LET HER BREATHE

The next week that followed— Zac was standing alone in the veranda upstairs in his penthouse, puffing out smoke through his mouth and nostrils from his cigarette while his gaze stared into the void as if he was deep in thoughts.

“I’m ready, Zac,” the only voice that never ceased to make his heart make some funny movement in his chest suddenly spoke up, drawing him out of his trance.

He turned around slowly and saw his gorgeous woman standing at the entrance with a big smile carved into her stunning face.

She was dressed corporately— a goose-yellow blouse and a black straight skirt. However, there was nothing corporate about the way the skirt was greedily hugging her curves.

“You’re going to the office dressed like this?” Zac asked, a frown etching across his face.

Blinking, Ava lowered her gaze to her body in a swift and back to her man’s face.

“What’s wrong with my dress?” she inquired, her smile fading away.

As far as she knows, there was nothing wrong with everything she was wearing and she had supposed that Zac was going to praise her when he sees her, not the other way round.

“Seeing how the skirt is clinging to your hips, do you know what I feel like doing to you right now?” Zac raised a question, walking over to where she stood bit by bit.

“Do you have an idea of how many men will also have such a feeling once their eyes meet your body? Do you expect my mind to be at peace after knowing this?” as he spoke in his usual dominant tone, his eyes wouldn't stop taking Ava’s body from head to toe.

The initial smile returned back to Ava’s face as she reached out and clung to Zac, acting cute and saying, “No matter how long they have their eyes on me, Jamal, it can never change the fact that I'm yours and yours alone,”

Ava toyed with the buttons on Zac’s shirt while she spoke before bringing her hands to his face and holding his head closer to her face.

“I love you alone, babe,” she said those words to his face and kissed his lips directly.

The kiss was just brief. She stopped kissing him and smoothened out his full eyebrows with her fingers, “I should get going now. See you later, babe,”

Ava said quickly and turned around to start rushing out.

“You’re not going anywhere in that skirt, Ava,” Zac deadpanned, ceasing Ava’s pace.

Ava then spun around and knew at that moment that Zac was not joking at all as his face was completely coated with heavy frown lines.

Some moment later, Ava stood aside with one of her arms intersected around her chest while her chin was buried in her second hand— watching her big man disperse her clothes all over the bed while talking to himself non-stop.

Unlike earlier when she was wearing a black skirt, now she is wearing a different color skirt; courtesy of Zac who had insisted he changed the black skirt.

Realizing that the present skirt was not any better, Zac had to start rifling through the closet and even brought out all Ava clothes for another skirt.

However, all the skirts were all the same—short and tight.

“Don’t you have any big skirts at all?” Zac asked, dropping the gown he was holding on the bed frustratedly.

Ava smiled and tucked the loose strands of her hair that were dangling on her forehead behind her ear, “I don't think girls of this century still wear such a skirt again, Mr. Gonzalez,”

Zac blinked twice and then averted her gaze. He thought in his mind that she was absolutely right.

Even the ladies in his companies dress exactly like Ava but maybe why he'd never noticed them was that their curves were incomparable to Ava’s.

Or because no lady had ever caught his interest in the past.

“Come on, babe. You're bigger than this. Not like they are going to rape me through their eyes,” Ava teased, gliding to where he stood and held his waist tightly to her body.

“They will eye-rape you, Tinkerbell, you should be the one to disregard their lustful stares and you should call me directly if there were anyone that went overboard,” Zac instructed gruffly, his surly eyes holding Ava's mischievous ones.

“Yes, sir!” Ava raised her arm and saluted playfully and she was pleased to see her man smile a bit this time.

*********
Almost an hour later, Ava found herself stepping into the big firm and she could start to feel the stares the staff members were shooting her way.

But she paid no attention to them and focused on where she was going.

After a few more walks, she arrived at the manager’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” the gentle voice of the manager drifted through the door.

Then, she twisted the doorknob and set her foot into the office.

The office was lit up in a warm, yellow light.

“Good morning, sir,”

With a friendly smile on Ava’s face, she greeted the man who sat behind the desk, wearing a simple white shirt and black tailored trousers.

“You are late, Miss Taylor. On your first day at work at that. Can you tell me what the rest of your working days here will look like?” the manager asked bit by bit, his face completely devoid of any emotion.

Ava felt the air around her grow heavy and oppressive. The manager was suddenly cold to her when he was all nice and spirited toward her the last time.

Could it be that he'd also found out that she was close to Zac?

But what could Zac have possibly done to wrong these people, for them to be taking it up on her?

Nevertheless, Ava smiled and bowed her head as a sign of pleading for forgiveness.

“I’m really sorry, sir. My car acted up on my way here,” she lied, her lips curling up.

