I frowned at the message curiously for a moment before the meaning behind it registered in my brain and I rolled my eyes.
I’ll make sure to be extra early then.
Goodnight, Adrian.
I yawned and was about to put my phone down when it buzzed again, twice. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I clicked on the message icon to find a message from Amy telling me she was kidnapped on the way home but that her kidnapper miraculously let her text me. I was far less thrilled at the second message, which was another reply from Adrian:
You’re no fun. :(
I ignored Adrian’s text and decided to reply to Amy’s:
I take it you’ve arrived safely. Good.
I’ve got a devil of a Boss making me be at work
an hour earlier than usual tomorrow, so goodnight. Xx
I put my phone on the bedside table and turned in the opposite direction, letting sleep take over.
***
“Emily, what are you doing here so early? What time did you arrive?” Suzie’s soothing voice came from the entrance to my office – making me lift my head up and blink at her in a daze.
“7:00AM. Mr. Kingston told me there was an important meeting on today and said I had to be here by 7:30AM,” I explained, making Suzie frown as I yawned. “Why, what time is it?” I asked curiously.
“It’s 8:20AM, dear. There is a meeting on today but it doesn’t start until 10…” She trailed off, a puzzled expression crossing her features.
My eyes widened as my frown deepened. “But-”
“When did he tell you that?” she asked, cutting off my sentence unintentionally.
“Last night! Just before I went to bed!” I exclaimed, before jumping out of my seat and shoving my things into my handbag. “Shoot! I have to go and get his coffee!” Allen and Lisa’s faces appeared in my mind as I dashed out of my office all the way to Starbucks in my black pumps.
By the time I arrived at the small coffee shop, I was out of breath. “Allen! Lisa!” I called out, anxiously waiting for a reply.
“Hey Emily, what’s up?” Allen smiled as he casually strolled out from behind a wall, wiping his hands on a blue and white checked cloth.
“I need Adrian’s usual, quick!” I stressed, pressing a $10 bill onto the cool glass surface near the cash register.
Allen chuckled. “Did someone sleep in this morning?” he teased, grabbing a large cup from the stack near the coffee machines.
“No.” I groaned. “I did the opposite. Your
jerk
of a best friend told me to be in the office early this morning for a meeting – which I recently discovered doesn’t start until 10 – or he’d ‘punish’ me.” I groaned again as I looked at the time. 8:35AM.
Allen chuckled. I watched his shoulders shake from laughter while he poured milk into the cup. “Day 3, and it sounds like you’re already giving up.” Allen smirked, mixing Adrian’s order thoroughly.
I was about to reply to his statement but was cut off by a startling shriek.
“SURPRISE!!!” Lisa called out all of a sudden, jumping out from behind the wall holding a cup of coffee. “I made you your latté! I know, I’m an amazing life saver, you can thank me later. You’re going to be late if you don’t get a move on soon!” Lisa scolded with a smile as she handed over the heavenly smelling drink.
I was about to thank her but she stopped my intentions, once again by glancing at her phone screen and gasping. “And so will I if I don’t leave soon! Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own, Allen?” She had turned to her brother, who was pressing the lid down tightly onto the coffee cup.
Allen rolled his eyes as he handed Adrian’s order over to me. “Yes, Lisa! I told you that a thousand times last night. Hurry up, or you’ll miss your train.” He pushed her in the direction of the exit, and she grinned and waved before thanking him and disappearing out of sight.
“You should really leave as well,” Allen said, an amused expression crossing his handsome features once again. “The note you gave me covers both of your orders. It’s 8:42AM. You have around 10 minutes to arrive and put his coffee on his desk.”
I gave him a pained look. “Thank you
so
much. I’ll see you tomorrow!” I called out before I left and dashed through the hustle in the streets of New York.
I was in Adrian’s office by 8:57AM, placing his order in its proper spot, just where he liked it to be in. I sighed in exhaustion. I was going to kill him when he arrived.
I stared at the cup with the infamous label curiously. I didn’t actually know what the contents within the cup were, and never bothered asking anyone either. I felt my body slightly lean in so that my nose was in line with the hole in the cup’s lid, and I closed one eye to peer into the contents.
I could see a whole lot of foam and I could slightly make out melted chocolate on the surface of the drink. Before my investigation could continue, someone cleared their throat, and my head snapped up in their direction. Adrian stood at the entrance smirking, holding a few files to his chest with his left arm. “What,” He began, his smirk growing, “are you doing, exactly?” He asked this in amusement, not anger, and I felt my cheeks flame in embarrassment.
