You are probably wondering how a such an unlikely pair came to be. The pair of our interest consists of none other than two opposite sides of a coin. On one side we have an exuberant, yet, sharp young lady, known to us as Marya. She is a being that puts forth her best effort to rise toward a higher position in the corporate world. The other side of the coin bears a devilishly handsome, yet, frigid man named Idris who bears a dark secret. His demeanor comes off as cold as ice, though he holds a longing for something more. Although the two have become intertwined through an episode of folly executed by Idris, each one struggles internally with how to deal in the world of one another. This here is the story of predator and prey. The catch: neither knows which role they truly play.
Over the past few months, Marya has come to understand Idris through his patterns of life and his dealings with people. She has witnessed that he bears, under that thick skin and chilly exterior of his, a capacity for kindness and an unsatiated taste for something more. In witnessing a meeting between Idris and his mother, Marya understood that it was not love that this man lacked. It was excitement. The overbearingly intimidating presence served as an emissary of obscurity for his dissatisfaction with his environment. Understanding this, Marya felt childlike curiosity would not be sufficient in prying the primal motives out of Idris. No, she captured his attention with something much more bewildering to him: brutal honesty and hard conviction. Honesty that appeared to match his own nefarious aura. With such realizations, we now descend into the daily life between the two.
While our precious pair continues their dance of silent precariousness within the office, they tend to be bit 'looser' when tolerating each other's company on the weekends. Such an arrangement takes us to the evening before the pair attends Maison de Gout, a newly opened restaurant that Idris has been invited to for a show of good business faith. His faithful assistant, Garrick was unable to attend this event due to his lover falling victim to a workplace accident, leaving Idris partner-less for the evening. To which he decided to show his unexpecting employee how things worked on his side of the business. After receiving the news from Garrick, Idris gives Marya a ring just as she finishes her coursework on a Saturday evening.
Hearing Idris's custom ringtone of Vaclav Nelhybel's– Trittico (second movement), Marya snatches the phone from her charger, composes herself and answers. "Greetings, Marya speaking!"
As indifferent as ever Idris responds. "Miss Marya, I hope I am not interrupting you on this evening, but I require your assistance with a rather sensitive matter. Would you happen to be available tomorrow evening for a fine dining experience at Maison de Gout?"
Letting her grin curl venomously up her face, she remarks boldly "Of course I will be available! But I believe we know each other a bit more than we let on, sir. I have 2 questions, and I would like for you to answer the first before I ask the second."
Feeling annoyed and impressed at her chagrin, he replies "Very well. Speak your curiosities."
Marya, without any sugarcoating, asks "What has happened so unexpectedly for you to have need of me on such short notice? You are a very composed and calculating man, so pardon me if I appear befuddled by your surprise offer."
Idris lets loose a light chuckle and with a deep inhale states "Nothing has gotten by you yet and I'm beginning to think nothing will. If you must know, Garrick is caring for his temporarily immobile lover due to melon rolling off a counter and crushing his foot. These are the unexpected issues that may arise when you become interconnected with a Master Chef of a 4-star restaurant. Such being stated, I am left without a partner for a small business affair scheduled for tomorrow evening at 6. Although I can go myself, I would appear less intimidating, as some put it, if I had someone to share the focus point with. They'll serve us a simple 5-course meal as a show of good faith in their partnership with APSE Inc."
After hearing the full explanation, Marya pauses, inhales and then remarks "I hope Garrick's lover makes a full recovery soon. Thank you for answering my first question. My second is as such-". She bites her lip in excitement "What should I wear?"
Idris's eyes widen at such a left field question, as he was expecting something more charged. Recovering from this astonishment, he asks "Do you happen to have a crimson dress? If not, I will supply you one."
Marya retorts in a light tone "That won't be necessary sir. I have something that is suitable for either an indoor or rooftop experience."
With satisfaction in his voice, Idris exclaims. "Excellent! Send me an appropriate place to pick you up and I'll arrive at 5:30 for your retrieval."
Holding in excitement, she states "You'll have the address later tonight. Good day, Idris."
"Good day, Miss Marya."
After making sure the phone had truly ended, Marya danced in excitement for the coming event. "This is what I needed after this long week. FREE FOOD!" she shouted. "This will be an excellent opportunity to place my face in eyes of business folk. For someone to want Idris's good faith, he must have brought them success in their past dealings. Perhaps they could be using this as a front to pitch a him a proposal." she thought. "What better way to gain interest and influence than to be next to someone of such status. I don't know exactly what Idris needs from me, but I need a decent paying job after school." The last thing "I need is all debt and no income" she said to herself.
With great expectations in mind, she composed herself and searched her clothing chest for the dress she mentioned in the chat with Idris. The piece she searched for was a blood red, asymmetrical-cut midi dress that her mother had gifted her after the success of her latest semester. After some time, fishing for the piece, she pulled out the object in question, Legend of Zelda style. Marya took a moment to marvel at the imbued designed pattern on the dress. There were scarlet 1-inch wide rose blooms all-about the dress. With the base fabric being silk and the rose design fabric being polyester, the pattern would only be truly noticeable in either bright exposure settings or dimly lit environments.
In the middle of her awe, Marya received another call, this time from an unknown number. She hesitated after the first two rings and then finally picked up in the middle of the third. "Hello, Marya speaking." she shyly answered.
"MARYA!" the shrill, yet warm voice projected. "It's so good to hear your voice! This is Maryam, Idris's mother." Maria froze in place and reflected upon herself that this was her boss's mother that she was speaking. Softly swallowing, she exclaimed "Greetings ma'am. To what do I owe this great honor?"
Maryam's tone shifted to a level of Idris's coldness. "I understand that you'll be attending dinner with my precious son tomorrow. Is this correct?" Cautiously, Marya uttered in a half-whisper "You are correct ma'am- "Maryam interjects. "Excellent! I am going to need you to do something for me. Just between us ladies…"