The Assistant (11 page)

“No… you haven’t really, uh, um… forget it,” I mumbled, going redder in the face as I looked down at my black skirt.

I didn’t hear him get out of his seat, but suddenly, he was standing directly in front of me, his towering form looking down at me as he hooked his index finger around my chin and pulled my head up to meet his gaze.

“Tell me,” he demanded, staring into my eyes. My mind blanked temporarily as the intensity of his gaze distracted me from my thoughts.

“Uh…” I tried to recall the events that occurred a few minutes ago. “It’s just… Well, I feel as if you’ve been avoiding me for the past week,” I admitted. I broke away from his gaze.

“I have,” he responded flatly, making my eyes snap back to his face in surprise.
No one with a sane mind admits something like that so casually!
I thought to myself as my frown reappeared on my face.

“Why?” I found myself asking before my brain could respond to the moving muscles of my lips.

He shrugged, suddenly pulling away from me. “You annoyed me last Friday.”

My eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “
I
annoyed
you
?!” I exclaimed, “Who was the one who was constantly nagging me to stay at their place overnight, even after the countless times I clearly said no?!”

“That’s why you annoyed me. If you didn’t say no in the first place, I wouldn’t have ‘nagged’ you to come over.” He shrugged.

“What-” I shook my head and closed my eyes as I tried to calm down. “Now you’re making it out like it’s my fault that
you
didn’t talk to me.”

“It is your fault,” he simply stated.

I started to smile, thinking he admitted I was right, before his words fully registered in my brain. “You’re impossible!” I declared, huffing in defeat.

He chuckled and placed a peck on my forehead before I had time to pull away, and I glared at his smirk. “You know, a synonym for impossible is incredible. So you’re saying I’m incredible. Thank you, but I already know that.” He boasted, pulling me into his torso by wrapping his arms around my waist with an iron grip.

I rolled my eyes at his arrogance. “Whatever you say, Adrian,” I said, mocking. “You’re the boss.”

The charity fundraiser suddenly appeared in my mind, making a small frown replace my mocking expression. “Adrian… I don’t want to go home with a stranger tomorrow…” I trailed off, biting my bottom lip at the thought of David Walter’s sickly smug smile violating me with his eyes as he put money on me.

Adrian’s amused expression suddenly darkened, and his iron grip – if possible, became tighter around my waist. “I’ll take care of it,” he reassured me, mirroring my frown.

I studied his expression briefly before my mind decided it was safe to trust him, and my stiff body relaxed slightly in his hold, making his frown also disappear and his all too famous smirk return to his lips.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll get to go home with me.”

My relaxed expression instantly transformed into a glare as my head snapped up to meet his amused gaze.

“I’m kidding,” he said. “I can’t participate – I’m the one hosting the event.”

Surprisingly, a rush of disappoint flowed through my body as the words left his mouth, and I slumped slightly in his hold. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and I began to blush furiously.

“Unless… you want it to happen?”

“No!” I exclaimed too quickly, my cheeks heating up even further. “No… I just…” I trailed off, frowning as I quickly racked my brain for a valid excuse. The reality of the situation was I didn’t even know myself. “I just prefer to go with you than with anyone else,” I finally said, both to him and myself.

“I’ll take care of it, Emily,” he reassured me, looking down at me with an expression I hadn’t seen come across his handsome features before, “I promise.”

I nodded before smiling slightly at him. “I know you will. Thank you.” I wrapped my own arms around his waist as I pulled him into a hug. Adrian instantly pressed himself against me and rubbed my back comfortingly, making the small smile stay glued onto my lips from the comforting gesture.

“Mr. Kingston, I – oh! I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything!” Suzie squeaked, and I instantly flushed as I tried to pull away from Adrian – who kept me in his iron grip hug.

“You’re not interrupting, Mrs. Brown. What can I do for you?” Adrian asked, smirking down at me as he said the words. I looked over to Suzie in mortification and found her giving us an amused glance before clearing her throat.

“I received a call from your parents, confirming their appearance at the fundraiser. Where would like them to be seated?” she asked, smiling slightly as the blush continued to blaze my cheeks.

“Put them on my table. I also need you to add an extra chair in between Allen and me. Anything else?” he asked, finally tearing his gaze away from my mortified expression to look over at Suzie, who was scribbling down the new information in a small notepad she was holding.

“No that was all, Mr. Kingston.” She gave me one last amused glance before scurrying down the hall. As soon as she was out of earshot, my head snapped back towards Adrian’s smirking expression and I glared.

“Let go. Do you know what she was probably thinking when she saw us?!” I exclaimed, placing my hands on his muscled arms in an attempt to pull them away from my waist.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He chuckled at my failed attempt to move his arms, and I huffed and slumped in his hold in defeat, already tired from trying to pry his arms away.

