The Assistant (33 page)

“Adrian. You seriously cannot be calling me because of that,” I responded flatly, cutting him off.

“This is a serious matter! Plus, you weren’t exactly complaining last night when it was inside-”

I cut him off again. “Don’t! Don’t even finish that sentence. I’ll be back at the office soon,” I mumbled, blushing furiously as my eyes met Amy’s and Rita’s.

Adrian cheered through the speaker of my phone, before he spoke up. “You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

“Don’t think that I’m coming for you!” I snapped as the blush in my cheeks increased.

“You were coming for me last night,” Adrian responded smugly.

I groaned in mortification before shaking my head. “You’re impossible.”

“You love me,” he replied in a singsong voice.

I smiled at this. “I’m starting to re-think my feelings towards you,” I joked.

“You can’t because I love you,” Adrian responded. The small smile on my face grew as the words reached my ears. It still felt weird to hear them coming from Adrian, but the sound of it made my stomach perform summersaults.

“Hurry up and get here,” he spoke up suddenly, and the line went dead.

I looked down at the blank screen of my phone in disbelief, before looking up at Amy and Rita. “I have to get back,” I announced.

Amy grinned slowly as she waggled her eyebrows. “That’s fine. Use protection!” she reminded me, grinning even wider than before.

I rolled my eyes and hugged them both, before exiting the café.

***

“Adrian! We were meant to be on the road 15 minutes ago!” I exclaimed, trying to pull him off the sofa. “ We’re going to be late!”

“It’d my dad. He won’t care if we’re a little late,” Adrian mumbled, trying to fall asleep again.

“A little?! At this rate, we’re going to arrive there at midnight!” I stressed, before pulling at his arm again.

A sudden pull of my own arm made me squeal as I stumbled and landed on top of Adrian’s sleeping figure, and Adrian looked up and grinned. “Let’s ditch the dinner and do something here,” he suggested, grinning wickedly.

I raised an eyebrow as a smile made its way onto my lips. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

“Well, I did say to
do
something. That something will be you.” Adrian pulled me closer towards him and placed a kiss on my nose, before waggling his eyebrows at the suggestion.

“That sounds very nice, honey, but your parents are waiting,” I reminded him. But knowing something else would be much more effective, I added, “So if you don’t get up right this second, you’re not getting any for a week.” I narrowed my eyes slightly to make the threat more believable.

The threat worked, because Adrian had lifted me off of him and was at the door faster than I could blink. “Let’s go!” he snapped, frowning at my frozen state at the sofa.

“Okay, okay! No need to get your panties in a bunch.” I mumbled, rushing over to his side.

“The only panties that are going to be in a bunch by the end of tonight will be yours, Shortcake.” Adrian smirked as he slammed the door shut.

I rolled my eyes before stepping into the elevator, blushing slightly at the thought.

“EMILY!” Mason’s cheerful voice echoed through the modern-day mansion. I turned around to follow the direction of the voice in confusion just as I was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by the man. He pulled away after a while and smirked down at my deep purple dress. “Still can’t hide those killer curves, even with a dress made for church.” Mason winked.

“Hello Mason.” I smiled in amusement.

“Why are you always greeting her first, Dad?” Adrian grumbled from beside me.

Mason’s amused gaze lingered on mine for a few seconds longer, before he turned to his son. “Oh, it’s Emily’s bitch,” he stated in a bored tone, no longer looking amused.

Adrian glared down at his father. “It’s not like that in bed, trust me.” He brought up coolly, casting a sideways smirk in my direction just as my jaw dropped to the floor.

Mason’s eyes widened as he looked at both of us, before a wide grin broke out. “About fucking time, mate! I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while, you know,” Mason declared, pulling us both into a group hug.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Adrian frowned in realisation once Mason pulled away.

He began walking into the dining room, and replied to Adrian as we followed him. “What question?”

“Why you always greet your daughter-in-law before you greet your son,” Adrian reminded him. I tried not to react to the fact that Adrian referred to me as Mason’s daughter-in-law, and decided to look down at my flats to avoid any eye contact.

“Come on son, don’t you know the old saying? Ladies first,” Mason answered lazily, before pouring a glass of water.

My eyes widened in shock as my head snapped up at the saying, and I found Adrian smirking down at me knowingly. “Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with it,” he responded, still keeping his gaze on me.

I glared up at him in an attempt to cover up the fact that I remembered his rule in the bedroom, and decided to look around the room to avoid any more of his perceptive gazes.

“Adrian dear, it’s so lovely to see you,” a cool voice spoke up, making me look away from the enormous painting I was examining.

Katherine Kingston smiled at her son with open arms, waiting for him to step into them for a hug. I looked over at Adrian to find him looking at her open arms with narrowed eyes.

Sighing, I cleared my throat to get Adrian’s attention. His head snapped towards me, and I tilted my head in his mother’s direction as encouragement to hug her. I didn’t want any more bad blood in between the pair, and hoped he would accept the gesture. He glared at me for a while, before looking back at his mother.

“Adrian,” I warned in a low voice.

