Nora's P.O.V

“Are you kidnapping me?” I asked Elijah for what seemed like the thousandth time with a tone of incredulousness as he swerved past vehicles in a suicidal manner and accelerated to a dangerous speed. He didn't utter a single reply as he ignored my voice, just barely managing to avoid hitting the back of a Toyota Prius as he carried on. I narrowed my eyes at him, grasping the safety belt and the overhead clasp in apprehension for the worst. My heart rate was erratically beating, and I was sure that if he drove any minute longer, I would puke it out all over his car. ‘I don't think I can jump out of a speeding vehicle’, I convinced myself.

With due course Elijah slowed the car down and stopped before a shop: B&B Couture. On the outside the building appeared nonchalant, as if it was above every other business in its surroundings. It exquisitely paraded its stock of dresses in front of passers-by and its designer brands competed with one another to win their customers attention.

“Come with me” Elijah gestured as he undid his belt and left the vehicle crossing behind it to stand in front of the shop and wait for me. ‘What a gentleman’, I snorted sarcastically to myself before undoing my belt and joining Elijah beside him. I didn't understand why Elijah had brought us here, this was an expensive shop and as much as he could afford anything and everything it sold, I on the other hand, could not. Unfortunately, I didn't know the surrounding area very well so I couldn't make a run for it and leave Elijah in the dust.

Instead, I followed him inside, gasping as I entered with pleasurable surprise studying the beautiful dresses and the layout of the large room. Though the building was hidden in plain sight, it was a gem once you crossed its threshold, as if a realm had opened up and transported you to a fairy tale story, the inside of the building was enlightened by a large chandelier and sofa's decorated the space as fitting rooms crossed the back and were catered to dresses of all types, whether that be designer brands, prom dresses, evening dresses, and even cocktail dresses. It was Cinderella's dream. Women were already walking through the shop, holding armfuls of dresses or bags full of clothing. Each eyeing me with mild disinterest as they rolled on through to wherever their hearts desired. I immediately felt inferior in their presence, made all the worse by Elijah.

Speaking of the Devil, he had gone in search of a particular man, speaking to the stranger in hushed tones before he pointed at me, and the man nodded in understanding. ‘What is he doing?’ I questioned, confused at Elijah's behaviour. A different man approached me as Elijah continued to converse with the other one and I shifted uncomfortably as the attention was now solely focused on me. I could tell the second man worked in the shop by the way he walked with an air of finesse and his clothing triumphed mine by branding styles. He was superior in every sense of the word. I curiously peeked at his name badge, noting the name 'Zion' written in cursive.

“Ma'am, could you come this way, please?” He politely asked waiting to the side for me to start walking. I looked over to Elijah, but he was still preoccupied in his conversation with the first man. I looked back to Zion before smiling and following him to a fitting room at the back, awestricken that inside the room was a full-length mirror, plush sofas with a coffee table decorated with champagne flutes and an expensive bottle of the alcohol itself. A space for hanging dresses became stuffed with various versions as Zion left me and then returned with handfuls of dresses, shoving them onto the hangars. They were gorgeous but I had to stop Zion before he got the wrong idea.

“I'm sorry but I can't try these on, I don't actually have the money to buy any of them”, I disappointedly admitted. I was miffed as to what was going on and it didn't help that no one was explaining anything to me.

“You won't be paying, Ma'am. Mr Elijah has already covered the expenses for you, so don't worry”, he respectfully replied with a small smile before he closed the drape of the fitting room and walked away.

‘Why would Elijah buy me an expensive dress? I reckon he's planning something, but I can't accept anything he plans on buying me. Hell, I don't even know where I am!’ I pulled at my hair in frustration, raking myself over in the mirror as I noticed my clothes crumpled and dishevelled.

My last attempt at figuring out how to escape led me to check my phone, the bright light making me crinkle my eyes before I raked it in disgust noticing the low battery notification flashing. Most people would adore being in such an expensive shop surrounded by fancy dresses and bubbly champagne, but I just wanted to do my job and stay within the office. It seemed Elijah cursed me, and I wasn't going to be able to call anyone for help to rush me away like a damsel in distress. ‘The worst luck surrounded me’, I sneered at my reflection.

