French Roses and Silk Kisses [Discontinued]

Get a Room

Waking up, Zaria cursed under her breath as she realized if she didn't hustle she'd be late for work. After a five minute shower, she slipped into a matching pants suit and simply fluffed out her hair- using two braids along her crown to keep the coils at bay. She threw some bb cream, mascara, and lip gloss in her purse before hustling out the door.

"Good morning!" Zaria called as she finally made it to her office in the nick of time. The heels of her assistant followed her into the office.

"Ms. Hopkins, you have a 9am with Racheal Adams, a 12pm with Liam Yang, a 3pm with Catalina Vespucci and then a report meeting with Mrs. Snow at 5pm." The woman rattled off as Zaria quickly applied products to her face in an attempt to hide the fact that she'd just woke up.

"Got it. Can you fax these to the mail room and have them send them to the names listed on the top? Thank you." She passed her assistant the stack of acceptance letters and names. It had taken her nearly 3 hours to figure out the correct way to format the letters as she wanted it to feel authentic despite it being a template.

After her last encounter with Max, Zaria had been on her toes about everyone. She found herself taking more time to fully process some of her dumber decisions, seeing where she could have easily avoided the situation. Despite their escapades, Max had been ignoring her or at least too busy to see her texts and voicemails filled with apologies.

"Good morning, Ms. Adams." Zaria greeted with a bright smile as she entered the room, manuscript in hand.

"Uh...could you...um..." Racheal stuttered as she pushed her glasses up her face. She was petite and wore a dark black shirt with slightly baggy jeans. Her hair had been cut into a short, tapered style and her features were sharp.

"Yes?" Zaria softly spoke, hoping to ease the woman's tension.

"It's just that, I um... I prefer male pronouns." The stuttered phrase made Zaria frown slightly as she felt her heart break.

"You don't have to be shy about something like that, it's absolutely no issue and doesn't have a bearing on any decision made here." Zaria smiled at him hoping to reassure that this was a safe space. From the smile that bloomed on Racheal's face, Zaria could tell her message had been well received.

"Thank you." He spoke before sitting in the seat in front of Zaria. The thick manuscript was placed on the table along with a Fire and Flood themed notebook. It caused a smile to bloom on Zaria's face as it spoke volumes to the writings of Racheal. His story had been based in a dystopian society with a hint of horror that had Zaria on the edge of her seat. She couldn't wait to see what else he produced.
...

"Yes ma'am. I've got all the acceptance letters out and I'm going to be formulating the emails in the morning." Zaria could feel her eyelids dropping as she spoke with Mrs. Snow. Because of her previous meetings, they didn't end up discussing the recent accepts until after 6pm. It was almost 8pm and Zaria's bed was calling her name- quite loudly.

"Alright, good. I can see you're tired, darling. Sorry for keeping you so late but I just have to make sure these things are done." Mrs. Snow smiled lightly as she watched Zaria muffle another yawn.

"It's fine, I understand I won't always work 9 to 5." Zaria brushed off. No matter how tired she was, she understood the importance of these meeting especially in such a high profile company. They didn't get to the top by being lackadaisical.

"I'll see you in the morning then Ms. Hopkins."
...

When Zaria finally stumbled into her apartment, she was pleased to smell dinner had already been made. Kicking her heels off near the door, she placed her purse on the living room ottoman before heading into the kitchen.

"Daniel, whatever you're making better be edible." She groaned as she remembered Daniel's inability to produce anything edible once he touched the stove.

"You know what? You're not going to keep using that one time against me." He spoke from the table as he pointed a fork at her. The food on his plate was still sizzling and Zaria felt her stomach growl the longer she stared.

"Mm what's that?" She approached his plate causing Daniel to shield the food from her grabbing hands.

"It's a braised lamb shank with brown rice, quinoa, and oven roasted vegetables." Zaria quickly straightened her back at the deep voice. Max stood in the doorway with a white towel wiping his hands dry, his hair had been pushed back. He was dressed in his usual black slacks but his button up had been removed, leaving him in a wife beater.

"That sounds delicious." She muttered unable to take her eyes off the large man.

"It is. Get some before I eat it all." Daniel interrupted with a mouth full, his rapid chewing breaking the tense stare down between the two.

"Would you chew with your mouth closed?" She popped him upside the head before quickly scooting away from his swinging right arm. Turning to the stove, she felt her stomach growl again as she eyed the spread of food.

"I got it. Take a seat." Max muttered in her ear as his hands grabbed her waist to turn her away from the stove. He placed a kiss to her neck before a soft pat on the butt sent her towards the table. The action told her he wasn't still upset but her mind wouldn't allow her to relax until they actually spoke about where they stood.

"You guys are absolutely adorable." Daniel teased before dipping his head down to shovel more food into his mouth. Zaria scrunched her nose in disgust as she watched him lick the sauce from his fingers.

"Aye you look at me like that now, just wait till you get a plate then you'll understand." He defended before grabbing the unused napkins to finish wiping his face and hands. She chuckled at the action before sliding her jacket from her shoulders just as Max placed a plate before her.

"I'll hang your jacket up, give it to me." He motioned as she attempted to place it behind her.

"Oh! Thank you." Zaria softly placed the jacket into his hands, her eyes not meeting his in fear of creating another awkward moment. A large hand grabbed her chin before lifting her head to look him in the eyes. Zaria was surprised to see a soft smile on his face, her heart beating rapidly at how handsome he was.

Leaning down he pecked her lips before fully connecting them. The kiss was soft, filled with love that told her he wasn't upset. As Daniel let out loud gagging noises the pair split.

"Get a room, guys. I'm trying to eat!" Daniel groaned as he waved them off.

"Me too." Max smirked down at Zaria, her body immediately heating at the meaning behind his words. Food be damned she was ready to head straight to the bedroom for whatever he had planned.

"Ewww! I think I'm going to really throw up now, guys."
——
*very poor editing*

Sorry for putting this story on hold, I just lost inspiration.
Still don't have a real clue where I want the story to go so I'm just going to continue developing Max and Zaria's relationship.