The Assistant (16 page)
“What do I have to do for…
that
to stop appearing?” I asked frantically, making my way back to my desk to get away from him.
“You can’t do anything, Shortcake. You’re just too sexy.” He stated simply, smirking in my direction as I took my seat in my chair. I rolled my eyes at his smirk before trying to get myself back on track on my desk. Moving me into the same room with Adrian was one of the worst ideas that have ever come across mankind. At this rate, no work was ever going to get done.
“We’ll fly over to California Friday afternoon after work and spend the weekend at a beach house we own. So have your bag packed and here at the office by then so we can leave from here. For now, I need you to email our head office in Tokyo and ask them about the new indoor pool that was being built in one of the hotels there. I want to know the progress and if the customers think it’s a good idea. I need to take a cold shower since
someone
won’t help me get rid of this – even though they’re the cause of it.” He threw a mocking glare in my direction and smirked once I began blushing.
“Shut up,” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze as I turned on the computer screen in front of me to try and erase what just happened between us both a few minutes ago. “Wait, California?” I asked, his words finally registering in my mind. “Adrian, do you know how bad this is going to look!” I threw a worried glance in his direction.
He stopped what he was going and glared at me. “Why do you care about appearances so much?” he asked, scowling. “Is there someone you’re trying to impress or a man that doesn’t let you go anywhere with me?”
“What? No! I was just-”
“Then we’re going,” he cut me off, before disappearing into the same matte glass door that he disappeared into two weeks ago when we stayed back to organise his planner. I stared at the glass door in shock, before I heard a shower turn on behind it.
What the hell? Who keeps a shower in their office?
I thought to myself as I stared at the door curiously. I wonder what else was behind that thing…
My curiosity faded as I sighed and looked back at the computer screen in front of me, clicking on the email icon. I was going to California for the weekend with my boss – who I was slightly attracted to. Who also almost kissed me, twice now.
This was going to be one hell of a good story to tell Amy tonight.
Chapter Eleven
Amy had my suitcase packed the minute the words ‘I’m going to California for the weekend with Adrian’ left my mouth.
Somehow, in that short span of time, my multi-tasking best friend had also managed to get the news to both Molly and Claire, and issue a very convincing warning that I not even dare to go
near
the suitcase during the week. I was under no circumstances allowed to shuffle through the contents to see what exactly was stored in the navy coloured bag.
I thought of my friend now, as I watched my working day tick closer to an end from the clock in Adrian’s – our – office. I sighed as I stared at the bag that contained my essentials for the coming weekend trip, and frowned as images of what Amy may have packed appeared in my mind. What if she packed sweatshirts and sweatpants instead of normal clothing? Or what if she forgot to pack pajamas or underwear?
“Shortcake.” Adrian’s deep, British accent sounded, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?” I asked, turning around toward the direction of his desk – only to find him standing next to me, looking down at me with a smirk. “It’s time to go,” he stated. I saw a flash of excitement pass through his hazel eyes.
“Right,” I mumbled, not as excited as he – or Amy – were about this trip. Amy had made a $100 bet with Molly about the fact that I wouldn’t sleep with Adrian this weekend. Instead, she predicted that we would kiss. Molly agreed to this, but still believed that the kiss would lead to Adrian taking me into bed. I shook my head at both of their predictions and denied them both.
Not that the thought of kissing Adrian hasn’t been on my mind lately – but they didn’t need to know that.
“What time is the flight?” I asked as I got out of my seat and slung my bag over my shoulder. Adrian picked up my suitcase and began to drag it behind him, making me frown.
“I can do that,” I told him, trying to pry his firm grip away from the handle.
“It’s in an hour,” he told me, ignoring my failed attempt at trying to drag my own suitcase. “We need to get there as soon as we can. Do you have everything with you?” He cast a sideways glance in my direction as he pressed the button for the elevator. I looked over at him and nodded before glancing around uneasily. People were staring – both with curiosity and menace.
“Ignore them,” Adrian murmured into my ear, suddenly closer to me than he was before. I looked up and met his hazel eyes before swallowing visibly and nodding, stepping into the elevator after him.
“We’re flying first class,” Adrian said once we reached the car downstairs. I looked over to find him waggling his eyebrows at me, making me laugh.
“I still can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I muttered, glaring at him playfully.
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist before handing my suitcase over to the driver to put in the back of the car. “Think of it as a business trip where you get to live with me for the weekend and I get to see you in a sexy bikini. You did pack a bikini, right?” Adrian asked, looking at me with alarm.
I threw another glare in his direction before shrugging. “I don’t know,” I said truthfully.
Adrian gave me a funny look. “What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked, frowning in confusion.
The car began to move as I gave him an uneasy smile. “I didn’t pack my bag. My… friend did. So I’m warning you in advance that if you see me in anything weird, it’s not my doing!” I began to blush at the mental image of myself, walking around in a tracksuit in melting temperatures.
“Well I hope your friend packed some sexy lingerie,” he said, avoiding my swat to his head with a quick dodge and a chuckle. I rolled my eyes but could not help but smile, secretly excited to go to California for the first time.
***
“Mr. Kingston, welcome back. It’s been a while.” The greeting, by a female voice, made me snap my slack jaw shut. Seeing the size and appearance of the beach house Adrian owned had left me open-mouthed and speechless.
“Brooke. Thank you. You’ve fixed everything for our arrival, I presume?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge her. She nodded and handed over the keys, her fingers brushing against the palm of his hand longer than necessary. I glared at the offensive limb, silently hoping it would fall off until I caught myself. I averted my gaze and mentally scolded myself for having these awful thoughts.
