[ Katherine,
I'm so sorry for betraying your trust. I know I don't deserve your friendship anymore but I hope that you can forgive me one day.
Steven ]
Katherine sighed after reading the note that Markus left a few minutes ago. Thinking about it, although she was mad at Steven, seeing him all skinny earlier, she thought that it must have been very hard for him too. Not wanting to think about it anymore, she crumpled the paper and threw it in the bin.
She slumped back on the sofa and heavily sighed before she turned her head to the side and saw her boss staring at her. Damien was sitting in the armchair with his legs crossed and his hand was lazily supporting his head as though he was waiting for her to say something to him.
Her gaze landed on a particularly soft part of his face his lips, and she darted her eyes to the side in an instant. They had yet to talk about what happened but because she was suddenly feeling like a coward, she did not dare to bring it up.
Realizing that she had not properly apologized yet, she got up from the sofa and bowed to him, "Boss, I'm so sorry for my behavior earlier. I got carried away because of my anger. I promise that it won't happen again." She kept her head down and waited for him to say something but when she peeked, Damien was still staring at her with an unreadable expression. She immediately lowered her head again and continued to wait.
Damien finally moved. He got up from the chair and walked towards her. "Next time, if someone owes you something, just tell me the name and I will find him for you. You don't have to chase after them while wearing high-heeled shoes. You just hurt yourself." He glanced at her reddened feet. Thankfully, she didn't have any blisters from all the running that she did but her feet looked like they were sore.
Katherine bit her lip and stared at her toes. She was now wearing slippers and was able to rest them so it didn't feel as bad as earlier.
"Stand up." He ordered. Katherine stood ramrod straight and placed her hands together in front of her stomach, looking straight ahead as if she was a soldier.
"Are your feet still in pain?"
"No, they don't hurt anymore," she replied.
"So you can walk?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Good. Pick another pair of shoes and follow me out. I need to go somewhere and you're coming with me," he said before he strolled towards the door.
Katherine moved right away and followed behind him, stopping at the shoe rack to choose another pair of heels that were a little shorter than the previous one. She was still wearing her office clothes and she didn't think that wearing flats would do justice on her dress.
Soon after, the two of them came out of the hotel and alighted the car.
West Bespoke Tailor
The place that Damien and Katherine entered was a luxury bespoke tailoring shop that's famous for celebrities and wealthy people to have their formal wear custom made.
However, it wasn't easy for just any rich people to get an appointment as they have strict policies and requirements for their customers who call for a schedule. More than the money, the owner would choose their customers based on their status or exceptional connections. Only a few people have that privilege and Damien Park was one of them.
Inside the shop, it had a classy and sophisticated interior design that made whoever was inside instantly feel like royalty.
"Welcome, President Park. I appreciate that you took the time to visit us today for your final fitting," a man in a brown suit said as he shook hands with Damien.
"Of course. It's my pleasure to wear your creation, Mr. West," he responded.
"Please come this way." Mr. West gestured towards a door to the right.
Before following Mr. West, Damien turned to Katherine, "Stay here. You can take a look around while you wait. There is women's section over there." He pointed to the left side of the shop and Katherine nodded.
Since she did not have anything else to do, she decided to check out the place and admired the many different clothes that were displayed. She crossed the other side of the room and arrived at the women's section where there were a lot of lovely formal dresses. She examined a few and was curious to know how much they were but there were no price tags on them.
She saw a ball gown that had a lot of stone decorations on it. It sparkled a lot under the light which made her mouth form into an O as she appreciated the beauty of the piece.
"Hi, ma'am, can I help you with anything?" A polite lady in a really nice suit came to her side.
"Oh, I was just wondering how much these gowns cost as they are all so pretty." Katherine formed a conservative smile.
The lady saw that she came with Damien Park earlier so she did not dare to look down on her. "The prices of these gowns are supposed to be undisclosed to the public and only revealed to certain people but" she took out her phone and tapped her screen a few times before she showed it to Katherine. "...just to give you an idea, the pieces in here are roughly around this price range."
Katherine almost choked when she saw the exorbitant amount. "Thank you." She carefully stepped away from the gown and walked to the other side where it looked less intimidating.
She was checking out a blue-colored gown when Damien arrived at her side. "That looks nice. Why don't you try it out?"
"Oh, Boss" She let go of the gown and faced him. Damien was wearing a black tuxedo and was looking extremely appetizing.
"Ah n-no I'm okay," she managed to utter.
"Miss, can you help her change into that dress?" He turned to the lady who talked to Katherine earlier.
"Certainly," she acknowledged. "Right this way, ma'am." She took the gown and headed towards a closed door.
"Boss, I don't"
Damien leaned forward until his lips were right above her ear and spoke in a low, raspy voice, "I'd love to see you in that dress."
The way he said those words sent tingles down her abdomen. Katherine had to swallow before she had the courage to take a step forward and follow the lady to the dressing room.