LADY IN RED
1717 Words
"Ow!" Aiden groaned as Nadia’s feet landed on his foot in fright of the squeak of the door.
She hastily jumped. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Still facing the opposite direction
Aiden stepped away, finally wrapping the towel around his waist.
The door creaked open more as the wind blew
A maid stood at the entrance , frozen, eyes widening at the scene she had just witnessed.Nadia’s flushed face, her hair slightly rough, and her almost not dressed boss finally covering his nudity
“I…I’m so sorry, sir! Ma’am!” the maid stammered, bowing awkwardly as she quickly rushed away, shutting the door behind her.
“Wait! It’s not what it looks like!” Nadia called after her, but the damage was done. The look on the maid’s face said everything and the scene was definitely what it looked like
“She’ll definitely tell people,” Nadia muttered under her breath, covering her face with her hand
“How come you have maids here?” she asked, surprised.
“I didn’t hear anyone. This place felt dead silent.”
Aiden sighed, casually strolling toward his closet.
“The house is huge, Brando. How do you expect to hear anything? Talk more noticing old Christy cleaning three rooms away.”
Nadia scoffed. “Of course you’d name your maid Christy.”
“I didn’t name her dumbo”
He turned, successfully wearing a singlet on his wrapped towel and sat back on the edge of the bed, tapping his leg on the floor before talking to Nadia
“Anyway, what were you even here for in the first place?”
“Oh… yes. Your schedule.”
“You have a meeting with the marketing department at 1:00 PM an…”
“Face me when you talk to me,”
he interrupted smoothly, eyes already locked on her.
She turned slowly, reluctantly but obedient.
“You’re wearing a towel, not clothes.”
He smirked. “And a singlet,still better than nothing. You were saying?.”
Nadia rolled her eyes and resumed, “You have a marketing meeting at 1:00 PM and al…”
“Hope you didn’t just roll your eyes at me”
“No I didn’t, now can I finish?”
Nadia continued
Aiden glanced at the clock on the wall.
12:20 PM.
His eyes widened slightly. “Guess I’ll have to skip my meal.”
“Interrupted again”
Nadia grumbled as she stared at the clock on the wall and understood the interruption
She watched as he went to a back walk-in closet. She took the cue and stepped outside.
She met up with Luke outside and waited with him and immediately spotted the earlier maid whispering to another, both of them glancing in her direction before other maid disappeared around the hallway
“Don’t mind them,” Luke said.
“They’re always gossiping about something. Give them a week and they’ll be obsessed with someone else.”
Nadia sighed. “Sure”
Luke was unaware of what happened inside.
Minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
Nadia turned and froze.
Aiden descended the steps with some kingly moves. Each of his steps were like a mafia boss walking.
His suit was a perfect fit charcoal gray, tailored around his broad shoulders and waist, just the perfect fit. His hair was neat, sleek back with just enough volume, and the scent of his cologne wrapped around her like spiders web.
“Let’s go” he ordered, voice deep, commanding, definitely the version of him she had met that first encounter
Nadia nodded. “Sure.”
They slid into the Tesla, and as the door shut behind them,
The smug flirty Aiden from earlier had vanished. In his place sat a man of power cold, focused, unreadable.
Now they had gotten to the office, the atmosphere was different, the air was still and there was a professional aura around way different than before
“And where is she?” Aiden asked sharply,
Nadia hollered back
“Here!”
Picking her bag and her laptop and running to catch up
He stopped abruptly, turning to face her. “Then why did I get into the office before you knowing fully well you’re the assistant” it sounded like he was just trying to torment Nadia, again
“Maybe it’s because I came from the other side of the car, picking up items I’ll need to pamper my dear boss”Nadia’s eyes flared
Rachel, sitting behind the front desk, blinked and quickly looked away. The tension was loud enough to echo.
Aiden leaned in, his voice intimidating. “Careful, Brando. That tongue of yours might just cost you.”
She matched his stare. “Only if you can afford to lose the one person actually putting up with you and keeping your schedule together.”
There was a beat of silence, a stare competition and a pause
“Prep me up for the 1pm with marketing, I don’t want any surprises .”
Nadia exhaled. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
By 12:55 PM, they were stepping into the boardroom for the marketing meeting. Aiden’s tone turned sharp and professional, he had shifted from a flirty playboy to a CEO, he was really getting a hang of it, well thanks to Nadia’s prepping.