“I- uh, I was just – no, hold on a minute, you!” I glared, pointing an accusing finger in his direction as he closed the door silently behind him, the smirk never slipping off his plump lips.
“You’re doing me?” he questioned, his eyebrows rising. “Let’s get started then.”
I blushed furiously as his smirk grew. “You said to be here at 7:30AM! You said we have an important meeting! I-”
“We do have an important meeting,” he interrupted, walking over to where I was standing and placing the files in his hands on the desk.
“What was the point of making me come into the office so early?” I pressed him. “The only meeting I had was when I met all the cleaners this morning!”
Adrian chuckled as he came face to face with me. He bent his tall frame downwards so he could be at level with mine. “I like seeing you worked up. You bring out the feisty side of yourself and leave the innocent assistant behind temporarily.” A satisfied smirk reappeared on his lips as my eyes widened and my cheeks began turning pink again.
“T-that has nothing to do with you making me come in so e-early,” I stuttered, suddenly conscious of just how close Adrian was by inhaling the scent of his cologne.
“It made you angry, didn’t it? That was my goal. Payback for not playing along last night.” He was referring to the text messages, and I felt the temperature of my cheeks soar up higher as the mental images resurfaced in my mind.
He pulled me in to his torso before leaning down again so that his lips were levelled with my ear. “From my experience, that usually means three things. You’re either a lesbian,” He kissed my jaw line and moved down to my neck and I shuddered, making him move back up to my ear, “Which can’t be true because you react to my touch. You’re either taken by someone,” he moved his hand to the small of my back and pressed my body even closer to his.
“But I’ve asked around, and they’ve all confirmed that you’re 100% single. Which brings me to my last conclusion.” He met my eyes and smirked, “You were wearing either nothing or very limited clothing, and didn’t want to share that with me because you’re too decent to do so. But don’t worry,” His hand slipped down and gripped my backside and I gasped, my eyes growing wide and my body flushing in heat.
His smirk grew. “Judging by your reaction, I’d say it’s the latter.” He held on to me for a few more moments before his grip around my waist slowly loosened, and he strolled over and took his seat behind the desk, leaving me flushed and flustered by his actions and his discovery.
He sipped his drink and began working normally, like I wasn’t in the room and our bodies weren’t melded together a few moments ago. I breathed in deeply. The air was mixed in with Adrian’s scent. I tried to pull myself together. I grabbed my coffee cup from his desk and cleared my throat.
“Would you like anything before I go, sir?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
“Be ready by 9:30,” he murmured, more focused on the papers in front of him.
I nodded, even though he didn’t see my gesture, and wrapped my fingers around the cool metal of the door handle before being interrupted.
“It’s a latté with extra foam, chocolate topping and 1 sugar.” I turned around in confusion, thinking he was talking on the phone to someone but realised what he was referring to as he lifted the cup of coffee up to his lips, bringing back how the he found me when he walked in.
I smiled slightly, still embarrassed from our previous encounter, before leaving his office.
C
hapter Three
Saturday came rolling by way too quickly for my comfort, and I found myself growing nervous and fidgety throughout the day at work. If Adrian noticed my jumpiness at all, he didn’t make any comments on it.
“Have you got the list of all the names with you?” he asked as I was leaving the office, referring to pieces of paper that had the names of global business owners printed on it. I nodded and held up the documents.
“And I have your favourite pen with me in case you lose it,” I added, “Don’t forget to pick up your shoes from the man down the road from here. He’s probably done polishing them by now. You’re wearing the black pair. Have you decided who your plus-one is going to be yet?” I got my small notebook out to write down the lucky? girl's name.
“Yes. I’m taking a girl named Adrianna Coleman. If any press ask you about her, say she’s just a friend and that I don’t like my association with other females published – to respect their privacy, of course.” He smirked. “She’s amazing in bed.”
I raised an eyebrow and rolled my eyes at his last comment before putting the notebook and my pen back into my bag. “Is there anything else you’d like before I go?” I asked curiously as I briefly glanced at the screen of my phone to check the time.
“I’ve given Rita your address so she can work on your hair as soon as you get to your apartment. Just… relax, okay? You shouldn’t receive much attention at the event, but if you do, I’ll make sure to steer the conversation in a different direction.” As he assured me, he rubbed my back in a soothing motion.
I blushed at the gesture and at the fact that he knew why my behaviour was the way it has been throughout the day. I cleared my throat. “Thank you.” I murmured. “I’ll see you soon.” I gave him a small smile, before heading home.