Not like she had the mouth to tell the manager that her boyfriend wasted a lot of her time simply because he was searching for an oversized skirt for her to wear.

“Your office is right next to mine. You'll meet your seniors there and they will put you through,” the manager said coldly before concentrating on the computer on his desk.

“Thank you, sir,” Ava uttered softly and left the office.

She pushed out a sigh when she got to the door before knocking on it briefly and then let herself in.

There in the spacious office that occupied five tables and chairs with staff sitting on them respectively. Only one seat and a table were not occupied which only means that it was for Ava.

Ava looked at these people— they were three females and just a male, looking vibrant and buoyant in their office dresses.

“Hello. My name is Ava Taylor. I'm so pleased to inform you that I'm the new intern of this great organization. I'm ready to work hard to support the company’s development and I hope you will all treat me well,” Ava introduced cordially with her head bowed slightly.

“Why would you need to work hard for this company when your boyfriend is a billionaire, huh?” one of the ladies shot at Ava, eyeing her irritatedly.

“Oh, come on, Stephanie. Don't start again,” the only man among the girls whose desk was at the window chided calmly and then looked at Ava.

“It’s good to have you here with us, Ava. My name is Felix and this is Stephanie,” Felix introduced, pointing a hand to his right hand side seat.

“That is Gabriella and sitting next to her is Vera,” Felix introduced the girls to Ava since he'd reckoned none of them were willing to speak to Ava as they were all focused on their computers as though their life depended on it.

Ava smiled and nodded.

“Here is your table, Ava. Please come sit,” Felix urged Ava, a friendly smile plastered on his face.

“Thanks, Felix,” Ava said gratefully, finding her way to her desk which was adjacent to Felix’s.

Hours passed and it was lunch time now. The ladies had left and Felix too was preparing to exit his table.

However, Ava didn't seem like someone who was ready to have a break as she was engrossed in her work and had no idea when Felix got nearer to her desk, until he hit the table softly.

“It’s lunch time, Ava. Come on, let's go have lunch,” Felix invited but Ava shook her head negatively.

“Thanks, Felix, but I have so much work to attend to and I'm not even halfway yet. Look, I still have to arrange these files alphabetically,” Ava explained actively, showing Felix the ton of files on her table.

“But you need to take a break, Ava. Work can always wait,” Felix advised, a look of empathy etched across his face.

Ava chuckled lightly and then said, “Food can always wait too, Felix. Moreover, Stephanie had told me to finish arranging the files before tomorrow morning and I haven't even started just yet,”

Felix sighed in pity. He knew more than anybody what the girls were trying to do but he could see that Ava hadn't understood their attempt which is why he really felt for the girl.

“I’ll see you later then,” Felix notified and started walking away.

He strode into the cafeteria and soon caught sight of the three familiar ladies and walked over to where they sat.

“We already concluded you were not eating this noon to keep Ava’s company,” Stephanie poked fun at Felix while they all watched him sit down.

“Why are you girls doing this? You Stephanie especially, why do I feel like you're prepared to make this place a hell for that poor girl? Her boyfriend and this company's issue is completely none of your business, Stephanie. You should allow her to breathe in peace,” Felix counseled, his displeasure showing clearly on his forehead.

“And what's it with you, Felix? Do you like her already?” Vera questioned, looking sore.

“Why are you asking the obvious, Vera? Didn't you see how he began smiling from the moment Ava stepped into the office?” Gabriella asked with an eye roll, dipping her head and sipping from her orange juice.

“I literally don't understand what you're accusing me of, Felix. As the head of the department, I allotted her to the work she's here for. So what are you talking about?” Stephanie scoffed out her annoyance.

“That work is too much work to get done in less than twenty-four hours, Stephanie. And you know it! Are you telling me you can finish all those in a day?” Felix asked, scowling at her.

“At least, I didn't make a promise to the company on my first day of resumption,” Stephanie retorted, directing a piercing glare at Felix.

“What has this got to do with you anyway? As far as I’m concerned, she's only here to clean up her boyfriend’s mess but I bet she doesn't know her presence here will only worsen the whole thing which is why I'll foil her until she has no other choice but to quit,” her teeth ground with the words while her hands fisted on the table.

Stunned, Felix stared at her furious face for a few seconds and then shook his head in utter disappointment and rose to his feet.

“I hope you have a rethink of your decision,”

That said, Felix left the table and walked away.

Gabriella huffed, “Come to think of it, girls, Ava doesn't fit enough to be seen around Zachary Gonzalez, does she?”

“Of course, she doesn't. Zac is way too handsome and extremely rich and deserves a woman of his class not some kind of ordinary college girl like Ava,” Vera conceded, her lips twitching in disgust.

The frown inscribed on Stephanie’s face only grew more intense and then she hissed and got on her feet, “I lost my appetite,”