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Ours

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Chapter 17: Ours (Vanessa's POV)

My phone was ringing on my bed for the third time but I refused to answer simply because I wasn't done getting ready yet. I know if I answered, he would just scold me and demand that I get downstairs as fast as possible but it's so much more fun watching him get annoyed and frustrated because I'm delaying us. 

The phone stopped ringing and I was expecting another call but my doorbell rang instead. I paused and put the earring down on my vanity and walked out and answered the door, leaning against it and pulling on a smile. "Hello," I smiled. 

"I've been calling you for the past fifteen minutes, Vanessa." 

"And I've been ignoring your calls for the past fifteen minutes, Aaron." 

He sighed and shook his head. "How much longer are you going to take?" 

I shrugged. "As long as I want." 

"That's not how time works." 

"Sure it is. It's not how punctuality works," I countered. "I know you. You probably thought the earlier you got there, the sooner you'd get out of there. I crashed your plans, huh? Sorry." 

"Are you going to make me—" 

"How are the kittens?" 

He continued talking over me. "Stand out here until you're ready to leave?" 

"Of course not, I'm a good host." I stepped aside and once he was inside, I shut the door and rolled my eyes, going back into my room. I decided I had enough of trying to rile him up so I put my earrings on and then my matching black heels, and then grabbed my purse and headed out. "Let's go. Sorry for the delay." I walked to the door, taking my keys and dropping them in my purse. 

"You're really not sorry at all," he mumbled, pulling the door open and heading out first. 

I locked the door and walked to the elevator with him, pressing the button to the lobby. As we stood in the elevator in silence, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "Your tie's crooked. What happened to the tux you were supposed to wear?" 

"I couldn't find the bow tie," he mumbled, fixing his tie. 

"So, you exchanged it for a suit but didn't even tie the tie properly?" 

He ignored me and continued trying to fix it. 

I turned to face him while pulling his arm so he faced me as well. I fixed his tie for him, feeling his gaze on me as I did. "What?" I met his eyes, tightening it a little more than necessary. 

He pulled my hands down and loosened it just a bit, letting out a breath. We reached downstairs and headed to his car. He walked past the passenger door and around the car, not bothering to open it for me. 

I opened it myself and gathered my dress, sitting inside and purposely slamming the door shut harder than needed. 

"You will break that door someday, huh?" he asked. 

"Maybe." 

He started driving once we were both buckled in and we sat in silence for most of the time. When we were nearing the hotel, he decided to finally speak. "We should probably decide on the things we'll say and do tonight. We have a rather large audience this time. More than just our co-workers." 

"I don't think planning this out will work. Anybody could ask us anything at any time. We just have to do it." 

"We should stay close for the night then. Beside each other." 

"Do we have to?" I mumbled. 

"Why? I thought you loved my company," he snickered. 

"As if you like being around me any more than I like being around you," I scoffed. 

"Of course, I do. I love being around you, Vanessa. It's my favorite thing to do. Stand there and take your remarks and sarcastic comments and constant disses at me." 

"Oh, because I'm the one being sarcastic right now, huh?" 

He briefly glared at me and then pulled into the hotel entryway. We both got out and he handed the keys to the valet while I walked around the car and to him. He stuck his elbow out, nodding towards it. 

"What? No. Our co-workers are here." 

He stared at me blankly. "Exactly the point." 

I hesitated, eyeing his arm. 

He sighed and resorted to placing a hand on the small of my back. 

I stiffened but began walking as he led the way. When we made it into the hall where the party was held, we met Ronan and his manager first. As we began walking through the room, we met a few other employees from our competing firms and some CEOs as well, save ours. 

Finally, we ran into Davidson. "There you two are. Don't you look wonderful together," he mused. 

I forced a smile while Aaron cleared his throat. 

"Vanessa, it's been so long since I last saw you!" Judith, our CEO's wife, came and stood beside him. His arm snaked around her waist as he held her so naturally. 

I don't think Aaron and I could ever look like that. 

"It has," I nodded with a smile, "Hi, Judith." 

"Hi, my dear," she grinned, "hello to you too, Aaron." 

"Hello, Judith," he greeted her and shook her hand briefly. 

"Judith Davidson?" one of the other guests approached her hesitantly. "Oh my goodness, I thought it was you," she laughed, "I'm a huge fan." 

Judith got busy talking to the lady and Davidson, unfortunately, turned his attention to us again. "You two must make sure you greet everybody together." 

"We already did," I mumbled. 

