Adrian Assistant - jewel crotan (web ebook reader txt) 📗

slightly – at the sight of my amused expression.



“Thank you Amy,” I told her, “your threat is… comforting.” It actually was. I missed her. Amy and I had never been separated longer than a day, so this was taking an emotional toll on the both of us.



“What happened?” she asked again, more calmly now, her concerned expression returning. I sighed and looked down at my lap while biting my bottom lip.



The lip he kissed…



“I… Adrian and I kissed,” I finally managed to get out. Saying it out loud finally made the words seep into the realisation part of my brain, and I let out a shaky sigh.



Amy, on the other hand, didn’t need long to process my confession. “WHAT?!” she screeched, falling off the sofa in shock. The corners of my lip tugged up slightly in an amused smile as she stumbled off the ground and took her original position across me on the comfy sofa. “You- You- Are you messing with me, Emily Hannah Johnson?” Amy asked, giving me a suspicious look.



I shook my head, suddenly feeling a lot less nervous at the news due to Amy’s amusing reaction. “He kissed me, and I… I kissed him back.” I frowned as I recalled the kiss, biting my bottom lip again.



“Oh my god,” Amy murmured, looking away from me with a disbelieving look. I mentally counted down from 3 in my head, before she jumped off the sofa with a squeal that had enough pitch to crack glass. “YOU KISSED! OH MY GOD! YOU AND MR. SEXY PANTS KISSED!” she screamed, jumping around my living room in excitement.



This time, my face wore the look of disbelief. “Amy! This isn’t something to be celebrating!” I exclaimed, blushing slightly. She stopped jumping around and smirked in my direction, waggling her eyebrows.



“Am I missing something?” she asked excitedly, making my blush instantly begin to fade. “Did he get the chance to see the sexy lingerie I packed?”



“Funny you bring that up…” I trailed off, slowly rising from the sofa with a glare. Amy’s face paled and she began to back away from me. “I’M SORRY!” she squeaked once her back collided with my wall.



“Do you know how humiliating that was?!” I exclaimed, blushing as a flashback of Adrian’s expression once he saw the lace undergarments on my body appeared in my mind, and I shook it out of my head before snapping my glare back on Amy’s fearful expression. “And you didn’t pack a single pair of pajamas! And don’t even get me started on the fact you didn’t pack my swim shorts! I’m never letting you pack my bag for a trip ever again!” I exclaimed, giving her an incredulous look.



To my surprise, she began to laugh. I took a step back in astonishment, as she continuously heaved a fresh breath of air, before erupting with laughter once again. I huffed angrily and went to sit back down on the sofa, waiting for her laughing fit to die down. Once she stopped, she came and sat back down with me, still stifling a few giggles.



“I’m glad I’m a source of amusement,” I grumbled, glaring at her.



“I just want to know one thing,” she began, still trying to stifle a laugh. My eyebrows rose as a signal for her to continue, and she broke out into an amused grin. “What was his reaction to the lace nighty that I packed?” she asked, bursting into a fit of giggles.



I glared at her again. “I didn’t wear it!” I snapped, blushing furiously.



Her laughing stopped instantly. “What? Why not?! You’re such a party pooper!” She whined, pouting.



My eyes grew wide in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Amy! He’s my boss! Not my husband who’s taking me on a romantic weekend where we’d spend most of our time in the bedroom!” I snapped, blushing. My mind went back to the couple we had met – and guiltily lied to – on the beach, and I wondered if that’s what they spent their time doing.

“Ugh! You need to loosen up more,” Amy grumbled, making me glare in her direction again.



“He’s my boss, Amy,” I argued.



“So? You guys have slept in the same bed,” she pointed out. “He’s practically seen you naked, and now you guys have kissed!”



The kiss pushed me off the edge. “I’m not another one of those whores who parade into his office every day!” I exclaimed angrily. “The kiss was a mistake.” I sighed. “It’s so awkward between us now, Ames. What do I do at work tomorrow? Do I act normal? Who has to break the silence, him or me? Oh my god, why did he have to kiss me.” I groaned, pushing my face into the soft pillow that was in my grasp.



When I pulled my face away from the soft cushion, I found Amy chewing her lip in thought. “Okay, listen up,” she snapped suddenly. “We’re going to put you in the sexiest business outfit you have. Act like your usual self. You don’t want to show him that the kiss affected you in any way. Say good morning, and ask him if he wants you to do anything. Keep it strictly professional, if he wants to talk, he’ll talk. Got it?” Amy asked, giving me a stern look.



I nodded, becoming amused at her sudden professionalism towards Adrian – but it didn’t last long.



“I’m sleeping over tonight,” she said decisively. “Now that that’s settled, I need every detail! From the time you got into the plane to go to California until the time you unlocked your apartment door!” She squealed excitedly, inching closer to me with an eager expression.



I shook my head and sighed at her excited personality, before launching into the story of the weekend.



***



“How was the sweet sunshine in Cali?” Allen asked, giving me an amused smirk as he mixed Adrian’s weird latté in the large cup.



