Chapter Eighteen
•••
Friday, April 26th, 2047

Scarlet decided to help me with my outfit before she left for work this morning. According to her, the goal is to dress to impress the enemy, whatever that means.
I just went along with it, knowing she wouldn't take any excuses or refusals.

We both woke up at nine, due to her needing to report to work at ten. She knocked on my door before allowing herself inside, heading straight to my closet to browse my clothing options. I just sat up yawning while watching her move through each piece, thinking through her various ideas in mind.

"I'm so jealous of your closet, you have all of these and barely wear any of it! That in itself should be a crime."

I shrugged. "You of all people know that my mother would kill me if I didn't take them from home. She's the one who bought it."

She rolled her eyes, continuing to go through my clothes until her eyes landed on something. Picking it out, she held it up and smiled. "Oh, you are definitely wearing this." She then grabbed a few more pieces before laying out the completed ensemble on my bed in front of me

She chose a white half-buttoned mini dress, complimented with a black sheer mesh outer corset, a black studded belt and black Doc Marten boots. "Wear this, and add either black calf high sheer socks that have ruffles with silver jewelry. You're welcome." She said, smirking proudly. Looking at her idea, I actually had no complaints.

"Yes ma'am. Anything else?" I asked playfully, knowing she had more to add.

She put her hand to her chin and looked at me. "Part your hair on the left and let your hair out. Put black sunglasses on top of your head too! Other than that, I trust you in regards of makeup."

Smirking, I nodded. "Thank you my personal fairy godmother. Now go, you have work soon."

"I expect full details when I get back home!" She shouted as she exited my room. Rolling my eyes, I decided to get up to shower and get ready.

•••

Arriving at Apollo's house, I pulled up into his driveway fifteen minutes early. Today, I only brought my purse with my laptop to go over the pictures to pick for the social media account. Looking down at Scarlet's choice of clothes, I was satisfied with the selection.
Following her instructions as she directed, I took a mirror picture before I left the apartment, sending it to her.

Checking my phone, I saw that she sent a thumbs up in approval, followed by a "good luck" message. Taking a deep breath, I gathered my belongings and exited the car.

Approaching the door to knock, Maria beat me to it, opening before I reached. She bowed and smiled. "Good afternoon Miss Trinity."

I shook my head rapidly, dismissively. "Please, no formalities. I don't like it..."

Her eyes grew wide, but returned to normal as she graced me with a soft smile. "You, my dear, are truly a gem. Please, come in. Apollo will be down shortly."

I smiled and nodded, stepping inside slowly. She closed the door and gestured me to follow her into the kitchen. Guiding me to the dining table, she looked at me. "My dear, you look beyond beautiful! Would you like anything to drink?"

"Tea, please?"

"Of course, one moment." She said softly before walking into the kitchen. While waiting, I looked out the glass window to observe the pool, something that I found to be mesmerizing.

The overall concept of an infinity pool was one to admire, as the general idea was unique. It was a reflecting pool, or easier to comprehend, a zero-edge swimming pool. The water flows over an edge that is connected in a non-visual basin, creating the image effect of water with no boundary. It's definitely a luxury to have in any home, but with this massive structure, I'm not surprised he would have one.

Hearing footsteps come downstairs, I stood up from my seat, waiting for him. Apollo walked into the kitchen, greeting Maria and my breath hitched.

He was dressed similar to yesterday, although instead of a white button-up, it was a black satin shirt. His hair was freshly washed, with his front pieces hanging on his forehead. He also had silver jewelry on.

Turning to walk to the dining table, he noticed me and stopped in his tracks. His eyes grew wide, and I smiled softly.

" Sorry, Maria let me in."

Clearing his throat, he shook his head. "No worries. Please, sit."

I nodded, sitting back down. He walked over and sat across from me, his eyes still on me. Maria walked over with my tea and placed it in front of me. "Here you go, dear."

"Thank you." I smiled at her, which she returned to me.

"Apollo, doesn't she looked stunning?" Maria looked at him and asked. He nodded, his eyes not leaving me. Maria smiled, patting my shoulder softly before leaving the area, giving us privacy.

Suddenly feeling nervous, I picked up the teacup and brought it to my lips to sip. The room atmosphere was silent, and the tension was thick. However, after a few minutes, he broke it.

"You look amazing."

I abruptly choked, slightly coughing. Placing the teacup down and quickly composing myself, I smiled while looking at the cup. "Thank you. Same to you."

"So," he started, "do you want to ask the three questions first or do you want me to go first?"

"You can go first. This was your idea, after all. Someone just didn't want to accept my apology and decided to be extra." I said jokingly, rolling my eyes.

He chuckled. "True, true. First, I wanted to make an offer to you."

I raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "I wanted to give you to opportunity to secure this job full time, no probation period."

My eyes grew wide. "What...?"

"If you want this job, full time and secured, it's yours. No probation period. Your pay will be increased." He said, placing his head on his elbow lifted-folded intertwined hands on the table.

"What's the catch?" I asked, still stunned at the proposal.

