"Just enjoy the ride," Knowing this man is as stubborn as a mule and a bigger ass than a donkey, I huff and put on my seatbelt. Can you at least tell me where we're going? I should have that right at least," I put my elbow on the car window and lean my head on my fist. I glare out the front window, hoping he can sense how upset I am.
"You keep talking about your rights and not taking my shit, but I'm your boss. If I fire you, you have nowhere to go. Not to mention you get a fine ass salary from me." I scoff at his comment. Could such an arrogant person truly exist? Is he a robot in disguise? "Let me knock you off your high horse right quick. Without me, you have nothing. You will never find anybody who is as better or more efficient at this job as I am. I may not always like my job but I do it well. I may not have anywhere to go but you won't have anything left." I don't bother looking at him throughout our conversation.
He produces a deep and hardy chuckle that strikes me down to my core. "That's some confidence you have there. You do realize there are plenty of people who have been in this business longer than you who will waste no time taking your spot?" I burst out laughing in a loud and unladylike fashion. "None of them would be able to put up with your egotistical, impertinent, crazy schedule ass. I gave up my life to do what I do and to do it well. Not everybody can do that no matter how long they've been in the business."
For once in our two years of knowing each other, Madden had nothing to say. After a moment of silence, he speaks, "Thank you," I turn my head toward him so fast I swear I get whiplash. "I'm sorry, what?" I blink over and over again thinking this could be a dream or maybe Jason's twin. I've never heard that man say a single grateful thing in my life. Not even when he ate that damn sandwich!
"Are you deaf or daft? I'm sorry, you're right. Not a lot of people can give up their life, not that you had much of one, but still. I'm grateful to have you as my secretary." My surprised expression quickly shifts into a blank stare. His back-handed compliment makes me want to backhand his face. At the same time, he said 'I'm sorry,' and 'you're right,' in the same sentence. And what does this man know about my life?
"You're an asshole, you know that?" He stops at a red light and gives me a genuinely confused face. "What did I do now?" I don't know if his not comprehending that his compliment was lousy is cute or ignorant. "You can't insult and compliment someone in the same sentence. The statements just cancel each other out. It's called a back-handed compliment because it doesn't feel like or isn't an actual compliment. Has nobody taught you this?"
When the light turns green, he turns his direction toward the road again. He puts his hand on his chin in deep thought and his eyebrows crease. I smile at the cuteness. "But I don't get it. I didn't say anything insulting, only the truth." A smile has never fallen so quickly. "Take off your seatbelt and throw yourself out of the car," I say with a straight face. No matter what this man does or says it is insulting. "Excuse me?" Another one of his confused faces. "Are you deaf or daft? I said, jump out of the car. Preferably while it's still moving,"
"Is there a reason that you're repeating my previous words? I'm neither, I just don't understand. That could kill me,"
"You're daft I see. Asking if someone is deaf or daft is an insult you cretin. The fact that you didn't know that when you said it to me is all the more insulting. Did it sound like a compliment or 'the truth' when I said it to you just now? By the way, telling someone they don't have a life is one of the most basic insults in the book," his eyebrows crease even more and his lips are pressed in a thin line. "I see. I apologize. But was I wrong? The reports about you showed your perfect scores, degree, and your previous jobs. I imagine that took a lot of studying and would rarely leave time for friends."
It pisses me off that he is spot on. "How did you make it this far in life?" His dumbfounded expression becomes agitated. "That's rude," Oh, now I am the rude one? What the fuck is wrong with this guy? First, he's ignoring me, then, he's picking on me, then, he's dictating everything I do, and now he's playing the innocent and naive victim. "Please, stop talking," He does what I ask and the only thing that can be heard is the music in the background.
As we head down another street I start to realize where we are. "Are we going to the tailor shop?" I turn and ask him. "Yes, that's why I was looking for you. Apparently, you don't know your schedule that well because it was on there." I give him a deadpan stare until I decide to avert my attention to the store we're approaching. As we start to park, Jason sets the car in reverse, puts his hand on my seat, looks behind him, and slowly starts to back up. I know it shouldn't be and I don't know why it is, but it is extremely sexy. Butterflies erupt in my stomach and I start to squirm. What is up with me?
Why am I feeling this way about a guy who just insulted me 250 ways in two sentences? Why am I feeling this way about my boss and future in-law? I squash the feeling. Even if it is simply sexual attraction, it's wrong. Get it together Soren. You weren't feeling like this before. Yeah, well before he wasn't living in the same house as me, speaking to me, or driving me anywhere, so yeah. Sorry if I'm feeling new things. "Ugh," I drag out the sound.
