chapter six

"Hi, I'm here to see Mr Mendes" I smiled politely at the receptionist. My arms felt like they were about to be dislocated and never come back to me. I adjusted the stack of papers in my hands and thanked the receptionist once she directed me through. I pressed the floor button with the end of my shoe as I waited in the elevator - tired and regretful. I stayed up all night, reading through every manuscript, my eyes were gone numb, my body felt afloat and my head hurt from straining myself for too long. I stared out the glass elevator, the view before me was like a breath of fresh air - exhilarating and frightening. The elevator dinged and I was about to step out, thinking I reached the highest floor of Mendes & Co, when I came face to face with the man in question.

Turns out, I didn't even reach the first floor. I fumbled backward, allowing him to enter and his honey eyes were trained on me causing my whole body to tense. I stood there awkwardly, my grip tightened on the stack of papers as he stood next to me. "Is that all the work I gave you to do? All done?" I nodded meekly and he seemed surprised that I managed to finish it all. I followed him into his transparent office, my heels clicked on the porcelain tiles beneath me. I rolled my eyes at the chivalrous manners of Mr Mendes, he walked in and sat at his desk while I pushed my way through the door. Frustrated, I slammed the stack of papers onto his desk and he lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

"I beg your pardon" He says, gesturing to the lethargic way I placed the manuscrips onto his desk "I'm sorry," I apologized immediately ", I'm sleep deprived and my arms have gone limp, I didn't realize the harshness" I lied, partially, my arms are gone limp and I am sleep deprived but my slamming the manuscripts was intentional. How can one deliciously attractive man make me so frustrated? I let out a sigh when he nodded, scrolling through his phone and I took that as a sign of dismissal. I turned on my heels and made my way towards the exit until a raspy voice stopped me "Miss Aubrey" He called out "Yes?" I faced him and the slight smirk on his bow lips made me worry.

"Have these done by tomorrow" Mr Mendes effortlessly picked up another stack of manuscripts. Oh, fuck me. I internally groaned seeing the work I had cut out for me, "I'm sure the both of us would benefit from that, Miss Aubrey but I don't mix pleasure with business" I widened my eyes realising I had actually said that out loud and I fumbled to reform my mistake but words failed me. "There's a catch" My eyes shifted from the manuscripts to his caramel orbs with anticipation, "There's four in total but I'd like you to make a few notes, pointers and whatnot based on each of them. Not just a simple line but on each chapter" My hands fisted at my sides at the insane amount of work that had just been piled up on my shoulders.

I opened my mouth to retaliate when he beat me to it, "If you want to keep your job, I suggest you get started. That'll be all, you may now leave" He averted his cold gaze from me towards his laptop, I stomped my way to his desk, picked the stack of scripts and rushed out before I said or had done something I'd regret.

"Gem, it's Friday. Let's go out and have some fun" Alexa pouted, following me around our quaint dorm room "I can't, I have a lot of reading to do and if I don't get it done, I'll lose my job" I sighed while throwing my hair into a bun only to have Alexa pull my arms allowing my hair to cascade down my back. "We are going out and that's final. I know you have a lot of work to do but you've been stressed out for the last few months. So a good night out with a couple of drinks will do you no harm. You don't have lectures tomorrow and he didn't specify the time by which you must have all the work done, did he?" She pointed out and I shook my head

"That's settled then, we're going out even if it is for a short while" She beamed and I nodded "Okay, fine. Just this once and if I feel cranky or uncomfortable, I'm leaving you there" She chuckled "Deal" With that the both of us dressed up and left the dormitory. I climbed out the cab, my heels clicked against the tarmac as Alexa and I made our way towards the entry of Downtown Alley. The dimly lit street was enough to make a shiver run down my spine and the cold of the night only added to it. "You know, you should have just let me use sweatpants" I commented

Alexa laughed, "Sweats? To a club? In your dreams, Gem. Plus when you get inside, you're going to feel hot" She shrugged and we finally reached the end of the line. The bouncer's intimidating stature made me cower, I showed him my ID and so did Alexa before he let us through. I almost forgot that I'm over the legal age for a while. The thumping beat of the music resonated through my eardrums, bouncing off like a vibration. I linked my arm with Alexa's, a habit I formed when we're in a crowd of people. We reached the bar, hopping onto empty stools. "What can I get for you beautiful ladies tonight?" The cheery man behind the bar approached us "I'd like a rusty nail and for my friend here, a gin and tonic" Alexa ordered our drinks, her flirty eyes on display as she stared at the good looking blond before us.

Dean is probably long gone from her hazy mind. A few minutes later, two glasses were placed in front of us and I greedily reached for my drink. "I don't want to go out. I have a lot of work to do, if I don't do it Mr Mendes is going to spank me" Alexa mocked in a high pitched voice once I took a swig of my drink, the alcohol burned my throat in the most pleasurable way possible. My jaw dropped at her words and I whacked her arm lightly, "Fuck off" I rolled my eyes and she barked out a laugh. Three drinks and multiple slurred words later, I found myself amongst the various people on the dance floor. My hands were thrown above my head as I got lost in the music, just my little bubble and I. My eyes opened and a soft gasp left my parted lips as I met the gaze of honey ones.

I stood frozen on the dance floor, others moved around me but I kept my focus on the piercing orbs before me. I watched his bow shaped lips pull into a smirk, a dimple caving in his cheek as his eyes raked my frame. I willed my feet to move, watching as he gave my exposed legs an impressed look before meeting my gaze again. Ignoring what the person said that sat next to him, the curly locked man stood from the leather couch. I averted my vision to the floor, where his leather boot clad feet treaded on, my willpower deceived me as I began looking up. His legs were adorned with skin tight jeans that hugged him in all the right places while a simple white shirt covered his torso. The small holes on the shirt indicated the age of it, old clothes are always the comfiest. I sucked in a breath as he neared me and I kept my eyes on the simple word printed across the white material - Heaven.

So, what'd you think?

I love you all xx
- Shristhi