Beneath her Notice – Chapter 7 1 min read

Chapter Seven: The Balance of Power

Mara arrived for the valuation meeting wearing red.

Not a red dress. She wore a fitted black suit over an ivory blouse, her hair swept to one side. The colour belonged entirely to her shoes.

They were red-suede Casadei Blade pumps, their severe pointed toes balanced upon the house’s signature chrome heels—slender metal blades catching the office light whenever Mara moved.

Elena noticed them immediately.

“New?”

“Not quite.”

“You’ve never worn the Blades here.”

“I was waiting for an appropriate meeting.”

“Valuation?”

“Pressure. Negotiation. Testing the strength of an underlying position.”

“Appropriate indeed.”

Mara began seated. Only when the disputed valuation appeared did she stand before Elena’s desk. Adrian extended both hands. A chrome heel found one finger of each.

Mara initially leaned upon the desk. Then she straightened, shoulders back, hands upon her hips.

Adrian’s breath escaped in a broken sound.

Elena’s Louboutin entered the shadows and imposed silence.

“The upper range remains unrealistic,” Elena said.

“I disagree.”

Mara shifted subtly between the Casadei Blades. Adrian’s eyes filled almost immediately.

She had not worn those shoes merely to participate. She had worn them to discover the precise moment his resolve failed.

His signal hand turned halfway.

Mara’s expression sharpened with anticipation.

Then Adrian stopped. He opened his fingers beneath the chrome heels and recommitted himself.

“Eight ninety,” Mara said, returning to the valuation.

“Agreed.”

When the meeting ended, Adrian’s hands emerged once more, two fingers extended.

Mara smiled.

“Same time tomorrow?” she asked.

Elena looked down.

“Yes. Wear the Casadeis.”

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