I groan and slam my head on the dashboard. Jason finishes parking and gives me a concerned look. "Are you-" I cut him off. "Let's go," I jump out of the car and walk into the shop. Jason quickly joins me. I have to stop calling him that. Things need to go back to the way they were so I can stop feeling this way.
Mr. Madden goes up to the front desk to speak with a lady in a nicely tailored suit. While he speaks with her, I look around the shop. Clothes are neatly racked, fabrics are on display, mannequins are dispersed, and the floor is made out of marble. The walls are painted a light pink and the double doors are accompanied by a little golden bell that rang when we stepped in.
"Right this way," I tune in to hear the lady say. Rebecca, as it says on her name tag. She leads us down the hallway to a circular room in the back. It has chairs, couches, and cushions. Mannequins have measuring equipment and fabrics on them, unlike their similars with outfits on. Two changing rooms are concealed by a curtain. Maya, the owner of the store and the woman I've been talking to for the past month arises from behind one of the curtains. Her long and curly hair is up in a tight bun, her heels clack against the marble, and her dark skin is accentuated by her red one-piece suit.
"Hello Mr. Madden," She shakes Mr. Madden's hands and then moves on to me. "It's a pleasure to meet you again Soren," she draws me in for a hug and I reciprocate the action. "Likewise, Maya," Mr. Madden cocks his eyebrow at us. "We've gotten close over the past month," Maya says to him. "You're going to look absolutely lovely in this dress dear,"
"I only just sent the designs today,"
"I'm a quick woman," my surprise only lasts for a few seconds before I remember just how capable Maya is. I wasn't able to dress up for last year's gala as I didn't go. I was still fresh meat and had a lot of things to catch up on. I was involved in the planning process though and Maya was a beast. After a wardrobe accident, she had a replacement dress sewn in two days. It took a big team and no sleep but they got the job done.
"I hope you don't mind but I added something extra on the bottom layers. I couldn't help myself," I shake my head. "It's fine. I know whatever you did only improved the dress,"
"Don't get me wrong, you did a fantastic job with the design. You should make her one of your designers," Maya says and winks at Mr. Madden. "I saw it, it was really impressive," I'm not used to Mr. Madden complimenting me. It feels like the calm before the storm. "I've got all of the material to make the design. All I need are your bodies. This spring collection will be one of our best ones. You both should feel proud." Maya claps her hands and sets a determined face. "Alright, let's get you two in gear,"
The design of my dress wasn't too over the top but flashy enough for a gala. The dress had a neckline made of flowers that creased and expanded to my chest, connecting with the other white and pink flowers that covered my breasts and waist. My v-line went as low as above my belly button. The material the flowers were on isn't noticeable so it looks like the flowers are glued to me. The flowers extended as sleeves to my arms, the bigger flower petals covering the outline of my arm. The flowers continued down the line as petals started to form in the mix. The fabric was thin and made out of lace. It came in multiple layers and spread out from the waist. It was a floor-length dress.
My back would be completely exposed. With Maya's new added features, the under layers of the dress consisted of branches spreading out to the top of the dress with blossoms blooming on them. The background would be colored red from the bottom, blending in with pink and white as it went further up.
My headset was split into a two-piece with pink metal flowers that formed two individual arcs. My earring curved around my ear and met in its center as a flower. It also dangled as branches and petals. My heels were see-through, except for the heel. Because it was see-through it gave off the same effect as the rest of the dress with the flowers looking like they were glued to my skin.
After an overview of how I wanted my dress, we quickly got to work. I didn't expect this to be short. It was most likely going to take the entire day. Johnathan, Maya's assistant, was working on Mr. Madden. I haven't seen his designs but knowing him and his ideas, it was going to be great.
After five hours, the skirt of my dress was completely layered minus the designs. I was in a white tank top. Thirty minutes after we started, an entire crew came rushing in. Crazy enough, Maya is hoping to have everything done by the end of the week. That woman is insane but I respect the dedication.
We are sent off with a one-hour break, giving us time to use the bathroom and eat. We've only had three ten-minute breaks in between everything, so we were all famished and exhausted. I've never stood so long in my life. Not even at the council and board meetings held every month.
