the battle of evermore
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Oh, well, the night is long
The beads of time pass slow
Tired eyes on the sunrise
Waiting for the eastern glow

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The following day, I was able to have the last rule changed to a much more reasonable one. I'd have to answer every call and meet him every Friday. I was willing to visit him on other weekdays, but it was no longer an obligation. We talked a lot and went into great detail about what we needed to do over the next three months.

Three whole months in his company. It was torture, but as I said before, I viewed it as a personal challenge. "Just be yourself." He told me as I signed the new version of the contract. I didn't find 'being myself' that exciting, and it was so difficult to understand what was going on inside his head when he looked at me. What did he see in me? He even told me that the contract was a formality but that my job would come naturally. It was like getting to know someone at twice the speed. Had he done this kind of thing with other women before?

I promised to meet him that Friday and left his house for the day. As soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk, the sun warmed my face, and for some reason I felt liberated. Maybe I wasn't cut out for solitude after all. It's just that I craved company in a way that most people didn't understand. The kind of company a platonic relationship could provide at that time.

Later that day, I met Tina for lunch. I explained to her that I had to cancel our weekly appointment at the spa, which was on Friday, because I had found a part-time job. I couldn't tell anyone about my contract with Mr. White, obviously, so that seemed to be the perfect excuse. She gave me a long look before nodding as if she sensed that something fishy was going on. Despite having a bit of an airheaded appearance, Tina was the smartest person I've ever met. She probably would have figured out what was happening just by staring at me for long enough. "You look better today." She told me as she balanced a flower crown on her head. Was she stuck in 2012 or something?

"Do I? I feel tired as hell."

"Yeah, did something good happen?"

"Not at all. How's your relationship with Paul going?" Tina had a huge crush on our boss, but he just ignored her the majority of the time. Paul was also our other boss' ex-husband, so he was pretty off-limits, even though every woman in the office had a thing for him. My colleague blushed violently and shrugged.

"The usual. He doesn't seem to notice me and only speaks to me about work." She appeared disheartened, and I found myself sympathizing with her. I couldn't even compare Tina's four-year crush to my... fascination with Mr. White, but I also knew that nothing could happen between us, which made me relate to Tina's disappointment even just a little.

"Have you tried a sexy outfit or something?"

"You're insane. I don't want him to notice me for my sexy outfit; I want him to be the father of my kids." Well, I thought it was as easy as that. Men are quite simple to please. Show them some sexy legs, have some shared hobbies, and don't be a complete idiot. Tina had everything on that list. Not that I would know anything about what men think about anyways; both my exes were absolute assholes.

"Just listen to me for once, girl."

"Fine, if you confess that you have a thing for Mr. White, I'll be the sexiest hoe in the office tomorrow." I blushed so fiercely that I thought I would pass out at any moment. My face even felt hot to the touch. She raised her left eyebrow before giving me her signature evil smirk. I carefully set my glass of orange juice down to avoid spilling anything.

"My... what?!" I looked absolutely outraged, but even though Tina didn't see me much outside of work, she knew me pretty well, and as I already stated, she was freakin' clever. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Don't play dumb, Miss Carter." Tina turned her head to the side and observed me as I became increasingly frantic to escape. "I see everything."

"It's just a silly attraction. I find him really hot, okay?" Yeah, just that. Nothing else.

"Isn't he twice your age or something?"

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm nineteen and naive - I can handle a mature man. Plus, he's married, so it'll just stay a silly little fling. You don't find him attractive?"

"Mh, not really my type." Now that I had told her about my fascination with Mr. White, I felt a little lighter. She even sounded amused by it.

I told Tina to keep our conversation a secret and went back to work for the next four hours. As I was leaving the building, I ran into Paul and Mr. White in the parking lot. They didn't notice me at first, and I knew they were talking about work because Paul was holding documents and pointing to something. Tina had told me on Monday that Mr. White's mentor was Paul's father, so they were very close.

Mr. White was the first to notice my presence. His eyes met mine, and it took just that to make my legs shake. I tried to contain myself as he pointed me out to Paul with his chin. "Hey, Audrey. You're headed home?"

"Hi Paul. Good evening, Mr. White." I greeted them both with the same formality. "Yes. Carla called, by the way. She was looking for you."

"Oh, shit!" He looked at his watch. "I lost track of time; that witch will kill me."

I continued to smile. Paul and Carla were now friends, and they divorced amicably. Carla still had undeniable feelings for him, but Paul only had eyes for Brown Editors. "It's okay, she's not here yet." I tried to comfort him while Mr. White kept his eyes on me.

"Sorry, Hector, I have to leave now." That was all it took to regain the writer's attention. He gave Paul a quick nod and didn't say anything else as my boss hurriedly walked away.

"It's their anniversary today. They're not married anymore, but they still celebrate it." I explained to Mr. White. He turned to face me once more and looked into my soul as if he was about to eat me whole. "Isn't that romantic?" I added, just to break the intense silence Hector tried to maintain.

"It's not my definition of romantic."

"What is, then?"

"Your job hasn't started yet, Miss Carter."

"Right."

"You changed." It took me a while to understand that he was talking about my outfit. When we met that morning, I looked a lot different. I didn't want to dress up to meet him, so I wore something more casual. But I never underdressed for work. I used to, but people told me that I'd look tired, so I changed my ways and began dressing more elegantly. I was dolled up in a dark red laced corset and a black pencil skirt that fell just below my knees. My shoulders were hidden by a dark suit jacket that I kept closed on the front, revealing only a hint of my small yet full breasts. Collants defined my legs, and black heels accentuated my feet. And man, was he appreciating my look.

"Yes. And you shouldn't be looking at me like that, Mr. White."

"Then you shouldn't dress like this for me, Miss Carter."

"I-" He silenced me by placing his large hand on top of my red lips. I wanted to tell him that I didn't dress to attract male attention, even though I felt so desired in that moment.

"I should leave before I lose control."

And that is precisely what he did. He didn't even give me time to greet him, and now I was impatiently craving to see him again. Two more days, I told myself.

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