The next few days whenever she tried to talk to Aiden, Ian got in the way. He now stayed all day long in Aiden's cabin which annoyed Aiden a lot but he didn't comment as long as they were not talking. Marlee was getting frustated and angry that Ian wasn't letting her help Aiden. She was convinced she could but only if Ian stopped butting in her business. She did confront Ian twice but was told off by him. But she wasn't gonna give up like that. She wasn't a quitter. She found some other way or more like the luck was on her side.
"I've completed these files as you said sir", Marlee said handing over the files to Aiden while Ian watched them sitting on the sofa with his laptop on his lap.
"Good", Aiden said flicking through the files. "I have to go meet some foreign delegates of ours and I thought it would be a good opportunity for you to learn Ms. Davies. What do you say?"
Her smile broadened as she said,"Sure sir. I would be glad to accompany you."
As soon as Ian processed the chat he interrupted,"What what!? Aiden, you can't possibly take her with you! She doesn't have any knowledge regarding these things."
Marlee furrowed her brows and bit her inner cheeks so as not to say anything rude to Ian. Aiden quirked up his eyebrows in question,"The while point is for her to learn. That is the reason she is here. You don't make sense Ian."
Ian had no idea how to counter. He kept opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. Aiden shook his head then turned to Marlee,"Tell Mr. Smith to book our tickets for tomorrow. We'll be gone for a week. Do you have any problem?"
"Not at all sir", this was the chance Marlee was waiting for. She could finally get close to Aiden or so she thought so during the trip. "Then I'll meet you at the airport tomorrow morning sir."
Aiden hummed in response. Marlee made her way out with a broad grin plastered on her face but before leaving she side glanced at Ian who just sat there with his head in his hands. She didn't bother and left.
Next day morning both Aiden and Marlee boarded their plane while Ian wished nothing would happen to Marlee. After reaching their destination they checked in a hotel and took some rest before they had to start working. Marlee tossed around her bed not feeling sleepy at all as she took a long nap on the plane. She was thinking of how to get close to Aiden so that he would trust her and open up and so far she had no ideas. Sure God did give her a chance but she had no idea how to make her plan work. She could only pray that things would work out for the best before they had to go back. She has seven days so she kept her hopes high.
Four days passed by in the blink of an eye and she still had no idea as what to do with Aiden. Right now they were in a meeting room with their partner while Aiden and the other person shook hands.
"Its always a pleasure working with you Mr. Simmons. I'm glad you like our plan. We'll draft the contract and send it to you by tomorrow."
"I'm looking forward to it Mr. Black and the pleasure is all ours."
They let go of each other's hand then Mr. Black said,"I'm throwing a party tomorrow on the occasion of our successful partnership. You have to come. I know you are here for two more days."
With a small smile Aiden replied,"Of course I'll be there."
"And you too Ms. Davies. You did great on this project for someone new to this field", Mr. Black directed towards Marlee.
She blushed with a shy smile on her face and bowed saying,"Thank you for your patience with me Mr. Black and sure I'll be there."
They were on their car's backseat when Aiden said,"Ms. Davies, if you need anything for tomorrow's party just lemme know. Do not hesitate."
She looked to her side with a smile pasted on her lips and said,"Yep, sure Mr. Simmons." A beat later she continued,"Can I ask you something?"
He nodded while looking at his phone. She pouted but continued nonetheless," I didn't anticipate a party on our trip so I hadn't packed any dresses with me which can suit the occassion. If you don't mind can we go shopping before returning to the hotel?"
He looked up from his phone at her face, more like her puppy eyed face and diverted her gaze nodding which only made Marlee smile.
Aiden was pacing the length outside the ladies changing room while talking to Ian on phone. "For heaven's sake Ian. I told you, all is fine. Why are you being so difficult?" Ian replied something from the other side and Aiden put his left hand on his temples to massage them,"I'm hanging up now. I seriously have no energy left to talk to you."
As soon as he hung up the call a sweet voice called him and he turned around with a still expression. He couldn't say anything nor could he avert his eyes anywhere. His eyes were stuck on Marlee who stood there in a plum coloured full length dress, very similar to what Adina wore to that wedding. For a minute Aiden thought it was Adina standing in front of him and he was back in the past when he attended that wedding on that wretched day.
