"Zion—" Ariana wanted to explain but Zion raised his hands to stop her.
"You are dating my boss? How?" Confusion was written all over his face. Calhoun was not one to be seen around with women. In fact, in all his years of working for him, Zion had never seen Calhoun with a woman. How did Ariana hypnotise him in two weeks?
Ariana moved cautiously towards the seat and held Zion's hand. "Please seat. There is a logical explanation for everything, just listen to me."
Zion sat down and crossed his arms waiting for her to speak. He didn't want to believe she was a gold digger. The Ariana he knew in school wasn't like that. So, he gave her a chance to explain herself.
"I am listening..." He growled.
"We met a long time before I came here." Ariana started and Zion's frown deepened.
This meant, Calhoun knew she was the one applying for the job the moment he mentioned her name to him.
"I was heart broken and drunk and somehow I found myself with Calhoun. I didn't even know he was your boss until the day I got here!" She continued.
Zion raised his brow at her statement. How could she claim to spend time with him and still say she didn't know he was the owner of Lawson's group until she got to the company.
"How is that possible?" He asked.
Aria licked her lips and took deep breathes to calm herself. "I didn't ask him for his name. I wasn't thinking that night. Zion I thought he was a sex worker!" She blurted and then covered her mouth realizing she had said too much.
Zion's eyes enlarged as he watched her in shock. At least two seconds passed before he was able to make up a statement.
"You patronize sex workers?" Zion asked in a low voice. He was still overwhelmed with the shock.
"No!" Ariana shouted in a low voice. "I was drunk. I wasn't thinking straight! And I found myself in the wrong place-" she stopped rambling when she noticed that Zion had a smile on his face. It was her turn to frown now. "You think this is funny?" She asked as her breathing hitched.
"You patronize Sex Workers! Aria, you naughty girl!" Zion blurted out laughing.
Ariana became red in the face with embarrassment. She placed a hand on her forehead and bent to look down at the floor. The conversation wasn't going the way she wanted it to. She was loosing.
"Zion, can you at least listen to me?" She cried out.
"Okay! Okay! Go on!" Zion said trying to sniffle his laughter. "You met Calhoun in a club and thought he was a sex worker... And you guys hit it ever since?"
Ariana closed her eyes and took a long breath before opening them again. "It is complicated right now but I guess that's how you can put it in simpler terms..." She finally let out.
"Huh!" Zion exclaimed taking off his glasses. "Aria, what I saw in that office didn't look like it was complicated," he said in a serious tone.
"What do you mean?" Ariana asked as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears.
"Calhoun doesn't hug women and he was hugging you, from where I stood. You were hugging him too. And when you walked in here... There was a glow on your face. What is going on Aria?"
Ariana held her hands together. She suddenly felt cold as she tried to explain her feelings to Zion. He was her friend and she could trust him but she didn't know how to say it to him. She didn't even know what to say. What did she feel for Calhoun? Was it love, lust or just need?
"Do you love him?" Zion gentle voice filled the room and she looked up to his face.
"I don't know Zion... I think I am- the truth is I am still trying to figure it out. I like him. I really do and I find him attractive in every way but... I don't know if I love him yet..." She trailed.
Zion smiled sweetly at her and held her hands.
"Then you have to take it slow. You don't have to rush. If you feel like there is even the smallest of chances that this could work out for the both of you then you need to take things slow Aria..."
Ariana nodded. Zion was right. She and Calhoun were going too fast. They needed to grow together. They both needed to be sure that they wanted this.
"I am sure you guys haven't been on any date yet because if you had, then I would have heard about it. You need to go on dates and have fun... Not just sex Aria. You need to be firm on that. I know Calhoun."
Aria was now pulling the ends of her hair as she listened to Zion. He was like the big brother she needed in that instance.
"Thank you Zion. Everything is happening so fast. I feel like I don't have a choice but to love him back..." She whispered. Calhoun had taken over all her senses the very first night she saw him and now that she was sober, she felt like she was still enchanted by him. She couldn't refuse him.
"There is always a choice Aria. It looks like there is none right now and that's because you haven't created any choice. Go on dates. Learn things about each other. Once that is set, then you can start hugging each other like Romeo and Juliet in the office!"
Ariana laughed at his last statement. Did they actually look like the famous lovers?
"I have to go back to work now. Do take care of yourself Aria." Zion got up from the seat and started heading to the door. "And we need to have a night out with Lisa so we can discuss this!" He added before pulling the door closed behind him.
Ariana relaxed in her chair with a smile on her face. She wasn't worried about Lisa. She already knew about this. Somehow, her mind was thinking about Alice and the way she looked shocked to see that Ariana and Calhoun were together.
"This is not going to be easy to pull off at all..." She whispered to the air.