Aria's Gamble Ch. 01

Alright! I want to post this as an introduction to a character I've been trying to develop. It's a bad attitude, bitchy, not really likable but somehow charming young lady. She's intentionally annoying and standoffish but I have some ideas for character progression. Also - most of this story will live between the Non-Erotic and BDSM category as she is a Lady Dom... Please, please pleeeeease let me know if you want this story to continue!

Thanks, and enjoy!

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I plopped down at my desk, slumping into my hands as I sighed heavily. That was another three projects pushed my way. "He wants to kill me, he actually wants to kill me," I muttered, glaring at my screen as I adjusted in my chair.

"Aria, you alright?" Lace leaned on the little desk divider, his arms crossed as he studied my face. "You look frazzled," he chuckled. I leaned back, pulling half my hair up into a messy bun before taking a deep breath.

"He's a sadistic prick," I insisted, jabbing my finger toward the conference room we just left. "The hell did I do to deserve this treatment?" I demanded quietly and he sighed.

"You're taking it personally," he shrugged, looking around before smiling. "Perhaps he thinks you're the only one who can handle it?" he muttered. I rolled my eyes, tucking my leg up under me. I leaned over and grabbed a stick of gum, popping it in my mouth as I flicked the bobblehead on my desk.

"It's still not fair to me," I grumbled, grabbing my headphones and glancing at him. "As you can imagine I have a lot of fucking work to do," I gestured to my computer and he nodded, walking away. I slid my headphones on and turned my playlist up to near max volume. I grabbed my glasses, sliding them on and adjusting to lean on my leg. My fingers whizzed on the keyboard, furiously clicking the keys. My mouse was taking much abuse as well.

"Stupid fucker giving me all of this work," I grumbled, glancing at my other screen as I got a notification. It was updates to one of my codes. "Tomorrow?!" I demanded, noticing the deadline. "Goddammit," I grumbled, chewing furiously as I turned back to my program.

"Aria!" I heard someone call out and I pushed my headphones back, peeking my head up to look around. Joe was flagging me down and I glared at him.

"No!" I called and he pouted. "What?!" I crossed my arms, leaning back in the chair.

"You didn't check your messages," he gestured to his computer. I rolled my eyes, turning to my screen. He had sent me a lovely little message. Could you help me with this? I will buy you lunch for a week...

I took a deep breath and sighed, shaking my head. Who the hell did these fuckers think I was? Wonder Woman? I accepted and activated the update assignment, logging all of my projects into our team dashboard. I took a deep breath and then turned back to the stupid chat box. Do you not know how busy I am?!

"It's going to take a lot more than free food to win me over," I grumbled, reading through the update request. I had to change two of the codes that interacted with the client's portal and modify the report template generated. I was supposed to finish and test this entire update by tomorrow?! Another late ass night I suppose. I pushed my headset back on and got working. Everyone knew to leave me alone when I got like this.

An envelope was dropped on my desk and I glanced up, holding my composure as I saw Lucas standing over me. He had his hands in his pockets. I pushed my headphone back and glanced at it. "Open it," he breathed, his voice short. Always short with me.

"What is it?" I grumbled, pulling it open.

"You have eyes, figure it out for yourself," he muttered. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I pulled out a card. I hesitated, glancing at him with nothing but sincere confusion. I flipped it over, reading the front. Happy Birthday! I smiled, shaking my head as I opened it. Everyone on the team had signed it. Well, everyone but Lucas. And there was a gift card.

"Thanks," I sighed, standing it up with the others. I was amassing quite the collection on my desk. But I loved it. Made it feel more like my space.

"Stop wasting time, you have a tight deadline," he breathed, walking off then.

"Then don't intentionally distract me, fucking asshole," I muttered under my breath, pulling my headset back on as I turned to the chat box. I opened up our team chat and smiled. Thanks for the card you guys! I sent a cute anime gif and got right back to work...

"Aria!" a hand nudged my shoulder and I turned to see Joe. "You're not seriously staying late again, are you?" he demanded as I pushed my headphones off. I glanced at the clock and realized it was already after 6:00PM.

"Boss gave me a deadline of tomorrow for an update. I'm running my tests now, once they're done I can leave," I gestured to my computer and he glanced, watching the automation running. He smirked and nodded.