Marlee bit her lower lip not understanding Aiden's expression at all. "Does this look okay?" She asked Aiden in a small voice which brought him out of his trance. He turned around so that his back was visible to Marlee.
He took a deep breath and clutched the bracelet in his coat pocket tightly while his eyes closed on their own accord. There was a stinging pain behind his closed eyelids but he willed himself to stay calm. 'She is not her. She isn't coming back', he repeated in his head. When Marlee cleared her throat he replied without turning to look at her,"Buy whatever you want. I'll be waiting by the cash counter." He left leaving behind a confused Marlee. She had no idea what just happened.
She decided to buy the dress as it looked good on her honey toned skin. The next day while they were going to the party she noticed how Aiden was avoiding looking in her direction. Being the curious one as she is, she asked,"Is something wrong Mr. Simmons?"
He replied while looking out the car's window,"No". They reached to the venue and greeted everyone.
"You look absolutely gorgeous this evening Ms. Davies",Mr. Black commented to which she replied with a thank you. After exchanging plesantaries Aiden went towards the bar without bothering about Marlee.
Some time later~
Marlee may or may not have crossed her tolerance level while drinking. She was not to be blamed though, it was because of a certain someone who was adamant on ignoring her presence. She was a bit tipsy but not drink, yet. The smell of booze was dizzying and people were busy swaying with their partners on the dance floor. She pouted looking at the couples and then her eyes landed on Aiden who was sitting in a corner with a glass of whiskey in his hand. She stood up from her place and walked towards him.
She stood in front of him and extended her right hand saying,"Will you dance with me?" The sudden question startled Aiden who looked at Marlee like she was some alien talking about some weird experiment they wanted to conduct on him which he didn't understand a word of. When Aiden didn't reply for a few more seconds Marlee added in a whisper,"Psst.. Can you please not reject me right now? People are looking this way, It'll get embarassing for me." She pouted and gave him her famous puppy eyes.
Aiden's eyes shone with bemusement and Marlee could have sworn she saw a flicker of smile on his lips for a second but it could have been her imagination she wasn't sure, blame it on the alcohol. He asked,"Are you perhaps drunk Ms. Davies?" He quirked up his eyebrows in question, the look making him look more hot.
Marlee sighed and put her hand down by her side. "Firstly I'm not drunk but maybe I had a little bit too much to drink so perhaps a bit tipsy and secondly we are not in the office or doing some work so please call me Marlee. I never liked Ms. Davies and all that shitty formality. It sucks." She made a disgusted face. Aiden held back his chuckle because honestly this Marlee was too cute to handle. She was definitely acting differently. She looked at him again and her lower lips puckered while she asked,"Will you dance with me please? I really want to dance and I know no one else here."
Aiden sighed and shook his head,"I don't dance Ms. Davies."
"Marlee", saying so she took his glass of whiskey and put it on the table and held his hand, making him stand up and made her way to the dance floor pulling Aiden with her. She made him put both his hands on her waist and herself put her hands on his stiff shoulders. All this time Aiden was too shocked to even react to any of this. "Call me Marlee. Also you said yesterday that if I want something, I should ask you then what's with the long face?" She pouted then continued,"And don't worry just sway to the rythm with me. I'll guide you. Dancing is not some rocket science, just enjoy with me." She gave him her dazzling toothy smile making him blink and recover from the initial shock of what's happening.
"I-", he got cut off by Marlee.
"Pleaseeee....."
He looked at her for a few moments. "Mmhm". He then let her guide him during the dance.
They danced for a few minutes in silence and all this time Aiden avoided any kind of eye contact with her. He couldn't bare looking in those blue eyes which held so many emotions openly, unlike his own, that scared him. It was hard for him to be around her afterall she smelled so similar to Adina. He couldn't help noticing so many similiaraties between them. She herself was so similiar to Adina and yet so different. Just for the sake of her father he was doing everything so that Marlee will learn how to run a big company.
"Aiden", Marlee's sweet voice brought him back to present. His eyes widened because this was the first time she called him by his name. His head snapped in her direction which made Marlee giggle with mirth. "Aiden", she again said and giggled. She looked at his raised eyebrows and said,"Oops, sorry. Looks like the booze is kicking in now". She giggled again while Aiden sighed.
"We should go back to the hotel now",he said, ready to move away from her.
