I quietly worked on some paperwork for the meeting that would take place later in the day. Ivan's mother was supposed to visit the office today, which put him on edge. They don't exactly have a close mother and son relationship. I don't understand why because she was a delightful person. She always treated me like I'm her daughter. Not to mention she was incredibly beautiful. Beauty must run in that family.
I went to his office when his mother arrived to let him know. I tried to leave after announcing her arrival, but he stopped me midway.
"No, stay here with me," he said, almost desperately.
"You want me to stay?" I was confused. "I am sure your mother would love to spend time with you alone," I said.
"I'd appreciate it if you stayed here," he insisted.
Alright, so be it. I sat back down on the chair. I was feeling slightly uncomfortable for intruding between the mother and a son. But Ivan was acting like a scared child, so I felt bad for him.
"Ivan! My beautiful sweet boy, how are you!?" Ivan's mom Marilyn barged into the office and gave him a big hug. She has always been very loud and lively, completely opposite of Ivan's personality.
"Hello, mother," Ivan said and kissed her in the cheek.
"Oh, please, dear, didn't I tell you not to call me mother? It sounds so...formal. Call me, mommy," she squealed.
"Eh...mother, I am a bit too old to call you that don't you think?" he said. I could sense his discomfort from across the room.
"Oh, nonsense! You are never too old. You are always going to be the little boy who ran around the house without his pants and made me kiss his boo-boo when he scratched his knee," she said and pinched his cheek.
I suddenly pictured him running around without pants with a stoic expression on his face and snickered out loud without thinking. I pressed my palm on my mouth to suppress the noise, but it was too late. Ivan was already glaring at me.
"Oh, Ariel, sweetheart, you look radiant! You are just turning more and more beautiful every time I see you," she gushed.
"You are too kind, Mrs. Adams. I am sure my beauty level has not changed. What you are seeing is a sickly glow of sleep deprivation on my face," I said casually.
Ivan smirked. I am glad he found that funny since he is the reason for it.
"I told you to call me Marilyn dear, and I told you Pookie bear, stop working this girl to death," she cooed and gazed at Ivan.
"Mother, please, for the hundredth times, stop calling me that," he said with a pained expression on his face. I couldn't help but giggle. Poor Ivan, so helpless in front of his own mother.
"Don't worry about him, dear. He thinks I am embarrassing. Anyway, I won't stay long. I just came to see if the business is going well. You seem to have everything in control as I expected," she smiled and said goodbye to us.
"Phew...that was excruciating," Ivan exhaled.
"She is a lovely lady," I said quietly.
"Do I really make you work too hard?" he asked me suddenly.
I didn't know how to answer it at first, then figured I should be honest.
"I believe I put in more hours than others, so yes. I don't mind, I was mostly joking. I hope you didn't take it the wrong way," I said.
"I see," he said. "I suppose I should express my gratitude more often," he said and stared at me intently. His icy grey eyes looked surprisingly warm. I was shocked at the sudden change of behavior. He barely ever thanks me for anything.
"It's alright really, um, we should get back to work," I said quickly.
"Right, prepare the documents for the meeting," he said, and we went back to work.
The meeting lasted for about an hour. He called me into his office and told me to have a seat. I wondered what it was about.
"I have to leave for Paris in two days," he said.
"Yes, sir, I know. I have booked your airline ticket and hotel room already," I informed him.
"I'd like you to book an extra ticket and a room," he said.
Is he taking someone with him? Interesting. He must've already met someone else after breaking up with Katie Mckinzee.
"Oh? Will you be having a company with you?" I asked.
"Yes, I need you to come with me on the trip," he said casually.
Say what now? I didn't know what to say for a minute. He expects me to travel all the way to Paris with him, for what?
"Excuse me, sir, but that wasn't part of the plan," I said.
He leaned closer towards me, his eyes boring into mine. He always had this intense look on his face when he was serious about something.