“It is a bad thing!” I exclaimed, groaning as his smirk grew at my miserable state.

“Come on,” he said suddenly, ignoring my attempts to reason with him. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

I frowned, giving him a confused look. “You have a meeting in here in, like, 15 minutes,” I pointed out.

His grip around my waist began to loosen and disappointment took me by surprise once again as it flooded through my veins. I didn’t show it this time though, and it didn’t last long because he had left one arm around my waist and pulled me into his side as he shrugged and began walking out of the conference room.

“I was merely going to be here to decide the final outcome of the meeting. They can tell me the proposals they came up with later and I’ll tell them which one I want. I’m the boss, remember?” He smirked, slightly squeezing my size with his arm and I instantly began blushing again.

“It’s not my lunch break yet,” I argued, before I kept my eyes glued to the floor as we passed the marketing department – which I recently found out is where all of Adrian’s ‘special’ workers were located. The idea of the girls being in his office began to anger me, before my eyes went wide with realisation and I kept my face blank.
What the hell?

“Again, Shortcake. I’m the boss.” He reminded me, pressing the elevator button before looking down at me and smirking once again.

“Right, right. Sorry,
Boss.
” I teased him as the elevator door ‘dinged’ open, signaling for us to enter the spacious square area. He chuckled before pressing the ground floor button and the elevators began to slide shut. Just before they closed completely, I saw Anna and a few other women glaring daggers at me – as well as Adrian’s hand that was wrapped around my waist – and I frowned slightly before the doors completely sealed off any eye contact I could have with them.

“Try not to look as sexy as you did at the business dinner tomorrow night, okay? I don’t want anyone bidding on you.” Adrian said, glaring slightly at the silver doors in front of us.

I turned to face him and frowned. “Why are you so insistent on me doing my hair professionally and wearing expensive dresses then?” I asked.

“That’s just because I like to spoil you.” He shrugged, as we reached the ground floor. “That, and the fact that you get all dolled up because
I
told you to; not any other man.” He smiled rakishly and I rolled my eyes at the last part, blushing as we made our way over to a sleek, black Audi modelled sports car. Adrian pulled out a set of keys from his pant pocket.

My eyes widened at the beauty before my eyes before I looked over at Adrian with a desperate expression. “
Please
tell me that’s the car we’re taking, and
please
tell me you’re going to let me drive it.”

“You’re privileged I’m even letting you
inside
it. My best friend hasn’t even stepped foot in her. She’s my baby.” He patted the sleek black metal lovingly, before wiping the spot he touched with his suit sleeve, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m being serious. No one, apart from myself, has been in this car. It’s that special to me. Consider yourself
very
special.” He smirked, before getting in the car and opening the door from the inside – which opened upwards instead of outwards – making me fall in love with it even more.

“I think I’m in love,” I sighed as I slipped into the smooth, red leather seat and let the smell of the car engulf my senses. It smelled strongly of Adrian’s musky scent, and new leather.

“I knew it’d only be a matter of time before I got you to fall for me,” Adrian teased, making me shake my head at him in amused dismay.

“I was talking to the car,” I grinned, winking, and he raised an eyebrow before his own grin abruptly broke out, taking me by surprise. His pearly white teeth shone in a straight line, surrounded by his dark red lips. Deep dimples completed his million-dollar smile.

I realised then that I was staring, and turned away, going red in the cheeks again.

“Let’s go eat,” I mumbled, pressing the button down firmly for the door to seal off the outside world from the beauty of the car. I barely heard Adrian’s sigh as the car roared to life, and he sped down the road in an instant, leaving my embarrassed thoughts behind at the office as I squealed in excitement.

I loved my job.

Chapter Eight

“Honey, at the rate you’re shaking, I’m pretty sure I can classify that as a seizure.”

Rita grabbed hold of my hands as she sat me down in the same chair I was in the last time she worked on my hair.

“Calm down! It won’t be as bad as you’re thinking it will be. Plus, I’m only putting your hair in a simple side style, so you don’t attract a lot of attention!” I relaxed a little. Maybe she’s right, maybe I’m just overthinking things…

“Which will still happen,” she said, “– because you’re just beautiful, hairstyle or not.” She caught my expression transform from relief to pain, as if someone had put a dagger through my heart. “But that’s not the point,” she amended quickly.

“Em, come on!” Amy barked through the phone, “Stop stressing about this. Mr. Sexy Pants will take care of it!” I heard the ruffle of a bag of chips pierce through the speaker of my phone, punctuating her stern reminder. If there was one thing I was absolutely certain about in life – it was the fact that Amy ate like a pig on her period.

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m overreacting. I’m just really nervous. Thank you guys.” I let out a tight smile, glancing at Rita, who returned the gesture.

