Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Nervously pulling at her skin tight leopard print dress which barely came up to her thighs for the umpteenth time, Paris looks around the vast expensive uptown restaurant whose patrons had to be mainly politicians , celebrities and men of worth, beating herself up mentally for allowing Amy to talk her into going on a blind date with this unknown man who she said she happened to know, but then truth be told she was bored and tired of staying at home as her job searches had proved unfortunately unsuccessful as no one was willing to employ a suspected thief, in Madison rumours spread pretty fast like fire on hay and she was glad to be away from the crushing loneliness that awaited her at home, Amy was on the night shift and wasn’t going to be home till dawn, allowing the waiter to lead her to their table , she wondered how rich this unknown guy was and she asked herself if she made the right choice coming here as she clearly didn’t belong in such a palatial place, wondering how her, an unemployed woman with a pending court case would be able to build a relationship with this man who was so clearly out of her league, she shook her head and consoled herself that he might be some butt ugly, bald headed freak with a bad dentition thereby levelling the play field as she was poor, had great teeth and was mainly okay looking , he rich but as ugly as a toad but what to do if he was handsome?... Damn! ‘’ Curse you Amy!’’ she mutters under her breath as a ear of her turquoise earring which was a gift from her nana falls under a table, bending to retrieve it and rising up she looked up into familiar mischievous sparkling sky blue eyes and froze.

Aaron eyes glinting, looked at Paris who eyes were wide open like that of a deer caught in a headlight with a victorious smirk on his face, she looks around the filled room obviously thinking about leaving as a hurt look flashes across her face , he knew she was getting the worst out her best friend’s betrayal , he didn’t mean any harm though he thought to himself as he had only asked the pretty brunette for a favour to which she had compiled with faster than a bolt of light and it wasn’t because he had seduced her or bribed her or anything , it simply was because she wanted the best for her friend ,the thick headed blondie who looked simply stunning in her short dress which left most of her thick sexy long legs on full display , her hair was wound up into a neat bun with curly tendril’s of blonde hair on each side of her head framing her heart shaped face , he could see her long neck clearly and marvelled at the smooth flawless skin of her neck and her gold necklace which’s pendant was shaped like a strawberry , this woman’s strong obsession with the said fruit almost brought a smile to his face but he soon gained control of his emotions and speaks ‘’ Sorry about how I got you here but I knew you would never agree to meet me so I had to do what I had to do’’ . ‘’ And am supposed to accept that half arsed apology?’’ came the angry response. Feisty… hmmm ‘’Did Amy know I would be meeting you?’’. She asked, looking at the table and tapping her hands against the table in a blatant show of impatience, this woman was a real piece of work, he thought to himself, he needed to tread with caution, one wrong move and things could race from bad to worse, already caught he decided to go for the simple truth. ‘‘Yes’’ He said trying to look as sorry as possible. The blonde looks shocked at his words, blinks twice and stands up, moving to walk away but she is pulled back by Aaron who now wears a solemn look ‘’ Let go of me, to you people might be tools that are meant to be used and discarded but don’t ever use my friend against me again! Your mom has hurt me enough so please let me be’’ she spits out in a voice full of venom. ‘’Am sorry’’ Aaron says… ‘’ please let’s just talk’’ he pleads softly, despite Paris’s anger toward the 187cm, raven curly haired man with the chiselled face, soft smooth well pampered golden skin, thick dark eyebrows and extra-long eyelashes, pointed nose and a very sharp jawline which looked like it could be used to split a huge watermelon into halves in front of her she moves to seat back down just as he says ‘’ Am really sorry but this needs to be settled, am not an unreasonable man and I may have given that impression at first but am sorry... look I don’t know what exactly happened between you and my mother but please just let it go! The last time I saw you, you said if I wanted to beg, I should get my mom to apologise so I thought I should do just that. ‘’ Unreasonable? No no no… Really? I actually think you are a jerk.’’ She tells him, leaning back in her chair. She wasn’t going to make things easy for him. As he spoke , Paris couldn’t help but appreciate the man’s visuals , he had a powerful , unforgettable face and physique , his masculine fragrance filling the room, he had well -polished skin and a princely aura, the audacity with which he spoke and carried himself portrayed a man used to power and authority…someone used to giving out instructions and being obeyed, on a normal day a man who looked this good and smelled like a mix of sandal wood, blackcurrant, oak wood and sage would have had her mind doing spins and her insides turn to jelly but given their current situation and her history with his mother, she had already crossed him out from her wrecker’s list , hell the man could give Zac Efron, Nick Bateman and Zayn Malik a run for their money but not even his Greek god looks would stop or deter her from dragging his mother to hell where the old tramp belonged. As soon as he rounds up his speech, her former boss and present nightmare Miss josei kress emerges from the front door wearing her signature long flowery dress, pearls and a hat and sits down as Aaron nods and stands up saying ‘’ I will leave you ladies to settle this between yourselves’’ and walks out his Givenchy coat trailing backwards after him, Paris silently wondered who he was and what his obsession was with designer coats , and after staring at him for a while she looked back at the woman in front of her who she notices for the first time had the same eyes and raven black hair as her son. She finds her voice, saying grudgingly ‘’ You owe me my salary’’. ‘’ You would only be paid the money when you agree to let go of this case, never speak of it again and accept your spot back at kress jewelleries’’. ‘’ Well I could do that … but I don’t want to! I did nothing wrong, I am the victim but am being treated like a culprit!’’. With a nasty sneer on her face Miss kress mutters unapologetically ‘’ I made a mistake and I know I can’t take it back but hell everybody makes mistakes and they don’t have to face a firing squad because of that, plus you need to think about how I helped you and employed you when no one else wanted to, so…’’. ‘’ You call that an apology?’’ Paris asks in bewilderment, shocked at the older woman’s words. ‘’ you know what? fuck this! I don’t need this crap; I don’t want your apology. here is what I want… to drag kress jewelleries to the ground, I will take everything you have and make sure to leave you penniless, I will sue you for assault and you will likely bag a jail term as I have pictures to prove that you laid hands on me and beat me up, hitting me over and over again with a shoe box, I have the scars to bear me witness, so in case you don’t know... I will become your worst nightmare, I will make sure to rid you of that pride that makes you look down on people and treat them like second hand citizens, who knows… when am done with you, you might become like them’’ she says with a sly smirk. Furious at the words of the young lady in front of her Miss kress loses her composure and slaps her across the face, furiously shouting and jostling the other customers who are now focused on the ongoing drama at the table ‘’ You bitch! I helped you out and made you into a decent person’’. ‘’ Decent person? … hahaha your definition of decency really baffles me, you mistreat everybody, you look down on the people around you, just because you feel like what? the greatest jeweller in the history of the world? I can’t ever forget the days you made me stand outside in the cold as punishment, or made me kneel with a jewellery box on my head as punishment and you made me a decent person? You really have lost your mind, all you did was make me realise how less of a human being you are, because of you I’ve lost everything I hold dear and the fact that you show no single remorse shows how much of an animal you are, you keep dangling my hard earned salary in front of me… money that I worked hard, all around the clock for, money that I did countless overnights for, you really are a monstrous villainous bitch!’’. Paris shouts. Screaming Miss kress takes the glass of water on the table and swings it in Paris’s direction, splashing the water on her face and Aaron who walks in at that moment looks sympathetically at Paris whose eyes are closed and whose mascara is streaming down her face in long black lines , his mother moves to hit her again but he catches her hand in time and roughly leads her out, Paris spitting out the water in her mouth, uses a napkin to dab at her face and walks out into the street , realising she had no money to take a cab home ,she decides to walk home instead ,she however takes a few steps and trips, the heel of her shoe breaking in the process, sighing loudly she takes her shoes off and begins to walk barefooted also freeing her hair from the tight bun it was held captive in , feeling free and light despite the weird looks people around keep throwing at her . A Cadillac suddenly stops in front of her and Aaron steps out looking sorry and perplexed, angry she eyes him maliciously and continues walking, but he gets into his car and cuts her off again, rolling down the windows and saying ‘’Please get in.’’ Hissing loudly, she turns instead to a nearby park and goes to sit on a swing there realising for the first time how much her legs were aching, Aaron suddenly appears and takes off his coat revealing a white skin tight round neck and ripped jeans and put his coat around her and despite the ache in her head and legs she distractedly notices how well built his body was , he wasn’t beefy or extremely muscular but he wasn’t slender either he had a body like that of Henry Cavill, her all time crush as she could make out his taut stomach in his shirt, gracefully blessed with chocolate abs….washboard abs, as Amy would call it, looking away from his glorious body she stares instead at her feet in the soft sand, wishing for the umpteenth time that life, would somehow have mercy on her and go her way. CHAPTER FOUR – MAKE IT RIGHT.

