Walking into my apartment, I thought I’d find racks on racks of dresses. But, I found no such thing.
Popping up out of nowhere was Nia with the biggest smile on her face. She stared in awe at the box that sat on the couch with a big red bow on top.
“I thought it’d be racks on racks of dresses,” Nia said, dragging a little, upset.
“Me too, I was excited,” I shrugged as I set my things down.
Nia and I looked at the box, then each other, and I took a deep breath.
“It better be good. If not, I’ll cry. Hopefully, he was in the right mindset when buying the dress,” Nia said in the midst of breaking down.
“I don’t know where his mind is half of the time,” I trailed off, trying to distract myself from opening the box.
“Come on,” she dragged, excited for me to open it.
I sat down on the couch, putting the box on my lap as Nia threw herself down next to me. I unknot the bow, letting it fall on the sides of my thigh, and take the lid off of the box. Inside was a pair of black heels with pearls on them. Under them was a black dress. It had a corset that was see-through on the stomach area and had a very high thigh slit.
“This was definitely extremely expensive,” Nia said as I pulled it out of the box to look at it.
“I can tell, especially with these heels!” I said, picking them up.
“You think the pearls are real?” she asked, and I laughed.
“Why would he ever give me real pearls?” I questioned, genuinely confused.
“Maybe that’s his way of telling you he likes you,” she shrugged, and I kind of chuckled.
I never told her what I had overheard in the office today, and I kind of don’t think I should.
“Maybe,” I agreed with her and stood, putting everything back in the box and walking to my room.
After showering, I put on the dress and admired myself in the mirror. I can never figure out what to do with my hair.
“Let me see!” Nia yelled through my door. I could tell she was listening.
I laughed as I opened the door, and she looked at me in awe.
“You look so good!” she said as she bounced with excitement.
“Thank you! I have no idea what to do with my hair though,” I sighed.
“You never do,” she chuckled and sat me down, beginning to do my hair.
She did a side part with a braid that had pearls in them. My edges all had a pearl that looked like it was holding it in place.
“Wow, so beautiful,” I admired, and she smiled.
“Now put on those heels!” she said giddily.
As I put them on, there was a knock on the door. In an all-black suit stood Alejandro, and I smiled.
“I thought you said you didn’t know where I lived,” I said, and he chuckled.
“Maybe I did,” he smiled as I walked over to the door.
“Bye Nia, I’ll be home in a while,” I said before closing the door.
We made small talk as we went through the elevator and to the limo. He opened the door for me and smiled as I got in. He got in after and looked over.
“I’ve never been in a limo before,” I said, my expression surprised.
“Glad I could be the one you experience your first time with,” he said with a smirk on his face.
I laughed as I brushed off his flirtatious remark. I got to control the music and eat the small chocolates that were offered. Once we got there, it felt like we were at the Met Gala. Everyone walking in was dressed in their fanciest dresses and beautiful gold necklaces. I felt underdressed, and I think Mr. Phantom could tell.
“Don’t worry, doll, your dress costs more than they could ever imagine,” he said cockily.
“You think that’s my issue? Wow, you’re sick,” I chuckled as the driver opened my door.
I got out with a hold of his hand and walked toward the entrance. I turned back to wait for him, and he was almost directly behind me. I let him get in front of me, and he led me to wherever we needed to be. Then we found his mother in a beautiful royal blue dress and a man in a three-piece black suit.
“Good evening, mother, father,” Alejandro stated as he stepped aside. “Mother, you’ve met my assistant. Father, this is Jade.”
I smiled and set my hand out to shake. He settled my hand in his and gently brought it up to his lips. Obviously extremely uncomfortable, I shifted backward, trying to remove my hand, but he gripped it tighter.
“Okay, you can stop harassing my assistant,” he said, slapping my hand out of his, stepping to his father.
“Don’t be so stupid, son, we’re all having good fun here,” his father said, tapping his back.
“Sure we are, let’s head to the meeting, shall we?” Alejandro said as he took my hand.
Walking away from his parents, I took a look around the building. No cameras, no security, and all of these people seemed to be some sort of wanted criminals. The “meeting” he spoke of seemed to be some sort of feast. The table was set, there were 6 plates on each side, and there was food in the middle.
“Phantoms and Sinclairs, please be seated,” his father said at the head of the table.
He sat as everyone gathered on either the left or the right side. I kind of stood in the corner, surrounded by common criminals, with the two most dangerous Mafias in New York sat face to face. I was honestly already nervous enough even being in the room, but Alejandro’s eyes searched the room for me. As he found me, he called me over to sit next to him. As I sat next to him, the family before me watched intensely.
“Who’s the girl?” the woman, who I presume to be the wife, asked.
“My wife,” Alejandro quickly answered.
His wife? What is he talking about? I tried my hardest not to switch the blank expression on my face, fidgeting with my fingers.
“Right,” one of the girls said as she laughed.
I looked up from my hands and pierced my eyes directly at her.
“What’s so funny?” I asked. Her silence went quiet after I spoke.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the room. The men at the edge of the table began to speak and negotiate over territory. Honestly, why the hell am I here?
I soon zoned out, not paying attention, and was refocused by a hand on my thigh. His hand made me shiver from the sheer coldness of it. I looked over and found him not even paying attention to what he was doing. I then got used to the feeling of his hand on my thigh and zoned out once more.
After about two hours of constant bickering, Alejandro tapped on my shoulder, and we stood. Walking out with his family, I could tell he was irritated. I wouldn’t be able to tell you why I wasn’t paying attention.