“That’s what we’re here for, bitch,” Amy declared, before I heard her crunching into the speaker.

I groaned as Rita let out a short laugh. “Ames, shut up. You sound like a horse munching on carrots.”

“HEY! THAT’S REALLY INSULTING! And I-” Amy’s voice got cut off by a beep, and both Rita and I glanced over to my iPhone to find Adrian’s name flashing on the screen.

“Ames, Adrian is calling,” I told her, grimacing as I waited for her reaction.

“I’m sorry, who?” she said, “I only know someone named Mr. Sexy Pants.” She burst out in laughter at her own joke. I rolled my eyes and pressed ‘Answer’ to Adrian’s call – abruptly ending Amy’s howls. I was about to take the phone off speaker and put it against my ear but Rita slapped my wrist away, glaring.

“No phones near the working area,” she scolded, spreading her fingers over my head and covering my ears to indicate the place that was forbidden.

“Sorry,” I mumbled sheepishly, before looking back over to the phone. “Mr. Kingston, is everything okay?” I asked nervously, biting my lip.

“How long do you need to be ready and over here? You’re driving Suzie mad. All the volunteers are here but yourself. You have an hour.” I noticed he was using his business tone – implying that he was either around important people, or he was pissed off at me for some reason. I mentally raked through yesterday’s lunch in my mind to look for any signs of me pissing him off, and came up with nothing – indicating that he was around other people.

“Yes sir,” I responded. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I apologise for the inconvenience.” I adopted his professional tone, and heard Rita mutter a swear word under her breath. She began to smoothen out a soft crème in my hair in a rush, and I winced slightly as she pulled a little tighter than usual. “Is there anything else?” I asked after recomposing myself.

“That’s all.” He ended the call.

“ONE HOUR?” Rita exclaimed. “THIS MAN GIVES YOU NO TIME TO PREPARE YOURSELF!” She began to straighten my semi-blow-dried hair, which I had done before she arrived to make her job easier.

“It’s okay!” I tried to calm her. “Luckily, I already have most of my makeup done and my dress is already on! Take your time.”

She looked over to my reflection in the mirror and I watched as her eyes scanned my attire briefly, before she sighed in relief.

“Okay. That’s good. You’re okay with the simple soft waves to the side, right?” she asked, giving me a curious look as she finished straightening the last few strands of my naturally wavy hair carefully.

“Yep!” I confirmed with a nod. “Anything that will make me look like a piece of cardboard next to the others.”

She instantly began working on pinning my hair to the side securely and working on the waves on the side. We chatted aimlessly like last time, and I also decided to send a text message to my mother before she could have a meltdown as to why I didn’t call her today. I assured her I wasn’t dead or lying in a pool of my own blood in an alley somewhere, and attached a smile at the end of the message for good measure.

It took about 20 minutes all up for Rita to curl the waves to perfection, and I found myself admiring the silky looking blonde locks once again while I thanked her countless times.

“You don’t have to thank me so much, it’s my job!” Rita exclaimed, laughing my gratitude off. I blushed and grinned, before helping her pack her products that were scattered all over the vanity in my room.

When we finished, she pulled me into a quick hug. “Okay, sweetie. Text me and tell me who you end up going home with! Have fun, no matter what happens, okay? You look stunning, as usual!” She waved her goodbyes as she rushed out of my apartment.

I closed the door behind her softly, and leaned against the cool wood for a moment, gathering up all my stray thoughts. A worst case scenario began forming in my head, and I bit my lip as a terrifying image appeared in my mind:
of possibly going home with David Walter and of him taking advantage of me
.

I shook the thought out of my head. Adrian will take care of it. He promised.

I kept repeating that to myself as I applied last-minute mascara and nude lipstick, and slipped on my nude
Louboutins
. I rushed out the door while slinging a small bag over my shoulder.

A black car was waiting outside my apartment building when I came down, and I recognised the driver from the previous business dinner I had attended with Adrian on my first week of work.

“Hello, Miss,” he said as he opened the door. I smiled and thanked him as I slid into the dark car. Once I was settled, he shut the door softly behind me. I heard him get into the front seat himself, and then the car rumbled to life.

“Mr. Kingston has called me three times now in regards to our whereabouts,” he told me. “I apologise in advanced for the pace we will be driving at, but Mr. Kingston insisted I get you to the venue in under half an hour.”

“It’s fine. I’m so sorry.” I grimaced, mentally picturing Adrian snapping at the poor driver because of me.

“Nonsense.” He laughed, before the car fell silent for the rest of the ride.

***

We arrived at the venue Suzie had arranged in 18 minutes, and I got out of the car with wobbly knees due to the speed the driver was going at the entire time. Adrian had called him during our trip, and I could hear his deep voice barking orders at the driver, all the way from the backseat.

