Taming My Ruthless Alpha

Chapter 6

Amelia's POV

"I think that light pink blouse would go nicely with this white skirt," Emma said, stepping away from Claire to inspect how the outfit would look, "Yeah, I think you will look great in this. What do you think, Amelia?" She asked, glancing my way.

"It sure makes her stand out," I agreed with Emma.

Emma flashed a smug smile at Claire, "See, I know that I am good at selecting outfits," She shrugged, flipping her hair dramatically away from her face before fixating her eyes on me, "Aren't you going to buy anything?" She asked.

I debated if I should get a couple of outfits now. I only own a handful of clothes, so it might be a wise choice to buy new sets of working attire, "Yeah, I think I will get something from here," I said, studying the price tags, "Honestly, the price isn't that bad," I mumbled to myself.

Emma's eyes widened as if a light bulb had went out in her mind, "Oh, I know what you should get," She grabbed my wrist and dragged me towards the formal blouse area, "You have amazing skin that all the colors will look good on you."

I smiled at her, "Thank you, Emma. What do you think I should get?" I asked, loving the feel of someone else picking out my clothes for the first time in my life.

"Pick out that khaki blouse!" Claire called out from behind us.

Emma nodded her head approvingly, "Khaki does look great on you, Amelia," She said as she placed a soft khaki satin blouse against my body, "Now for the skirt - or do you prefer trousers?"

I shrugged, the smile not fading from my lips, "I am up for anything," I said. To be honest, I didn't mind at all. This was my first time going out with girls - well, they are technically women, and I feel like a teenager again.

Back when I was in college, I always heard girls going out in groups to shopping malls to hang out, but I never had the chance to join them. More like they had never invited me to tag along with them.

"This blouse would go great with these trousers," Emma said, pulling me from the train of my thoughts, "Do you want to try it on first?" She asked, stepping back to see the clothes that I was holding against myself.

"They look about my size, so I don't think there is a need to try them on now," I responded, putting the clothes in a basket and then scanning through the section to see if I could find anything else.

Since it was a weekday, the mall was not overly crowded, so that gave us plenty of room to look for what we really wanted. About forty-five minutes later, we were finally done with picking out what we wanted.

"It's a good thing we came here during sales time. See, we are only paying half of the price," Claire said as we exited the section with a few shopping bags in our hands, "We should do this again. What about next month?"

Emma gave her a look, "Yeah, my paycheck would dry if I go on a spending spree like this every month," She shook her head, "It is kind of therapeutic though," She sighed. "Maybe we should treat ourselves with a spa day next time. That is much cheaper and at the same time, we get to unwind."

"I have never been to a spa before," I blurted out.

Emma and Claire exchanged a glance amongst themselves as if they are coming with a plan already, "Then we are definitely going to the spa next month," Emma nodded, "Every woman deserves to feel what it is like to be pampered in a spa."

I beamed at the duo in delight, "I already feel excited about that!"

Engrossed in conversation, I didn't notice where I was going and ended up colliding with someone. My eyes widened in shock as I stumbled back, ready to apologize for the accident.

To my surprise, I found myself face to face with those familiar piercing green eyes once again.

He stood there, looking like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine, clad in a simple blue polo t-shirt and dark jeans. Despite the casual attire, he exuded an air of sophistication that made him stand out in the bustling mall.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I gazed at Mr. Zahn apologetically. "I am sorry, Mr. Zahn, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," I said, stealing a glance at Emma and Claire, who seemed frozen in place.

"It's fine," he said in his deep voice, his eyes fixed on me before shifting to my colleagues and the bags we were carrying. "I assume you three had some fun shopping today."

It was odd to see him here, and even odder that he was attempting to engage in conversation with us. From what I had heard, he wasn't the friendliest person, but here he was defying everyone's expectations.

"Yeah, you could say that, Alp- Mr. Zahn," Emma stammered when I nudged her to speak up.

He observed all three of us. "I think it would be perfect to end the day with a nice meal," he suggested.

Was he implying...?

"Yeah, we were just thinking about that, Mr. Zahn. We might walk through the food court to see if anything looks appetizing," Claire said politely.