"Nwooo....", she whined and clinged to Aiden. She literally went ahead and hugged him tightly which caused Aiden to stiffen and let go of Marlee. "I wanna dance some more pwease." She pulled back her face from the crook of his neck while still hugging him and gave him her puppy eyes. Both of them just looked in each other's eyes while the world around faded until they were the only ones present in that particular moment. They were so close that if Aiden dipped just a little or Marlee tiptoed their lips might touch.
She finally broke the silence while her eyes showed sadness,"You eyes are so pretty Aiden... but so sad." Her lips turned down squeezing something inside Aiden which he tried not to register. "What are you hiding? You are like a mystery to me ... a quest that I need to solve or I won't be able to be live peacefully ever. Why you make me so curious about you? Your eyes are calling for help but why won't you let me help you? What's stopping you? Why am I so attracted to you? What is it about you that I can't help but want to know you... your past... your nightmares? What demons are you hiding behind that cold demeanour of yours? What happened with you? There are so many questions but I have answers to none. Help me out here Aiden." She put her right hand on his chest and felt his heart thumping at an abnormal speed.
Aiden looked at her for a while longer then stepped back in an instant. He took in a deep breath saying,"I'm waiting for you in the car. Be quick Ms. Davies." And before she could say anything, he disappeared.
She was starting to get drunk but still had one more quick drink before she left the venue to find the car. She wobbled a little but handled herself. She opened the car door and sat beside Aiden. No more words were exchanged during the whole ride. Before entering his room Aiden said,"I've rescheduled our flights to tomorrow afternoon. Pack your bags." He slammed his door shut while Marlee made her way to her room.
She entered the room, took off her heels then peeled herself out of the dress. She took out a loose tshirt from the wardrobe which reached her mid-thighs and went towards her bed. She rubbed her face with both her hands saying,"What have you done Marlee". Then plopped on the bed, face down and passed out in a minute.
The next day Marlee groaned and sat up on her bed while massaging her head as she heard knocking on her door which felt like someone was hammering nails in her head. The hangover was surely gonna be a pain in the ass for her. She told the person to come in while she covered herself with a blanket.
A lady came in the room with a tray. She put it down on the table when Marlee asked,"What is this? I didn't order any room service."
The lady, probably in her mind thirties, replied,"The gentleman who accompanied you called the reception and asked a painkiller and soup to be delivered to you."
Marlee suddenly blushed bright red and said," H-He did?"
She was caught up in her head when the lady replied,"Indeed. I'll take my leave now. If you need anything else ma'am please call the reception."
With her cheeks still tinted red, she nodded while the woman left. She took the tray and set it on her lap on the bed. She finished the soup and took the painkiller which did miracles to her hangover. She was blushing and smiling constantly when suddenly a thought hit her.
Yesterday night's events flashed in her head and she felt very embarrassed. 'The fuck I did last night', she thought and quickly did her morning routine and dressed presentably. She inhaled a deep breath before walking out of her room towards Aiden's. She knocked softly a few times then heard a 'come in'. She went inside and saw Aiden packing his bag and a frown appeared on her forehead.
"Oh it's you Ms. Davies", Aiden said like he was expecting her because he was. He set aside his stuff while turning towards Marlee.
"Uhm... Good morning Mr. Simmons and... thank you .. for the soup and painkiller". She was embarrassed but still greatful for his thoughtfulness.
He brushed aside her thanks with a wave of his hand while he shook his head," No need".
A few minutes pause later Marlee said,"Uhm... also... I-I'm sorry about.. you know... what happened yesterday. I got drunk and made you dance with me forcefully. I'm sorry. It won't happen again... ever." She bowed 90° to him and when she stood back up, didn't dare meet his eyes. She found the floor way too interesting at that particular moment.
When no reply came, she looked up at him. Aiden was standing there like he was waiting for something. She looked confused and looked here and there. "That's it?" She heard him ask.
"Huh?"
"That was it? Nothing else?"
"I- ... i-... uh... Did I do something else too?" Sweat beads started forming on her forehead in nervousness. She was already embarrassed enough. All she could remember was making him dance forcefully with her then they came back home. Did she do something more embarassing? She was so done of herself. She swear she could die of embarrassment if the earth didn't swallow her whole. She couldn't remember anything else. What did she do?