Submitting to my capture, I decided to shuffle through the dresses, my eyes focusing on a deep purple one that shimmied under the bright lights. Trying it on, I struggled to lace up the corset at the back before giving up and just studying the dress in the mirror. Ruffled shoulder straps gracefully fell around my biceps as multi-coloured gems reflected intensely on the material. The halter cut accentuated my assets and as it squeezed my waist, more multi-coloured gems were found. From there on the material flowed outwards, sweeping the floor in more ruffles as I twirled in a circle.
‘I don't like it, there's something about it that doesn't suit my body’, I disfavoured before remembering that Zion had told me to step outside once, I was done putting any of the dresses on. Still wearing my black high heels, I teetered past the drapes and stepped onto a small podium in the centre of the back area.

Elijah was waiting for me as he sat in one of the sofa's typing on his phone whilst his other hand clung onto a half-filled champagne flute. He looked up, scrutinizing the dress with a rigorous examination from top to bottom and back up again before looking me in the eyes. I felt uncomfortable as he stared at me, it was discerning to see his eyes lighting up with an unknown emotion before he placed his shield back up.

“No, I don't like it, try another one on”, Elijah decided as he went back to typing on his phone. I secretly sighed in relief that he agreed with me on this, but it irked me how his attitude seemed so arrogant.

I treaded back to the fitting room, stripping myself from that annoying dress before huffing in satisfaction. The champagne kept bubbling in my presence and a sudden thought crossed my mind ‘Now I know why they placed the champagne bottle in the room, this was hard work changing in and out of dresses.’ Capping the champagne bottle, I poured myself a moderate amount of the alcohol before taking a delicate sip.

I looked back to the dresses before flickering through and picking a satin pink midi dress that was off shoulder. It was simple, plain, and included a flair at the bottom of the design that flattered my legs but restricted much movement. It wasn't flashy but that was why I had picked it; it was completely opposite to the first dress. Again, I repeated the process of getting onto the stadium only to be judged by the almighty Elijah before he looked at me and sentenced the dress.

“No, next one”, he barked irritatingly, and I went back to the fitting room cursing him to every worst God that existed. ‘He's doing it on purpose, that twat, he needs to rot in hell’, I vented.

After trying on two more dresses the high heavens must have heard my prayers for salvation as he finally nodded in approval and mild respect towards a royal yellow dress. The A-line, V neck, open back ballgown dress sinched my waist seductively and displayed my back artistically in intricate style. Overall, it made me feel feminine, a sophisticated lady if you could call such an impression under that phrase yet the deep cut at the front had me frigid from the attention it gave my breasts. ‘If only I could cover a bit of that part up’, I imagined as I raised my hands near my chest to stop Elijah from gaping in that area.

Instead of acting professional, Elijah turned his attention to the slit at the bottom of the dress where my long legs sleekly made an appearance before hiding from him as my lip curled with distaste and I thought to myself, ‘Ugh, could he stop?’

Elijah finally stopped his staring contest and allowed me to change back to my office clothing before I met him in front of the till, and he collected a bag with the dress inside. He'd paid already, handing the bag over to me to hold as he made his way to the exit and left the shop not bothering to check whether I was following him. ‘To the outside world he acts so nice and kind but in reality, he's the opposite to a man, he's a fraud’, I noted before hurrying after him. He was already at the car and opening the door when I shouted for him to wait.

“Miss Nora, stand there for a moment”, Elijah said before getting into his car and making himself comfortable. ‘Is he leaving me here?’ I queried as the sudden roar of his engine rattled to life and my nerves hitched in fear, ‘I think he is.’

“Don't leave me here!” I shouted above the engine, hoping he could hear me and by some miracle it seemed he did as he rolled the passenger side window further down and aggravatingly smirked. ‘He knows I'm scared’, I realised as I left my post and reached the car, bending down to listen to Elijah's reply through the window, ‘If he leaves me here, I'll never find my way home.’

“Maybe I won't leave you... If you beg me to take you with me”, Elijah dealt mischievously. I took a few deep breaths as I mulled over his words, ‘He's just acting, he doesn't know how to be a good guy so he's just playing around.’

“I'd rather die than beg”, I savagely retorted, proud of myself for standing against his games, or at least that was until he pressed on his accelerator and started to slowly inch his way forward in a teasing manner.