I shrugged, not comfortable under his prying gaze as he looked over my body once again. “It was okay. Really hot.” I nodded awkwardly, giving him a tight smile.



“Allen! Stop checking the poor woman out, you perv!” Lisa snapped from beside him, whacking his head before proceeding with mixing my own latté.



Adrian chuckled and glanced back at me before turning around to his sister. “It’s not my fault she looks so hot today. Hotter than usual – I mean. I can’t quite put my finger on it...” He trailed off as his eyes scanned my body once again.



It’s the push up bra, I mentally answered him, and a shorter and tighter pencil skirt, not to mention the extra and very unnecessary makeup my best friend made me wear today.



“Allen, stop it,” Lisa said, frowning slightly at her older brother. “It’s rude, and you know what Adria-”



“OKAY EMILY! I think your order is ready. Here you go!” Allen said in a sudden cheerful tone as he shot a warning look in Lisa’s direction. His sister backed down immediately.



“Yep! Definitely done!” Lisa exclaimed, her voice coming off higher-pitched than usual. “Oh! Would you look at the time! You better be going! You’ll be late!”



I looked suspiciously at one sibling, then the other, as I handed over the money. “What’s going on that I don’t know about…?” I asked as they both handed me the coffee cups.



“What? Nothing!” Lisa squeaked, before her face began to transform into the colour of a tomato.



“It’s nothing,” Allen claimed, giving Lisa another warning look before turning a smile on for me. “So, if I recall correctly, you still owe me a dinner.” He changed the subject with a smirk, reminding me of someone.



“I don’t owe you anything,” I said wryly, offering him a small smile. “I’ll think about having lunch with you sometime.” I did not believe their earlier claims about nothing going on, but I had no time to dwell on it. I said my goodbyes and rapidly made my way over to Kingston Corp.



Once I stepped off the elevator, Suzie instantly greeted me with her motherly hug. “You look absolutely incredible!” she said. The warm smile on her face instantly brightened my mood. “How was the trip, honey?”



I smiled back at her as we began walking down to Adrian – and my – office. “Thank you. It was very nice,” I told her, “California has lovely weather.”



Her smile widened. “And Adrian’s beach house? I’ve never actually been there, but from the photo I once saw on his father’s desktop background, it looks incredible.”



I nodded. “It was very nice. Maybe we can manage to convince him to let you and Richard stay there for one weekend.” I winked, causing her to laugh and blush at my statement, before she pushed the office door open for me. I placed my cup on my desk before walking over to Adrian’s and placing his coffee on the polished marble surface.

Is there anything important on today?” I asked as I dug into my bag and pulled out my notebook to jot down any crucial information. “Did I miss much from Saturday and yesterday?”



Suzie frowned in thought for a moment, the movement making her fragile skin wrinkle at the base of her eyebrows, before replying. “Yes, there’s a conference call this Friday with the head office of New Zealand again. They’ve put the ideas you brought up into the advertisement and need to confirm everything with Adrian.” She paused and waited for me to finish writing the sentence before continuing. “Also, Mr. Harrison said he agrees on the deal that Mr. Kingston offered, and Mr. Walter said his offer to accept still stands, as long as Mr. Kingston meets the requirements he laid out. I don’t understand the last one, but make sure Mr. Kingston is informed anyway.” She smiled, and I went rigid from David Walter’s name being mentioned.



“David Walter?” I asked in small voice, looking over at her in fear.



“Yes… Emily, dear. Are you oka-” Suzie’s concerned tone was cut off by a gruff clearing of the throat. Both our eyes snapped towards the doorway, where Adrian stood, and my throat instantly dried up.



“Good morning, Mr. Kingston,” Suzie said, breaking the silence. “I hope you had a pleasant weekend.” She gave him the warm smile that had worked like magic on me, but Adrian’s pissed off expression didn’t change. He frowned.



“It was fine,” he snapped as his eyes briefly flickered in my direction. With some satisfaction, I noticed he did a slight double take before he covered it up by looking back at Suzie. “You may leave now, Mrs. Brown,” he ordered, walking past us both to sit at his desk.



Suzie gave me questioning look, and I shrugged slightly to show that I didn’t know what was wrong with him – even though a small hunch sat at the bottom of my stomach. She left the office, and I replayed Amy’s advice in my head before I turned to Adrian.



“Good morning, Mr. Kingston,” I greeted him, trying to keep my voice neutral. “Mr. Harrison has accepted the deal you offered him, and Mr. Walter has said that his offer still stands if you meet his requirements. Is there anything you’d like me to do for you, sir?” I kept my stance strictly professional, just as Amy advised.



Adrian didn’t look up from his phone, and I mentally cursed my best friend for making me wear all this makeup and uncomfortable clothing.



“Cancel all my morning appointments,” he ordered in a cold tone, reaching out to take a sip from his coffee.



As the words left his mouth, an unfamiliar poisonous feeling delved its way into my bloodstream, fueling my heart into suddenly thumping against my chest more rapidly. I instantly trained my eyes to my heels to hide my expression. The last time Adrian told me to cancel his morning schedule, there was a whole parade of women lining up