Aaron realising how lost in thought she was as she looked down distractedly at her pale feet in the sand for minutes, speaks softly ‘’ Sorry about my mother, I can’t excuse her behaviour tonight but please…’’. Paris cuts him off ‘’ Do you know the set of people I find scary the most? Not liars, or kidnappers or Murderers... its mothers! they really are a scary bunch … I was seven the first time my mom tried to abandon me at a park, it was a gloomy dark rainy morning and I was wearing this little fur coat with flowery buttons which was a gift from nana my grandmother, I remembered holding Pascal my mutt faced teddy and my mother ... she was dressed in sparkly heels and a bright pink flowery dress with a pink headband on her head which was bound up in a long blonde ponytail and her face was lit up with her exotic and tasteful makeup , she was an ex beauty queen and she used to be a Broadway actress … we took a train and all I could feel around me was silence… nerve wracking silence and my mother’s nervous fidgeting, I had placed my hand on hers to comfort her but she just sighed loudly not sparing me a glance . When we got to the park, it was empty and no one was in sight and my mom had placed a hoodie on my head then and told me we were going to play my favourite game of hide and seek , I however knew something wasn’t right as her voice and her hand kept shaking, I couldn’t even bring myself to smile as I was afraid and all I could think about then was why the world around me looked so empty and devoid of colour , I did as I was told and closed my eyes and she told me to start counting down, as I put my hand over my closed eyes and called out the numbers in the darkness enveloping me, I could hear the soft scrunch of my mom’s shoe against the sand walking away till I could hear nothing , removing my hand from my face I saw that my mom was nowhere to be found , in panic I started looking around till I caught wind of my mom’s pink dress as she hurriedly walked towards a black Buick . Letting out a loud cry I dropped Pascal and started running towards my mother who had by then gotten into the car, I ran after the moving car till I was out of breath and fell to the ground faint and wheezing, I had remained there on the ground crying and unable to get up, thinking to myself that the world around me was spinning till the glowing heels of my mother appeared in front of me and I slowly looked up into her angry eyes. That incident shaped my life so much that I worked so hard to please my mom so she would never leave me again, I tried to get the best grades, tried to be the best kid at everything but I always failed, I guess I couldn’t just do anything right and after your mother accused me of taking those diamonds, my mom didn’t just leave but threw me out into the street instead breaking up everything I’d ever worked hard to build, I hate your mother coat! am living with a best friend who works three jobs and was generous enough to pick me up from the streets and give me a place to stay and who is finding it hard to get by every day, she would never complain but I know it’s killing her to keep taking care of my feeding and housing and I can’t even help her as I don’t even have a dime on me, I can’t even board a taxi home!’’ ‘’Do you understand me now?’’. ‘’Why I have every right in the world to be angry?’’ she added, trying hard to hold back her tears. Aaron realising how deep her scars ran, looks on at her speechless, she then stands up, returns his coat, picks up her shoes and bag and moves walks away but she is stopped by Aaron’s sudden question. ‘’ Would you come work for me at my company then? We could use a hand, I will pay you well, and in advance, don’t think of this as a compensation but a business opportunity, for you ... a career boost, according to my sources you used to work as a model for a small clothing line before you got uncomfortable and quit, I can help you become a model again, big time! New York city is the land of opportunities and I can help you make those opportunities happen… when I came to the house I saw the pictures of ballerinas hanging over the place , and since the house belongs to your dear friend am guessing your friend is a ballerina or at least dreams of being one , I will pay for all her ballerina classes as long as you work for me, you can send me her details so I could get on with the next payment’’. Paris slowly turns back, and in shock looks at him, trying to gauge the look on his face ‘’And in exchange, forget the lawsuit right? …Smart move coat, really enticing but no thank you!’’