Roger 

Call it premonition or an inkling but I somehow knew Arin would decide on resigning. Although I still don't many things about her as my assistant, I had gotten to know her pretty well as Babydoll. 

I knew how her mind worked and how she would try all possible means to avoid facing me in the light of this new discovery. She would have also spent a considerable amount of time, tossing and turning in bed, contemplating ways to relieve herself off her official duties. Somewhere, a part of my which was well versed with the way she did things, nudged me to notice, she would try to resign either via mail or before I would make an appearance in office. 

Arin was too considerate, too caring in the ways of us human being to not come to office or talk to Mrs. Rose. She wouldn't simply abandon her colleagues and mates she nurtured her relationship with. But she would also try to avoid me at any cost. Thus the only logical act she was most likely to execute was one where she would enter the office and drop her resignation, placing care packages for her friends before leaving for good. 

Although I knew her address too, it wasn't a plan I wanted to undertake. All I wanted was to see her in the same office she worked as my assistant. The same place where I sat clueless, of whom she portrayed outside of work.

The entire night, I kept twisting and turning, unable to sleep. My mind still wasn't able to wrap around the fact that she was 'The One.' The girl to whom, I was rude and brutal with my words and deeds in office yet so gentle over calls.

Guilt flared up. It pricked the back of my neck, taunting me with karmic retribution. How on earth would I be able to justify the things I said and did to Arin. There was no fault of hers but I admonished her because I was in a bad mood. Like someone showed me the mirror and I couldn't believe my own reflection, couldn't fathom who I turned out to be. Arin was being herself all the while she worked for me. It was I, who was the twat and pushed her limits. If Arin would every ask me the reason for why I behaved the way I did, I would never be able to justify. 

How could I? None could justify the blatant act of hurting people.

Arin Rafferty Oswald. The name kept pinging back in my head. Unable to sleep, I tossed my quilt and went over to my couch. The fireplace heat was dying down but the warmth lingered. I held the employee sheet with Arin's name on it. Still ran my finger over her name and her address, her joining date and her date of resignation. 

The date matched close to the day Xavier told about her new found discovery. Of her being the Oswald heiress. Maybe Arin resigned because she didn't want the world to know what she did for survival. Truth was bitter, harsh. Not everybody possessed a strong gut to handle bad press. I knew she couldn't. After what Stella did to her, rat her out in front of the world, it was only logical for her to play safe. 

I could only imagine the taboo she must have thought of facing, it a mild news of her being an heiress made more wave than the country's falling economy. 

My alarm was set for six. The red digits dancing on my clock near my bedstand displayed four. Tow more hours. Two more hours in which anything could happen. In which time, Arin could come and go. Sleep had evaded me and any attempt to run behind it was a waste. I hopped out of the couch and walked into the bathroom. It was still early for Arin to even attempt walk in and resign but I didn't want to take a chance. Even if all odds were stacked against her, I wasn't willing to risk it. 

The needed to see her, the wanted to talk to her. After knowing who she was, my want and need grew with every passing minute. Babydoll, the girl who was always a faceless entity with words meant to sin and a smile which yanked the air out of lungs, now had a face. An innocent, sweet face of my assistant. My steno. The lady of letters. I had heard her boast about her self crowned title. If only I knew her talent wasn't merely limited to letters but words and speeches too. 

God.

I was loosing my mind. Checking my phone for her mail resignation, the looming fear crashed when she didn't send any. Hoping and praying that she doesn't decide to mail in the wee hours of the morning, I pulled on the first thing my hands came across. Topped with a coat to bare the freezing weather from outside, I walked into my garage and plopped inside my car. 

Determined drove alongside. I was desperate to meet Arin. Although my driving stayed focused on the road, my thoughts ran wild with her face, her voice. There was no difficulty in navigating through the street at dawn when the city was still tucked underneath the blanket of wintery comfort and sleep.

Parking in a haphazard way, I ran in. All I cared was to get into my office before she arrived. If this was her plan all along, trying not to meet me, she would ensure a flawless execution. She might even shift places or probably move into the Oswald mansion too, just to avoid me.

Worst. What if she left the country?

Those horrendous ideas kept popping up in my mind as I entered the lobby where the security gave me a kind smile. He was my knight in the shining armor when it came to late night coffee runs and food after everything was shut. Gabe, the security, winked at me and I was hard to decipher why he was so cheerful in the wee hours of a frigid morning. 

It was a conscious call not to take the elevator. Something in me told me not to. In the darkness, desertedness of the office, if Arin was indeed present, I didn't was her to be alarmed by my presence before arrival. Our elevator chimed louder than the alarm at the Big Ben. 

I know, all my assumptions were based on the probability of her being present. For all I knew, I'd be walking into an empty floor.

Before I stepped off the last stair and pushed open the exit door, the thought of her hand delivering her resignation through somebody cropped up. That simple thought sank all the excitement that was built up in my head. Sad and disheartened, I still marched into the office.