"Well, as a thank you for finding time to help me with my code could I start by bringing you dinner?" he muttered with a blush and I sighed.

"Sure, where you going?" I asked and he shrugged. "Here. I really like this place," I pulled a post-it note out and grabbed my pen. I scribbled the name of a nice little pizza and sub shop near the office, writing my usual order down as well. "It's just a few blocks up from the office, just take a right when you walk out," I instructed and he nodded.

"Could I hang out with you to keep you company?" he asked and I shrugged.

"It's rather boring company, but knock yourself out," I chuckled and he did too. He left and I sighed, leaning back as I squeezed my stress squishy. It's eyes bugged out every time. It was cute. And incredibly de-stressing to release my tension. I blew a bubble and popped my gum about to put my headphones back on when I heard a throat clear.

"Couldn't get it done without staying late?" Lucas smirked, crossing his arms as he stood next to my desk. His bag hung on his shoulder, his jacket on his arms.

"Buzz off. You of all people should know I'm doing twice as much as anyone else here, and still getting my work done without staying super late most days," I grumbled, glaring at my screen. "If you felt bad about my staying late so often, how about dishing out some work to the rest of the damn team?" I snapped, glancing at him.

"Tone Aria," he breathed, turning to walk off. "Have a good night," he waved his hand. I bit my lip, glaring at his back as I flipped him off.

"Fucking prick," I grumbled, scooting closer to my desk to fiddle with some code while this automation ran its tests. Joe came back sooner than I had expected, pulling his chair over to sit with me. I unplugged my headphones and we both just sat listening to my music and the chaotic clicking of my fingers on my keyboard.

"Your desk is so cool," Joe muttered as I started cleaning up and shutting down. He just got back from throwing our trash out. I shrugged, admiring all my little knick knacks and decorations.

"I was thinking about getting one of those cool LED string lights to put around here, so I could set the lighting too," I gestured along the back of the desk and he nodded. "Thanks for the company, sorry if I was boring," I breathed and he shook his head.

"It's actually crazy to see how fast you work," he blushed, walking away to take his chair back to his desk. I pulled my jacket on, adjusting my laptop bag as I set it on my shoulder. "I'll walk you out," he came back and I nodded. We left in silence, scanning out with our badges. The office was always empty at this time. As soon as the elevator doors shut and he hit the button for the parking garage he glanced at me.

"You seem nervous," I laughed and he smirked.

"Only because I," he hesitated and sighed. "I have been trying to figure out how to ask you out on a date," he mumbled then, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed.

"I'm flattered, but I really don't have time. Between school and work," I continued and he looked confused.

"School?" he demanded and I laughed with a nod.

"I'm currently working on my bachelor's," I explained. "Why does that shock you?" I couldn't hide my amusement.

"I guess I didn't expect someone your age to be in school," he shrugged and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How old do you think I am?" I demanded and he sighed.

"Late twenties, early thirties," he glanced at me warily and I laughed.

"I'm not even 25 yet," I mused and he gasped. "Do I look it?" I couldn't help but laugh as I looked at myself. I had on jeans and a hoodie my friend got me when he went to Japan. I think I had college girl vibes.

"Uh, not really. Especially not with your hair," he gestured to it and I giggled. "I guess it's just shocking because of how diligent you are," he admitted and I nodded slowly as we stepped out toward the garage. "But that makes me feel better. I'm only 27," he shrugged and I smirked.

"A date you say?" I teased, nudging him playfully with my fist. "Why?" I was curious.

"You seem really fun and cool. I like working with you," he blushed, shrugging again as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hmm, I don't really date. Like I said I don't have time," I mused, pursing my lips as I crossed my arms. "However!" I breathed and he glanced at me, looking confused and intrigued. "I am not opposed to hanging out when I do get free time," I muttered and he nodded slowly, looking dejected. "I just hate formalities too," I insisted and he sighed.

"You can just say no," he laughed, blushing as he cleared his throat. "It would make it easier to get over it," he hung his head and I chuckled.

"But I wasn't done, in fact I was getting to the best part," I started, catching his attention as we made it to my car. I leaned on it as I pulled my hair out, yanking it all up into a messy bun. Some hair fell down around my face. I tucked it behind my ear and smirked. "I don't do relationship because I hate disappointing people. But I'm not opposed to fun," I insinuated and he laughed lightheartedly.