. ‘’This is about you earning money to help your friend and yourself, I might seem like a jerk to you but am still human, in my company you can make a name for yourself and earn money doing so, you have a stunning face and body, so it depends solely on you, your feeding and accommodation will also be taken care by me so you don’t have to worry and you don’t have to give me an answer now though, feel free to take your time… no pressure’’ ‘’it’s too good to be true ... coat’’ Paris says, feeling foolish for even considering his offer. ‘’ Aaron… Aaron kress’’ he corrects and held out his hand for a polite handshake but she squinted, rolled her eyes and walked away. She was a challenge …. But he loved challenges so he walked up to meet her. ‘’ And this is me trying to make my mother’s wrong right so think about It carefully and am not going to pressure you to give up the lawsuit, what you think is right, is more important.’’ He says and walks to his car, taking his action as a signal that their conversation was ended Paris starts walking away till he stops the car in front of her again and tells her to get in , mentally preparing to refuse the ride ,she soon realises her terribly her legs ache and how long her journey was and gets into the car whose interior spelt class and wealth and whose seats smelled like fresh lilac and jasmine . Aaron drove in silence trying so hard not to look at her thighs which were on full display as her dress had ridden up higher as she sat down , he mentally kicked himself for wondering what it will be like to quickly brush his hand against her soft looking skin, blaming it on the strong strawberry scent filling his lungs and mentally berating himself on how he could think of such things given the quagmire situation but he quietly consoled himself with the fact that he was an hot blooded man who was prone to such thoughts. He finally lets out a sigh of relief when she finally alights at her friend’s house and he helplessly found himself shamelessly checking her out as she walked upstairs in her short tight dress, he soon drove off unable to steer his thoughts away from the extremely pretty blonde who he had just entangled himself with. CHAPTER FIVE – BIG DREAMS Waving to a sobbing Amy for the umpteenth time and walking away while wondering to herself if accepting to work for coat…Aaron was right , she reprimanded herself finding it cooler to call him coat than Aaron, the happy look on Amy’s face last night easing her fear , when she got home last night she and Amy had spent most of the night, half fighting, half arguing then patching things up, and dancing happily after telling Amy the details of her deal with Aaron, and after leaving a still excited and dancing Amy in the living room, she had then gone to her computer and googled out Aaron kress and marvelled at how he was described, apparently Mr expensive coats wasn’t just a pretty face, he was the owner of the rapidly growing new York fashion company M and M the fashion brand responsible for most of the latest wears in town, their wears ranging from coats, to beanies , to comfy sweats , to hats , to glamourous evening wears , to customised sunglasses , to stylish trousers ,to high end leather jackets to fashionable shoes, to designer handbags, purses and Backpacks and most importantly they were going to be launching a new line of classy womenswear and their products were the new rave of the town, with their patrons ranging from high ranking celebrities to models and the children of the high and mighty in the society ,and even though they were a start-up company they were a highly successful company with the cheapest M and M sweat shirt costing three thousand dollars apiece ,he also was said to be a former ex model who had cat walked at major fashion shows like the New York fashion week, Seoul fashion week and whose chiselled face and well sculpted body had graced the face of popular magazines like Elle, Cosmopolitan , Nylon , Vogue, Allure, Dazed and Marie Claire , he was also a former muse of Dior, Oriflame Sweden , Channel and Versace , seeing how influential Mr coat was , she found herself wondering how much of a womanizer a spec like him would be, having beautiful women at his beck and call, she then ruefully shook her head at the thought ,as there wasn’t much about his love life on the internet. She shut down her computer and then she had called him on the company’s line he had scribbled on a note for her and when the call had been transferred to him, he had asked her to come see him soon giving her the company’s address and asking for her account details which she had reluctantly sent, getting a credit alert almost immediately with a company message asking her to use the money for her transport, she had smirked wondering if he was truly sensitive to her feelings or if he was using her for clout .

