"On Monday, exactly at lunchtime, I paid for my lunch and was looking for a place to sit. Today, the cafeteria was completely full, maybe because it was Monday—nobody ever likes them and just waits for lunchtime to escape the office. But I saw a hand in the air and heard a cute voice shouting my name amidst all that mess; it was Anais.
I walked over to her. She was sitting at a table on the left side, near the window, but she wasn't alone. She was with Colen, Ivy, and Ethan, whom I had met at the bar the other day.
"Good afternoon and bon appétit." - I said, sitting across from Anais, next to Colen. They greeted me back, and Anais smiled foolishly at me.
"Where is your... um. boyfriend?" - she asked, blushing.
"Huh?" - I asked with my mouth full, and I knew perfectly well that was rude, so I finished what I was chewing.
"Th... Th... The..."
"Theo?" - I asked, and she blushed even more. I wondered how red that face could get in a day. And I hadn't even been sitting there for five minutes.
"Yes... him..."
"He went to talk to Mr. Mark; it seems he found some irregularity in the system." - I said, looking back at my food.
"I was wondering when you would have the kindness to become the miracle in my life." - Colen smiled maliciously at me, and I just laughed at his face.
"I see you're evolving..." - I said, smiling, and he just raised an eyebrow at me.
"I'm trying to seduce you, Scarlett, you could, I don't know, cooperate." - He said, and I choked from laughing so hard. - Anais quickly and clumsily got out of her seat and came behind me. She hit my back, but she was hitting so slowly that it felt like a massage.
"Damn." - Colen cursed.
"Are you trying to help her or make her suffocate even more?" - Ethan asked, coming to my side and hitting my back hard. The piece of meat came out, and I coughed incessantly until they handed me a glass of water and the coughing subsided.
"Sorry, it's just... I didn't want to hit too hard and leave a mark on you or anything." - She said, blushing and returning to her seat across from me.
"No problem, that felt like a massage. I already know who to call when I need a body massage."
I saw her look at me, embarrassed.
"Like... those massages where the person is completely naked?"
"Yes." - I shrugged, returning my attention to my food.
"Ah... but... that would be so reckless... and wrong."
Colen looked at her in confusion.
"Why?" - he asked.
"Well... in the videos... things never end well." - This time it was Ethan who choked, and Colen quickly helped him.
"In the videos?" - I asked, pretending not to understand what she was talking about.
"Yes... in... the videos... um... those ones... you know." - She didn't finish speaking.
"Porn videos?" - I asked as Ethan's coughing was subsiding.
"Yes." - she said, embarrassed.
"You watch porn videos? What for?" - Colen asked, visibly astonished.
"I think that question is a bit stupid, Colen..." - Ethan said when his voice returned. — "Possibly for the same reasons you do."
Colen looked indignant.
"I watch porn when I'm masturbating, and that's perfectly normal, but she's talking about lesbian videos, isn't she?"
She nodded, embarrassed.
"It might even be that you were masturbating..." - he was talking, and I only saw Anais get more and more embarrassed, but I admired her courage for talking about pornography with us. — "But why were you watching lesbian videos?" - Colen asked, and I even became interested in the answer.
"I... um..."
"Are you homosexual?" - I asked. — "I thought you said you weren't."
"I don't... I'm not a lesbian, but I get turned on watching those things... and... and I also think it's very normal, I don't see any problem with having sex with women." - I saw that she had to muster all the courage she had to answer, and I laughed.
"And have you had sex with one?" - Ivy, who had been silent until now, asked.
"You're not a virgin anymore?" - Colen asked, petrified, before she could answer.
She nodded yes.
"My God, you're a child. What kind of world are we in?" - he said, and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm turning twenty in two weeks... and you're only three years older than me... I don't know how that makes me a child and not you..." - she said.
"It's very different with men." - He said, and Ethan hit his shoulder.
"Dude, shut up."
"Women find pleasure even where you might not even imagine, and it's no surprise that a woman needs to know her own body well, Colen." - Ivy spoke as if it were a very obvious thing, and in reality, it was.
"True... I met a guy who thought anal sex was disgusting." - Anais said, surprising Colen again.