“Thank you so much!” I gushed, smiling at the driver and giving him a small wave. He returned both gestures before driving off, leaving me to enter the back entrance of the venue alone.

I gulped as I made my way through a blue, metal door and instantly began coughing as copious amount of perfume assaulted my nostrils. I cringed as the girls around me continued to spray more of the heavy scents.

“EMILY! THANK GOD YOU’RE HERE!” Suzie gushed, suddenly turning up directly in front of my path. The girls in the room stopped chatting and all turned toward the door, where I was currently standing, rubbing my arm awkwardly as I tried to smile – but grimaced instead. “You look absolutely incredible, dear!”

“Sorry I’m late, Suzie. And thank you.” I smiled, before pulling her into a quick hug. “So… what do I have to do?” I asked, biting my lip curiously.

“Well, now that you’re here, we can get started. Everyone is already seated. It’s a big turn out!”

Suzie turned her attention away from me and addressed all the girls in the room. “Okay, everyone get in order, you all remember your numbers, yes?” Suzie looked around the room expectantly. Everyone nodded, including myself. The number 7 popped into my mind. “Good,” she said with approval as she ushered all of us into a line. When she got to me, she spoke in a hushed tone meant for my ears alone.

“Sorry Emily, you don’t have time for any last minute preparations. Not that you need it anyway.” With that terrifying thought, she left the room.

Seconds later, we heard her on the microphone, announcing the beginning of the event. That’s when I felt every set of eyes in the crowded dressing room on me. I looked up to find each woman glaring at me, and I widened my eyes in surprise.

“So, Emily,” A voice began, and I immediately recognised it as Anna’s. “What’s the deal between you and Adrian?” she asked, raising a perfectly penciled eyebrow at me.

“Uh…” I swallowed nervously as the girls broke formation and circled around me. “Mr. Kingston? There is no deal.” I looked at the faces around me in confusion. What on earth were they talking about? There was no deal between Adrian and me.

Anna rolled her eyes and scowled. “We know you’re sleeping with him. So what are you doing that’s making him pay more attention to you than us?” She took a step closer.

“What on earth – I haven’t slept with him, he’s my boss!” I exclaimed incredulously, frowning in annoyance.

“You-” Anna was cut off as Suzie called out her name, and she threw one more venomous glare in my direction before sauntering off in the short green dress she was wearing, swaying her hips in the process.

I stared at her retreating figure in disbelief before turning back and glaring at the rest of the group around me. I wasn’t going to go through this shit again. I already went through it in high school.

“Does anyone else want to falsely accuse me of sleeping around while we’re still in our little support group circle?” I asked sarcastically.

The girls gave me surprised looks, before glaring and going back to their proper places. I rolled my eyes at their sudden lack of participation in picking on me as I settled down on my spot.

Jessica, the next girl on the list, was announced. She vacated her spot and we all shuffled up one more seat, moving forward in line. Suzie listed Jessica’s ‘qualities’ before the bidding began, and I decided to tune out then, texting Amy to tell her what just happened. Slowly, the girls in front of me decreased in number, and I tuned back in as soon as I heard number six, a girl named Sally, being called up.

My breath hitched in my throat as I felt my heart beat against my chest rapidly, and I slowly put my phone back into my small bag, trying to distract myself from the feeling of my stomach exploding inside my body, just as the biddings on Sally began. What if Adrian didn’t ‘take care of it’ and I had to go home with a complete stranger? What if no one bid on me at all?

People gasped as Suzie banged the wooden gravel and called out, “SOLD! FOR $38,500! Sally has had the most generous contribution so far!” People clapped and the dreaded moment finally came. “I’d like to call up our 7
th
volunteer for the night, Ms. Emily Johnson!”

I knew it was coming yet I still froze at the mention of my name. I stayed glued to my position until I received a light push from someone behind me. “Go!” she hissed, bringing me back to reality.

I stumbled out from behind the curtain and instantly began blushing as I clumsily attempted to straighten myself. Once I was standing up straight, I looked up, and my eyes widened in shock. There had to be at least 300 people here!

“Emily is new to the staff list as Mr. Kingston’s new assistant,” said Suzie in a playful tone, “I’m sure some of you may have heard of her. This girl is not only beautiful, but smart, caring, funny and feisty.” I gave her a look of horror, receiving a small smile in return. “Shall we start the bid at $10,000?” she asked, glancing around the large venue.

My eyes scanned the room and instantly found Adrian. He was staring at me with the same expression he had on when I wore the black dress. When I looked around, I found that most of the men in the room also had the same look on their faces, adding to my grief.

Someone cleared their throat, breaking the silence and the trance the room was in.