Chapter 9 :

Aaron's POV:

It had been two days and I still couldn't pop that girl out of my mind. For two days, I just wanted to tell her how wrong she was about me. But the question was, why? Why did I want to prove her wrong? But now, I have finally found my answer. Satisfaction. It would deeply satisfy me to remove that smirk from her face.

A light knock brought me back to reality and I cleared my throat and then said sternly, "Come in."

Eliza, my personal secretary, stepped into the room. She was appointed just two weeks ago and ever since she has been a sore to my eyes. I had never seen her in sophisticated office clothes. Mini skirts with cleavage-revealing shirts were more of her style. It didn't go unnoticed to me how often she bit her lower lip whenever my eyes would land on her. But little did she know that I didn't do secretaries ever since Olivia.

One-night stands were more of my thing where both parties were satisfied without any strings attached. I learned my lesson a long time ago. With Olivia, it got really messy. Even though we had cleared that it would be nothing more than a one-night stand but she still thought that after the first time, I would be so bewitched by her charm and would die to be in her pants again. She was wrong, Aaron never repeats the girls. She got so clingy and started acting like my girlfriend even though she knew girlfriends had never been my cup of tea. The rule of my life was quite simple; refrain from anything with emotional strings attached.

Eliza started walking toward my desk with a pencil in her mouth. She was sucking it lightly in an effort to appear seducing but the sight seemed rather funny to me. The girl was fucking desperate to get my hands all over her. Stopping by the desk, she tallied my schedule for the day. When she was done, I simply nodded my head and went back to the computer screen.

At noon, I attended a meeting with JK Steels to discuss the most suitable material for the new product we were going to launch soon. For reasons unknown to me, dad was not present in the meeting. He didn't even give me a heads-up before going out.

=======

It was Friday and Friday lunches were reserved for my mother. We would usually go out to eat whatever she was craving for that day. Earlier, I gave a call to my driver and instructed him to bring mom to the Hotel Mariott for lunch. At about 12 pm, I winded up my work and left the office.

There was so god damn traffic. I was literally moving at the speed of a tortoise. And the fact that my mother was waiting for me in the restaurant was even more agitating. I rang up my mother who picked up on the first ring, "Hey, Aaron. Where are you?"

I tried to keep my calm, "I'm on my way, mom. Traffic is really bad."

She breathed, "Oh. Okay."

I inquired further, "You okay, mom?"

She laughed lightly, "Of course. I am settled down at a very nice table you reserved for us. Don't worry about me. Take your time and no need to over speed."

I mumbled, "Yeah. I'll be there in a while."

At about 1:15 pm, I finally reached the restaurant. I sat down in the chair across from the mom's wheelchair and started, "I'm so sorry, mom. You have been waiting for quite a while, I guess."

She waved at me, "Don't bother. It's fine. This lady does need some Me Time."

I chuckled lightly and passed her the menu. She inspected it intensely and took her time like such an important decision was to be made. Actually, food was my mother's weakness. She was so choosy about what to eat. She was fond of trying new food items so I always try to take her to some new place. I was looking at my own menu when all of the sudden she slammed the menu close. I looked around the place to see if something was wrong. But nothing seemed to be out of place. I then looked at her and spotted her beaming eyes. She winked and said, "Let's just eat fried chicken and beer today."

My mouth hung open, "Are you okay, mom? Not gonna try something new?"

She shook her head violently, "I eat what I crave, son."

I snorted and gestured for the waiter to come and take our order. We chatted while waiting for the arrival of our food. Just then, something caught my eye. It was sort of unbelievable so I rechecked and yeah, I was right. There, at the table near the window was sitting Ms. Scarlet. The girl from the other night who somehow failed to escape my mind even after a week.

Mom was saying something about planting velvet lilies in our garden but my eyes were stuck on Scarlet. She was not alone as I saw her making small talk with someone every now and then. I scooted a little higher in my chair and spotted a blond man with her. It took me a moment to recognize him. He was Edward Jameson, the son of James Jameson who was the owner of JJ AeroSpace.

I saw as she delicately patted her mouth with the napkin and then nodded at something he said. But as soon as he dived his head down to take a bite, she rolled her eyes at him. A chuckle left my mouth without a warning. Mother stopped and said, "What's so funny about lilies?"

I jerked my head towards mom and said, "Mom? I think we should get scarlet-colored lilies."

A large smile formed on her lips and she clapped her hands together, "Even better. But Aaron, do you know what Red lilies symbolize?"

I raised my brows in question and she replied, "Love and Passion."

Mom's words made my attention divert back towards Scarlet as she stood up from her chair, said something to the blondie, and moved in the direction of the restroom.

I shot out of my chair and excused myself. Mom inquired if everything was alright and I assured her that yes, it was all perfect. A smirk crept over my lips as I made long strides toward the restroom.

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for the whole week was here.

=======