Alighting from the taxi and dropping in front of the huge building, she had marvelled at the magnificent sight in front of her and walked in, realising she was in for a bigger surprise as the interior of the building blew her away and was even more stunning than that of the outside, she had been to new York briefly once and had been unable to explore the big city but now she could and would do that to her heart’s content , seeing stylishly dressed men and women walking back and forth in the huge lobby made her feel out of place in her short skater skirt and an old Beatles shirt which she had paired with worn out Nikes, her hair cascading down her back in messy waves, taking slow measured steps to the reception , resisting the urge to look back to see if her shoes were making a mess on the well-polished gleaming floor, she greeted the pretty woman with chestnut eyes behind the counter politely, who immediately ran a full scan on her with confused wide eyes , Paris had then smiled sheepishly to ease her confusion and politely asked to see Mr Aaron kress. ‘’ Do you have a prior appointment with Mr kress’’ came the sharp response. She had a funny high pitched voice, paris thought as she fought to hold in her laughter. ‘’ He told me to come see him, we talked on phone last night’’ she replied. ‘’ You talked on phone with our Mr kress ?’’ she asked ,making Paris wonder when Mr expensive coat became a property tossed around , snapping out of her thoughts and staring back at the eyes taking in her outfit with a disdainful look, her eyes lingering on Paris’s denim bag which had been a farewell gift from Amy, the spoilt brat says cattily‘’ Mr kress is a meeting right now which will take all day and he wishes not to be disturbed so you will have to check on him tomorrow or next or the day after that’’. ‘’ So you mean I can’t see him today neither can I tomorrow and the day after that but am free to keep on coming everyday’’ Paris threw back sarcastically; her eyebrows weary with frustration. ‘’ Do you have a personal relationship with our Mr kress’’ evil chestnut asks, eyeing Paris slyly. ‘’Well….’’ Paris starts to say, maintaining a pause trying to weigh the consequences of telling chestnut eyes, who was patiently waiting for an answer what she did and didn’t want to hear, this lady obviously had a crush on Aaron and was acting as a human barricade to keep potential threats out, well she had nothing to fear as she was in no way attracted to coat ,he wasn’t even her type by a long mile, and there was his mother ……the great wicked witch of the west . ‘’ Well we met ….’’ She starts to say, meaning to mess with chestnut eyes for looking down on her but she is cut off by her sharp answer. ‘’ You will have to come back another day miss…, he can’t attend to you today’’ she says and standing there lost as to what to do Paris sighs, looking around helplessly, she didn’t even have coat’s personal phone number nor did she know how else to reach him, turning to walk away, she caught a glimpse of coat… uh… Aaron dressed in a long black coat, ripped black jeans with black aviator glasses and a black turtle neck and stylish black shoes , his curly hair slicked back and a shiny chain on his neck making him look more like a stylish mob boss than an CEO , his head towering over that his entourage making him stand out more , his entourage she quickly noted which consisted of a woman and two men all stylishly dressed, happy at her great luck she calls out to him, her voice resonating in the entire building making all the eyes in the reception snap in her direction. ‘’ Hey coat!... I mean Aaron! Hi!’’

