Strictly Business

Jungkook and I had another glass of champagne to decrease our inhibitions and put us at ease before immersing ourselves in the crowd again. I started by connecting with someone familiar, spotting Sofia among a few other guests. She was quick to introduce me, raving that after her internship she'd accepted a new role as my executive assistant. I joked that she would be putting up with more of my antics, making an internal note that she was currently being pulled into one as she recanted the positions of those we talked with.

My first target was Julio, who I recognized as a model included on one of our Fall covers. I used playful touches to flirt with him as I recalled the photoshoot, teasing him for devouring nearly every pastry we provided.

He was easy, whispering into my ear that he'd like to see me outside of work. When he asked for my phone number, I pulled a business card from my purse, letting him scribble his number on the back instead of providing him with mine. We finished up our conversation and I caught Jungkook's eye over the shoulder of a woman, poking the tip of my tongue out at him before slipping the card into a slot in my bag.

I made an attempt at four more people, collecting the numbers of three before Taehyung realized Jungkook and I were up to something, cutting me off in pursuit of a lonely looking man in the corner of the room.

"What are you two doing?" He smirked, his mouth pulled into a sly smile.

"Seeing who can get the most phone numbers." I giggled, commenting. "You're impeding on my efforts."

He looked over his shoulder to the man my intention was set on, mischief in his eye when he looked back at me. "I'll make you a deal."

I stood a step away from him, raising a brow with curiosity. He reached into his pocket, discreetly lifting out a stack of small pieces of paper and business cards. I took them from him immediately, keeping them close to my chest and hidden from Jungkook.

"All the numbers I got tonight." He shrugged as if it were completely normal to get the number of nearly every person he spoke to. "I'll give them to you for something in return." He proposed.

"You know I don't like cheating." I shook my head, still holding on to the phone numbers and filled with temptation.

He laughed. "Have you forgotten that Jungkook cheats at nearly every game we play?"

It was true. He was always artful about it, Taehyung and I letting him get away with it because he was the youngest and the cutest.

"What do you want in return?" I inquired.

"Whatever the deal was." He answered, sure that it was sexual in nature and without a care to the action. "If you win, I get his deal. If he somehow wins, I get to watch yours."

My chest rose and fell with the heavier breath I took at the thought. The button to my clutch clicked as I opened it, sliding his stack of phone numbers inside in agreement.

He was smooth with the guarded kiss he pressed to my cheek, stepping out of the way so that I had a clear path to the man who checked his watch for the sixth time in the past minute. It only took me connecting with him on his desire to leave the party early to lure an invitation to leave with him. I made the excuse of my presence being a necessity for the duration of the party, my disappointed expression leading him to leaving his number for a rain check.

I succumbed to the thrill of the game, my mind far from any potential consequences that could come from flirting with the editor-in-chief. I gave him every ounce of my attention as he expressed anticipation for working closer to me, our interaction sure to increase with my new position. We lost ourselves in conversation until he checked his watch, excusing himself with a wink and stepping to the stage where a live band crooned.

They faded from playing when he tapped on the glass clutched in his fingers, clearing his throat before addressing the party.

"To my Vogue family, welcome and happy holidays!" He projected. I looked over my shoulder to Sofia as she rolled her eyes. We shared a nonverbal thought of our observation that he rarely acknowledged anyone without a management role in the company. "We have much to celebrate tonight. Your contributions to Vogue this year have put us at our highest revenue of the year. We also celebrate the passing of a torch as this will be Ms. Margo Delfie's last year with Vogue Italia."

We paused to applaud Margo and when she met my eye I raised my glass to her in gratitude. Without meeting her I would have never been provided this opportunity.

"We will be left in the magnificent hands of her successor, the beguiling and alluring Ms. Seline Reynolds. I got the chance to speak with Ms. Reynolds this evening and let me tell you, I look forward to having her in my office." His laughter was hearty and there was an evocative look in his eys that led me to realize that his comment was not the most appropriate. "For business of course." He corrected, the chuckles of others in the crowd unable to erase the way my skin crawled as he stepped down, slipping an arm snugly around my waist and leaning so close to my ear with a whispered apology that his lips brushed against my skin.

