10 Fair Enough

"Hello, Elena," Mark greeted with much avidity.

He didn't have to introduce himself again since he had done that twice already.

After meeting at the luxury store, she ought to have saved his contact or recognized his voice from over the phone. So he thought.

"Hello," Elena answered while holding her breath. She was speaking with the man she had been longing to meet, and also, the same man she didn't want to meet again.

The question now is, which did she want the most?

"I'm glad you answered the phone," Mark released a soft breath before letting out a low chuckle. "I thought I would have to come over to your place and pound my fist on your door."

'How enthusiastic,' Elena thought.

Two seconds passed without the woman saying something in return and that was when Mark knew he had to stop expecting a lot from her.

"It looks like you don't speak a lot."

Finally, Elena replied, "No, I don't." Her gaze was aimed straight ahead as an arm circled below her chest.

She could have moved to the sitting room or her bedroom to continue with her conversation, but she was afraid that Mark would guess her activities. If possible, she wouldn't even want him to hear the sound of her breathing.

'Looks like I have a lot of changes to make,' Mark thought to himself.

"There is a cocktail party I was invited to later this evening. I want you to come along."

Elena thought for a second before her eyes rounded. "You are inviting me to a party?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Mark probed.

"Nothing," she replied.

When Mark said he was going to call, Elena never saw him inviting her to a party as part of the deal. She thought he just wanted to have a phone conversation regarding that night, but who knew that he wouldn't want to go into it immediately?

"I will take that as a 'yes'." Then without waiting for her to counter his idea since she seemed pretty good at it, he quickly added, "I will be at your place in an hour."

A deep sigh escaped Elena's lips as different thoughts flew in and out of her head. She wasn't sure about going out with him for various reasons known to her.

She has always wanted and hoped to be in the company of Mark Wang, to go places where she would be seen with him, but that stuff like this was happening so fast, were thoughts disorienting.

"I-I have work tomorrow…" Elena drawled as she finally managed to get one of the various reasons she shouldn't be out with him, out of her chest.

"I'm not actually a fan of parties, but I will ensure you make it back to your apartment before 10. That's fair enough," Mark assured her.

Probably if it wasn't for a few important reasons, no one would see him at any function.

---

"I thought you turned down the invitation for the cocktail party?" Eric inquired with eyes wide as he stared down at his brother just as he put his phone away.

Mark shrugged, looking unbothered that he would have to attend the party he once rejected an invite to. "Elena is looking like she can't handle staying in an enclosed space with me."

"Maybe she is afraid that you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself. After all, something has gone down between you two in the past." Eric motioned with a hand gesture as he dropped into the space next to him.

Instantly, Mark's brows furrowed. "I am not an animal." But right away, a smile turned up on his lips. "Elena is attractive, but I wouldn't want to disrespect her. Remember, she is not a plaything," he said while meeting his gaze.

"I like the fact that you would want to consider being in a serious relationship again." Eric nodded in approval of his plans, and Mark groaned in response.

---

In less than an hour after Mark phoned, Elena was half ready to leave with him for the cocktail party.

Elena spent most of her time straightening her hair while standing in front of the mirror. It was so frustrating to get everything in order in such a short amount of time.

Well, even if there was time, she couldn't afford to go to the hair salon, but she could spend a dedicated amount of time straightening her hair while sitting in front of the mirror.

A long sigh fell off Elena's lips as she finally put down the hair iron in the bathroom.

Her hair was the most difficult aspect of getting ready. Thankfully, she was done with it and was ready to move on to the next step.

Glancing one more time at her hair, she walked to her room in her pink bathrobe to change into a crepe pink knee-length cocktail dress.

There was no struggle to zip the dress since the back was exposed. Elena figured she would rather expose her back than her cleavage that evening.

Well, it's not like she couldn't do both, but that would be giving Mark too much to see on their first formal meeting.

Elena had all these rules and preparations planned out to capture Mark's attention from the onset, but this was the first time she would be using them.

While getting ready, it was a hassle before she came to terms with following up with the initial plans that got her moving to the capital city.

She couldn't afford to be distracted, and that was the exact pep talk she had given to herself while choosing an outfit.

Next up after gluing on that beautiful dress to her body, she grabbed her makeup brush and powder and did a little magic on her face while stealing a few glances at the time on her phone.

She couldn't afford to make Mark Wang wait. Not because she respected him, but because it was a rule she set up.

Elena picked up a clutch embedded with coral-pink stones that matched her dangling earrings. Next, she wore her pair of nude pointed-heel shoes and splashed some perfume on her skin before letting her straight hair fall behind her bare back.

One last glance at the mirror was all she had before Mark's call came, reminding her that he was sitting in his car right below her apartment building.