Steal My Life
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter One
George King stopped breathing for a brief moment when Sofia Warren first walked into the office where he worked. He had been bent over the computer in front of him, fingers clacking away furiously on the keyboard as he typed up memo after memo, initially ignoring the ringing of the bell at the entrance, but when he heard her clear her throat in order to grab his attention, his blue eyes darted up.
That's when he stopped breathing.
It took him a few seconds to gather himself and put on his usual professional demeanor.
"Hello," he said nervously.
"Hi," she replied with a kind smile.
"Can I help you?"
"I sure hope so, Mr…"
"King, George King," he offered. He was trying to remain composed.
"Okay, Mr. King. I'm having some trouble with my computer."
"What kind of trouble?" His professional curiosity was aroused and he tried to remain focused on business, not the image of the young woman standing in front of him.
"I'm not really sure. But it won't even start up anymore. Do you think you could take a look at it?" She batted her eyelashes; flashing wide brown eyes at him.
"Do you have it with you?"
"No, it's still at my house. I don't know how to unhook it."
"It's fairly simple—" George started, but she cut him off.
"My ex hooked it up and I haven't a clue how to do anything with it. All I want is to be able to turn it on and check my e-mail. Now I can't even manage that…"
George could see her eyes getting ready to fall in despair. He shifted restlessly in his chair, trying to remain seated and comfortable, but this woman was too much for him. He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.
"Now, where is it that you live?" he asked, leading the upset young woman outside. "I'll come and take a look."
Her computer was easily fixed—all George had to do was restore the internet connection. It had apparently been overrun with viruses and spyware from the differing websites she had visited which caused the system to crash. It was a common problem and he promised to show her how to avoid it in the future and agreed to put on anti-virus software.
While the computer was updating, they chatted and he learned her name. She was Sofia Warren, 20 years old, and had lived in Miami her entire life. Her curly brown hair was natural, even though she made trips to a salon twice a week. She had long red fingernails that reminded George of bloody daggers. Sofia was maybe 5 foot, 6 inches, standing tall in her stiletto heels.
George fell victim to her charms and ended up asking her out to dinner, which she accepted. Her eyes had lit up when he named an expensive restaurant nearby and set an eight o'clock date for the following evening.
The computer finished rebooting and George installed an anti-virus and adware scanner. When he was finished, Sofia gave him a hug followed by a thank-you kiss for fixing her computer. She insisted upon paying him for his effort, even though he insisted that it was not necessary. He eventually gave in and they confirmed their date for the following evening.
George King headed home feeling happier than he had been in a long time.
Since when do pretty women hire lowly computer techs to fix their computers? And then end up agreeing to do go on a date with aforementioned computer tech? Score one for geeks everywhere…
He had never really been on a "date" before. Sure, he had attended all the social functions in high school with a girl on his arm, but it did not qualify as a date. He had never been interested of any of the loose girls with their crispy hair damaged from styling products that had chosen to throw themselves at him. He had politely told them to leave him alone and to stop throwing up their meals in the toilet.
But Sofia was different. She was a mature woman and she had seemed as attracted to him as he was to her. She was also the first person that he had ever had feelings for.
When he got home, George spent almost an hour making lists of stuff to do in preparation in his neat handwriting and setting out a suit. He chose a light blue shirt that matched his icy eyes pairing it with a navy blue suit.
The next day after work, he stopped by a local salon and lost his shaggy look. His hair appeared to be even darker when it was cropped close—almost black instead of his usual brown. It felt strangely light to be without so much of his hair. To continue his grooming, he shaved all of his stubble off. He dressed and polished his black shoes before leaving to purchase a bouquet of flowers.
He was ringing Sofia's doorbell at exactly eight o' clock with the flowers in hand, wearing cologne for the first time in a long while.
She answered it and squealed with delight at the sight of the flowers.
"Wow, you sure do clean up nice," she said with amazement as she took in the sight of his short hair, shaved face, and clean-cut suit.
"Thanks. You look gorgeous," George said, admiring her bright red dress that matched her fingernails and lipstick. The v-neck of the dress plunged dangerously low and the hem was riding rather high on her thighs, even with the uneven cut at the bottom.
She twirled in a circle for him and then went to put the flowers in a vase of water. When she was finished, she returned to the door, purse in hand.
"Shall we?" George suggested and offered his arm.
Sofia squealed with delight once more and accepted. "Such a gentleman!"
He blushed slightly and then led her out to his car and helped her climb in. They were on their way to dinner, unaware of his first date being his initial steps into the beginning of a self-destructive path.
Author's Notes:
Thanks to emptyvoices for helping me out with the editing of this chapter! Enjoy and thanks for reading/reviewing!