I panicked, glaring at Elijah before my shoulders slumped and I humiliatingly asked, “Okay, please take me with you sir, I don't know my way around this area, and I need your help.”

I tried my damn hardest to avoid looking in his eyes but when I received silence in return I glanced at Elijah and saw him smiling in ecstatic happiness. I rolled my eyes thinking about the fact that he was taking advantage of my helplessness to embarrass me further.

Unlocking the door for me, I finally slumped into the chair, a breath of relief escaping my lips as I shakingly strapped myself in and Elijah drove away from the shop more calmly this time. He was taking more time to drive towards his destination and as the scenery passed by, I wondered where he was going and what he was going to do next. ‘I probably should have walked’, I thought to myself as I swept a quick glance at Elijah whose eyes were deathly focused on the road and his arms stiff on the steering wheel.

‘Why'd he even buy me the dress in the first place?’ I raised in doubt as the silence carried on throughout the entire journey until we stopped in front of a house. More specifically, my house. I struggled to comprehend how in the world he knew where I lived before realising that he was the boss and he probably searched it up in the office database. I looked over to Elijah to see him already watching me with a weird gaze until he realised, I caught him red-handed, and he shoved the bag with the dress into my hands.

“You must be wondering why I bought you that dress”, he fumbled about watching other cars pass by us, “It's because my family are arranging a party, and everyone is invited.”

‘It must be that party Anna was inviting everyone to and Naomi had told me about’, I thought, still watching Elijah as he returned the glance and eyed me.

“With all due respect, sir, I don't think I'm invited to that party after what I did in the office.”

“Let's just forget that ever happened.” he replied with a cold tone.

“I doubt Anna's going to forget it.What was the point in going through all that effort for a dress?”

Elijah sighed before replying, closing his eyes in distress as his hoarse voice stated, “You're my PA Miss Jones. Contrary to how I treat others I treat my assistants like royalty, and I don't want people to think you're ugly.”

I gaped open mouthed at him as his words sunk in and the audacity of his rudeness hit me like a freight-train.
He carried on however, ignoring my reaction, “But if you want nice things you have to be a good girl for that.” Opening his eyes, he finally turned to face me, and it took everything in my power to not raise my hand and slap him raw across his cheek.

‘Did he just call me ugly? Did he actually just do that?’ My mind frazzled as I tried to rewind the last two minutes but failed. ‘The only thing I've wanted since the beginning of this job, was some respect. That's all’, I ranted trying to reign in my anger before it could explode in his face.

“I don't want this, and I don't want to go to the party”, I finally commented back, trying to return the bag to Elijah put he just pushed the item back towards me. He didn't even look shocked at my remark, just bored with this situation.

“I knew you would say that, but you see, I have a reputation to uphold, and you need to come as my PA whether you like it or not”, he voiced before he finally stopped the tug of war between us and threatened, “If you don't come to the party, I'll have you pay me back for the dress.”

“I can't afford to pay you back though”, I replied as I looked away from him, furrowing my eyebrows and placing a hand over my face.

“The choice is yours, Miss Jones.”

‘It's not much of a choice though I don’t have the money and it’s expensive, I need to save the money for the rent and my family as well’, I fumed in passionate hate as it rolled off me in tidal waves and I hoped it suffocated Elijah who acted nonchalant about the entire ordeal. Instead of replying, I exited the car, slamming the door so loudly I wanted to make sure he cringed at the sound.

‘It's not like he needs the money, he has plenty of it’, I steamed as I left him on the curb and made my way towards my house. The man had everything he ever wanted in the palm of his hand, and he was treating people like crap, it was his way of revenge for rejecting him and quitting previously. He wanted me to suffer and sure enough, that's exactly what I was experiencing. I didn't feel comfortable being around a man like that who had so much power he could do anything.
‘Men with power were men you couldn't trust’, I viewed in daringness before the sound of the roaring engine sped off and I was left with a silence I relished yet loathed. It was too quiet out here on the streets, I desperately needed someone to listen to my spilling anger so I could rant at how much I hated Elijah.

A voice reached behind my front door, its melody cradling me in serene calmness as I realised who it belonged to and rushed to open the door. ‘Jane, she's here, finally’, I sighed in relief as I headed towards the living room and searched for my best friend.

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2837 words