chapter 4

Aria White -

Aria follows the mysterious man to his office It's a large, high-ceilinged room, with bookshelves lining the walls and a large desk in the center.  The mysterious man gestures for Aria to take a seat, and as she does so, perching on the edge of a plush leather chair. 

Aria is feeling weird at this moment. She's nervous and a little bit scared, but also strangely intrigued by the mysterious man. She can't help but wonder who he is and why he's being so kind to her.  Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye.  Or maybe he's just a nice guy who wanted to spare her the embarrassment of being stared at.

Aria is lost in thought, the mysterious man speaks up, breaking the silence.  His voice is deep and smooth, and it startles Aria a bit.  He says, "Would you like a drink?" Aria looks up, unsure of how to respond. 

Aria is a bit flustered, and she hesitates before answering the mysterious man's question.  Finally, she stammers, "Um, yes, a drink would be nice. Thank you."  

The mysterious man smiles, and he moves towards a small bar in the corner of the room.  He pours a drink and brings it to Aria, handing it to her. 

The mysterious man asks Aria, "Do you know who I am?"  Aria is a bit taken aback by the question, but she answers as honestly as she can.  "I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever met you before."  The mysterious man nods thoughtfully, and then he asks.

"Have you heard anything about me?"  Aria's heart is racing as she considers how to answer. 

Aria is starting to feel the pressure now.  She's not sure what to say to the mysterious man, and she doesn't want to make him angry. But at the same time, she doesn't want to lie to him.  So, she decides to be as honest as possible.  She takes a deep breath and says.

"I may have heard a few things about you, but I don't know if they're true or not."  The mysterious man raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by her answer.  He asks, "What have you heard?"

Aria feels like she's walking on eggshells, but she decides to just be as straightforward as possible.  She says, "I've heard that you're a very successful businessman, but that you have a bit of a reputation for being ruthless."  

The mysterious man just smiles at her, and it's hard for her to tell if he's amused or annoyed by her answer. He says, "Well, that's certainly one way to put it." 

The mysterious man looks at Aria with an unreadable expression on his face.  He asks her, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

 Aria takes a deep breath and meets his gaze directly.  "No," she says, her voice steady and clear."Should I be?"  The mysterious man's eyebrows raise, and he seems genuinely surprised by her answer.  He says, "Most people are." 

The mysterious man seems to consider Aria's answer for a moment.  Then he says, "You're a very intriguing person. Most people aren't as... forthright as you are." 

Aria feels a little flattered by his words, but she's still not entirely sure what to make of him.  "I'm just being honest," she says.  The mysterious man nods and says, "I like that about you." 

The mysterious man leans in a little closer to Aria and says, "I have to confess, I wasn't expecting to meet someone like you today."  His words are low and smooth, and Aria can't help but feel a little flustered.  Then, he says something that takes her completely by surprise. He asks, "Would you like to go out for a drink sometime?" 

Aria is still reeling from the mysterious man's question, but then she realizes that it's getting late, and she needs to get home.  As she's gathering her things, the mysterious man says, "It was nice to meet you.  Can I have your number, so we can stay in touch?"

Aria considers his request for a moment and then nods and gives him her number. The mysterious man smiles and says, "I'll text you."  Then, he bids her farewell as she leaves the office.

Leaving Aria with a million questions running through her head.

As she walked towards her car, she could still hear people mumbling as she goes.

"Aria?" She heard her name been called.

"Is everything ok?" Elizabeth asked her coming to her side.

Two women by her side.

"Huh?" Aria asked, her head title to the side.

"We heard that the boss , call you to his office, is everything ok, did you get fired?" Elizabeth asked softly.

"Oh." Aria said with a nervous giggle.

She didn't know what to tell them, that her boss took her number.

She didn't know if she was still safe or not.

"He was just asking questions, cause he hasn't seen my face before" Aria said bitting her lips nervous.

"You sure, you looked really scared when you were going with him." Another woman said.

Aria looked at the two women behind Elizabeth, Trying to remember who they are.

She doesn't pay attention to people around her.

The only person she knows is Aria and the security men.

"I'm sure, I was just nervous that's all, uhm I have to go home now, it was nice meeting you guys." She said before waving at Elizabeth.

She didn't bother asking for names, cause she knows very well that she won't remember them.

As Aria got to her car, she said a goodbye to the security.

Then opened her car door.

Letting out a breath, she dropped her head on her wheel.

Trying to get herself back.

Lord knows how scared she felt in that room.

They was something about her boss that screams danger.

But for some reason, he seemed nice to her.

Aria closed her eyes and mumbled a prayer to God.

She didn't want to lose this job, cause she knows if she did, alot of things would be hard for her.

And she doesn't have anyone she could stay with.

With that she drove off, hoping everything would go well tomorrow.