Adrian clenched his jaw before stiffly walking into his mother’s arms. The entire exchange looked awkward and out of place as he rigidly encircled his arms around her waist and she did the same.

“Hello mum,” he managed to respond tautly once he pulled away.

Katherine looked momentarily surprised, before her gaze trailed over to where I was uncomfortably standing. She briefly nodded in acknowledgement. “Emily.”

“Hello Mrs. Kingston,” I replied softly, smiling.

Her gaze lingered on my attire for a few moments before she looked back at Adrian. “Are you hungry? Mary said dinner should be ready in about 5 minutes,” she said in an even tone.

Adrian looked over to me. “Are you hungry?” he asked, ignoring
his mother’s question.

I sighed before walking over to him. “Can we talk?” I murmured, looking up at his glare.

“We’ll be back.” Adrian informed his parents, before dragging me out of the room. “What’s wrong, Shortcake?” he asked with a worried expression.

“Adrian,” I told him softly, afraid that his parents may hear. “I want you to talk to your mom normally. Just forget about how she treated me. I don’t want any issues in between you two anymore.”

Adrian gave me a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Emily, she barely acknowledged your existence in there! How the fuck do you expect me to stand in there and watch her treat the girl I’m in love with like the shit she finds on the sole of her shoes?!” he raged, glaring down at me angrily.

“She didn’t.” I shook my head. “It may have looked that way to you because you’ve known her all your life. But she was actually nice in there. She usually doesn’t even look my way unless she has a glare on her face,” I explained, trying to reason with him.

“It’s not good enough,” he snapped.

“Adrian, please. Just for tonight. Be nice,” I requested, looking into his eyes while squeezing his hand reassuringly. “
Please
?” I added after his glare didn’t flinch.

He sighed after a while. “Fine. But if she does or says
one
thing that’s out of line, we’re leaving.” He stated firmly, glaring down at me.

I smiled slightly before placing a lingering kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” I murmured, before dragging him back into the room.

“Adrian! I’m getting old. Will you go and fetch me my newspaper from the living room?” Mason whined once we entered the room again.

“Okay,” Adrian said warily, before grabbing a hold of my hand again to pull me out with him.

Adrian’s mother cleared her throat just as Adrian began to drag me along. “Emily. If it is okay with you, I would like to have a word,” she spoke up, making my eyes widen in shock.

Adrian’s jaw clenched as his grip tightened around my hand. “No.”

“Adrian, its fine,” I mumbled softly, trying to sound reassuring.

I began to pull out of his grip and make my way over to where Katherine was standing. “Let me show you around the house while we wait for dinner,” she suggested stiffly.

“Darling, if you’re going to compare bra sizes, I’m sorry to say; but I think Emily will overpower you in that department.” Mason looked at his wife sympathetically. “Plus, I’d very much like to be there when you are comparing them! So wait until after dinner so I can join you.”

“Mason,” Katherine said flatly, humorlessly. “We’re not comparing bra sizes.” She linked her arm with mine, surprising both Adrian and I. We exited the room and began making our way up a grand flight of stairs. It was quiet; Katherine still hadn’t spoken up, making the silence between us slightly awkward.

“You have a lovely home,” I spoke up after a while.

“Thank you,” Katherine replied frostily. “Mason and I designed most of it ourselves.”

I nodded in response just as silence fell upon us once again.

Katherine led me into a small room near the stairs and shut the door behind us. “Sit down, Emily,” she said, motioning toward one of the vintage-styled chairs in the room.

I took the seat closest to the door, and began straightening my dress out in order to avoid any awkward eye contact with the woman sitting across from me.

“I’m sure you know how much my son means to me by now,” she began, making me look up from the deep purple material to meet her eyes. “I only want what is best for him. A successful career, a wealthy background, a comfortable space to live in, a suitable wife. You were not a part of that plan,” she declared bluntly.

I frowned slightly and opened my mouth to respond before she raised a hand in a gesture to stop me from talking. “That is why I have acted the way I have towards you. I thought you were another one of my son’s ‘catch of the day’ girls. I’ve kept up with how many women he’s been with and trust me, I’m not proud of his behaviour. But, I’ve noticed a change in him ever since you came along – a good change. He focuses on the business with a more mature mindset, for one, and isn’t always out partying with multiple women all the time anymore. I know I have you to thank for that.” She nodded in my direction as an act of acknowledgment, and I instantly began blushing.

“I had a girl from London in mind for him to marry, but that clearly won’t happen now. I see the way he looks at you. My son is in love, and you are the object his world revolves around now. I’ve brought you up here to apologise for acting the way I have towards you for the past four months. I hoped that, once Adrian saw my disapproval of you, he’d let you go. He clearly likes you too much to do that.” She smiled at me, and I had to try and control my face from turning into one of shock.

“What you also did tonight – making him hug me – also showed me how kind hearted you are,” she continued. “You were the mature one out of us both, even though it should have been me. I want to thank you for that. But Emily, I am warning you from now. My actions will not be kind ones if you break my son’s heart. You’re clearly not using him for money because you have a job. But if I find out that you
do
have an ulterior motive for being with my son, I will not hesitate to ruin your life.” She ended her warning in a stone cold tone.