Aaron stunned at the voice, takes off his glasses as blondie makes her way to him only to be stopped by his security men, he signals to them to let her go and she smiles, her perfect pearly white dentition making his world turn upside down and sending a jolt of electricity running through his body, finding his voice he speaks as soon as she reaches him. ‘’I have been waiting for you, you were supposed to be here an hour ago’’. ‘’ Well chestnut eyes over there kept me waiting there for a few minutes… ohhh and she has a huge crush on you’’ she tells him, watching his face scrunch up in confusion, she was about to laugh when she caught the look on the face of the beautiful woman on Aaron’s right, she looked… jealous and looked like she was minutes away from clobbering Paris with the heel of her jimmy Choo. What was wrong with the women here? why were they asking so overly protective? Was it something in the water around here? Swallowing loudly and looking away from miss – killer -eyes, she turned back to Aaron who was wearing an amused look on his face. ‘’ Chestnut eyes?’’ he asked trying very hard to keep a straight face. ‘’ She has chestnut eyes, nothing else stands out’’ she retorted. ‘’ Her name is Becky! and you were supposed to be here earlier than that, so do you have another excuse….a more acceptable one?’’. He asked suddenly turning serious. ‘’ Well am a phlegmatic so we tend to be lazy about literarily everything ,punctuality included… nope shitty excuse! am sorry for keeping you waiting though…’’ ‘’I like the serial killer look it’s so nice! Me likey.’’ she added sassily, trying to change the topic, making Leo and Han, the two men behind Aaron snicker. ‘’ Well I and my team have a meeting in five minutes so go back to chestnut eyes Becky at the reception she will arrange to keep you relaxed and comfortable till we come back, we can then review your working agreement and you can sign it… I will see you later…take care’’, he says signalling to the receptionist whose eyes were bulging out of their socket in shock , smirking he walks away but not before taking a quick look at her long straight creamy legs in her really really short skirt , he wondered how much of her backside who be revealed if she was to bend down in her barely there skirt, the thought making him feel giddy and hungry and angry as he wished she wore something longer so Leo and all the men around would stop staring at her exposed legs , walking away from her he found out his body was humming with desire and for the first time realised how dangerous it was to have her around. CHAPTER SIX – TEMPTATIONS

Aaron’s meeting had taken longer than expected and Paris who waited patiently for two hours was handed over by the grumpy Becky whose shift was over to a kind hazel eyed ,redhead whose name was Natalie who insisted Paris called her Tallie and who at the first glance complemented her skirt and bag and called her beautiful, feeling at ease and relaxed with Tallie who made sure all her needs were catered for, she had then dozed off , minutes later tallie who had walked out of the room had walked back in and announced that the boss had instructed she be taken down to her apartment as his meeting was running late , alighting from the chauffeured car , she took a grand tour around the house, excitedly looking around the large , tastefully furnished living room whose floor were gleaming brightly and whose windows were so large , she runs into the large bedroom which was bigger than the size of Amy’s entire studio apartment and hopped on the bed which she discovers is a water bed , squealing in delight at the bed which she had only had the privilege of seeing once at the house of a client to whom she had gone to deliver a gold plated wristwatch, who was such a spoilt brat that she demanded the wristwatch she ordered for be delivered to her in bed. She rejoiced in the fact that it was big enough to accommodate three or four people if they snuggled in together and smiled sadly knowing nana would have loved this apartment especially the large television on the wall , on which she could comfortably watch her favourite dramas as nana had poor eyesight , she would have adored the huge fireplace too ,she reminisced as nana at age 88 was prone to colds and always had to keep warm ,the thought of nana made her feel weak and vulnerable as it had been too long since she last saw or had any contact with her dear grandmother, all she ever wanted was to be a great daughter but instead she failed and failed miserably at that. Silently cursing her luck she wondered why things never went her way and concluded it was because she was just one unlucky lady, nana had once said she could see Paris’s future and said it was bright like a strong ray of light but so far so good it had been darkness all around, she hoped with this new job here she could finally prove herself to Amy, nana and most importantly her mother that she was wasn’t a failure, hell... Baylor always called her lion heart , trying to rid herself of depressing thoughts she decided to go have a hot shower in the bathroom which was so pretty she was lost as to how to describe it, concluding that Aaron kress no matter how crass she initially thought he was , was a man of taste who didn’t do things in half measures .

