More Issues Than Vogue | ✔️

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Black or gray?

It was a simple decision that had taken me an extra twenty minutes to make. Because of it, I was running late to the "business meeting" with Nate.

"What's the time again?" I asked the taxi driver, who smelled like onions and feet.

"Seven fifty-four," He grunted at me.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. We were fifteen minutes away from the restaurant and I only had six to get there on time, all because I had decided to go with the black heels instead of the gray, which also happened to be my initial choice in the first place. Moral of the story: always go with black.

After a day of editing and revising my piece with Sarah, I had produced the final draft to my introduction piece and it was phenomenal, if I do say so myself. Sarah confessed that it was by far the best introduction article she's read, since her own, which definitely put me in a good mood when I got home. Regardless, I was tired. But, instead of using the extra time to shower and get ready, I took a much needed nap.

Tonight, Nate would have to settle for my natural waves, red-stained lips, cobalt blue dress and of course, the black heels. This particular piece of cloth clung to every curve of my body, emphasizing my hips. I wasn't blessed with an hourglass figure but at least there was some meat on me. The top of the dress dipped into a V-neck just below my collarbones. The cut of the dress, along with the cobalt, isn't exactly business meeting appropriate, but let's be honest: Nate clearly thinks this is a date. If that were the case then being fashionably late - literally - would be excusable. If he decided that acting sneaky and sending me these flirtatious gestures deemed appropriate in the office, he would be okay with some color in his life.

With that mentality in mind, you can imagine my horror when I arrived nine minutes late to the restaurant wearing a blinding bright dress only to find Nate sitting a table with another man plopped next to him.

His father, Benjamin Chester.

I had two options:

1: Neither Nate or Benjamin had seen me yet which left the tiniest window of opportunity to turn around and pretend I had never arrived. I'd call Nate, give him a lame excuse to why I'd decided to completely ditch him, and face my consequences tomorrow.

2: Suffer through the embarrassment now. I might as well at this point - I've seriously got nothing to lose.

Option two it is.

I held my head high and strutted to the table, noticing the amount of attention I was bringing wearing this opaque dress. Once I caught Nate's, however, his jaw dropped and those deep eyes stared at me with amazement. Mister Chester tilted his chin down and raised his white and gray brows at me.

I gulped down a cry of desperation.

"Hello, Nate," I nodded in his direction once I arrived at the table. "Mister Chester, it's an honor to meet you."

Both men stood up at my arrival. Benjamin held out a wrinkled hand. "The pleasure is mine Miss Monroe."

I slid my hand into his and almost flinched as he leaned down to softly brush his lips against my skin. That was a gesture I hadn't seen in decades. My body grew hot with embarrassment. I turned to Nate who was turning purple from holding in a laugh. I'm glad this was amusing for him.

"I thought it was going to be a one-on-one meeting with you, Nate," I asked him nervously. This gave him the time to catch his breath.

"Father-"

"I had to make sure that Nathaniel wasn't wasting the company money on another one of his petty dates and actually doing business," Benjamin interrupted his son. This shut Nate up, who looked away from me.