Red Garter +18

Elevator

The young woman took a deep breath and looked around to see if there was anything she forgot to do in the early hours of the morning. The books were neatly placed on the shelf. The files she needed first thing in the morning were neatly placed on the desk. Everything was symmetrically arranged on the desk, and she held her filter coffee. Yesterday evening, after leaving work, she had called Ahzal's tailor and discussed spare clothes. She had gotten the coffee from the café, disregarding Demre's sleepy grumbling, and had come to the company. The room was just as she wanted it to be, but she stood in the middle of the room, not knowing how to wait for the man.

Just as she thought she should go out and wait for the man, the door opened, and the large man, with a small earpiece in his ear, was speaking in English on the phone with someone on the other end as he walked in. Not knowing what to do, Hamra stood there, extending the coffee towards the man as she took her bag and gave him the coffee with her now free hand. The young man continued to reply to his friend on the phone while he walked to his desk and settled into his chair to take a sip of coffee. Hamra waited for a sign of appreciation from her boss who seemed not to care about her presence, continuing his conversation. Sure, his mind might have been elsewhere, but couldn't he have at least smiled politely when accepting the coffee? Or looked around? Couldn't he see that everything was obviously not as he left it the day before?

While the young girl was lost in her thoughts, the young man hung up the phone and looked at the woman standing before him. Today, she was wearing a black dress. It ended just below her knees and with the stilettos underneath, she looked like a true professional, but even this was enough to upset the young man. The body-hugging dress, though ending below the knee caps, was still quite eye-catching. She had tied a beautiful scarf around her neck with red, green, and white, and her chest was modestly covered, but still, it didn't escape the man's notice. After what he had seen at lunch yesterday, warming up to this woman had become an impossibility. He had even tossed and turned in bed, angry for leaving his sister with this man-crazy woman.

"Good morning, Mr. Ahzal. Would you like me to give you the morning plan now or..." she was interrupted mid-sentence by the man looking at her with furrowed brows. "You must like these kinds of dresses," the young man said, causing Hamra to look at him bewilderedly. "I don't understand, is there a problem?" she inquired while inspecting her dress for any stains, but the dress was black, and no stains were visible. When she looked up at the man again, she saw he was still frowning at her. My God, had he woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, or was this really how the man started his day, she couldn't figure out. "Neslihan must not have mentioned my dress code requirements," he stated, and Hamra looked at him curiously. "No, we didn't discuss such a topic," she replied, and the young man nodded. "As my assistant, you will be with me in front of business people, and as you might have heard, such men have certain attitudes towards assistants. I'm saying this not because I want it, but for your comfort. You might be more comfortable wearing pantsuits," he suggested, and Hamra stood in shock. Was she hearing him right? "What do you mean, I can't wear what I choose because men might harass me?" she asked, and the young man realized the

absurdity of his statement, took a deep breath, and conceded to the protesting woman. "You're right. As I said, I'm suggesting this so you won't be bothered by their stares. You might be uncomfortable and..." he was cut off as he dug himself deeper, prompting Hamra to speak up. "I can make those men uncomfortable for looking, Mr. Ahzal. Thank you for your concern, but I did not expect such a sexist approach from you," Hamra retorted, now frowning back at him as Ahzal was left staring at her, wide-eyed and taken aback. She was right, of course. Her confident and firm stance in defending her view had impressed him, but still, this red-haired woman was practically leading his sister astray. "My intention was not to be sexist. You are my sister's closest friend. I'm saying this for your comfort," he explained. "Your concern for my comfort is very gratifying, thank you, but as I said, I've managed on my own until now. I can continue to do so," she asserted, and the man watched the defiant woman in astonishment. She was stubborn indeed. He didn't agree with the point she defended, but his aim was just to restrict this woman somehow. Even if it meant resorting to an ugly tactic, he had to rein in this woman who had been waiting at home in garters for a man. Demre was only twenty-one, and the decisions she made at this age would shape her future. It didn't seem likely he could remove this woman from her life, but he believed he could change her. "Alright, you know best. Come to my office in five minutes to give me the daily schedule. Also, tell Neslihan to give you a company card. You can use it to get what you need," he said, and Hamra nodded, heading back to her office. What a strange man. Did he not hear what came out of his mouth, or was he really that reserved? She had always hated people who meddled in her clothing choices. She sat down to calm down, glanced around for a while, and as she caught sight of the pending work, she somewhat gathered her thoughts.