PERFECT TEMPTATION

THREE

Phase one;
She needed to get to know him for her to be able to create a personal design suitable for him. It was the first step in the job.

Normally she loved this part. It was when she interacted with her clients on a non professional yet still professional level, but she was not ready to interact with this client.

Since they were being professional, she would have to treat him like she would any other client. This all felt like torment. Especially now that they were meeting up for breakfast at what he said was his favorite place around.

"A bar?" She asked looking at him in disbelief, "I thought we were meeting up for breakfast?"

"We are," he turned to the bartender who was eying him from behind her work space. Leena was not surprised,the guy looked like a fallen angel, tempting in every way but she would not look at him like that. She was a married woman,and it took every nerve in her body to remind herself that.

"Two beers please."

"Make that one please," Leena said quickly, stopping the bartender who stared at both of them in confusion.

"Please bring us two beers and two shots of tequila Grace."

With that smile, and the wink he gave her, there was no way Grace, as he called her, would listen to Leena. Not to mention he called her by name to mean he knew her. Leena turned her frustration to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Michael looked at her like her question had an obvious answer he did not need to tell her, "I'm getting us breakfast."

"I don't know about you...but I don't drink in the morning."

"But you smoke in the morning?" He questioned without battering an eye at her.

She only stood there feeling like she was proven guilty in an interrogation. How did he even know she smoked. She had to that morning if she was going to pass through this breakfast without trying to kill the man.

He leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, " I can smell it on you. Whatever perfume that was, it did not work."

If the perfume did not work, did that mean Rachel also smelt it on her? She had come to her that morning with her usual gossip moments after Leena thought she had gotten rid of the smell.

Good Lord! That meant she knew. She was definitely going to tell everyone. What if Jonathan found out too?

Stress levels,check✅

There was no way she could reject the drink now and the moment the bartender brought them in, she downed her tequila shot in one go. Lord knows she was not a heavy drinker, so she definitely had to watch it.

"There. I joined you for breakfast," she said, making her sarcasm at the word 'breakfast' quite clear.

All he did was smile at her statement before drinking his beer. She took out her notepad and pen and sat beside him facing him while he drank his beer in contempt.

"Now tell me about yourself."

"Are you sure you want to know that."

She stared at him with a look that said, the fuck!   "Just tell me about yourself."

"It's gonna cost you though."

"What!"

It was more of a ' I'm shocked by this' kind of what than a question. How was doing her job going to cost her? Did he not understand her yesterday when she explained that this was an important part of the job.

"See, I'm not really an open person," he started, " I open up only when I'm certain the person and I have some kind of vibe at the time."

"Okay," she said dragging the 'kay' and hoping to get a bit more information on this 'vibe' he was talking about.

"You're going to have to drink with me to get information out of me."

He was coy, there was no doubt about that, but she honestly just wanted this phase to be over as soon as possible. She agreed to drinking with him, right before he ordered more tequila shots for them both.

She did not understand why he wanted this phase done when clearly, she knew more about him than she should have. His taste was the same as before, but everytime she asked something, he made her drink before answering her question.

If his intentions were to get her drunk, it definitely worked since she was already feeling woozy and hot. She was high and drunk. What better way to start the day.

It took only four shots to get everything around her dancing in circular motions. When was the last time she even had shots at a bar?

He had answered most of her questions so it was worth it at least. Now all she wanted to do was get back home.

She closed her notepad and pen, safely keeping them back inside her bag. She then tried getting off the high stool she sat on and almost fell if not for Micheal holding her.

"Whoa!! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm good, I just need to get home," she said, unable to maintain her focus on him.

"Are you even sure you can drive."

She shook her head. She obviously was not sure she could, but she could not stay here either.

"I'll drive you."

Before she could even protest, he had taken the keys from her hand and he practically carried her to the car she had parked outside. How was he not drunk yet she was?

She stared at him while in her seat watching him drive and she turned to face him, leaning on her seat from her side.
He saw this and smiled,eyes on the road, " what?"

"You know, you really haven't changed one bit," she said, her voice sounding louder in her head than she expected.

Then out of the blues, one name came to her, Kate. The last place she could go to drunk was her house. Not with a neighbor who basically watched her every five seconds in every minute.

"Wait! Stop the car... You can't take me home."

Micheal looked at her confused, "why?"

"Coz, I'm drunk. The last thing I want is Kate seeing me. She'll tell everyone for sure. And Jean? She won't stop reminding me about it if she finds out. Please, drive me to any other place but home."

Michael looked at her questionably. Who the fuck were those? She sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and started humming a song, letting the alcohol wash over her completely while he drove.

If there was one thing she told herself about drinking, it was that the more you fight it off , the stronger it gets. She obviously did not have proof of this, but she took it very seriously.

She felt herself get lighter, as the car's movement became a lullaby to her, and she gradually drifted off.

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