"And don't say a word about the trip to Judith," he whispered, "it's a surprise, I haven't told her yet." 

"Noted," Aaron replied. 

We left from there, heading to the bar where Jade was sitting with Thomas, both of them talking while facing the room. Jade stopped sipping the margarita in her hands, the straw between her teeth as she stared between Aaron and me. He slowly dropped his arm as we got closer to them. 

"Hey," I sighed, standing next to Jade. 

She glanced at me, then Aaron, then back at me. "What is going on?" she asked. 

"Nothing." 

"You came together, didn't you?" 

"Yeah. He lives near me, you know that, don't you? We just thought it would be easier to share a ride." 

She put her drink down and blinked at me. "Do I look stupid to you?" 

"What?" I laughed. 

"Vanessa. I'm not blind, neither is the rest of the office. I saw you two that day," she hissed in a whisper. 

"What day?" 

"That day in the elevator. You were sitting together, staring into each other's eyes." 

"No, we weren't." 

"He even picked you up to help you out. He put your heels on for you. The Aaron and Vanessa I know wouldn't have done that. He would have left you stuck there and you would have thrown a heel at him. But you just stared at him, starstruck." 

"I was not starstruck, Jade." 

"Fine. You were lovestruck." 

"Jade!" I whisper-yelled. 

"What? I'm just confused here, what is going on? Since when were you and Aaron so buddy-buddy and kissy-kissy?" 

"Buddy-buddy? Kissy-kissy? Do you hear yourself?" 

"Since when were you two so close? Literally." 

"I don't know, he's just..." I huffed, glancing over at Aaron. 

From the looks of it, Thomas was interrogating him just the way Jade was doing to me. He glanced at me and then shrugged, shaking his head and answering Thomas. 

I blinked away from him and back to Jade. "He's not such a dick when we're alone." 

She stared at me for a long, long minute. "What about you?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Are you such a bitch to him? When you're both... alone?" 

Yes. 

I shrugged, "Ask him." 

"You're really telling me that you both not just tolerate but like each other's company? At least when you're alone." 

I nodded. 

"Since when?" 

"Not that long. I mean, look, I've known him since college. And I see him outside of work sometimes when we meet old college friends. He's different then." 

"Like he was in college?" 

"Kind of. But better. He's more laidback, he lets himself have fun, and people around him have fun too. That includes me." 

"You have fun with Aaron Sinclair?" 

"Yeah. I do," I mumbled, clearing my throat. 

"Vanessa." 

I looked up as Aaron came to stand beside me. "Yeah?" 

He turned to Jade. "Can I steal her for a minute?" 

Jade looked between us. "I think you already did. But sure, go ahead," she smiled. 

His hand went to my lower back again as he led me away. "Thomas was asking questions and I didn't want to answer anymore. Sorry," he mumbled. 

"It's fine, Jade was asking too. I think if I stayed longer, she would have asked how long this has been going on. Whatever this is." 

"And what do we answer to that?" 

My gaze met his. "Four months?" 

He nodded. "Four months sounds good." 

"Aaron, Vanessa, how nice to see you two together for once without going at each other's throats," came a laugh. We both faced ahead and saw that it was Mrs. Genevive. She's a CEO of a rival firm, one of our biggest competitors. And she loves keeping tabs on New Beginnings and its projects and employees. "How come?" she asked, holding a glass of champagne. "You're not fighting tonight?" 

"I guess we realized there are other things we'd rather do," Aaron replied nonchalantly. 

"Like what?" Her eyes narrowed. 

"Other things," Aaron shrugged with the ghost of a smirk on his lips. 

I was surprised to see him taking the lead when somebody questioned us. 

"Oh... I see. There's something new blossoming here, is there?" 

"Maybe," I chimed in, "why do you ask, Mrs. Genevive? Wouldn't you like to know?" 

"I sure would," she chuckled. 

"It's ours," Aaron cut in, his hand moving to my waist as he pulled me closer into his side. "Whatever is blossoming between us, it's ours. To feel and to know. Maybe you shouldn't investigate so much, Mrs. Genevive. Unless it bothers you...?" 

She ground her teeth subtly and shook her head. "Not at all. Excuse me." And she left. 

We both stood still for a minute before I turned to look at him. He was already staring at me. "That sounded right, didn't it?" he asked, pulling his hand away. 

I nodded absentmindedly. "That was perfect."

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Chapter 17

get ready for the passionate slow dancing in a ballroom scene y'all

next chapter: close