Maria blinked at her reflection in the mirror in her spacious downstairs living room, the dress she fished out of her wardrobe now hugging her frame.
One side of the wardrobe was reserved for the clothes Daniel never approved of, and the other for the ones he preferred but complained less about.
Today, Maria chose from the former.
She bit her lip as her gaze traveled over the crepe that guided her curves.
Miles' kiss followed in memory—the airy cologne, his breath intoxicating her senses—and how shamefully she had participated.
Maria turned slowly, peeking over her shoulder to watch the gentle shake of her voluptuous backside, their shape pushing through the material.
Her mind dragged back to Miles' eyes.
What they'd done was wrong. Maria sighed as she caught herself mid-daydream.
She climbed the stairs to her room to fetch her shoes.
Yet she couldn't change her mind about the dress as she stared at the closet.
It wasn't just the kiss—the stare too.
The want and admiration of being seen and desired with such composed ferocity.
She was used to being stared at by men, just not by the ones she found attractive—not by the ones who looked too good to ignore.
Maria slapped her cheek lightly.
"Snap out of it." She muttered with a groan.
This was a disastrous situation and if she knew better, she would take off the dress and pick from Daniel's preferences in her wardrobe.
As she pulled off the dress, her mind fed her horrifying possibilities—what if Daniel had told Miles to make a pass on her, and she had failed her part. Especially considering how she hadn't stopped the kiss until Miles did.
She swallowed as she stepped into a yellow chiffon flare dress, the perfect hiding place for her curves.
Before leaving the house, she stopped once more in front of the mirror, reminding herself that everything was until she got the recognition and notice she needed.
She had to put up with Daniel until then—and stay away from Miles.
With a sigh, she stepped out, driving off in the silver, stylish Mercedes Daniel had bought her.
**
Miles swallowed the jealousy brewing in him as he sat in Daniel's office space, his side gaze catching Daniel's kisses pressed against Maria's tight and surprised face.
"I'm sorry," Daniel mewled from the corner where they stood.
"You can always tell me this when we're alone, not in front of him," Maria protested quietly, and Miles hung onto the disinterest laced through her voice.
"Come on, I disrespected you in his presence." Daniel continued. "It's only right I apologize that way too."
A pause.
Miles clenched his jaw, anticipating her response.
"No," Maria said, sternly.
"Whatever." Daniel hissed with feigned frustration as his footsteps approached. Miles turned subtly, catching Maria's shy, confused gaze. She clutched her files to her chest where she stood at the entrance, gaze lowered.
Miles glared at Daniel. "You know better than to make a woman cry, Daniel. Even more so, your woman."
Daniel scoffed and turned to her. "What did I do now to make you cry, huh?"
Maria looked up, her pretty eyes wavering but steady enough to speak without crumbling. "May I excuse myself, sir?"
Miles had asked her for her ideas that hadn't gone through her superior—he wanted to see her work unfiltered. Daniel's apology had ruined the opportunity and her mood.
"It's okay, Maria," Miles said. "You can return when you're ready."
She lowered her gaze and walked out. The chiffon dress softened but didn't conceal the generous curve of her backside.
When the door clicked shut, Daniel leaned against the executive desk in front of Miles.
"You shouldn't pay attention to Maria," he muttered with a cold smirk. "She's always so dramatic."
"She's dramatic because you are," Miles replied. "And what's with dating her if you can't stand her?"
Daniel sighed and ruffled his hair. "It's complicated big bro, I guess I fell for the brains before my mind caught up to the physique."
Miles bit back a curse.
Daniel had indirectly admitted he was benefiting from Maria's intellect, while playing with her heart.
"She's a puppet?" Miles asked bluntly just as Daniel's gaze met his.
Daniel's eyes flickered before he smiled and closed them, his hand leaving his hair. "Well, romance is kind of a hidden weapon in keeping competent employees loyal."
Miles stared ahead, grounding his building temper in the sparse office space and its furniture.
"And I remember," Daniel continued, "her body is your preferred form of female. I don't mind if you want a ta—"
"That's enough," Miles warned, his glare cutting straight through Daniel.
"I'm sorry, big bro," Daniel muttered, moving to sit on the grey couch positioned at the left side of the office. He dropped down onto the chair, relieving the red tie as he relaxed into it.
"Even if I wanted to, Mom would never approve of me marrying Maria. And Maria's also an opportunist.
If she wanted a proper professional setting she could have refused to be my girlfriend. I'd say what we have favors her just as much." Daniel said.
Miles's mind revisited the kiss—had she let him because she wanted to use him too?
There would have been more motive if she wanted to, less hesitance, more acceptance than subtle resistance from her body.
"Or you could just maintain a normal employer—employee arrangement and pay her for what her work's worth," Miles said, checking the time for his Zoom meeting with workers at the headquarters.
"Nah," Daniel laughed. "That's boring."
Miles rolled his eyes, hoping Daniel wouldn't still be here when Maria returned.
**
It was almost an hour before it was time to close work. Maria still hadn't returned to Daniel's office.
She feared they were in sync with her torment.
But Miles had stood for her and excused her.
The least she could do was bring what he asked for.
She gathered her files again, the earlier adrenaline gone, replaced with determination.
She hoped Daniel wouldn't be there—though she wasn't entirely sure she could handle being alone with Miles either.
"Hey, Maria." Her superior's voice came from the doorway, and she hurriedly mixed the files on her table.
"Hello, Pete," she answered, keeping her voice tight. Not wanting him to suspect at the moment that Miles had summoned for her unchecked ideas.
He walked up to her desk, his overly stylish silver suit of a middle-aged man trying too hard not to look his age.
She pretended to focus on her computer.
Pete placed both hands on her desk with that annoying smirk on his face.
"Work's almost over, Maria," he said. "Aren't you going to take me up on that date?"
Maria scoffed. "I'm sure your wife is very proud of all your hard work."
"Still stubborn," Pete muttered, hands sliding into his pockets with an exhale. "Daniel would never acknowledge your efforts properly except through me."
Maria let out a bitter laugh as the caricature of being Daniel's girlfriend pressed on her.
It was bad to this point.
She checked the time—thirty minutes before close.
Would Miles still be in?
"One day you'll realize that you're meant to have fun with men like me, not boys like Daniel who don't even know what to do with all that delicious package."
"Have a good evening, Pete," Maria said, locking eyes with him.
She didn't have time for his flattery and lies.
There was no difference between Pete and Daniel—one was just older.
And Pete always found a way to clone her ideas.
He left.
After the door shut, Maria stacked her files and made for Daniel's office.
If she had to swallow humiliation to present her ideas to Miles, she would.
She just had to be positive that he would actually listen.
The secretary confirmed Miles was still inside, and Maria didn't bother asking if Daniel was there as well.
Her heart pounded.
She needed this chance—the possibility of working without Daniel or Pete sitting on her back.
As she approached the frosted glass door stamped with the company's logo, she inhaled and pressed the bell.
Relief and dread tangled in her chest as the intercom's red dot switched to green, signaling she could speak.
"It's Maria," she said, breath soft.
"Come inside, Maria," Miles replied, calm—as if he'd been waiting.
She swallowed as she steadied herself, ready just in case Daniel was in too, and pressed her card to the access control.
The door slid open, then shut immediately as she stepped in.