My assistant barges into my office as if he owns the place while I try to focus on work. In reality, I'm counting down the minutes until I know I'll see Mia at our meeting. Sitting down in front of me on the other side of my desk, Andre crosses one leg over the other and holds onto his knee. Swinging the bent leg, he purses his lips as he continues to stare at me while I try to avoid him which eventually makes me laugh, causing me to break character far too soon.
"Yes, Andre? Can I help you?" I probe as I continue to click the mouse and focus on the computer screen.
"Park Jimin," he begins with a playful tone in his heavily French-accented voice, "Is there something you'd like to tell me? I am your assistant, no?"
Rolling my eyes, I sit back in my black leather chair and intertwine my fingers over my torso, "What are you going on about this time, Andre?"
"There are rumors going around that you have found a lady love... or a man... my hopes are still high." Andre grins as he shimmies his shoulders in my direction.
Chuckling, I shake my head, "I've told you before, I like women."
"Things can change," he pushes and I laugh at my assistant's flirtatious demeanor. I tend to be flirtatious myself to whoever crosses my path, even if by accident, but with Andre, I do believe I have met my match. "And don't avoid the topic. Have you found a lady love? I should be aware of these things, you know?"
"Why on earth do you assume I've found a love interest?"
Sitting up straight, he leans over the desk a bit, "Because you have smiled more in the last week than I have ever seen you do since you started working here. Also, you have put more effort into your appearance than usual today. Your hair is perfectly combed and it looks as if you recently got a trim... possibly an undercut. Your pants and shirt are perfectly ironed, and there's not one scuff mark on your shoes. You also smell as if you added a touch more cologne today."
"You pay way too much attention to me," I remark with a raised eyebrow. Sassisly shrugging off my comment, he sits back in his chair and waits for me to either confirm or deny his suspicions. "No, Andre, I don't have a lady love as so you like to call it. No one I can call my own." Looking at the clock on my computer, I lock the screen and reach for my cellphone before standing, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the marketing agency."
"Ah-ha!" Andre exclaims making me jump from the fluctuation in his voice, "I knew it!"
"What the hell...?"
"You like that pretty little marketing agent... Mia was her name?" He quirks an eyebrow before tapping his chin with his index finger. "This makes sense. No one I can call my own," he throws my words back into my face. "I believe she is married, correct?"
"Yes, but I don't see why-"
"I saw the way you lit up when I transferred her call to you on Friday. How could I have not realized then?"
"Andre... I really don't have time for this," I huff as I walk around my desk and head towards the glass double doors leading to his personal area, thinking that I need to give Mia the direct number to my office phone instead.
"Yes, I apologize," he calmly states as he follows right behind me but leans up to my ear as I stop to take hold of my sunglasses. "But if it makes you feel any better, she seemed ecstatic to talk to you, too, Mr. Park."
Does my face flush at the thought of Mia being excited to talk to me?
Yes.
Do I get a bit hopeful that she's equally as anxious to meet up with me today?
Yes.
Should I think too much into this?
No.
Smiling at my assistant and waving goodbye as if I'm impartial to his comment, I stride down the long hallway where I spot my boss waiting for me. This time, it'll just be Josie and I meeting with Mia as Stefan was feeling under the weather today. Not that I mind. That's one less thing I have to focus on; making sure his wandering hands don't wander into inappropriate territory.
Yesterday I pondered if Mia felt the same way I did during our Saturday afternoon outing; the first of hopefully many outings together beyond work-related functions. My heart seemed to stutter with every word that left her enticing lips and the way her voice seemed to sing a beautiful song in my ears. Her jeans showed off curves I had yet to witness since the other times I met her she either had on a flowy skirt or an oversized sweater that covered her modestly. I had found it extremely difficult to keep my eyes from watching her hips sway when she walked.
Walking into her building after a leisurely drive here, Josie and I are greeted by one of the receptionists whom I recognized from our first meeting.
This time around, I pay more attention to my surroundings, wanting to know more about Mia's day-to-day life; the people she sees and the architecture she surrounds herself with. I even notice the cute little chime of the elevator that I hadn't paid much attention to during my initial visit and to my surprise, her beautiful face is the first thing I see as soon as the metal doors reopen.
"Welcome," she beams with a genuine smile as she kisses each one of Josie's cheeks before she and I greet in the same way. I don't disregard the way her hand squeezes my bicep a bit tighter before pulling away.
"You look lovely today, Mia," Josie smiles as she holds out Mia's arms and examines her attire. I feel a twinge of jealousy that I didn't get the opportunity to be the first one to tell her.
The way Mia gets flustered every time I mention that she's beautiful makes me want to tell her every day and I wonder if her husband is even considerate enough to vocally appreciate her.