Aaron after his meeting had treated his team to a dinner after their successful meeting with Gucci whom they were partnering with to produce and promote a new line of womenswear, wondering if Paris had gotten dinner as she was new to city and barely knew anywhere , he wanted to put a call through to her to ask if she had eaten but realised he didn’t have her personal phone number , so he just ordered a take-out and went back to his office to grab her contract deciding since he knew her address he would kill two birds with one stone, get her food and get her signature on her contract , her signature on the contract been of great essence ,as he was packing his things into his bag Alexa his friend and M and M’s creative director had walked in, a sweet smile on her gorgeous face. ‘’ Hey there Alexa’’ he had said with a cheerful smile which he aimed in her direction. ‘’Hey there Aaron… someone looks happy and is in a cheery mood, the successful meeting with Gucci is making everyone happy so I get the reason for the radiant and light smile on your face’’ ‘’So where are you off to this late and who is the box of food for?’’ she asked. ‘’ Well it’s for the new employee, I need to check on her but I don’t have her number, luckily I have her address… plus she needs to sign her contract.’’ he says brazenly which made her smile vanish. ‘’ So not only are you getting her food but you are also going to her house?’’ she says with a blank unreadable look on her face. ‘’ Yes to get her to sign her agreement and give her this’’ he says, still packing his things, with the same blank on her face she says in a pained tone. ‘’ Let me do that for you, just go rest, it has been a long day ‘’. ‘’ No thanks, I’ve got it’’ he says sharply and Aaron trying to figure out what was up with her just shakes his head, picks up the box and walks out leaving Alexa sighing sadly. After a quick drive to her house he had walked up to her door and held out a hand to press the doorbell only to realise the door was open , he wondered to himself how many lives this crazy woman thought she had, like who leaves their door wide open at 8pm at night in a city full of crooks, murderers and perverts , even next door neighbours were not to be trusted as some could be mentally unstable and could prey on the single women that lived alone ,stepping in to the apartment he heard music blasting out from the bedroom and walked in the direction of the room only to hear singing well more like shouting…. he had walked in, intrigued and saw Paris her back to the open bedroom door with a headset and nothing but a towel on, wet mussed blonde hair cascading down her back, her hairbrush serving as her microphone as she was dancing no… more like twerking, as she rolled, jumped, moonwalked and gyrated singing. ‘’ Splish, splash! The water’s perfect! You, me and the deep blue sea. Tails in the air like we just don’t care. It’s- an- underwater- fantasy. Splish, splash! Water’s perfect. You, me and the deep blue sea. Tails in the air like you just don’t care! Yeah! Yeah! It’s a mermaid party! It’s a mermaid party! Bu- bu-bu mermaid party! It’s a mermaid party! Everybody round the world. All my girls, grab your pearls. Let me hear you sing it yeah! Now, yeah –yeah. Yeah, yeah! It’s a mermaid party! A song he wondered whose artist was, wondering which singer was inspired enough to write a song about mermaids, tails and an underwater party, then finding her attempt to dance funny, he quietly positioned himself by the wall and watched her act, enthralled. He had never met or seen a character like this woman before, one minute fierce and bull-headed, one-minute naughty and catty, one minute emotional and soft, one minute fearlessly leaving her door open and the next dancing around the room in a towel hollering like a banshee, not realising she’s been watched. She suddenly spins around in her attempt to showcase her dancing skills and sees a smirking Aaron by the wall which makes her let out a loud scream as she loses her footing and falls to the ground, groaning and raggedly asking ‘’ How did you get in here coat?’’