The Assistant (28 page)

“Answer my question.” My voice was supposed to come out firm, but I ended up sounding like I was answering my parents after being scolded for doing something wrong.

Adrian sighed before taking another step towards me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Shortcake,” he began, looking straight into my eyes with a serious expression. “It would give me great honour…” He trailed off.

“Yes?” I murmured, waiting for him to continue.

“If you would…” he continued.

“Mhm?” I urged, looking into his hazel irises.

“Shut up and be my girlfriend.” He smirked, snapping me out of my daze. “Please?” He pouted, before grinning cheekily.

“Asshole.” I scowled, glaring up at his grinning countenance.

“Hey, I asked you!” Adrian said defensively. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“You told me to shut up and be your girlfriend!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “In what way is that asking me?”

“I said please!” he replied, as if the answer was obvious.

I gave him another look of disbelief, and he broke out into an amused smirk; breaking my expression.

“You’re an idiot,” I mumbled, grinning slightly as I shook my head.

“Can you kiss this idiot?” Adrian asked with a hopeful expression.

“No,” I responded flatly, trying to fight he blush that was slowly making its way to my cheeks.

“Fine.” He sighed, pulling me in closer. “I guess I’ll have to do all the idiot kissing tonight,” Adrian announced, before I felt his lips on mine for the second time that evening.

My fingers automatically tangled themselves in his hair before I realised I was kissing Adrian, and pulled away instantly. “D- Don’t do that,” I stuttered weakly, blushing.

Adrian smirked before stealing another peck on my lips. “Why not, girlfriend?” He grinned.

I shook my head at his beaming expression before his previous words registered in my mind. “You just insulted me!” I exclaimed, frowning.

“By calling you girlfriend?” Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s an insult as well now that I think about it…” I trailed off, before grinning at his skeptical look. “But no, you called me an idiot before kissing me!”

“You wouldn’t kiss me! So I had to think of a smooth comeback.” Adrian shrugged.

“By calling me an idiot?” I responded slyly. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Real smooth, idiot.”

“I’m
your
idiot now,” Adrian grinned, stealing another quick kiss on the lips.

“Adrian!” I protested.

“You may as well get used to it, Shortcake. Now that you’re officially mine, I’m going to be kissing you a lot,” Adrian pointed out with a smirk, placing another kiss on my nose.

“Yay for me,” I cheered sarcastically, trying to fight another grin.

“We should just ditch this stupid thing and go home. We’ll watch a movie and order some pizza or something,” Adrian suggested with a determined expression.

“No, Adrian! We’re here for a good cause. Go and sit back down. I’m going to use the restrooms.”

Adrian groaned. “Come on! It’s so boring.”

“It’s
your
event!” I laughed. “Go make it fun.”

Adrian pulled me into his torso again, catching me off guard and making me squeak in surprise. “I can think of a couple of ways to make it fun. It involves me taking off that beautiful, beautiful dress of yours.” He smirked, before his gaze trailed down to the blood red garment.

My face began to turn the same colour as the dress before I pushed him away. “Go away you idiot,” I mumbled.

He chuckled before placing a lingering kiss on my forehead. “Okay, okay. Don’t be too long, and when you get back, I want you to talk to
me.
Not Allen,” he demanded sternly, with a glare.

I shook my head. “Okay! Let a woman use the restroom in peace!”

He grinned before turning to walk back to our tables, just as I slipped out of the reception room in search for the restrooms.

I walked out of the large space absent minded while fixing the front of my dress before I ran into something warm. I instantly dropped the heavy material and looked up at the person. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you – Oh, M- Mr. Walter. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight,” I stuttered as fear began to overcome me.

David Walter smiled slowly, revealing each bleached tooth in the process. “Emily Johnson. It’s been a while.”

I nodded slowly, forcing out a smile. “Yes… It has. I’m so sorry, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this short. Adrian is waiting-”

“Ah yes, Adrian. Your new ‘boyfriend’. How is that going, by the way? He hasn’t cheated on you yet?” David asked, lifting a bushy eyebrow in question.

I glared slightly. “No, he has not. If you’ll excuse me-”

“Come on Emily,” David spoke up, grabbing a hold of my upper arm firmly. “Surely you don’t trust a man like Adrian Kingston enough to be in a relationship with him. Tell me, is he paying you extra money? Are you sleeping with him?” he asked, pulling me closer towards him.

My frowned deepened as I tried to wrestle my arm out of his strong grip. “Let go of me.”

“Is he threatening you with something?” David continued, ignoring my request.