I was frozen in place, the liveliness of the night picking back up. I'd been hit on by men in the workplace before, but it was the first time perpetrated by a superior and while I initially thought our little game innocent, it'd taken a turn that stained what should have been a joyful moment.

The glass in my hand was empty but felt heavy against my fingers until a hostess approached. She raised her eyebrows at me and when the music and murmer of the crowd reregistered in my head I realized I missed her question.

"Can I get you another?" She repeated, speaking louder since I apparently had trouble hearing.

"I'm fine." I answered. If she'd instead asked how I was, the reply wouldn't be the same.

I handed her my glass before turning to scan the room for Taehyung or Jungkook. They were nowhere to be seen and I was taken back to that lost feeling from my arrival in Milan, searching through the city for anything that felt familiar.

People blurred around me as I weaved my way through the crowd toward the double doors that would get me out of the ballroom. There was a stark difference in the air with the reduced amount of people and I leaned against the beige wall, plucking past the stack of business cards in my purse for my phone.

"Where are you?" I didn't give Taehyung a chance to speak when the phone transitioned from ringing to the noise on the other end.

It sounded like he was in a car, a rambling Jungkook in the background. "We had to leave." He replied, shushing the disorganized ranting beside him. "Jungkook is too drunk and he's pissed over that whole speech."

"So you left?" I questioned, glancing toward Sofia as she waved me over from the line at the bathroom.

I pointed a finger to my phone, holding it up to let her know I'd be over in a moment. "I didn't want him to embarrass you." He sighed, stressed as he tried to ease my mind and shut Jungkook up at the same time. "I need to pay the driver. Let me know when you're on the way home." He said.

I didn't say goodbye before hanging up, rolling my eyes before joining Sofia in the bathroom line. "Why would he say that during his speech?" She jumped right into criticizing our editor-in-chief. "Men are so dumb. That's why I'm sticking to women for the time being." She shot a glare at the woman in front of us who looked back with her nose turned up.

We stepped forward as the line moved. "I think I'm gonna go home. He really put a damper on the party." My tone was sadder than I intended, Sofia reaching out to touch my arm.

"But we didn't even get to have a drink together because we've been busy talking to work people all night." She whined. I giggled as she bounced on her toes, in desperate need of the bathroom. "Come on, I'll use the bathroom and then we'll go out for a drink or two together. After that, you can go home." She presented, pulling me by the hand before I could answer.

She snuck into the empty men's restroom while I stood guard outside, amused as I imagined her hovering over the toilet in her shiny red pumps.

"That was a surprisingly clean bathroom." She exclaimed when she returned, tugging at the hem of her skirt. We'd been drinking and kept each other stable with our arms around each other's waist while we collected our coats, heading down the street in search of the nearest bar.

We ended up at a smaller establishment, our dresses out of place among the informal customers who chugged beer from pint glasses. I hoisted myself onto one of the high stools and ordered a pint of my own, a tiny layer of foam left behind on my upper lip when I set the glass down with a thud.

I confided in Sofia that our boss's comment brought me discomfort and when I blamed myself for inviting his lewdness with flirtation she protested loudly, calling the attention of many in the bar with her proclamation.

"Flirtation is not an invitation for perversion, especially not from your boss."

We chatted over another half pint before I tapped out, hailing a cab from the sidewalk. The driver was kind, turning up the radio when Britney Spears started to play, Sofia and I yelling out the lyrics from the backseat. When we stopped in front of her apartment building she turned back, leaning into the open window next to me. "Text me when you're home and don't worry, I'll make sure you're never in Gerald's office alone." She slapped her hand against the roof of the car after referencing our boss, the uttered words that followed giving me my last laugh of the night. "What kind of name is Gerald anyway?"

I left the window cracked on my ride home, the wind giving my cheeks a red tint that I noticed in the reflection of myself in the elevator door as I ascended to our apartment. I fumbled with my keys, missing the lock three times before it opened, the living room dimly lit by a single candle that barely illuminated Jungkook. He sat on the couch, the darkness of his gaze and smell of alcohol as I approached him indicating that he was still very drunk and very angry.

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