You're second hand smoke, second hand smoke

I breath you in, but honey I don't know what you're doing to me

-Irresistible by Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato

******

ELIANA

"I still don't understand why you have to take these dresses to your boss," Santiago muttered as he placed the only two semi formal dresses I had in the car.

"Boss has an event. Boss doesn't think I will dress appropriately. Boss is paranoid about everything."

"Boss is an asshole," Santiago said with a frown.

"Agreed."

Santiago was driving me to work since he didn't have anything to do but attend meetings. I didn't mind, we got to spend time together even if most of it was in silence. He didn't talk much. Thiago was the type of person that believed that actions spoke louder than words. It was true. I wouldn't have any other way with him.

There was three weeks left to said event. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I wasn't even sure what said event consisted of. Not letting myself worry any further, I closed my eyes. Sleep had evaded me a lot during my first week. It wasn't nerves, I was just worried. Margie was very sick, sicker than she let on. Mr. Novax would avoid talking to me but something told me that today there would be plenty of conversation.

He would be anything but happy with my taste in clothing.

"We're here," Santiago said brushing the hair of my face. "You fell asleep, Eliana."

"Damn it. Did I drool?" I asked, wiping my mouth. Thiago chuckled and rolled his eyes. We both stepped out of the car

Santiago didn't show much admiration from the house, despite the fact that I had told him how beautiful it was. He carried my dresses and I knocked. Even though I was given a key I didn't feel comfortable just walking inside. It wasn't my home after all.

To my surprise, Mr. Novax was who opened the door. He was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, a different look than he usually carried. It fit him. His gaze dropped to Santiago's hand on my waist.

"Well, Ms. Cruz, I wasn't aware it was 'bring your boyfriend to work day.' You could have warned me."

"That's my boss," I said to Santiago with a forced smile. He was glaring at Mr. Novax.

Great. Two macho men about to argue.

"Uh, Mr. Novax, this is Santiago and Santiago this is Mr. Damian Novax."

"Damian Novax?" Santiago asked, this time curiosity covering his face.

Mr. Novax nodded.

"We have a charity event to attend, a few of us from the hospital and paramedics are attending. You are the one hosting it, correct? For cancer awareness?"

I glanced between the two men who now seemed comfortable with each other. How was it possible that Santiago knew more about the event than I did? They chatted for a while, talking about the different doctors and people that would be there. It was then that I realized that there was no point in me even showing Mr. Novax the two dresses that I had. They were never going to be up to his standard.

I waved goodbye to Santiago after a few minutes while Mr. Novax only looked at the dresses. He shook his head and nodded for me to follow him to his office. I sighed and dragged myself to his office. I was not looking forward to his lack of humor.

I closed the door behind me and watched him take a dress bag out.

"You can show me those dresses just because I said you could. They won't work though."

"Then what's the point?" I asked, setting my dresses on a chair.

"There is no point, that's what I'm saying."

I wished that I didn't need the job so that I could tell him off. Instead, I bit my tongue (literally) just to keep myself from saying something I would regret. He opened the dress bag, showing me a black dress.

"Try this on," he said, taking the dress in his hands and giving it to me.

"Right now? I need to go check on-"

"She's still sleeping, Ms. Cruz. It's your employer's order. Try it on."

With hesitant hands I took the dress from his hands. I went to the restroom that was just next to his office. The dress was plain black, long sleeved with leather detail on its shoulders. The front of it exposed more than I was used to, but it was beautiful. I looked at myself in the mirror, surprised at the perfect fit. 

Still without any shoes on I walked back to his office. I was nervous. Never had I been so thoroughly studied. Mr. Novax was typing something on his laptop when he glanced up. He returned his attention to the computer while I stood there like an idiot.

"You should tell me if this work or not." My effort to hide the nerves I felt was worthless. He stood from his chair and stopped in front of me. I tilted my chin up so that I could see his face.

"Is it comfortable?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. It was like a frog had stuck in my throat, preventing me from speaking. I nodded. "Good."

I felt how my heart beat against my chest. It was pounding. Mr. Novax raised his hand to the back of my head, his gray eyes not wavering from my hazel ones. He let down my hair that was up in a ponytail, placing it over my exposed shoulders.

Just like that, with that simple action I could feel sparks in every fiber of my being. I wouldn't deny he was beyond attractive, but it wasn't that what made me feel this way. It was the way he was hypnotizing me just with his eyes. I let out a shaky breath, and I could swear I saw his eyes darken. His fingers lingered on my hair much longer than was appropriate.

"That's better," he said, his voice huskier than usual. "Do you like it?"

"Yes," I managed to whisper. Only when his eyes dropped to my lips did I realize he wasn't talking about the dress, he was talking about his touch. Either way, the answer wouldn't have changed.