As they stepped out of the room, The head of marketing Karen approached, clipboard in hand, all smiles and sickly sweetness.
“Oh Mr. Smith, lovely performance at the meeting, I’ve taken the liberty of arranging Miss Brando’s attire for tonight’s gala,”
“didn’t want you to stress so I pulled a few strings”sulking up to Aiden like a baby expecting a candy
Aiden simply nodded, distracted, while Nadia blinked.
“Oh it’s not a bother”
Karen turned to her, her smile too tight. “Oh c’mon, you’re tagging with our CEO, I can’t let you… embarrass us”
Nadia raised a brow but said nothing, Karen was clearly taking a piss.
Later that evening…
Nadia had gotten to her office to rest after standing and walking to and fro. A garment bag was laid out on her office table, from Karen,
“She probably sees me as competition, well I’m not” Nadia soliloquized zipping open the bag, her jaw dropped.
The dress was hideous. Unflattering shape, strange fabric, and a neon green color that did nothing for her skin tone.
She stared at it, stunned. “Is this a joke, I need to find a replacement soon, I can’t wear this”
Before she could toss it aside, there was a knock at the door, it was Luke.
“Mr. Smith sent me with this,” he said, holding another bag sleek, black, expensive looking.
There was a shoe and a garment bag. Nadia took the bag and unzipped it slowly praying it wasn’t another fail.
It was a deep red gown elegant, backless, with a slit that went through on the thigh and hugged her curves like it had been made for her. She gasped.
Tucked inside was a handwritten note,
“I figured she’ll pull a stunt, just incase.”
Nadia felt relieved,
“ so he was listening after all”
Just then, Aiden called from the hallway.
“You’ve got ten minutes, Nadia.”
She swallowed hard,she couldn’t go to the house to change as she had planned or even go out to the office bathroom, she had to change right there, right now.
Nadia stepped out of her office rushing to meet up just as Aiden was walking down the hallway, adjusting the cuff of his suit. He lifted his eyes as he heard the sound of her heels and saw her, he stopped.
Dead in his tracks.
His breath caught, just for a moment.
The red gown hugged her perfectly. Till now, Aiden hadn’t noticed how sexy she was. The slit ran high enough to tease, but not enough to expose nudity . The fabric clinged to her waist and hips like a tailored glove. Her curves weren’t too much but they were enough to give life to the dress, the red colour highlighting her soft femininity in all the right places.
She wasn’t slim. She wasn’t chubby. She was, just right. That kind of body that made men’s heads turn. You could say it was genetics because she never worked out.
Her short frame was elevated by sleek, black loubotins that gave her a standard posture, making her height just right for the occasion. She let down her hair, swerving it to one side, revealing her collarbones.
Aiden blinked. O…Twice.
What the hell was this?
He was used to appreciating beauty only for desire briefly, easily forgotten after the night. But this…
This felt different.
He didn’t just want to tear off the dress. He wanted to know what perfume she was wearing. Wanted to know how looking into her eyes will feel, how her skin would feel if he touched her. He wanted to
No.
He snapped out of it, his face hardening instantly.
“Let’s go,” he said, voice sharp like he hadn’t just had the wildest fantasy
“Sure”
Nadia glanced at him. As as she walked past, hips swaying gently with each step, Aiden slowed down his own steps, his eyes following her movements.
Just Outside, parked right in front of the building, was a Rolls-Royce Ghost, midnight black, sleek to a mirror shine,with the spirit of wealth and power.
Luke stepped out from the driver’s seat, his eyes widened in shock as they met with Nadia.
“Wow, Miss Brando, woah!,” he said with a grin. “I could hardly recognize you, you look… outstanding.”
Nadia smirked softly, “Thanks, Luke.”
Aiden said nothing.
Ignoring the scene.
He walked straight to the car and opened the door, face still cold but behind the mask, anger rushed. Or… jealousy.
He didn’t like that Luke noticed her. He didn’t like that he cared.
As Nadia slid into the leather seat, crossing her legs elegantly, she caught Aiden stealing one last look before shutting the door and circling to his side.
In the low hum of the engine, silence stretched between them.
But the air?
It was charged.
- Writer
