Flawless // z.m

Nine.

I bit my lip as I nervously took a seat at the very edge of the chair. Mr. Malik joined me at the kitchen table, his expression hard. He glanced at the plate of French toast before him before he pushed it down the table to place his intertwined hands in front of him. I shifted around uncomfortably, biting the inside of my cheek and fiddling with fingers. My thoughts rushed to last night without my permission and I felt my cheeks twinge with heat.

"I'd like to apologize for my behavior last night," Mr. Malik pursed his lips. I could tell he was just as uncomfortable as I was, if not more. I opened my mouth to tell him that it was alright, and that I was sorry that I interrupted him, but he inhaled deeply and held his palm up to stop me. My mouth snapped shut and I sank farther into my seat.

"It was unacceptable behavior on my part and I understand if you feel the need to file a complaint. It was unprofessional to be under the influence near co-workers and I hope that you know I am in no way excusing my actions or justifying them. I'd like to assure you that nothing like that will ever happen again. I apologize again, Miss Samuels." Mr. Malik spewed his apology in one breath before sitting back and letting me comprehend what he said.

I stared at him blankly for a moment before I slowly began nodding. My heart sank a little when he thought I'd file a complaint against him. That is the right thing to do and something I probably should consider, but I didn't have the heart to do it. Silence still floated around us as I tried to come up with a smooth way of responding. A part of me wanted to curse him out for the way he behaved and another part of me longed for his hands to brush against my skin the way they had.

Mr. Malik was obviously physically attractive, anyone in their right mind could see that. It wasn't until last night, when he was touching me and trapping me in the heat of his body that I realized just how attracted to him I was.

Mr. Malik patiently waited for my reaction, but his hardened expression continued to fall as the silence stretched on. His jaw fell slack and hints of curiosity twinkled between the brown of his eyes. He seemed on edge, almost afraid of the words that could come out of my mouth. He knew that if I wanted to, I could blow this whole thing out of proportion and shove him and his company under the bus.

I felt guilty just thinking of doing something like that. In the short time that I had began working at Malik Inc. I learned that it wasn't just a business to him. He treated his affairs better than he treated his own family.

"Miss Samuels?" I snapped out of my thoughts and instantly blushed when I saw Mr. Malik was still waiting for some sort of response from me.

"Please, call me Arabelle." I mumbled. "And it's alright, Mr. Malik. We were both at fault, I had been drinking too. I don't think filing a complaint will be necessary."

"Thank you, Miss Sam— Arabelle," he corrected, stunned. "I assure you nothing like that will happen again," I smiled softly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "And thank you for breakfast," he added quickly with a small smile of his own. I nodded again and hummed in response.

"I assume you'd like to spend the day with your parents?" he asked.

"Uhm, yes. If that's alright,"

Mr. Malik nodded and sipped on his coffee before setting the mug down. "Of course! I need to have a word with my father anyway. We'll head out when you're ready." I took that as my cue to leave and swiftly dismissed myself from the table to get dressed.

The clothes I had slipped into after my shower didn't even match, but I was too lazy to go digging through my bag for new ones. After collecting my phone and wallet, I met Mr. Malik in the kitchen again. He was dressed in a crisp, white button down and tight, black jeans. The denim hugged his thighs nicely and accentuated the length of his legs. I almost groaned in frustration when I saw him pull a leather jacket over his shirt and tuck his hands away into the pockets of his jeans.