“Mr. Walter, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Adrian and I are a happy couple together; there is no blackmailing or extra background money in this relationship. Please let go of my arm,” I said through clenched teeth, glaring at his smug smirk.

“I’m glad to hear that. We should catch up, Emily. Just you and me. How about we go and get some dinner together?” David asked, pulling me into him even more than before.

“David, let go of me,” I ordered again, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

“Come on, Emily, why are you so against being with me? I don’t bite… too hard.” David chuckled, almost making me gag in response.

I tried to wrench myself out of his grip again when I heard Adrian’s voice. “Shortcake? I don’t even think a number 2 takes
that long.
Are you - Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend, you prick!” Adrian’s voice boomed through the quiet lobby area of the reception, making the few straddlers that were scattered throughout the area look over to us in shock.

“Ah, Mr. Kingston,” David leered at him, slowly unclasping his hand from my arm. “How nice of you to join us. I was just congratulating Emily on your newly publicized relationship. I’m so happy for you, really. The notorious playboy has finally decided to settle down. And with his assistant, no less!”

Adrian pulled me into his torso protectively as soon as David Walter’s grip was off my arm completely, and I watched as Adrian’s towering figure looked down at David. “Why are you here,” he growled menacingly.

“I told you, I just wanted to offer my congratulations to the beautiful lady.” David smiled, before his gaze travelled back to my face. “I was just in the middle of asking her to dinner when you came out, so I didn’t really get to hear her answer. What do you say, Emily?”

“There’s no way in hell she’s going with you. You weren’t invited to this dinner for a reason, Walter. So get the fuck out.” Adrian made the harsh demand with an intimidating step forward. “And if I ever see you come near her again, you’re going to wish you listened to my warning the first time I told you she’s not interested in talking to you.”

“My, my. If looks could kill… You two are a match made in heaven. We have the beauty, which kills men with her physical beauty, and the beast; who snaps his fingers and suddenly everyone around him is at his beck and call. Don’t worry, Emily, we’ll be seeing more of each other in the near future. You know, when your lion over here doesn’t have his claws out and isn’t around you. Until then.” He smiled, before turning away slowly and whistling a casual tune.

Adrian watched him go with a fierce glare the entire time, before his gaze travelled down to me. “Are you okay?” he asked, inspecting every inch of my face for any sign of injury.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” I assured him. “Just a little shaken up. That guy is weird.” I moved the arm David was gripping onto earlier and winced.

Adrian noticed the small gesture, and instantly began inspecting my arm. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, clenching his jaw as he observed the red finger marks that were beginning to turn purple on my arm. “That son of a bitch,” he said again, glaring at the main doors of the lobby, where David Walter had exited moments ago.

“It’s nothing, Adrian,” I assured him with a small smile. “Let’s just go back inside and enjoy the rest of the night. We can deal with this later.”

“No,” Adrian growled, taking a step in the direction David took. “I’m going after that fucking prick now.”

“No! Adrian!” I tried, before my mind thought of a distraction I knew would work. “Hold on,” I called out to him. Adrian turned back with an impatient glare as I caught up to his tall figure. I let out a nervous breath before placing the palm of my hand on the back of his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

My lips met his eagerly, and I kissed him long enough to make him forget about what he was going after. Only when I felt him relax did I pull away, slightly out of breath.

“Wow,” Adrian breathed, looking down at me with wide eyes.

I began blushing furiously under his gaze, before taking his hand in mine. “Let’s go back to the dinner,” I tried again in a soft voice.

“Kiss me like that again and I’ll sleep in a dumpster if you wanted me to,” Adrian mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. I laughed at his comment before letting out a small sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn’t going to go after David Walter.

“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about that son of a bitch,” Adrian said, just as we re-entered the reception area.

I sighed and squeezed his arm. “I know, thank you,” I murmured, placing another kiss on his cheek before we arrived at our table.

At least he wasn’t going to go after David Walter
tonight.

Chapter Twenty One

“If I do recall correctly, Shortcake, you said I’d be allowed to help you out of your dress once we got home. Well, we’re home, and your dress is still on your body…”

Adrian gave a pointed look at the bright red garment that was currently making it hard to walk without high heels on.

“I said if you were a good boy,” I reminded him. “And you weren’t, so sorry sweetheart.” I smiled sarcastically, before sending a wink in his direction.

Adrian gave me a look of disbelief. “What did I do wrong?! I let you sit next to Allen,
and
I listened to you throughout the entire night! This is rubbish.” He glared at me.

I grinned widely before lifting up my dress. “I’m going to take a shower then go to bed,” I announced, leaving him alone in the living room.

