Cheeky

Ethan

I remain standing, thinking about my options, and not at all pleased at having to wait even longer to see the insolent Mariana.

" Mariana isn't usually late for anything, but tonight is a different night, isn't it? " Celina comments, sitting down in what I deduce is her favorite armchair. " She told me it will be a dinner with important people."

I smiled at the way Celina said those words, but I wasn't really in a good mood and decided that Mariana wouldn't make me wait for her to sit down in the living room, as she expected me to do.

" Where is Mariana's room, Aunt Celina? " I ask, flashing my best smile. " I have something to give her."

Celina's eyes widen in curiosity, but she soon indicates the direction of her niece's room, and I walk at a slow pace down the small hallway.

I don't want her to notice my approach prematurely.

When I arrive in front of Mariana's bedroom door and turn the knob, I realize that it is open, as I already imagined it would be.

"Mariana protests, practically jumping out of bed, with great indignation. "You can't just walk into my room like that!

" So, Mariana, you intended to make me wait for how much longer? " I ask, not caring that I had invaded her room like that.

When I entered the room, Mariana was lying on her bed, while she seemed to be quietly fiddling with her cell phone, already completely tidied up. In other words, she was just trying to annoy me.

Mariana

I looked at the visibly angry man in front of me and tried not to laugh at the angry look on Ethan's face at that moment, after all, he was not a man to be trifled with and I had understood that since I had heard about the things he had already done for Murilo.

That didn't mean I couldn't have a little fun at his expense, though.

When Ethan summoned me to accompany him to an important business dinner, my first reaction was to refuse to follow any of his orders; after all, I am a free woman.

I went to bed extremely angry and willing to let him wait for me like a fool because I would not even bother to give him an explanation or any satisfaction about my reasons for not going to that dinner.

But of course, after a long and exhausting night, in which I could hardly sleep, I thought more calmly about the whole situation and concluded that it would not be wise of me to challenge Ethan like that and I just settled for going to that dinner with him.

After talking to Virginia about the fact that I had been subpoenaed to accompany Ethan and telling my friend that I didn't like that idea at all, I ended up feeling bad for the way she felt guilty for everything that was happening to me.

"You shouldn't go, Mariana. " Virginia said, holding my hand anxiously. "If Ethan wants to expose Murilo, let him do it once and for all. But we can't let him bully us like this, to the point of forcing you to go out with him to dinner.”

I didn't want Virginia to be in such a state over something as silly as dinner, and I tried to play it down.

" We won't let him control us, but I think it's better to play to his tune, at least for now. " I say rationally " And at the end of the day, it's just dinner, isn't it?"

" It's not just dinner and you know that very well. " Virginia contradicts me, with indignation. " He will demand more than that, which is not at all fair to you."

I try to smile in a relaxed way and ease the situation, as I wasn't just doing it for Mariana and Murilo, since my life would also be affected quite negatively if Ethan took the auction story to the media.

" Tell you what..." I propose " I'll go to this ridiculous dinner so we can buy a little more time, and I'll try to figure out some way to turn this game in our favor."

Virginia didn't seem too convinced about that being the best way to go, but she agreed with my idea and even helped me choose one of my creations to wear that night.

After I was ready and satisfied with the result of my production, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and admired the beauty of the dress I had chosen to wear for dinner, a simple yet very elegant model.

The black dress had a straight cut and reached my knees, but the fit of the fabric was perfect and it managed to highlight all my curves beautifully, highlighting what I have best, which is an extremely thin and delicate waist, but with rounded hips, which ended in long and slender legs, something I liked a lot in my body.

The neck had a neckline that was exposed by a transparent black fabric, with puffed sleeves up to the elbows, as was very fashionable, the same fabric was present in the back of the dress and that left my entire back exposed, as well as the delicate line of my spine.

I had opted for very strong makeup, with black eyeshadow and a lot of mascara to outline my long and thick eyelashes, as well as a matte red lipstick, which highlighted my mouth.

My makeup and clothes were perfect, and my hair had been brushed and let fall freely in waves that formed thick curls at the ends, but as I looked at the clock and confirmed that it was only five minutes until twenty, I thought it best to let Ethan wait for me, at least for a few minutes, just so he could understand that things weren't the way he wanted them to be.

At that moment, my aunt came into the room and looked at me with admiration, and I smiled at the woman who had raised me all my life.

" What do you think, Auntie?" I ask " Do I look okay?"

" You look beautiful, my child. " she says and I completely believe her " Ethan won't be able to take his eyes off you during dinner and it might even get in the way of his business."