"Sorry I'm so surprised, it's just that she looks like a kid." - He said, and Ethan got up from the table, dragging Colen with him.
"See ya, Scar..." - Ethan yelled, and Ivy got up too.
"I need to get back to work, bye." - She said and also disappeared.
I looked at Anais again, and she was still embarrassed.
"You don't need to feel shy, you know. It seems like Colen just... has a lot of prejudice in his head. You're twenty, it's perfectly normal for you to know your own body. With a man or with a woman, it doesn't matter, it all depends on what you want." - I said.
"I... I..." - she was still blushing, but in a cute way. — "I'm really not a lesbian, but I just... have a sexual... fantasy..."
"With a woman..." - I finished for her.
"Yes."
"Have you had sex with a woman?"
"I tried... once... but she was also inexperienced... so we didn't even get past the foreplay..." - she sighed and smiled. — "Maybe one day."
Well, maybe one day.
On Tuesday, we simply had a lot of files to download and print, so Theo and I divided the work. He would stay there downloading, and I would stay printing.
But to my dismay, the printers had a specific room on the floor; they weren't in the offices as usual. I was obliged to move from our office to the printing room. Fortunately for me, it was empty. I left the door ajar and was waiting for everything to finish when I heard voices in the corridor. I wasn't really doing anything wrong, so I didn't even bother to close the door or stop the printing.
"Are you aware of the gala?" - I heard the first voice; it was clearly a woman.
"Yes, and it looks like Mr. Aideon and Mr. Mark are going too..." - They were probably two gossipy women speculating on matters as if they didn't have work to do. But I couldn't help but pay attention to the precious information they were gossiping about.
"Do you think they'll be accompanied?"
"I'm not sure, the gala happens once a year, and Mr. Aideon is no longer with that bland blonde, Kalsey."
"I still don't understand why they broke up."
"I have no interest in finding out either. Mr. Aideon is a Greek god and deserves much better than that interested leech."
"Wow... you really hate her, Val." - One of the voices seemed slightly concerned.
"Do you remember how she was treating us when she came here? Like we were trash? I hate that bitch."
"But you know perfectly well that they always get back together." - The concerned voice sighed.
"Ugh, I hate that... I hope she doesn't come crawling back to go with him to the gala; she always does that."
"I also hope not, but he wouldn't go alone, would he?"
"Valentina, Aurora, what are you doing?" - I heard the wonderful voice of Mr. Mark and felt a shiver down my spine.
I needed to satisfy myself with that man before my body spontaneously combusted.
"Sir... We came to pick up some things that are being printed and..."
"All right... I'll take them down when I go. Carl from the eighth-floor Human Resources is calling you."
"Thank you very much for letting us know, sir." - They said, and I didn't hear their voices again. I heard footsteps towards the room and turned to the printers, appearing to be as inattentive as possible.
"Miss Rose!" - I sensed the surprise in his voice and pretended not to hear. He walked over to me, probably because he didn't hear a reply, and gently touched my arm.
"Ah..." - I feigned shock and turned to him. — "Mr. Wonde... Mark, you startled me."
"It wasn't my intention, Miss, I just... didn't expect to find you here."
"Ah, sir, you can call me Scarlett." - I smiled, and he smiled back, adjusting his glasses, and damn... what a gesture.
"All right... Scarlett." - He said, and I sighed; even my name sounded hot in his voice. — "I see you're printing a lot of paperwork. Maybe I should come back later. I still need to go to the twentieth floor anyway." - He said, justifying himself as if I had actually asked him to.
"No problem... I believe that when you return, I won't be here anymore." - I said. He smiled one last time and left the room.
I was at the reception desk on the twenty-fourth floor talking to Beatriz; I needed a copy of a document that apparently she had processed. She stepped away from her post for a moment towards the twenty-third floor and left me in her place in case someone came, and I accepted.
Bea was a very kind girl, a curvaceous redhead, very beautiful, and above all, very polite. Actually, I also saw her looking too much at Theo, but I could understand; Theo was breathtaking too.
I was reading a magazine that was on the reception counter when a blonde who looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine came out of the elevator and walked, strutting, to the counter where I was.