“Yeah, well, you’re not going to have the honours of taking a shower with me this time! I hope you know that!” he called out after me, making me laugh in response.

Once I felt squeaky clean to my satisfaction, I slipped on my underwear and wrapped myself with the towel before exiting the bathroom. I stopped in front of the bedroom door and peeked through the small gap that lit up the dim hallway from the door being open. I heard the shower running in the en suite and decided it was safe to walk into the room without Adrian seeing me half naked.

“Adrian, I’m going to wear one of your shirts tonight. Is that okay?” I called out, biting my lip as I waited for his response.

“Yes, Shortcake,” he replied, and I could mentally picture his infamous smirk. “You don’t have to ask. Wear The Rolling Stones shirt, you look sexy in that.”

“Shut up,” I mumbled, more to myself as I took out Adrian’s shirt and slipped it on. I walked out of the wardrobe and squealed in shock before the palm of my hand flew up to cover my eyes. “ADRIAN!” I shrieked, dropping the towel in surprise. Adrian was standing in the middle of bedroom. Naked.

“What?” he asked innocently, as I moved one finger to see if he covered had himself. I squeaked and covered my eyes once again, realizing he was still stark naked and smirking in my direction.

“Put- Put
that
away!” I stuttered while flushing in embarrassment.

Adrian chuckled before I heard shuffling around the room. “Oh come on, Shortcake, you may as well get used to it. You know, since it’s going to be the primary thing needed for us to make babies in the future.”

“Oh my God. Adrian Kingston if you don’t get dressed right this second, I will tell the entire human race that you own boxers with ‘The Wiggles’ logo on them!” I squeaked, walking backwards in the process.

Adrian let out a fake gasp. “You wouldn’t!” he exclaimed in a girly voice. I removed one finger from in front of my eyes to find him smirking in my direction, and my hand fell to my hip as I glared in response while trying to keep to keep my gaze from travelling to his lower region.

“Fine, fine,” he said as he slipped on a pair of black boxers. “But this means you have to give me an extra-long good night kiss in bed.”

I rolled my eyes once he grinned in my direction while trying to fight a smile of my own. “You’re a big idiot, did you know that?” I asked while throwing the towel I had around me into the dirty laundry basket.

“Careful Shortcake, this idiot knows your weaknesses. Actually, this idiot
is
one of your weaknesses,” he announced, smirking arrogantly.

“Actually, this idiot is not one of my weaknesses,” I corrected him, feeling smug as his cocky expression turned into one of anger and disbelief. “Dave Franco is. Oh! And chocolate.”

“I’m way better looking than some 20-year-old actor with no life,” Adrian scoffed, glaring in my direction as I slipped into the bed.

“Hmm. Not really. Have you seen that man’s lips? And don’t even get me started on his jawline and smile.”

“One day, I’m going to track this guy down and make sure he never acts again,” Adrian growled under his breath as he jumped into the other side of the bed.

I laughed softly before I felt him drag me closer to him. I could still smell the strong apple scented body wash he kept in the en suite and looked up at him once we were both comfortable.

“You know I’m only kidding, right?”

“I know, I just don’t take you and other men well,” Adrian grumbled, still glaring down at me from the thought.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed!” I said sarcastically, giving him an amused look.

“Stop enjoying this. Anyway, I think it’s my turn to get inner satisfaction. I put on pants, now I get my good night kiss.” Adrian pulled me up into a position that let me access his lips easier.

“No.” I blushed, glaring.

His eyebrows shot up. “Really? That’s fine. I like sleeping naked-” He began to pull his boxers down and I let out a shocked shriek before crashing my lips onto his. Adrian laughed against my lips before pulling me into his shirtless torso and wrapping his arms around my waist while deepening the kiss.

Unconsciously, I climbed onto his lap while wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss even more. Adrian groaned before I felt him shift so that our entire bodies were pressed up against each other, and I chose to pull away then before we both got carried away.

“You need to stop being so amazing, Shortcake,” Adrian declared with a smirk, giving a pointed look down at the bulge in his boxers. “It’s really not healthy for my mini-me.”

I raised an eyebrow before meeting his eyes again. “Mini it is.” I smirked, making him give me another look of disbelief.

“Need I remind you of how big it is, Shortcake?” Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge as his hands flew down to the waistband of his boxers.

“No! No, I don’t need reminding. It’s pretty much engraved into my memory now.” I cringed.

“I’m sure you do.” He smirked, before pulling me into his torso once again.

I let out a yawn. “Thank God we have a day off tomorrow,” I mumbled tiredly, getting comfortable in my position pressed up against him.