"You three wouldn't mind if I joined you, would you? I am quite hungry too."

Yes, I was right. He was going to make the night awkward.

I glanced at my colleagues, already knowing they would agree. It wouldn't be nice to turn him down.

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Zahn," Emma agreed on behalf of the three of us.

"Perfect," Mr. Zahn said, his eyes flashing to mine. "Where do you guys want to eat?" he asked.

I looked at Emma, "Um, where do you think we should go, Emma?" I asked her, not knowing the area well since moving here.

"Actually, I know a place," Claire said. "I hope you're okay with Italian, Mr. Zahn. Or would you prefer Chinese?"

"Italian would be nice," he answered.

"Then there's a restaurant on the lower ground. The food is great there," she said, smiling nervously while stealing glances our way. "Let's get going then."

As we made our way to the elevator, the atmosphere around us seemed to shift as the tension thickened. Just a few minutes ago, we were laughing and chatting without a care, but now our boss was with us.

It didn't help that I could feel his green eyes burning into the back of my head. I tightened my grip on my bags, eager to get the evening over with.

"Do you need help carrying those bags?" Mr. Zahn asked me in a soft voice.

I shook my head with a polite smile, "It's okay, Mr. Zahn. I can manage, and besides, it's not that heavy," I declined his offer.

He didn't say anything, but I could still feel his eyes on me, which made me feel uncomfortable. At some point, I even debated internally if I should come up with an excuse to get out of the dinner, but I know Emma and Claire would grill me alive tomorrow if I did that.

We finally arrived at the restaurant and found ourselves a nice spot. Then came another dilemma. Who was going to sit next to the CEO?

Before anyone could say anything, Mr. Zahn pulled the chair in front of him and gestured for me to sit down. Unable to refuse him, I sat down quietly, watching Emma and Claire take the seats in front of me while Mr. Zahn sat next to me.

I am sure that I won't be able to eat peacefully tonight no matter how nice the food is.

We ordered what we wanted and waited for our food to be served. Mr. Zahn attempted a conversation again, but it was Claire who answered most of his questions. At least I didn't have to speak up-

"How about you, Amelia?" Mr. Zahn directed the question straight at me.

I wasn't paying mind to what they were talking about so I looked up at him, completely off guard. "I am sorry, what were you saying, Mr. Zahn?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn again.

"Did you understand what I wanted you guys to do in that meeting?" He asked, "If you're not clear about it, you can come to my office at any time-"

"Oh, that," I said, cutting him off. "I am already brainstorming about that project, Mr. Zahn. Though I will keep in mind to ask you anything if I am not sure about it," I said, keeping my tone professional.

"That's great!" He said, looking pleased with my answer. "I can't wait to see what you will come up with."

I could only smile at him in return.

Thankfully, our food arrived shortly after, so we didn't have to continue what we were talking about. I quietly ate my food, hoping Mr. Zahn would make his grand exit after the dinner.

"It is nice to spend the evening with you ladies," Mr. Zahn said after we were done with our food. "I assume all of you are heading home after this?" He asked, glancing down at his watch. "It's getting late."

I looked up and nodded, eager to get away from him. "Yes, it's probably best if we get going, Mr. Zahn. Tomorrow is still a working day."

"How do you plan on going back? Did you three come here by car?" He asked.

I wanted to groan out loud at his unnecessary question.

Claire cleared her throat, "Emma and I came here by her scooter. We live nearby."

Mr. Zahn looked at me, "What about you?" He asked.

"I am going to take a bus," I answered him.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Where do you live?"

"Utropolis suites," I answered him.

"I will send you there as I will pass by that condominium to get to my place," he said, standing up. It wasn't a question. It sounded like he had already made up his mind.

I stood up as well, "Ah, there is no need for that, Mr. Zahn. There are buses every five minutes to my place-"

"Honestly, it is not a big deal," he said, making my words die in my throat.

I flashed a look at my colleagues who looked just as helpless as I am. "Very well then, Mr. Zahn," I said, knowing that I had no way to escape but to endure this ride home.

This is not I had hoped for this outing to come to an end.