I don't know how much time went by with us both not moving, anticipation in both of us. Realizing that it wasn't the best idea to let myself do anything with my boss, I stepped back. That was all that was needed to break the spell. He ran his hands through his hair and leaned back on his desk.

Nothing was more surprising than the way he managed to keep himself composed. I ran my hand over the dress, smoothing out the wrinkles that it didn't have.

"Well," I forced my voice to return to normal, "is this more appropriate?"

"It is," he nodded. "I believe you may have a coat that may go well over it, since it will still be cold outside. But yes, this is more appropriate than the punk dresses you brought."

"They are my favorite dresses," I defended.

"I don't think they would fit you as well as that one."

I wasn't sure how to react to the compliment. Deciding to avoid any more awkward moments, I picked up my purse and my dresses. Mr. Novax opened the door with smooth movement when he saw I was leaving. Without any further words I stepped out, only glancing back once. He was still looking at me when I did so.

*****

Margie and I walked around the garden. Her spirits were up. She was enjoying the outdoors even though it was still cold. In the short week I had interacted with her, I felt like I knew her very well. Her openness made it easy to talk about anything and everything.

The subject of her daughter had eventually come out in the open. Though I could see the pain in her eyes, she still talked about her baby with so much love and care. Seeing her remain so happy despite what had been handed to her during this life made me want her strength. It made me want to be like her.

"What is this event going to be like?" I asked after our long silence.

"Lawyers," she said wrinkling her nose. I giggled. "A lot of boring lawyers, some doctors and paramedics. Damian does this each year to raise funds for research."

Maybe he was only ninety-percent asshole. The other ten percent was still intact. As if reading my thoughts Margie laughed. "He's not too bad, I promise. And I don't say that just because he's my son."

"Well, you are a bit biased," I said with a smirk. She waved me off, a gesture I had notice she did with frequency.

"Nonsense. He is good, just not in touch with showing much of anything to others. He has goodness in him though, a lot of it. Damian just doesn't allow it to come out."

"Why?"

Margie sighed. "Sometimes life has a way of dealing people the wrong set of cards, dear. When that happens, people learn to play on the safe side. That's what my son does. I don't blame him, he's been through a lot in the past years."

"Work shou-"

She interrupted me placing her hand on my shoulder. "It's not work, Eliana. If it was work what had him this way it would be easy to find a solution. There's much more to him than meets the eye."

It wasn't my place to pry, even though the curiosity was killing me.

There is always more than meets the eye to everyone. That doesn't mean that one should be so uptight and angry with the world. That doesn't mean you should stop living. Mr. Novax had stopped living. I'd never seen him smile. Not my problem, of course, but I felt pity for him.

The rest of the day flew by. Before me, it appeared that Margie never took a nap or rested. Now she slept for two hours during the day which was good. She needed her rest. During that time I would plan the activities for the next day or help Caroline with preparing meals.

After helping Caroline prepare dinner, I decided to check up on Margie who was still fast asleep. I wanted to explore the mansion, so I opted for opening the different doors upstairs. All of them were bedrooms with large beds, everything well decorated. When arrived to the final bedroom and turned the knob, the door didn't budge.

Strange.

Thinking that the door may open by some act of magic I kept trying to open it. My attempts were futile and I stopped when heavy footsteps grew close. I ran towards Margie's room and stopped when Mr. Novax saw me. I tried to catch my breath and leaned against the wall, planting a smile the size of Texas on my face.

"What in the world are you doing?" He asked.

"I can't work out anymore," I blurted out. Mr. Novax, for the first time in the week made a different face. He was confused. His forehead creased while a single eyebrow rose. "I-I can't workout much anymore since I work here, so I decided to run around here."

He didn't look impressed with my explanation so I decided to keep talking. "It's good f-for your health to run, you know? It's good for your cardiovascular system as well as for stress. Do you remember how I recommended for you to have sex? Yes? Well, if you don't want to have sex you can go for a run, you know? Working out is a great stress reliever and I think you may like it. Though, personally, I think sex beats working out, if you know what I mean. I... I should shut up shouldn't I?"

"That's the smartest thing that has come out of your mouth, Ms. Cruz and I have to agree, you should shut up."

I could feel the heat rush to my face and I lowered my gaze, trying to control it. This was beyond embarrassing. It wasn't long after two feet were in front of me. After getting my brain signals to connect with my neck, I raised my face only to find Mr. Novax with a small smirk plastered on his face. It was barely even there, but it was noticeable.

"Go home, Ms. Cruz," Mr. Novax said. "And, for the record, I agree with you. Sex is better than working out."

******

A/N: I have a mild obsession with this song!

So, Eliana and Damian had a bit of a moment there. Thoughts and opinions?

Don't forget to vote and comment, I love reading them.

And, Wattpad has been such a pain these couple of days. It's been soo frustrating.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Luz