In Just One Night

Long Day

Yasmine was exhausted, to say the least. She looked at the clock in front of her, it wasn't even noon yet and so much had happened that day. "I'm more busy dealing with these people than working." She sighed, grabbing her files and slipping on her heels before heading out. The meeting would be starting in a few minutes and for some reason, James requested her presence for it.

"What a day."

Thankfully this time, there was no one in the elevator with her and she managed to make it to the conference room stress-free to set everything up. If she had known the life of an adult was that stressful, she wouldn't have asked to grow up that quickly.

Once everything was set up, as soon as the clock struck 11 PM, men and women dressed in suits walked in and took their seats at the table. Each of them had serious looks on their faces, ready for business. Yasmine smiled internally; she loved seeing people actually doing their work instead of complaining about it.

As soon as everyone had found their seats and settled in, James made a fashionable entrance, arriving a few minutes later than everyone else. He had traded his previous dark suit for a stylish navy blue one, and his hair seemed to have been meticulously styled with an extra touch of hair gel, giving it a sleek and polished appearance. It was clear that he carried himself with confidence, not that anyone was complaining. A man with his face is more than capable of easily pulling off any look, even one as daring as a completely bald head, and managing to exude undeniable charm and attractiveness in the process.

James is the definition of who Theo thinks he looks like when he stares in the mirror.

"My apologies for running late. Let's begin." James took his seat at the head of the table and took the files from Yasmine.

The meeting went by smoothly, and although there were a few disagreements here and there, everything was sorted out in the end. 

Yasmine was burned out and exhausted by the end of it. Two hours sitting in that conference room some of the most powerful business individuals in the city. It was nerve-wracking but also thrilling to be part of something like that. The first step taken to lead to one of the greatest projects being planned.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Work. Work. Work. And more work. By the time she was getting ready to leave, her feet were sore and swollen, her back was in pain from standing so much and her head felt like it was being smashed against a brick wall. "I'm beat." Yasmine chucked her heels into her back and put on the flats she always left in her office. There was no way she could last a second more wearing heels without her leg feet detaching itself from her body.

The office was mainly empty by the time she was leaving, with just a handful of people working overtime. Not everyone worked until nearly midnight as she did.

"I thought you would have left by now, Miss Palmer."

Yasmine turned back to see James already behind her. He seemed to have the habit of sneaking up on people and catching them off guard.

'I would have gone home hours ago if it weren't for you!' She wanted to yell those words at him but refrained from doing so. He was her boss after all. "I was just finishing up with some stuff." She said through gritted teeth. 

James added no other comment and they both awkwardly got into the elevator in silence. Up until then, the only conversations they had had were strictly about work, and without any work-related topic to speak on, the silence was all they could do.

Right as she was about to get off at the ground floor, James called Yasmine back. "It's late already, let me give you a ride home."

"Oh, there's no need for that. I can manage well on my own." She lied. Catching a bus or taxi at that time of the night was a pain in the ass but Yasmine would rather go through that than stay in a closed space with James.

"I insist. You were working overtime for me after all, it's the least I could do."

Before she could reject his offer once more, the elevator door closed and so did her mouth. 'I guess I'm going home with dearest Daddy James.' She thought.

The underground basement was all she imagined it to be. Dark and cold. Yasmine had no high expectations, it was just a fancy parking lot albeit decked out with expensive cars but that was all there was to it. The floor, however, she could admit was fancy, marbled tiles with a pool-like illusion, the only distinguishing factor in the place.

James unlocked the car and Yasmine got in the passenger seat. She gave him her address and in no time, they were on the road.

The car ride was even more uncomfortable than she imagined. The silence was gnawing at her, it felt like she was losing her mind in that car. It wasn't like she hated quiet places but the level of quietness in that car felt like a clown was watching them from the back seats and would pop out to strangle her any second.

She tried making small talk to lighten the mood but all James did was reply with some "Mmms" and "Yes" so after countless unsuccessful tries, she stopped trying and just enjoyed the ride in silence.

In under an hour, James was packed right outside her apartment complex. "Thank you for the ride." She smiled at him, happy to have gotten home with no stress of waiting in the cold for a taxi to pick her up.

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Have a good night, sir." She waved at him through the open window.

"And you too, Miss Palmer." With that, James rolled up his window and drove off without a second to spare.

Without the warmth from the car, Yasmine was left to shiver in the cold as she hurriedly made her way into the building. Thankfully this time, the elevator was in service and she was able to make it into her home in time.