Is What I Am Wearing Too Short?

Tara Blackwood POV

I sit on the vanity chair after putting on a white two piece outfit.

I know it will be the last light outfit I wear. The weather has already started to change.

Still, I liked it, so I took it out of the closet.

Elegance is everything.

Even if I freeze to death, I will die looking elegant.

I am joking.

The weather is not that cold yet. It is only early October.

I have already thought of many outfits I will wear this winter.

I drank several glasses of alcohol to ease my headache.

The pain faded a little after I showered.

But when I woke up, my head felt like a bomb about to explode.

I refocus on my reflection.

I study my final look.

I let my hair fall down my back.

I brushed the front strands away from my forehead as much as I could, since they are not even.

I put on light makeup, as usual.

I am thinking about changing my hair color to brown.

I want to change it badly, even if only for a while.

I will do it. Just not now.

Now I am going to work.

And I am excited.

I stand up from the chair and feel how short the skirt is.

Especially when I sit.

But who cares?

No one here controls what I wear.

And the only people who ever did were my father and my brother.

Even Ethan Roilan does not get jealous.

I like a jealous man.

But he is not one.

He does not hit a single point on my list.

I open my bag and put my black card inside.

A small perfume bottle.

And my phone.

I leave the room without eating anything.

The alcohol I drank feels like a lake in my stomach.

There is no space for food.

I walk outside where my driver is waiting.

This is embarrassing, but I forgot his name.

I really have the memory of a fish.

He opens the door for me.

I sit in the back seat.

He takes the driver seat.

This is my first time going to the company with him.

Now he stops in front of the building.

I honestly wonder about him.

He knows every place.

He opens the door again.

I step out and stand in front of him.

His eyes drop to my thighs.

He never did that before.

Is my skirt really that short?

Should I be bold and ask him?

I ask, shy and curious,

"Is what I am wearing too short?"

"For a man, yes, miss."

I knew it.

I wish I had changed this damn skirt.

I am not going to a strip show.

But when I compare it to what the women here wear, including Kaiden Draven’s secretary, my outfit is not that revealing.

That is what I will tell myself until this day ends.

"Thank you."

I turn my back to him.

I stood there too long.

Every minute here matters.

The moment I step inside, something wraps around my body.

Mira.

"Hi my sweet Tara. Does your head still hurt?"

She says it after letting go of me, while looking me over.

"Oh Mira, if there is one thing hurting my head, it is thinking about your brother. No, not hurting. I took several drinks."

I study her makeup.

She is clearly hiding dark circles.

"Tara, did you come here to tempt someone?"

What your driver said was enough, Mira.

Her tone and that wink are really annoying.

"Who would I tempt, Mira? There are many tall handsome men here."

"Oh Tara, you want to replace your fiancé? I will pick one for you."

How can she say that?

And this loud?

I guess carelessness runs in Kaiden Draven’s family.

I was about to reply, but she said,

"Good morning, brother."

She looks past me.

I know exactly who she means.

Wait. What if he heard what she said?

I turn around and face his masculine presence.

Even in a simple business suit, he looks like pure heat.

Enough to melt my femininity.

For the third time, he scans my body.

His face gives nothing away.

And I do not want to understand it.

"Good morning, Mr Kaiden Draven."

I copy his sister so I do not sound rude.

"Good morning, ladies."

His tone sounds annoyed.

That is what I catch.

What could annoy him this early?

His sister is here.

She seems to know a little about what is going on with him.

I think that is why she stares at his back like that.

"Mira, is your brother okay? Why does he look this annoyed in the morning?"

I ask innocently.

That is really me.

I have no idea what is wrong with him.

"Not just this morning. He has been like this for almost a week."

More question marks fill my face.

She grabs my hand and leads me away.

As a woman, I know this move.

She wants to tell me something without anyone hearing.

She takes me to a room.

An office with two desks.

The room is large.

Its colors match the place.

"Sit."

"From now on, you and I will work here."

I want to ask about the work.

But knowing a little about Kaiden Draven feels more important.

I sit on the edge of the desk.

That makes my skirt rise higher.

I do not care.

My attention is on her.

"My brother looked upset all last week in a way I have not seen in a long time. I tried so hard to know why. I even know how to push him to talk. But he did not."

"He does not even have friends sleeping over. I asked the ones I know. He barely goes home. He said he quit drinking, but last week he came back drunk almost every night."

"I am really worried about him."

Her voice is low.

Sad.

I understand her.

I have a brother too.

He is part of me.

So there was a reason for how he treated me that day.

And I was cursing him every night.

What caught my attention is that he started drinking again last week.

Is it really that bad?

If something is bothering him enough to make him go home drunk, why did he come to my place last night drunk?

And why was he walking in the rain?

I am about to ask her about how he was before he started drinking again.

But the door opens.

And there he is.

The topic of our talk.

He walks in.

I follow him with my eyes.

Why is he this attractive?

Why do suits fit him so well?

I have never seen him in anything else, except that day at the gym.

My eyes move to his face.

To his eyes.

Damn it.

He is staring at my thighs.

I step down from the desk and stand straight.

I pull my skirt down quietly.

This is embarrassing.

"Brother, do you need something?"

Mira stands up and faces him.

Why all this respect?

If you saw me and my brother, we are like Tom and Jerry.

We fight all the time.

But we love each other deeply.

I think the age gap explains it.

She is young.

He is a grown man.

My brother and I are the same age.

Same generation.

Same face.

We are twins.

Kaiden walks to Mira’s desk, I assume.

He places several files.

No. Many files.

I wonder why he came himself.

He could have sent his secretary.

"I need both of you to start working now. I will explain what you will do."

His serious work tone.

As always.

"These files belong to my clients. They are for the lawyers here. I need you to work on them. I want the best from both of you. A summary for each file. I want them ready in two hours."

I think he is done.

So I step forward to take some files and start.

He clearly thinks we are machines.

"Mira, come to my office.

And you, Miss Tara, there will be files in my office for you to take before you leave, since you were absent last week."

I look at him in disbelief.

He was the one who told me not to come, even when I argued.