle will shun you. Unless of course, you have some unshakable backing, no one will dare touch you. 

Ian only knew things about Sena through Maya and the internet. He was fully convinced that both of them were not far apart in that regard. 

Yuni grimaced with binoculars on hand, "I thought the owner of Albion-1 was the young man over there. Well, there goes my fantasy..." 

Maya was taken aback by what Yuni said and snatched the binoculars quickly. When she looked through it again, she saw Michael Saldini talking to another person. He wore a casual white shirt and black beach shorts. They stood closer as if discussing something important, from time to time they would prompt Sena into laughter. 

Michael Saldinin is the owner of Horizon Group, she had seen plenty of him in the news and even saw him from afar. The thing is, whenever there is Chief Saldini, his close friend would also be nearby. The current president of Aiguille Conglomerate… What's his name again? 

The captain came to the deck and whispered something to him then left shortly after brief instruction. Maya's heart leapt to her throat after confirming one thing: the owner of the mysterious Albion-1 is the president of Aiguille. He was tall, young and handsome. Very handsome. Not the crusty old billionaire she imagined it to be. 

 

It was past nine in the evening when everyone returned to their homes after boating. The day after tomorrow is going to be the start of the shoot for Challenge Me. It was a week-long filming in the remote countryside, she reviewed the contract sent to her mail and raised an eyebrow. 

In summary, they are going to live in an experimental ancient village as its inhabitants. For two weeks they will be using tools and practices only known in that era. Definitely no modern gadgets to be involved. 

A smile broke on her lips. Of course, she already knew of the theme for the 4th season since she watched it last time. The one who wrote the script for this was a smart and talented fellow, unfortunately, it did not deliver as what he dreamt of. The show did not become famous for the content of revisiting the old way of life but rather became a hit for the cast's constant bickering.   

What was highlighted was their true face behind the screen. Which was the real aim of Rainbow Media by the way. Sena liked the concept as she was fond of documentaries herself, sadly, it was used this way by some profiteers. 

A knock woke her out of her reverie. 

"Busy?" Nicholas was standing outside leaning on the doorsill all tall and suave. "April let me in after seeing that I was harmless enough without a rope and a sack to kidnap you."

"This is bad," She chuckled and rose from her chair. "I really should warn April about the dangers of trusting good-looking neighbours." 

"So you think I'm good-looking?" He teased, smiling boyishly. 

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's pretty late for a daydream, don't you think?"

He shrugged then moved those long legs to plod behind her. "Are you ready for your great adventure next?" 

Sena opened the glass doors to the balcony and beckoned him there. "I guess I am."

"You sound unsure. You know you can always ask for my help. I'm good with outdoor stuff." He offered smoothly and plopped on the lawn chair beside her. 

"I can see that." Sena agreed, then occupied the seat next to him. She then proceeded to tell him the contents of the show. 

Nicholas is a good listener and he would toss in helpful advice from time to time. Before she knew it, she had more or less added new knowledge for the program ahead. However, it would be a pity not to be able to put them at full play. She guessed that they would not let her stay longer than the first round and risk overshadowing Maya's presence. Oh well, they have the right to do whatever pleases them, while she will make sure they will regret that they invited her to the show in the first place. 

As for the cast, she met most of them during the photo shoot. In the past life aside from her, Challenge Me has only eight contestants. The castings consist of the socialite Luan whose family runs a restaurant chain, the hot-headed prince TK, from a hotelier family aside from that they are also involved in the Food and Beverage business. Next was the cool and charismatic Arthur Min. One of the biggest Pharmaceutical Companies in the country is owned by them. The internet celebrity Eron, the macho casanova Gan, then the loli cosplayer Nancy and lastly the two who made a lot of scenes in the show Yuni and Maya. 

Sena thoughtfully looked at the casting line-up, it appears that Rainbow Media received a lot of benefits from the Luz family to give Maya a lot of screen time and since Yuni is her cousin, she also benefited from it. But what about the other casts who have more prominent backers than them? None of these two stood out considering that they could do it any time if they so wish. 

Hmm… she felt intrigued. 

Well, let’s find out when we get there. She decided.