Breaking the Void

Chapter 9 - The Mission

(Your POV):
"Will this work?" I asked, showing off the dress to the tea gown to my parents.

My mother scoffed, "if you want him to think that you're sixteen. You need to be less modest, you are trying to seduce him, remember? Come with me, I will get you something more suiting."

I followed her back into my room, where she promptly reached into the back of my closet to grab one of the dresses that I rarely ever wore - and for good reason, too. I sighed as she handed it over to me, "is this really necessary? I am meeting him under the guise of a business meeting, don't you think this is a little too forward?"

"Well, of course, you have to pretend that this is a business meeting, so your clothes has to be the thing inviting Mr. Erksine back to his apartment or yours," my mother replied, leaving the room so that I could change.

I sighed as I shed the light blue dress for the deep red colored gown. While the gown was formal and reached the floor with its skirts, it was also quite revealing. The embroidered sheer red fabric clung tight to my frame, making breathing a luxury I wasn't quite sure I was allowed while still looking appealing. There was a slit down my left leg that revealed the entirety of the bare skin. Not to mention the plunging neckline which made me worry that one of my breasts were going to pop out.

However, I was trained in wearing such clothing so I applied the matching dramatic makeup and threw on a pair of tall red heels. To complete the look, dangling gold earrings hung from my ears to add to my watch and ring that housed my suit for emergencies. I looked damn good if I said so myself, despite my clothing not being my number one choice.

I met up with Jayden at the restaurant, discovering from the hostess that he had already arrived and was waiting for me at our table. With a kind smile, I thanked her and followed her directions to the table by the window that Jayden had reserved for us. He had already taken the liberty to order a bottle of wine, surely an expensive one based on his family's wealth. He was dressed in a suit, but with the top unbuttoned and missing a tie, giving him a more laid back appearance.

"Mr. Erksine?" I asked as I held out my hand to him. "I am (Y/N) Woods from the U-GIN Genetics Research Facility."

"Ah yes, I know who you are," he purred, taking my hand in his and bringing it up to his lips. "Have a seat, (Y/N). I do hope that you enjoy wine."

I smiled at him, watching as his eyes traveled down my dress. After sitting down, I poured myself a glass and replied, "I'm afraid that I am often guilty of indulging in perhaps a bit too much wine."

"Well, then I am sure this meeting will go splendidly. Although I am not entirely convinced you are here solely in the name of business."

I took a sip of my wine, "and why would you say that?"

"That dress is not something you wear to a meeting with a business partner."

"No, I suppose not. It is a dress that you wear when you are invited to one of the most expensive restaurants in New York by a dashing man who wants you to share your," I paused slightly before ending the sentence. "Intel."

The look in his eyes revealed that he and I clearly wanted the same thing, "You do have the research that we agreed to trade, I assume?"

"Of course." I reached into the small clutch that I carried and removed a small flash drive upon which was the research that he had requested. While we could have easily given him false information or even left the drive blank, my parents had decided that giving him what he wanted so that we could keep a friendly relationship with the Erksines was the best course of action.

His fingers brushed my skin as he took the drive from me, "hmm, I suppose that paper is overrated now, isn't it? Here I am, bringing you a whole printed file, while you hand over a mere flash drive. It's smart, though. How can I know that you've actually given me the information that I wanted?"

"Well, perhaps you will have to hold on to me until you can prove that I am not scamming you."

"I do like the sound of that," he winked, raising his wine to his lips.

The flirtations continued throughout dinner and I knew that I had him ensnared. I didn't miss the way that his eyes lingered a bit too low to be looking me in the face or how his leg brushed against mine beneath the table. After paying the bill, he stood up and began to escort me from the restaurant, his hand sliding down from his place on the small of my back down to my ass.

We had barely left the restaurant when a hand grabbed my arm and a surprised voice exclaimed, "(Y/N), what are you doing here?"

My eyes widened in shock, "Peter?" I quickly recovered my act and gave him a smile, "it has been so long, how have you been? Jayden, this is someone that I went to high school with. Where are you now, Havard?"

"I-" Peter began to reply in confusion, but I quickly interrupted him.

"Would you mind if I took a minute to catch up with him?" I asked Jayden hoping to at least put Peter's mind at ease. I then leaned up to his ear and whispered, "I am rather curious to know if he ever actually graduated."

"Of course, darling," he kissed my cheek and allowed me to pull Peter out of earshot, waiting for me outside of the restaurant.

"(Y/N), what the hell is going on here?!" Peter demanded and I couldn't tell whether he was more hurt or angered by my actions.

"Listen, I don't have much time, but I promise you that it is not what you think. I am helping my parents with something, nothing more. I promise that there is nothing between me and that man and nothing will happen, you have to trust me."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Jayden Erksine, he is the son of the owner of Nextin Pharmaceuticals. I am just securing my parents positions at the company."

"By sleeping with the boss's son?!"

"No! I promise that that is not what is going to happen. Listen, I can't stay here, but I promise you I will give you a full explanation later tonight, ok?"

After a slight hesitation, Peter nodded and I gave his hand a light squeeze before returning to Jayden's side. I placed my lips against his cheek and smiled, "he didn't even make it the full first year. Now, shall we go to your apartment or mine?"

"Well, I happen to have a full bottle of champagne just waiting to be broken into," he smiled at me, pressing body up against his.

"Then it is settled." I brought my lips to his, dancing my tongue around his. Pulling away from him, I took his hand in mine and allowed him to lead me to his apartment.

-

(A/N): Wow ok so this hiatus lasted a lot longer than I was planning on, so I feel I owe you guys an explanation. My mother passed away from cancer a few months ago so I had originally taken off time from writing to help care for her. After her passing, I had a lot of school work to catch up on, then all of this Covid stuff happened and online classes were the actual worst thing for me. However I am now finished (and managed to score a 4.0 GPA for my first year of college??? Like how did that happen???) so now I am getting back into this story. I apologize for waiting this long and also for any inconsistencies that will show up in the following chapters as I have been away from this story for so long so I'm not sure I'll remember every detail I had threaded through it. Anyway, I really hope that you enjoy this chapter and are excited to see how Peter will react to this!