“I know. That means I get to kiss you all day. And maybe even more than kiss.”

I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his chest. “Stop being a perv.” I scowled playfully.

He chuckled before placing a kiss on my forehead. “In all seriousness now, we’re going to have our first date tomorrow. Just so we can get to know each other better and I can finally find out your favourite colour.” Adrian winked, making me laugh.

“Okay, whatever you want,” I yawned. “Goodnight, Adrian.”

“’Night, Shortcake. No need to dream about me, because I’m right here in the flesh. Just remember that.”

“Shut up you idiot,” I mumbled, before everything went black.

***

“Really Adrian, a carnival?” I asked skeptically as we pulled into a parking space.

“What, don’t you like them?” Adrian asked, casting me a weird look.

“No it’s not that, it’s just… well, I didn’t think you’d be into this kind of stuff,” I finally said, frowning slightly.

“I’m not always fancy dinners and million-dollar events, Shortcake, especially not with people I’m comfortable with.” Adrian frowned, before wrapping an arm around my waist.

My heart fluttered at his last words. “Oh” was all I managed to reply.

“So what do you want to do first? I was thinking- Hey! Don’t look at her,” Adrian snapped suddenly, and I looked up to find him glaring at a man, probably within our age range, who was staring up at Adrian in shock.

“S-Sorry, man,” the flustered stranger muttered, before walking away in a slightly quicker speed than normal.

I sighed. “Adrian, if you’re going to be like this all night then we may as well go home.”

“He was looking at you!” Adrian exclaimed angrily, like it was a good thing that he snapped at a random stranger.

“Yes, I understand. But he only looked, and you don’t even know if it was on purpose. Now, if he – or any other man for that matter – tried to flirt with me, then I give you full permission to be your usual possessive self. For now, let’s just enjoy our time here as much as we can.” I finished calmly, giving him a stern look.

Adrian studied my expression for a few moments, before sighing. “Fine,” he grumbled, dragging me over to a ride that spun a lot. “Two tickets,” he demanded as he placed a $20 bill onto the table.

“
Please,
” I added, glaring at Adrian.

“What- Oh come on! It’s their job! I don’t need to be nice to them,” he exclaimed with a glare.

“Yes, you do!” I responded, glaring in return.

“Whatever,” Adrian grumbled, before snatching the two tickets from the salesman.

“Thank you!” I called out pathetically before Adrian could drag me away. “You need to work on your social skills,” I huffed angrily once we stood in the line.

“I don’t care for other people so I don’t need to learn how to make them happy. The only person I have to do that with is you. And my dad. Occasionally. And maybe Maria when I wanted her to make me her famous apple pie.” Adrian shrugged.

I gave him a look of disbelief at the fact that he said something sweet before shaking out of it. “I’m saying it for your own good!”

Before I had a chance to move away, Adrian pressed his lips against mine. “You know when I kiss you? That’s for my own good. I don’t need anything else.” He stole another kiss before I could recover.

I pulled away while blushing. “You’re moody when we’re in public,” I observed, biting my lip curiously as I watched him glare at a random woman who walked past.

“I don’t like people,” he responded with a shrug, before looking down at me. “Well, not
all
people.” He smirked, before stealing yet another quick kiss from my lips.

I flushed from the public displays of affection Adrian was currently making before I noticed we were at the front of the line. Adrian handed the man the two tickets he bought and the man led us into the ride.

“Now, all you have to do is stay standing with your back on the wall,” the man said, giving both Adrian and me a smile. “Try your best to stay on the wall throughout the entire ride and you should be fine.”

“Okay, thank you.” I smiled back and gave him a small nod, before taking my place next to Adrian on the ride.

The man locked Adrian’s chain in place before moving over to do mine. “Is he your boyfriend?” he asked me, looking over at Adrian. My gaze briefly flickered over to Adrian’s now stiff-posture just as he began to glare at the man.

“Yes, he is,” I replied, giving him a tight smile.

“He’s a lucky guy,” the man responded, causing me to flush in response.

“
You’ll
be a lucky man if you get away from her in 5 seconds,” Adrian growled, glaring at the man fiercely. The worker locked my chain in place before he nervously scurried off to help another random family that was getting onto the ride.

“Adrian!” I scolded. “He was being nice.”

“He was flirting with you!” Adrian exclaimed, giving me a look of disbelief.

“No, he wasn’t!”

“Yes he was,” Adrian snapped. “Anyway, we’re going home after this ride,” he grumbled, before sending another cold glare in the worker’s direction.

I rolled my eyes in response and waited for the ride to begin, not bothering to argue.