***
“Are you Emily?” A blonde piped up, peering down at me as I ascended the stairs that led to the door of my apartment.
I smiled as I reached the last step. “Yes, you must be…Rita? Hello, thank you so much for coming. I’m sorry if I’m taking from your personal time.” I frowned, remembering that it was past 6PM.
“Nonsense!” she said, waving off my apology. “I love what I do, and I’m especially going to love working on your hair! It’s really healthy for blonde! What do you do to it?” She waited for my reply a she watched me unlock my apartment door.
I laughed, blushing slightly. “Uh… Shampoo and conditioner?” I replied uncertainly, my blush deepening.
She laughed and pinched my cheeks. “You’re too cute! Well then, I’m going to love having your hair to work with! Let’s get started. Adrian told me you needed to be at the office by 7:45 PM,” she squinted at her watch, “and it’s almost 6:30!”
I let out a squeak of surprise. “Already? Um, would you like anything to drink? I just want to have a quick shower before we start. Or not,” I bit my lip. “That is, if you can’t do my hair when it’s wet?”
Rita raised an eyebrow at me and put a hand on her hip. “Honey; I’m the best of the best. If you were bald, I’d still make your head work. I’ll just have a cold glass of water. Do you mind if I set my things up in your room?”
“Of course not! Be my guest.” I grinned at her, before going into the kitchen and pouring her a glass of water and dropping a few ice cubes in. Then I followed Rita to my room, where she had already begun putting her products onto my vanity. I placed the water in front of her, before blindly grabbing a pair of underwear and going into the bathroom for my shower.
As soon as I returned to the room, Rita ushered me over to the chair in front of the vanity. “Okay, sit down, we need to get started right away,” she said, forcing me to sit by pressing my body down by my shoulders. I barely got to settle in or say a word before I felt a copious amounts of some sort of crème being lathered onto my slightly damp hair. The loud whoosh of the blow dryer muted any conversation that could have arisen.
Once she turned it off, she leaned over and grabbed a blue bottle before I felt more cool liquid being applied to my hair. “I’m going to try and finish by 7PM,” Rita said as she lowered the blue bottle and picked up a curling wand. “Is that enough for you to do your makeup and travel time to get back to the office?”
“Yes, thank you.” I smiled, growing fond of her. We chatted effortlessly about random things. How she met Adrian, her two children and husband at home, the first and only boyfriend I had during college, and funny things that have happened to us. The time had flown due to the easy conversation but Rita managed to keep her promise, finishing my hair just 3 minutes after 7PM.
“Okay,
now
you can look.” She laughed, handing me a mirror as she referred back to my whining stage of not being able to see my hair in the conversation.
I looked at the hair in the reflection and my eyes widened. “Wow, you really are the best,” I murmured, my hand unconsciously going to touch the style.
Rita slapped my hand away before snatching the mirror from me and spraying a curl once more with hairspray. “Don’t touch your hair unless it’s an accident, okay?! Now, I really have to rush off. Send me a picture of the final product! Actually, I’ll just get it off the internet.” She winked as she gathered her things and shoved them into her bag.
“Thank you so much, Rita. Honestly, my hair looks amazing because of you – and I’ll make sure to let everyone know that if they ask.” I winked too, laughing along with her.
“You’re going to look gorgeous, hairstyle or not. See you babe!” She pulled me in for a quick hug before exiting my apartment in a rush, and I closed the door behind her softly.
I walked back to my room and decided to work on my makeup first, in case anything went wrong and I would have to fix it. I applied liquid eyeliner, 3 different types of mascara that almost made my eyelashes touch my brow bone, eye shadow, bronzer and blush. Then, remembering Amy’s stern advice with a sigh, I rifled through my bag and found the tube of bright red lipstick and applied it onto my lips, instantly making their plump form stand out from the usual light shades. By the time I was done with my makeup, it was 7:20PM, and I rushed to get my dress from the closet on the other side of the room.
I slipped it on hurriedly, then my high heels. After that I grabbed my bag and shoved in the tube of red lipstick, my phone, house keys, a band aid and antiseptic wipes, along with Adrian’s favourite pen and the list of names given to me earlier that day. Finally I was rushing out the door. I was going to be late.
I arrived at Kingston Corp at exactly 7:43PM and stepped out of the elevator, frantic. I hadn’t even seen my final reflection yet, due to the rush of getting here. I immediately headed for Adrian’s office and opened the door.
“It’s 7:45, we have to go,” I announced, as my eyes landed on his back in the corner of the room near a water filter that I hadn’t noticed before.