I'm really starting to despise that man.
"Thank you, Josie. You look lovely yourself." She steps back and gestures for me and my boss to walk into her office, giving me a little wink in the split moment of privacy we have when Josie's head is turned in the opposite direction.
We all sit down at her L-shaped desk in her large office, fully equipped with a cream-colored couch, dual monitor computer, lush plants with framed posters of some of her previous ads to decorate, and a little running fountain used as calming background noise. My eyes scan every little detail until they spot pictures of her and what I assume to be her husband. They looked truly happy in those frozen memories in time. I wonder what happened between then and now.
Opening up her laptop, she spins it around so that we can follow along with the ideas that she has come up with for the new advertisement. From the concept board being presented, it's very sensual yet classy. Black lace, voluminous hair, glistening skin; all of it makes my mind drift off to less than holy places as her voice echos in my mind. Shifting in my seat, I try to calm my reacting body but when I spot the photo of red sheets that look just like the ones currently on my bed, I immediately fantasize of Mia barely covered in my bed and waiting for me to join her.
Clearing my throat, I stand up causing both of them to look at me with worry. "I'm sorry, I need to use the restroom. Down the hall to the left?"
Mia nods. "That's correct. Josie and I will just go over minor details in your absence."
"Thank you." I excuse myself and make my way down the hall, politely smiling at the young women that cross my path as they give me appreciative stares.
Those are the women I should be interested in. Not the one woman I've met here that is totally off-limits and let's be honest, out of my league. She's older than me and well established in her line of work. She's the type of person I would call on when I can't figure out what temperature my oven should be set to in order to reheat day-old pizza. Yet, here I am, staring at myself in the bathroom mirror after washing my hands for no reason, just needing a moment to regain my composure.
Walking back down the hall and into Mia's office after giving myself a few minutes to relax and a pep talk to get myself together, I'm surprised to see her alone, "Where's Josie?"
Watching every move I make, she offers me her sweet smile, "She had to leave. She got a call stating that she had some kind of emergency but didn't give me any details. I told her that I would finish going over everything with you."
Nodding, I turn to shut her office door again but pause with my hand on the knob and look back at her, "Would you rather have this open?"
"Closed is fine," she says indifferently and I roll my eyes as I turn away from her, realizing that I'm acting stupid for no reason.
Sitting back down in the same chair I was in before, I wait for her to continue with her presentation. I need to stay focused or else I'm not going to have any information to report back to Josie. No more envisioning Mia Scott naked in my bed with a red sheet draped over her.
She continues where I had last left off, going over her vision for the commercial. Pulling out her stack of headshots of possible models from multiple agencies, she gets up from her side of the desk and comes to stand beside me instead as I take a stand as well. Laying out each one, her sweet and sultry perfume wafts through the air making my head spin. The strong urge to take her in my arms and kiss her tingles in my gut especially when she looks up at me with that heart-stopping smile.
Focus, Jimin.
"So, what do you think?" She questions, bringing me back to reality.
"Hm? Oh, um... maybe this girl?" I point to a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Totally opposite of Mia.
"Really? I think she may give off too much of an innocent girl next door look for the direction we're going in."
"Right," I nod and look at the options before me once again. "How about her?"
"Hm," she picks up the photograph of the woman with caramel skin, chocolate brown hair, and come-hither almond-shaped mocha eyes. "I think she'd be perfect. She oozes sexy, don't you think?"
"Mhm," I hum as I study Mia's side profile; the curve of her nose, the twinkle in her eye as the light catches it, the way her bottom lip pokes out ever so slightly more than her top.
Her hair falls into her face and before I can think about what I'm doing, I reach up and tuck it behind her ear. Turning to face me, my chest tightens when she looks up into my eyes. I watch as her lashes involuntarily flutter when my fingers graze the delicate skin of her neck.
Neither of us say a word and I feel too frozen to move much less talk. Desiring this woman in her entirety is the most exciting, irresponsible, gut-wrenching thing I've yet to experience. If she told me she wanted me, I swear I'd have her on top of this desk before either of us could blink.
But I find the will to pull away. She is not mine. She is only a new friend. She is unobtainable.
"Thanks," she cutely smiles as she dismisses the action as nothing more than me trying to be nice. "So I was thinking, are you available Saturday at seven?"
"My Saturdays are reserved just for you now." I nibble on my bottom lip as I help her arrange the model photos for the male lead and for our next decision.
I catch her grinning out of the corner of my eye before she turns to me, placing her backside on the edge of her desk, "Then join me for dinner. I'll text you the address."
"I'll be there by six-thirty," I state as I touch the tip of her nose with my index finger.