AS YOU MELT THIS HEART OF STONE

LADY IN RED

"I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight

Never seen you shine so bright.

I've never seen so many men asking if you wanted to dance,

They're looking for a little romance,

Given half a chance.

And I've never seen the dress you're wearing,

Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes,

I've been blind!

Lady in red...

I'll never forget, the way you looked tonight..."     - Chris De Burgh

**************

I saw her first time that night when she climbed down the car of the Vice President of the seventh branch.

She was dressed in red - the dress hugging her body in just perfect way, not too revealing, yet having the right amount of appeal.

For a few moments, I was just spellbound. My steps almost faltered. She looked so different, so..... irresistible.

I was in a trans until she was pulled inside protectively by the man with her. He was holding her too close and in a very protective manner as if she belonged to him.

"Maybe she does...... belong to him, I mean."

"No, she doesn't. And even if she is, it's none of my concern."

"As you like to believe, lad." the inner one shrugged and disappeared.

As my eyes met her, I was already out of the trance and I walked past them nonchalantly.

***************

Abel Daniels.

That was his name.

Vice President of the seventh branch.

The man with whom Charlotte Thorne had been flirting over the dinner in a manner as if none of us were present there.

Earlier that evening when we met at the dinner table, it was quite clear that Daniels realized my obvious displeasure in his attention to my ex-secretary. But instead of backing off, as was expected from most men, he decided to throw me a cool challenging look. There was a fight for dominance and possession. But somewhere deep down both of us knew that neither of us was perfect for her, neither of our dark aura should mar her innocent world of sunshine and purity. So we settled into an unspoken agreement.

Still, the light and playful exchange between the two of them was enough to spoil my mood for one evening...

"And at night when you'll lie alone on your bed wide awake"

Uhhhh... Whatever...

Now, 'spoil my mood' is a quite light way of describing what was exactly going on in my mind. I was a man accustomed to having my ways in almost everything.

Scratch 'almost'.

I am accustomed to having my way with everything.

So, the way she was beaming at another man and talking on a playful note, was more than enough to boil my blood.

All those smiles and playfulness should have been reserved just for me, dammit.

"Hmm... Interesting.... Do you mean that you actually have fee.."