. Laughing at the pained look on her face, he stops once he realises how high her towel had ridden, if it was to go any higher he would see… hmmm, cutting off the nasty train of thought he says ‘’ Well hmm… you left your door open’’. ‘’ Fuck that! help me get off the floor you prick’’ came the sarcastically sweet response as he moved away from his place by the wall to help her up, his eyes rowing over her exposed skin which made him feel lightheaded ,he looked intently at her pink lips and realised it was the actual colour of her plump full looking … he coughs lightly cutting off the thought as he soon realises he was still holding on to her right arm despite her standing on her feet already and she was eyeing him questioningly , his tanned skin looking even darker against her really pale one, he swiftly lets go of her saying ‘’ I brought you dinner and brought the contract for you to sign’’ and with a hand on her hips and an eyebrow raised suspiciously she says. ‘’ Hope you are not trying to poison me and dispose of me somewhere?’’. She asked her eyes bulging out of their socket in mock fright, making her look like a character from a web toon. ‘’ So you think I would go through all this stress just to try to kill you and in New York at that … damn! if you are not going to eat the food just hand it back!’’. He orders then watched her disappear into another part of the room to put on a robe, then scurries back out with an excited look. Smiling smugly, she says ‘’ Ohm thanks… I was thinking of calling in to order a pizza after my bath but you have saved me the stress so thank Coat and your manners have improved drastically and you have gotten a lot nicer after we met ’’ she says winking , then takes the bag from him and settles by the table to eat , hurriedly opening the spaghetti plate and wolfing it down hungrily ‘’ am so hungry as I’ve only had a burger, and a shake all day’’ she says in response to the baffled look on his face as he wondered where her manners and etiquette went. ‘’ it’s okay’’ he tells her taking out the contract clause and placing it on the table silently appreciating how in spite of her bad table manners, she was just being her rusty self instead of acting all prim and proper in a ploy to get to him… he hated pretenders. ‘’ Who sang the song you were dancing to… the mermaid something?’’ He asks. ‘’ Barbie’’ she says without even an ounce of shame. ‘’Yes’’ she continues as a matter of fact ‘’ I still watch Barbie, it’s a classic animation, evergreen … great OSTs’’ she says shocking Aaron who now wore a puzzled look on his face. ‘’ Ohh please shock me and tell me you don’t watch animations, Boss baby? How to train your dragon? The Smurfs? SpongeBob? These are dope animations dude, what the actual fuck did you do with your teenage years!?.’’ she asked in mock shock, trying to gauge his reaction. ‘’ I stopped watching animations when I clocked fifteen… kid stuff!’’ He replied smugly. ‘’ Damn you missed out on a lot coat, fifteen was too early an age to quit living a fun life and start acting serious, must be the sole reason why you always wear a blank look and are always grumpy and grouchy!’’ she said, a hand on her chin. She was messing with him, he knew and funnily he liked it, instead of being angry at her words, he was trying hard not to smile, she was funny, he had to give her that. ‘’ Am not grumpy neither am I a grouch and I never wear a blank look ‘’ he says in defence. ‘’ You can’t see your face now can you? even now you are still wearing that blank look, that mysterious, I dare you to try reading me look’’ she says cattily. ‘’ Who was this woman?’’ he thought to himself, wearing a baffled look on his face , ignoring his look she goes right back to eating her food ,after which she takes the pen from Aaron and goes through the contract with a pout on her face, a pout which Aaron had to look away before it fuelled his already growing attraction , one thing was for sure he realised, he was attracted to this green eyed siren and he was going to curb it before it went further than that , women were a distraction he could do without and this particular one was an enemy….the enemy.

Aaron left her apartment at around 10:30 after explaining her work hours and the nature of her job, on getting home he had sent a message to his mother saying ‘’it is done’’ and had instantly stumbled into bed, the day’s events taking its toll on him.