I sit down on the couch next to Mr. Madden as we wait for our food to arrive. He is in his white button-up suit and black blazer. The black color highlighted the stitched feathers and petals. Our outfits are regal and less intricate compared to what the models would wear. Spring isn't all about flowers and birds. A lot of the inspiration for the designs was taken from a multitude of animals that can be associated with spring and some unique takes on the season. It was fairly hard for the designers to come up with original ideas that were expressive yet wearable. I don't know the final designs but what I've seen so far looks incredible. Even Maya's outfit is badass.
"Mr. Madden, why has our relationship changed so much? Why do you even acknowledge me now?" I ask him a question I've been wondering about this entire time. I know we live together but so much has drastically changed between us in less than a week. He looks at me for a moment. "Do you not want me to? You've been complaining about my lack of attention for a long time now."
"Don't say it like that. It's not as if I was begging for your attention. I just wanted you to acknowledge how hard I work. For you to stop being so dismissive. It was agitating and unmotivating. It makes me feel like all my sleepless nights go into the trash when all I get is a nod. Hell, I don't like this job but it would be a lot more enjoyable if I didn't have to feel iced out by you."
His eyes actually look apologetic when he looks at me. It sends unease down my spine. I wanted him to change but I didn't think he was capable of human emotions. "I didn't realize I made you feel that way. I was trying to keep a professional relationship, not make you feel bad. I'm always absorbed in my work and don't have time to concern myself with others' emotions, so I never noticed. I'll try to do better,"
"If you were trying to keep a professional relationship, what changed? Clearly, our current relationship is anything but," he turns away from me and sighs. "Saiya asked me to be nicer so that we could get along, so I tried to talk to you, but whenever I did, it was always a fight. I'm not that great with reading others and I come off as blunt to most. I was just being myself," I don't know how to respond to that.
He isn't trying to be an asshole he just is. Knowing that makes me feel a lot better. "I thought you were only like that toward me. Whenever you saw me you always gave me grim eyes. What was up with that?" His eyes were slowly turning to the ones I had just described. "You remind me of work and misery," All I could do was slowly blink at him a few times. "And now?" I ask, hoping that his next few words will make up for the previous ones.
"You remind me of work, misery, and annoyance," They don't. His eyes continue to dim and my soul with it. "I think we're done here," I get up to move to a separate couch when a young woman comes barreling in. Her hair is cropped in a brunette bob, she wears a simplistic no-shoulder work dress and black heels. "I've brought the food!" She squeals. Her running is halted as she trips on her leg and is brought to the floor.
The bag of food she was carrying goes flying right toward me. It happens so quickly that I am barely able to react. Soup, rice, chicken, etc goes flying. I try to move out of the way but the soup is coming down quickly. I am shoved onto the couch as a heavy figure knocks me down. We both slam into the couch, tilting it backward. I close my eyes, waiting for the pain. I hear and feel us crash. The couch falls with a slam.
My back is sore but the rest of me is fine. I open my eyes to see the damage, expecting to have food spilled over our hard work. I find damage alright but it isn't to me. I see Jason hovering over my body, his hand under my head and his other on my waist. That explains why I don't have a massive headache right now but his hand must hurt like hell. "Hey, are you okay?" I ask him but before I have a chance to respond, Maya jumps in.
"Are the clothes okay?!" She rushes over toward us. Madden stands up and his body loses contact with mine. As he releases pressure from my chest, a sharp pain rushes to my breast. Shit, that hurts. I grimace and stay on the floor. Jason outreaches his hand to me but I tell him to wait. "What's wrong? Did you end up getting hurt?" He asks. "Yes, by you and your big ass frame. Nice save but I think I just went from a d cup to an a cup," I hold my breast, and tears stream down my face. Fuck, the one time I do my makeup.
Instead of waiting for me to feel alive again, Jason grabs my shoulders and waist to hoist me up. His hand moves to my thigh and cups my back so that I'm pressed against his chest. My heart pounds in my chest and I hope he can't feel it. I make sure to keep my face away from his suit to not get makeup on it. He moves me to another couch and sets me down. I look at the damage across the room. The floor and couch are a complete mess, stained with all kinds of food. The couch is toppled over but Jason and I are clean. The couch took the beating.
I take a closer look and see it's cracked. "Were you a football player?" I ask Jason in disbelief. "No, why?" I don't bother trying to explain how much brute force it takes to break a couch like that. "I'm…sorry," The girl hicks, choking on her tears. Why the hell is she crying? She didn't just get tackled off a couch.
"I think we're done for the day. I'll call the clean-up crew." Maya grimaces at my breasts' condition and the state of her room. I'm done for the rest of the fucking year. My chest will never be the same.