“Good. Now leave.”
Adrian had said it flatly and matched it with a glare. Her flirtatious act was replaced with a look of surprise, and she went scurrying down the white wooden steps away from us in the blink of an eye.
Adrian turned over to me with a smirk. “This is how it’s going to feel when we’re married and are opening the door to our newly built mansion,” he commented, making my eyes widen at his presumptuousness. “Or,” he continued obliviously, his smirk growing, “When we open the door to our hotel room where I’ll have my way with you over, and over, and over again.” His eyes instantly darkened as he looked down at me with a lustful expression, and I began blushing furiously.
“A- Adrian,” I stuttered even though what I actually attempted to do was scowl at him.
“I’m kidding,” he chucked as he got the door to open. Once he let us in, he said abruptly, “We’re sleeping in the same room.”
He carried both our suitcases and dumped them on the floor of the house. I sighed, not bothering to argue with him on his weird fetish to sleep in the same bed as me. Anyway I had other things on my mind - like the eye-popping house I had just entered.
The place was
huge!
Much bigger than what the outside of the house suggested. White furniture was scattered all over the light brown polished wooden floor, with an island bench being the only thing separating the living room from the kitchen. Beyond the living room, a back porch with steep stairs was connected to the house, leading straight to the beach.
“Do you like it?” Adrian asked, smiling. My wide eyes turned to face him, my lips still parted in shock, and he chuckled at my expression. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he observed with a smug smirk, making me snap out of my daze.
“This place is amazing!” I breathed, looking up at him in excitement.
“I know.” He grinned, making me smile. “Come on, let’s go to our room.” He picked up both our suitcases and dragged them behind him, with me following in tow. I still disapproved of the fact that he was taking responsibility for moving my suitcase around, but couldn’t argue with him about it due to a deal we made on the plane that consists of stripping in front of him if I ever spoke about it. I’m still not sure how he managed to get me to agree to that.
Somehow, Adrian had hauled both our suitcases up the white stairs at the same time; and I began feeling guiltier by the second. I bit down on my lip to refrain from saying anything, and continued following him through a large white door.
“This,” he began, putting down our bags with a smirk, “is
our
room.”
“No way,” I breathed, looking around the spacious area in awe. The wall facing the beach was mostly occupied with glass, where a balcony was located behind the doors. A bed that was almost the size of Adrian’s back home was located near the glass wall, giving a clear view of the beach. A large flat screen was also put on the wall opposite of the bed, and there was a door that was slightly opened, revealing a small bathroom connected to the bedroom.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, looking around the room once again.
“Are you still against this trip? Or sleeping in the same bed as me?” Adrian asked from beside me, smirking once I turned to meet his eyes. I stared at him blankly for a second, still registering the fact that this was where I was going to be sleeping for the next three nights, before I jumped into Adrian’s arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.
I’ll give to him – his reaction time was pretty quick. He instantly wrapped his arms around my waist and held me up and my legs wrapped around his waist as I hugged him.
“Thank you so much,” I murmured near his ear, before pulling away to see his expression. “This place is incredible.”
He blinked back at my expression before a smile broke through his plump lips. “You’re welcome,” he replied as his hold around my waist tightened, pulling me into his body more. I began blushing once the realisation of my actions set in fully – and Adrian smirked at my embarrassment. “I quite like this position, Shortcake.” His eyes travelled down to my chest area, in level with his chin due to the way he held me.
I rolled my eyes before trying to get out of his grip, and he shook his head at my attempt before I felt myself being thrown onto the large, cushiony bed. I let out a startled yelp as Adrian climbed over me, locking my body in between his legs.
“Let’s get the honeymoon started, shall we honey?” he asked in a sweet voice, smirking down at my stunned expression.
I placed my palms on his shoulders and tried to push him away with all my strength – failing miserably. He chuckled at my weak attempt at moving him before he climbed off the bed, going back to his suitcase.
“It’s late,” he said. “Let’s shower and get some rest. Do you want to shower in this bathroom or the main one down the hall?”
I climbed off the bed and straightened my skirt before answering. “I’ll use the one down the hall,” I said, making my way over to the bedroom door to leave.
“Okay,” Adrian grinned, following me.
I stopped to turn to him and glare. “
Alone,
” I added firmly, pushing him back into the bedroom. He chuckled before pouting at my glare, and I continued my descent down the hall to find the main bathroom.
Once I felt squeaky clean and no longer smelly from the plane, I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body tightly, before groaning to myself.
“Not again,” I mumbled, realising I hadn’t brought any clothing with me. I stepped out of the bathroom and made my way to our bedroom as quietly as I could, before stopping to see if the shower was still running.
I let out a sigh of relief once I heard the water still gushing down, and quickly prodded over to my suitcase and zipping it open. My eyes widened in shock and I felt my whole body flush in embarrassment as my eyes scanned the lace undergarments Amy had packed for me. I scowled at the flimsy material and quickly went through the rest of the suitcase, desperate to find more appropriate things. My scowl deepened as I reached the bottom.
The contents of my suitcase were as follows:
-
only
see-through lace bras and underwear -
two insubstantial looking bikini pieces -
a sundress -
a pair of mini shorts -
and a tank top with ‘I ♥ NY’ printed on it
I looked around in panic.
What the hell was I supposed to wear to bed?
I knew the answer Amy wanted to hear as soon as my eyes landed on the black lace nightdress that was
way
too short and
way
too see-through. The neckline looked like it dipped way below my chest area, and I groaned before scrunching the gauzy material and shoving it into the corner of my bag.