"You are not allowed to quit until you work for at least a year. Just to show loyalty." He said softly.

The wheels started turning in my head, not fully processing the current situation. He was offering me the full position after not even a week of working with him, and all I couldn't do was quit until I worked for a full year, not that I had intentions to anyways.
The thing is, knowing what the latter result would be if I did, the offer seemed too good to be true.

I sighed. "Why are you offering me this? I don't get it."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at me. "You are the first photographer I had that made me feel comfortable. You are also the first to actually try and clear my name, instead of going along with the rumors against me. Lastly, you are the first to say that you would be on my side...no matter what..."

In that moment, it felt like time stopped. My mind was in a cloud.

He actually used my words against me..this guy...

"Also, I'll add this. If you do accept, you won't have to do as much as you are required to do now. The work now was honestly just implemented to see if it would scare you off."

Waking out of my daze, hearing those words make me scoff. "You think that was tough work? My undergraduate degree was ten times worse."

He smirked. "Well then. I believe you, considering how fast you sent the pictures to me... So, what's your answer?"

I smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I want to make another proposal."

Now he raised an eyebrow. "What would that be, exactly?"

"I want to at least work for a month, under the same conditions as now, just to at least feel as though I really earned it. After a month, I'll accept the offer."

He looked at me intensely and I mentally prepared myself for him to snap. However, his face formed a smile, a real smile.

"You really are different..." He said softly before nodding in agreement. "Fine, I'll wait a month. As long as you hold up your end of the deal."

I grinned. "Don't worry, I will. Now, I'll ask my three questions after I show you my edits. Come closer, please."

He stood up from the chair and moved to the one next to mine. Opening up my laptop, I opened my files and selected the 20 edited pictures to show. Handing him the computer, I smirked. "Here's the results of your stubborn ass on Wednesday. Take a look."

Rolling his eyes, I watched as he scrolled through each picture, slowly taking in the edits. His finger stopped on the last one, the one I considered to be my favorite out of them all.

It was a picture of him leaning back on the lounge chair, his right hand resting against his head as he stared directly into the camera lens. The light reflected off his face, shining into his eyes, creating a sensual feel to the picture.

"I choose this one, this one for the page." He said in awe.

I nodded. "We have the same taste. Awesome, I'll upload it tomorrow and give you the page."

He turned to me and smiled. Our faces were centimeters apart, and we stared into each others eyes. I could feel my heartbeat increase in pace as the closeness between us created butterflies fluttering inside my stomach. His eyes slowly traveled down to look at my lips, before returning back to my eyes. Every fiber in my being wanted to go closer, but I didn't want to cross any boundaries between us.

After a few seconds, we turned our heads away and cleared our throats simultaneously. Gently closing my laptop to distract myself, I spoke first. "Am I able to ask my three questions now?"

"Huh? Oh yeah... ahem.. yes you can." He said quietly, looking down at the table.

"Alright, is there anything off limits?"

He shook his head and looked at me. "I'm allowing you to ask anything, no limits."

"Okay..." I sighed. "What happened to your parents...?"

"They died when I was six, in a car accident off of i-95. There was a thunderstorm at night, and their car smashed into a wall."

I gasped. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry... I shouldn't have asked..."

He smiled gently at me. "Trinity, it's okay. You can ask anything. It's only fair."

"Fine... what's your favorite food?"

This time, he laughed out loud. "Are you serious? You went from a serious question to something like that?"

"Hey! You did the same to me, I'm returning the favor!" I said jokingly, pouting as I pointed at him. "Now, answer."

"Obviously Korean food, but I also like American style foods too. The common stuff." He answered swiftly.

I nodded, making mental notes to remember. "Last question, can you explain the meanings to your tattoos?"

"Sure." He pointed first to his neck. "This is Korean, which means forever family. It is in reference to my eomma or mother in English, abeoji or father, and my halmeoni or grandmother. Always to remember them." I nodded as he continued on.

Next, he pointed to his full arm sleeve, which was a dragon in red and black ink. "This tattoo was actually because I just thought it was cool, nothing special."

"Of course you did." I rolled my eyes, making him shrug.

"Now, I know you saw my chest piece, so I don't need to take off my shirt..."He said jokingly, wiggling his eyebrows. "I got the rose piece because it was my mother and grandmother's favorite flower. As you may have noticed, the flower beds outside have majority roses. This used to be my grandmother's house, but she gave it to me in her will."

My eyes grew wide. "Then... who is Maria? Before you told me, I thought she was your grandmother."

He shook his head. "No, she used to be my grandmother's maid and best friend. She could've left, but she helped raise me with my grandmother and felt the need to stay. I don't treat her like a maid though, but she never listens to me." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Well...she's very sweet. You're very lucky to have her." I said smiling, looking down at the teacup. I could feel his eyes on me before he spoke.

"Thank you, Trinity..."

I looked back up at him slightly confused. "For what?"

He smiled. "For being different."

———————————————————————————
We are making some progress!!!

Next two chapters are going to be fillers, from both Axel's and Scarlet's POV.

Remember to Vote and Comment!
See you soon...💕