He turned around as he took another sip of water and spit the mouthful all over the floor as soon as his eyes landed on me. “What are you wearing?” He choked, putting the cup down with more force than needed, his eyes never leaving my body.
My eyes widened in shock. Wasn’t it good enough for the dinner? Was it too plain? Too short? “I- I- I’m so sorry!” I blurted. “My friend picked it out. It’s too tight, isn’t it? I- I’m so sorry. I can just wear the spare clothes that I’ve left here. They’re black and white. And I can rub off the lipstick and I’ll-”
“Shut up, will you?” he demanded, walking over to where I nervously stood. My mouth abruptly sealed itself, too nervous to argue about his rude language. “Why don’t you wear stuff like this to work every day?” he murmured, the green in his eyes dominating the honey brown as he snaked an arm around my waist and took in the dress on my body again.
“W- We really should get going…” I trailed off, suddenly self-conscious under his intense gaze. A blush made its way to my cheeks as he leaned in closer so that I could feel his solid torso through his suit. I mentally cursed. I shouldn’t be paying attention to those things. He was my boss, and a womanizer.
I was about to put my hand on his chest to push him away but he sighed and pulled away himself.
“Let’s go,” he muttered, avoiding my gaze. “Adrianna will meet us there.”
We stayed silent as we made our way to the black limousine waiting in front of the office.
I stopped short and gasped, “Shoot. I forgot my coat.” In my worry, I was barely conscious of just how close Adrian was standing next to me.
“Are you cold?” he asked has he opened the door of the car.
“Thank you. No, no. I would’ve just preferred to wear it over this dress after…” I didn’t finish my sentence, but by how he filled in what I could not say and how he reacted, the implication was clear, and it hurt more than I thought it would.
“I prefer that as well. We can drive to your apartment to pick it up before we go.”
He picked up his phone to dial the driver’s number.
I frowned angrily. “I know you don’t like the dress, but do you have to be such an asshole about it? If you want to cover me up from the paps and hide the fact that you didn’t get a size 2 model as your assistant, then you shouldn’t have hired me in the first place.” I tugged at the dress to cover more of my legs but as I pulled down, the cloth slipped slightly from my chest area, revealing more cleavage than intended. I pulled it back up. Unfortunately, the man beside me missed nothing. I could only glare and blush at his amused expression.
He covered it quickly with a glare of his own. “No. I was offering so that you wouldn’t have so many bloodthirsty men looking at your body tonight and making comments and suggestions. But clearly, you don’t care about that; so we’ll just leave you how you are.” He slipped his phone back into the pocket of his pants.
I felt my jaw drop. “So it’s okay for you to make the ‘comments’ and ‘suggestions’ but when someone else does it, it’s not okay? You’re such a hypocrite!” I exclaimed angrily.
“I’m allowed to make those comments because I’m Adrian Kingston,” he retorted, making my blood boil.
“Are you kidding me right now? Do you honestly believe that you can get away with whatever you want just because you’re ‘Adrian Kingston?’ You know what, I’m glad Amy picked out this dress. Maybe it’ll ruin your
flawless
reputation.” I snarled at him as the glare I thought had slipped off came crawling back onto my face.
His head whipped back to meet my eyes, and I found his expression mirroring mine. “I don’t give a fuck about what they think of me. I wanted you covered because you’re
mine.
Now be quiet for the rest of the trip, and memorise the names so you’re prepared to give me any information I need on them when I ask you to. Remember that this is your job, Ms. Johnson, and I am your boss.”
Adrian gave me a stern look and turned away before I could comment, ending the conversation.
***
We arrived at the hotel about half an hour later, and I froze in my position as the rapid flash of bright lights surrounded the car the moment it stopped. My eyes widened as the flashing came closer to the vehicle, and I felt my breathing hitch in my throat.
“Hey. It’ll be alright, they’re only outside, so we’ll walk as quickly as we can so I can get you inside, okay?”
I looked over to where Adrian was sitting and found him looking at me worriedly. I nodded, answering his question before taking in a deep breath. “We should go. We’re already late.” I reached out to open the door on my side.
“No, don’t.” Adrian spoke up, as I felt his hand pull mine away from the door handle. I looked at him in confusion.
“How am I supposed to get out?” I laughed, attempting to cover my nerves.
“Come out after me from my side,” he said, before I let out a small squeak as he pulled me over to him by wrapping an arm around my waist. He smirked down at me before releasing my body from his hold and opening the door. Shouts of his name instantly erupted from the photographers around the car, and I used the attention on him as a hopeful distraction as I got out of car.