It was then, when my excitement rode up like rising temperature. I saw a hooded figure standing near my desk, running fingers on it. Knowing it was her, I watched her every move. In the silence, the darkness, I was adoring my babydoll.

My mind screamed at me to go and hold onto her, kiss her. The holler was so loud I felt the voice resonating outside. But watching Arin be herself, expressing her last words, was satisfying. I was filling up and emptying at the same time. Being content and loosing everything was running in parallel. My mind didn't speak sense, my thoughts didn't make any either. 

Arin smiled at the chair before her heartbreaking words emanated. "Bye Roger"

I couldn't stand being silent anymore. I couldn't let her go like that. She needed to know, I needed to show. Moving in, I knew I startled her when she jumped back a few steps and searched for something, anything to assault me.

Hoping she didn't find one yet, I stepped into the light.

Her expressions were what I'd expected if I was in her place. She was shocked and surprised and moved quickly to pull the letter and badge off my desk which was slanted over the small photo frame of mom.

Arin thought I didn't notice her little moves. Well, asides the part that I didn't notice that she was indeed babydoll. That her similarities, the way she smiled and breathed air. The way she taunted me with words, I did notice other things. In a way, I felt foolish for noticing every rock on my way while ignoring the diamond on the side. 

Arin took small steps, walking over to leave. Involuntarily my hand reached out to her, pulling her closer. She froze and I couldn't help tug a rogue strand of her which fell across her face while she mustered up the courage to speak. Knowing that there was a raising turmoil inside of hers, I let her take time to process things.

But when she asked me the reason for my presence in the office at such an early hour, all my inhibitions gave up. The last of my control strings broke as I heard her soft whisper against my ear. It took me back to our calls. It reminded me of who she was. 

I coiled my hand and pulled her closer.

Kissing babydoll was always a thing which I hoped for and imagined it to be perfect. Unable to find out what she looked like in the past, this moment felt like a blank canvass upon which, colors gradually developed. It now reflected her face.

Master and babydoll.

I was holding onto her, kissing her. My tongue fought for her control and I pushed her against the nearest wall. Her hand traced the back of my neck and into my hair while all I could do was to bunch hers in a fist and deepening our kiss.

As a thirsty traveler in a desert, I kissed her till the parched sensation faded. Whatever I had dreamt of doing with her, all faded into a simple kiss. Her hand presses over my back, she didn't back down from intertwining us. Her taste was as sweet as I could have imagined, nectarine. Picking her off the wall, I continued my assault over her soft lips. Her warm breath hit my face and I was driven mad. 

My hands slowly travelled around her hip and onto her lower back while my body revolted to take her. Her soft moans weren't helping the situation but when she wrapped her leg onto mine, I wanted to be inside of her. I had waited and wanted this moment for so long.

Before we could proceed any further, the loosely hung coat fell with the rack, making a loud noise. Breaking our state of trance, we panted against each other as our foreheads stayed glued. I was so close to her yet, felt so far.

"Roger." Her voice was a panting whisper and she looked at me with hooded eyes. Her warm breath hit my lips and at one point I had to bite into mine to control the urge to take her. Nodding, I acknowledged. She too nodded slowly, before breaking contact.

"Be mine," was an involuntarily release when I spoke after the rollercoaster of a kiss. I was still panting when I whispered. Her expressions changed from confusion to happiness and a smile erupted on her face. She laughed softly and her eyes traveled over my face and onto be floor before trailing back.

"What do you mean?"

Holding her hand, I walked her to the chair where she always sat while taking dictation. I leaned closer, facing her. My heart was thumping inside, insatiated with her. I wanted her more. More than I was willing to accept. Although unreadable, Arin emitted all signs of happiness. I was too. I had finally found her. I finally knew who my babydoll was.

"I meant, be the part which Stella is playing.." Her expressions changed upon hearing Stella's name. Frantically walking around, she looked at me with hurt and regret. "Wait listen.." I tried calming her down but she was already hyped in her own thoughts.

"No. no, no, Roger.. You cheated on her.. I mean now, literally..."

Confused for a moment, I laughed upon realizing what she meant. I made her sit near me, holding her wrist close to me to avoid another galloping attempt before proceeding to narrate my play. By the end of it, all her confusion was replaced with respite. She must have been beating herself up for making me cheat on Stella.

"So what do you say?" I asked. Although still confused, she questioned for clarification.

"You want me to play your fiancé and show the world that the merger is undergoing well?"

I nodded and smiled at her while she slowly processes the information, watching her mind wheels churn. Then she continued. "And when it's done. What then?"

I leaned back on the table to ruffled up some papers. "This is the contract that Stella signed and now, you can check and read it before signing."

Arin's gaze scanned the document with hawk's precision before looking up at me. "So after the successful merger, we both will go our separate ways!"

//

A/N

Ohh Roger, Roger, Roger.. Why are you like this.. What would I do with you?

Let me know in the comments, if you resonate with this sentiment of mine.

Happy reading

Love

S