A Third Chance In Love

CHAPTER 9 - That Familiar Look In His Eyes

“No problem Mr. Montaro, I will assist her personally. Please come with me, Ms. Aloida,” the Store Manager said nonchalantly. She did not seem to be happy serving a customer like Aloida.

Aloida just shrugged her shoulders and followed the Store Manager as she walked to the big fitting room for VIP clients.

“Here are our latest party gowns, Ms. Aloida. You can check them and choose whatever fits your taste,” the Store Manager said as she opened a big walk-in closet, and showed to Aloida the numerous gowns hanging therein.

“Thanks. Let me start checking them.” Aloida approached the walk-in closet and checked the gowns one by one, until her eyes caught a midnight blue gown that she knew very well would accentuate her every curve, especially her full, rounded breast.

She got the midnight blue gown and fitted it. True enough, the gown made her a different woman this time. From a simple office Mom, she transformed into a sexy, elegant, and expensive-looking woman. She let her wavy curls hang loose down her shoulders, making her more alluring and seductive.

When she got out of the walk-in closet, she was startled to see Mr. Montaro sitting alone comfortably on a couch inside the room.

He was looking at her with that kind of look that made her heart beat restlessly. That look was familiar. She had seen that kind of look before, and she knew what it meant.

Aloida swallowed her saliva when her boss suddenly stood up and walked straight at her.

“That dress suited you. Take it then. I will pay for it,” he said as he stopped walking and stood a few inches in front of her. His eyes seemed to be penetrating her soul and if her heart could jump out of its rib cage, it might have been out already.

“Boss, thank you. I will undress now… I mean, I will change my dress now,” she said in a rambling manner. She could feel her cheeks burning out from embarrassment at what she had just said. Why on earth she have said the word “undress” instead of changing dress? Goodness, she sighed internally, reprimanded herself for such carelessness and loose tongue.

A sudden naughty smile danced around the corners of his lips. “I will be glad to see you undress, I mean, change your dress, Ms. Jeansen,” he murmured, as he looked at her intensely this time.

“I,… I will change now,” she immediately turned her back and almost ran to get inside the walk-in closet again to change her dress.

Her ears even caught the sound of his chuckle, before she closed the door of the walk-in closet.

When she finished changing her clothes and walked out of the closet, she was hoping that he was no longer sitting on the sofa inside, while looking at her with that intense desire in his eyes.

She sighed with relief, seeing that he was no longer around. The sofa was empty, and it was the Store Manager, who this time was standing nearby, waiting for her.

She handed the dark blue gown to the Store Manager and smiled at her. “I want this one,” she said politely. Although the Store Manager lacked enthusiasm while dealing with her, she did not want to treat her the same. She did not want any enemies at that point. Moreover, what she needed was a friend or at least a good acquaintance at that point in her life.

The Store Manager accepted the dark blue gown and smiled thriftily at her. “I will pack this one then. Mr. Montaro has already told me that he will pay for this.” Her tone seemed to be laced with jealousy.

“Thank you,” Aloida stated, still with a smile on her lips. She followed the Store Manager out of the room and there she saw her boss standing near the main door of the boutique, talking to someone on his mobile phone. She sat on the golden sofa at the reception area of the boutique and waited for the gown she chose to be handed back to her.

Almost simultaneously, when the box containing the dark blue gown was handed to Aloida, Mr. Montaro also had just finished talking to someone on the phone. He walked towards her with his usual serious expression.

She stood up trying to look casual and relaxed. “The dress is here now. Do you still need something more in here, Sir?” she asked while showing him the box where the gown she chose was put by the Store Manager.

“Nothing more,” he said, as he reached for a box on the nearby sofa. She concluded that the box had the formal suit he bought for himself, to be worn at the party.

“Let us go then, Sir.” She followed him as he walked out of the boutique.

After putting the box he was holding at the back of the car, he looked at her and motioned for her to give him the box she was holding. “Let me put that box here also," he said in his baritone voice. He even looked at her while waiting for her to hand him the box.

“Ahh, Sir, I can just take a cab from here, going home,” she said, with the intent of getting away now from him. She still felt embarrassed thinking about what happened between them a while ago.

“Nope. It is rush hour now. It will be difficult for you to find a cab at this hour. Give it to me,” he ordered this time, with that tone that she knew she could not defy.

She had no other recourse but to hand him the box containing her gown.

They were already sitting in the passenger seat, when he said, “I am hungry, Ms. Jeansen, could you invite me for dinner at your home as a way of compensating me for bringing you home and for buying you a nice gown?”