"Damn Aria, you really are blunt. They warned me when I was first hired," he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Who? Lucas? That fucker," I grumbled and he laughed some more. "Well?" I asked then, opening my door and raising my eyebrow at him. "You usually free on the weekends?" I breathed and he nodded, blushing as he smirked. "Cool, I'll give you my number tomorrow when we're back in this fucking hell hole," I gestured to the office and he laughed, waving as he walked off. I slid into the driver's seat and turned my music up, rolling the windows down. My beetle was my dream car, and I finally got it after landing this job nearly a year ago. It was a bright yellow and I had changed the interior to be white leather. I also put a white fuzzy grip on my wheel and a cute little anime girl dangled from my rearview mirror. I also insisted on having a vanilla air freshener. It just made everything feel so damn perfect.

I enjoyed the incense and music as I hurried home.

***

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, adjusting my hoodie as we walked to another conference room. We were going to meet with the clients so I could demonstrate the updates I completed yesterday. Lucas led the way, glancing back with a disapproving glower.

"Could you at least try to behave professionally?" he muttered as he went to grab the door. "I know we don't have a strict policy, but Jesus Christ you act like this is your damn house the way you dress and act," he grumbled as he pulled it open. I smiled, blowing a bubble and popping it in his face as I walked in. I made it to the head of the table, hooking my laptop up to the projector. There were people already in here for the meeting, most of them wearing boring monkey suits. The two women looked incredibly stern in demeanor. I wasn't sure if it was the attire, or the way they held themselves.

"Thank you for working on this in such short notice," a man stood up then, turning to Lucas to extend his hand. "We appreciate your ability to jump when we need it," he chuckled and I rolled my eyes.

"He didn't jump, he whipped my back and told me mush," I muttered as they all gasped. Lucas glared at me and I smirked, laughing sinisterly. "Not that I'd expect anything else. You are our most important and most lucrative business partner. And I'd be lying if I said your projects weren't something I enjoyed. It's always awesome when I hear we have a new assignment from you guys," I smiled at them and they all relaxed a bit.

"Are you one of our developers?" one of the women asked and I smirked.

"Your only developer," I professed proudly and she smiled widely. "Every assignment from your team comes directly to me," I shrugged, logging into my application to run the demo in our test environment. "The system updates you pushed through were a bit tricky, but I was able to develop a pretty good work around. It's mainly technical jargon," I glanced at them all and they simply nodded. "But it works," I smiled, starting the run.

They watched in real time as the program accessed their portal, scraped the required data and reports and started generating the output file. It did not take long for the entire report to be completed. "Wow," the guy smiled, still standing with his hands in his pockets. "This is impressive," he gestured to the screen and I smirked, crossing my arms as I shrugged.

"So does this look like what you need?" I gestured for them to peruse the reports and they all got up, walking to my laptop to check it out. I glanced at Lucas who was sitting at the other end of the table. His hands were pressed together in front of his mouth as he glared at me. I blew him a kiss and he rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he rubbed his lips in frustration. There was a knock on the door and he got up, answering it with a hushed grumbled.

"Excuse me please," he turned to us, giving me a warning look before stepping out. The guy turned to me and smirked.

"This looks perfect," he confessed and I smirked.

"I am so thrilled," one woman gushed, nodding happily as she stepped away from the laptop. "I have to admit I'm happy you're our developer," she started then and I snickered, shaking my head.

"Is it because I'm a female?" I offered and she shrugged. "That shit doesn't matter. You should be happy I'm the developer because I'm the best in our department. I work hard, I deliver on or before every deadline, and I ensure the best customer service. My damn genitals have nothing to do with it," I grumbled, blowing a bubble and snapping my gum. They all looked taken aback. I hesitated and smirked. "Sorry, the boss man says I have a bad attitude," I gestured to the door and one of the women snickered.

"It's kind of refreshing," she admitted. "Does he have a problem with how," she hesitated and pursed her lips. "Eccentric you are?" she offered. I laughed happily, turning to shut down the systems and close my laptop before my next meeting.