"I came to see Mr. Aideon." - She said rudely.
"Good afternoon to you too." - I smiled at her. — "Do you have an appointment?"
"No, I simply want to talk to him. Tell him I'm here."
"Mr. Aideon is busy, and since you don't have an appointment, you'll have to wait."
"Wait? Do you even know who you're talking to?"
"Probably not a woman with manners." - I said, and she looked at me, open-mouthed.
"You... will... lose your job."
"It doesn't matter, you will wait... sitting down, over there on the sofa in the waiting room." - I pointed to the room.
"I demand..."
"If you continue, I will have to call security and probably the police. We are a renowned company; we do not tolerate the disturbance you are trying to create."
She looked at me one more time, turned, and walked to the waiting room. I watched her strutting and really wished she would trip over something and fall. Bea returned shortly after. I warned her that there was a snake waiting for her in the waiting room, and I didn't wait for her to go there; I left the reception with the document I needed.
As we were leaving, an intercom that I didn't even know we had in our office rang, telling us that Mr. Aideon wanted to speak with us before we left. Theo and I, not understanding, walked in silence to his office and knocked. We heard a "come in" and entered.
When we entered, I was surprised to see the blonde from earlier in his office.
"She's the one I was talking about." - She said, pointing at me, and I just played dumb. I felt Theo's confused gaze on me.
"Scarlett?" - He asked, confused.
"Yes, her."
He sighed and walked over to us.
"Please, sit down." - He guided us to the sofa as far away as possible from the irritable blonde and sat across from us.
"First of all, I want to apologize for Kalsey's incoherent behavior."
"What?" - she exasperated. — "She said I have no manners!"
"It seems like you really don't." - He said, silencing her. He turned to us, to me specifically. — "I hope you accept my apologies, Scarlett."
Ah, from you I accept apologies and much more.
"Don't worry, sir." - I smiled, and he smiled back.
"Now, I believe Theo is wondering why he is here."
Theo nodded.
"Tomorrow night, a gala will take place at the art museum, and PMC was invited. Clearly, as the CEO, I have the right to bring companions, and I would like them to be you two."
"Huh?" - the woman practically ran towards us. — "You're taking the two of them instead of me?"
"I want to introduce you to the major firms that will be present there." - Mr. Aideon said, completely ignoring the blonde. — "If you want to, of course."
I looked at him over Theo's shoulder and saw his eyes sparkling.
"Of course, we want to, sir." - I said, and he smiled back at us. — "The problem, sir..." - I began, drawing his attention back to me. — "I didn't really come prepared for an occasion like this."
He nodded.
"Don't worry, today you'll go with Mark to a suitable place and choose appropriate clothes. As my guests, it's all on me."
"You must be kidding me, Aideon!" - He rolled his eyes and sighed. — "I'm talking to you!"
"You may leave now. Please tell Mark that I need him in my office now." - He requested, and we left the room.
In the hallway, Theo looked at his wrist watch and sighed.
"It's already six o'clock."
"It's just a quick choice, I don't think it will take that much of our time." - I said, reassuring him.
An hour had already passed. And the three of us were still walking around the boutique.
"Scarlett... you're taking forever." - Theo complained.
"As far as I know, you haven't found anything to wear yet either." - He just sighed, blushing, and continued walking through the men's section.
Since leaving the company, we had been circling the boutiques without finding anything truly interesting, at least that was my problem. As for Theo, he was completely indifferent about anything and was picking out whatever, but I was clearly stopping him. Just because he's handsome doesn't mean he can dress like a beggar and think no one will notice.
Theo finally found something interesting and said he was going to the fitting rooms. I was holding a bunch of overly provocative dresses when I saw the wonderful Mr. Mark trying to follow Theo.
"Sir!" - I called, and he looked at me, but Theo had already entered the fitting room.
Even better.
"I really need an opinion on what would be best to wear to a gala."
He straightened his tie.
"Well, there are a lot of women here who, I believe, would be happy to..."
"I know, but they work here. They clearly won't tell me if something doesn't look good; they just want the client to buy what they're selling."
He thought for a moment.