"I told you to call me Ivan Miss Young, and I am the one who makes all the decisions, so the new plan is for you to accompany me on the trip. This is an essential conference, so I need you to be with me and help me with anything I need," he said.
"But what about my plans? I can't just up and leave!" I wasn't going to back down that easily.
"I don't understand what the problem is. I thought women love Paris. Besides, this will help you progress toward the next step in your career," he said.
As much as I hate to admit, he made a good point. Paris does sound exciting. Two days didn't seem enough to pack everything for a week, but I had to make it happen. I nodded in agreement and left the office. I had to call Mark and let him know. He is not going to be happy about this.
I prepared myself for the trip to Paris. I didn't understand why he insisted that I go with him. It was a conference, and he definitely didn't need me there, so what was the point?Oh well, I should stop overthinking and just go with it. I've always wanted to go to Paris anyway. I mean, hello! It was Paris!Mark was not happy about me going away for an entire week, just as I suspected. But I promised I'd call him every day and we will video chat. It was just a week, right?I laid back on my plane seat. It would be a long flight, but it w
"I am sorry, Ivan, I must've misheard you. I thought I heard you say you were hitting on me," I said and smiled awkwardly."You heard correctly. I think you are gorgeous, so I want to offer you a chance to be my woman," he said with a straight face."I didn't realize you had such a great sense of humor, but haha, you got me," I said."I am not joking. I never joke about things like these. I have been very pleased with you these past couple of
The next day, he acted as nothing happened. He was back to his stoic and no bullshit attitude. I was more than okay to avoid that type of conversation, so I sure as hell didn't bring it up. I decided to stop thinking about it and focus on work. These documents aren't going to prepare themselves.I had some time after the presentation, so I decided to go shopping. I am in Paris, after all. The concierge recommended a boutique that was apparently super trendy and affordable, so I decided to give it a try.It really was a beautiful store. Dozens of beautiful dresses and outfits were displayed, and I was having a hard time picking. I decided to go wi
The next couple of days were spent following him around and then going sightseeing. I helped him with the conference during the day, and in the evening, I was free to do whatever I wanted. I was having a great time shopping.I confronted Ivan about the roses, but he just kind of shrugged."I told you I was going to keep trying. I meant every word I said," he said.This man is infuriating.
I couldn't wait to get away from him once our plane landed. But unfortunately, I ended up accepting a ride from him from the airport to my apartment because I was exhausted from the long flight and didn't feel like arguing against him.After awkwardly saying goodbye, I went inside, then laid down on my bed. I decided not to text Mark right away because I wanted to surprise him. I decided not to tell him that I was arriving a day earlier. I figured it'd be a nice surprise for him since we haven't had the chance to spend time together lately.I took a shower and put on my favorite dress that he loved on me. Better look good for my man, right? I threw the
"I will be turning in my resignation letter then!" I declared."And throw away your chance to move up in your career? You wouldn't dare," Ivan said.He was right. That wouldn't be smart considering he hasn't physically harmed me in any way.I stormed out of the room and sat down in front of my computer. That's it. I am done with this. I am reporting him to HR. I don't care if he is the owner of this company, and it could potentially cost me my job.
I decided to start my day by doing little things to inconvenience him. I came in extra early and rearranged his entire room. This may seem like no big deal to most people but not him. He was Mr. Perfect. The pencil holder's placement on the left side of the desk instead of the right will drive him nuts. There were many other little things I rearranged oh so slightly, so it'll take him all day to figure out what was wrong in his room.Rest assured, I was right. He was fidgeting all day since he got in. He called me into his office."Did you summon me, Ivan?" I asked, pretending to be oblivi
"You seem to be in a good mood today," Ivan said."How can I be in a bad mood when I'm in the presence of such a fine gentleman," I told him."Your sarcasm is an attractive quality in you, Miss Young," he smirked.I rolled my eyes. I am waiting for Katie Mckinzee's first attack. I already let her know that one of his meetings have been canceled and he'd be free for at least four hours. Which I can imagine is too long for him to spend time with