"I am pretty certain if I wasn't the best on the team, he'd have fired me ages ago," I confessed and they all laughed lightly. "Guess it pays to be good at what you do. Even if people don't like you, at least they see worth in you," I shrugged. They all lent me their hands as Lucas came back.

"Sorry for stepping out, had to handle a small matter. I hope everything is fine and Aria didn't offend you all," he laughed and they did as well.

"Quite the opposite," the guy smiled at me and I smirked. "Do you have any personal contact information in case one of us have to reach you about something?" he started then and I chuckled, nodding as I pulled then pen out of his pocket. I grabbed his hand and wrote my cell phone number on it.

"Aria!" Lucas snipped and I smiled at him.

"What? There is no paper in here and I don't feel like wasting their time walking them to my desk to take down my info," I shrugged. "That's my personal number. I'm usually on call 24/7 anyway, but it's the best number to reach me by," I smiled at all of them. They all nodded and smiled back. Lucas walked them out toward the elevator. I held my laptop by my side, leaning on the wall as I blew another bubble. I closed my eyes as I waited for him to come back to yell at me.

"You're not worth your fucking trouble," Lucas grumbled. He popped my bubble, his finger pushing the gum back into my mouth. He pressed his finger on my tongue, his eyes narrowing as he got close to me. "Why the hell do I even keep you around?" he demanded quietly. I smiled, pressing my tongue up against his finger. I started licking and sucking on it happily and he actually blushed before pulling away.

"Because without me your team wouldn't do half as well," I shrugged, blowing another bubble and popping it as I pushed off the wall and walked toward the next meeting. We stepped into the conference room. When I noticed no one was here I grabbed his tie and pulled him close to me. He looked astonished. "And I think you fancy me a bit, Lucas. Is it my shitty attitude, or how you can never get a handle on me that does it for you?" I teased, leaning into him.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" he demanded quietly, his eyes darting frantically between mine as he tried to read my face.

"Then why are you so hard?" I snickered, caressing his crotch. He was definitely sporting a raging hard on. He blushed, grabbing my wrist and pushing my hand away. "So you're a nasty little sadist huh? Are you a control freak in bed too?" I teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off Aria," he muttered, walking away to sit down at the table. I sat a few chairs away from him, pushing my laptop open to work on some stuff while we waited for the team to file in. I crossed my legs, humming happily as I worked. The door opened and I looked up seeing Lace and Joe walking in and chatting.

"Aria! You're actually on time for once?" Lace came over, plopping down next to me as he pinched my cheek. "Trying to get on the boss man's good side?" he threw his thumb toward Lucas with a smirk. I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Does he have a good side?" I countered and Joe chuckled. Lucas glared at me, scoffing as I winked at him.

"So how'd the meeting go?" Joe breathed, sitting across from me. I smiled, stretching my foot across to brush up against his leg. He blushed and hesitated before pulling his chair in closer.

"Fine, updates were accepted so now we just have to push them through," I shrugged, glancing at Lace. "We still on for drinks tonight?" I demanded and he nodded. "Good, I need to fucking unwind," I sighed.

"Do you have no shame?" Lucas demanded then, crossing his arms as he glared at me. The room got quiet as the rest of the team settled in. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Lucas to bicker with me, and I think they all kind of thrived on it. It was a sick, twisted game for everyone.

"Sorry boss man. Want me to wear revealing blouses and tight skirts with nylons? Be all proper and professional? Are those the women you prefer?" I mused and he scoffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he leaned onto the table.

"You got a nylon kink boss?" Lace laughed and Lucas tried not to smile. "Pretty fucked up you'd try to get Aria here to be your eye candy at the office. She isn't even that hot," he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Could you two shut up?" Donny grumbled. He was a bit older and usually just wanted to get to business, get the bare minimum done, and leave on time every day. I didn't enjoy him and he certainly didn't enjoy me.

"Alright, alright," Lucas breathed, starting the meeting. I shut my laptop and listened in as I leaned back to stare up at the ceiling. He was going over third quarter project plans with each team. He got to my work and I smiled, looking at him. "I am putting you on as lead developer for the System Migration Initiative that is occurring. We are expecting a high impact to a large volume of our automations," he started and I sighed, shaking my head. "What?!" he demanded and I glared at him.