"I'm really bad when it comes to fashion, Scarlett." - he said, embarrassed.
"But you dress very well, I love seeing you dressed up."
I saw that he controlled himself, but he was blushing.
"Well... I... I really just wear whatever is in front of me."
"Ah, I thought your wife was helping you, at least."
"No... I don't have a wife." - he said, embarrassed again, adjusting his glasses.
Of course, I knew he didn't have a wife.
"Ah, I didn't know. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable." - I feigned sadness.
"Don't worry." - He smiled. — "Why don't you go try on the dresses? I've been to galas before; maybe I can help after all."
I smiled, and we walked towards the second fitting room. He stayed outside on a sofa. When I went through the curtains, I opened them slightly and saw him sitting there, looking somewhat uncomfortable. I saw one of the attendants smile and wink at him, and he just responded with a simple smile. I closed the curtain and put on the first dress.
The goal of this was clearly to seduce the wonderful Mr. Mark, and I was hoping my plan would run perfectly.
I put on the first dress; it was cream-colored, had a high neck, open shoulders, and a very exaggerated neckline in the front. It was tight, which overly emphasized my curves. I didn't actually need to look in the mirror to know that this was not the appropriate dress; it was too extravagant.
I stepped out of the fitting room and stood in front of the wonderful Mr. Mark, who was looking at nothing in particular. He noticed me, and I smiled at him. I turned around, showing the equally exaggerated neckline in the back, and turned back, facing him.
"I think... I think that one is not appropriate." - He said, and I looked at him with doubt.
"Do you really think so? I actually found it interesting." - I said, running my hands over my curves, pretending to be unconscious of the gesture, and I saw him follow with his gaze.
"Unless you want people to not take their eyes off you." - he said, straightening his glasses.
I smiled and nodded.
I slightly opened the curtain again and saw him run his hands over his face nervously.
I closed it again and put on the second dress. It wasn't as exaggerated as the first; it had cold shoulders and was simple. The problem was the exaggerated slit on the right leg, and it was quite tight.
I walked out, turning around with my arms in the air, and the slit instinctively opened a little more. He quickly adjusted his tie and just shook his head no.
I could see, I could see what these dresses were doing to him. When I went in, I didn't even have to open the curtain; I just heard a "Damn it," it was almost a whisper.
I put on the third dress. The third was black and tight like the others, with an 'X' forming the neck, and at the junction between the two cords that looked like chains, there was a circle-like effect. The breasts were covered, but from the breast area to the waist, where the dress continued, it was open, leaving my entire stomach exposed. Anyone looking would perhaps think it was a skirt and top set, but the open parts were covered with fine chains.
I walked out, taking another little turn, and heard a whistle, but it clearly wasn't the wonderful gentleman; it was from a guy who was walking with his wife, and she even threw her purse at him, but I ignored him. Mr. Mark looked at me intrigued.
"Are you sure you took that from the 'Gala' section?"
"Of course, sir." - I replied as sweetly as possible. — "Don't you think it's appropriate?"
"I... I think... this one is also not very appropriate."
I saw Theo coming out of his fitting room. He was already in his normal work clothes and was walking towards us, holding a hanger with his suit on it, slightly wrinkled from trying it on.
He looked at me strangely, and I smiled, going back into the fitting room.
"Why are you here?" - I heard Theo whisper.
"She said she needed help." - I heard the somewhat husky reply.
I looked at the dresses one more time, and I knew I had picked out one that was the perfect weapon; I would take down two birds with one stone.
I came out with the favorite dress and didn't even look at their expressions. I went straight to the mirror and liked what I saw; it was definitely my dress. In a vivid red.
I turned, smiling at them, and did a twirl.
"Gentlemen, I found my dress!"
"Scarlett...." - The wonderful Mr. Mark tried to speak, and I looked at him innocently. I saw him taking a deep breath and distractedly gripping the sofa.
"Yes?"
He looked at me one more time and simply remained silent, as if he were thinking about what to say.
"You... you... are going like that?" - Theo said.
"Yes." - I took another turn, making the fabric lift with the gesture.
We'll see what the perfection Mr. Aideon will say.