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

left!” Anna sat back on my desk and tipped the same cup of pens over. Again.



I frowned. I hadn’t even told Amy anything regarding last night – and she was abusing me via text message every 10 minutes – let alone will I tell someone who I’ve known for less than 5 minutes. I opened my mouth to tell her just that but Adrian’s office door suddenly opened, and the blonde whose hair was straight and tamed when she arrived, stepped out of the office with smudged lipstick, messy hair and a flustered look as she stumbled to put the other pair of her heels onto her foot. She waved into the office before strolling down the hallway and disappearing out of our sight.



Anna jumped off my desk excitedly. “That’s my cue! I’ll see you later, Emily!” She giggled and waved before entering his office and shutting the door behind her.



And the process repeated itself throughout the entire morning. I met 4 other girls that worked in the building and two random girls who were asking where his office was. By the time my lunch break came, I was ready to zoom out of my office before the phone went off. I sighed before answering it. “Mr. Kingston’s office, how may I help you?” I asked, getting a pen and paper ready.  lunch

 “Ms. Johnson, come into my office.” Adrian’s hoarse voice sounded through the speaker before the line went dead.



I let out a frustrated sigh as my mind made the image of a burger and chips from across the road appear, reminding me that it was my lunch break. I entered Adrian’s office to find him fixing a tie around his neck. If he heard me enter, he didn’t show it as he straightened the tie in the picture that was coming up from the webcam.



“Are you ready?” he asked after a few moments.



“Ready?” I repeated in confusion.



“To go out for lunch,” he stated flatly, as if he had told me previously.



“Together?”



“No Emily, with my desk chair. Get your things, the car is already waiting for us downstairs. I’ll meet you at the elevator.” He brushed past me on his way out the door.



The smell of his cologne lingered in the air as I made my way back to my office to grab my phone and bag before dashing back out to catch up to him.



“Took you long enough,” he scoffed once I arrived.



I looked at him in disbelief. “I wasn’t even two seconds!” I exclaimed.



He ignored my response and walked into the elevator and pressed the ground floor button. The elevator dinged and the doors were starting to close as I let out a squeak and hurriedly stumbled inside. To my deep embarrassment, I landed on Adrian as the doors closed completely. His arm wrapped around my waist and he steadied me as my cheeks began to warm up and change colour.



“Sorry.” I mumbled, looking away.



His arm was still tightly clinging to my waist. I felt him chuckle and pull me closer to his chest. “Are you ordinarily this clumsy and hot around people? Or do I have this effect on you?” He whispered the question into my ear, making my blush deepen.



“I- um- I’m naturally clumsy,” I stuttered, trying to pull away. His grip got tighter and I looked up to find him smirking down at me.



“You know,” he said while tracing patterns on my back, “Anna told me something today.”



“Mmm. What did she tell you?” I replied as his hands moved to my lower back, making my eyelids flutter closed.



“She feels threatened by you. So do the others. They think that I’m going to start using you over them.”



My eyes snapped open at that, and I moved away from him – catching him off guard.



“What did you tell her?” I asked, frowning.



He smirked. “I told her not to worry. When I do get you to sleep with me – and I will – and you come back for more, I’ll treat you like I treat the rest of them.”



I scowled. “Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel special. No wonder they’re all falling at your feet.” The elevator door opened and I straightened my skirt before walking off without him.



“Emily!” Adrian called out. I could hear his footsteps catch up to mine as I exited the building but chose to ignore them and walk faster. “You’re having lunch with me,” he stated once he had fallen into step with me, lightly grabbing my upper arm to stop me from walking.



“There you go again! Thinking you have everyone eating out of the palm of your hand! You didn’t invite me to have lunch with you to begin with. You just threw it at my face and expected me to obey like some sort of slave. Then you go and – and say all that rude stuff in the elevator and expect me to-”



“Shut up and get in the car,” Adrian said with a bored expression. “I’m hungry.”



I gawked in disbelief at his attitude. “No. I’m going to eat across the road alone and get back before my lunch break is over and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” I folded my arms stubbornly.



“I’ll fire you,” he smirked.



My folded arms dropped to my sides and my eyes widened in shock. Over not having lunch with him?! “On what grounds?! That’s blackmail!”



“You’re disobeying your Boss’s orders. I’m pretty sure I can fire you for that.”



“You can’t do that! It’s my lunch break and – Ah! What are you doing?!” I squeaked as he wrapped his arms around my waist and threw me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing.



“I’m taking you to the car since you couldn’t do so yourself.”



“This is kidnapping! You’re taking me somewhere against my will. Put me down!” I pounded my fists repeatedly on his back. If my assault towards his back affected him in any way – he didn’t show it. When we got to the car, he threw me onto the leather seats and slid in gracefully after me. 

 

I glared at him before turning away and crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly.



“Emily.”



I continued to ignore him as I felt him slide closer to me as the driver started the car. His hand leaned across my torso and I whipped my head to see the smirk plastered firmly on his lips as he leaned forward, our noses almost touching.



After a few more moments, I heard a muted zipping noise fill the silence within the car before I felt a light weight being pressed against my body. Adrian clicked the seatbelt into place before smirking and pecking my cheek.



“I need my assistant to stay safe at all times,” he said, before slowly moving back to his seat and clicking away at his phone. I bit my lip and frowned at him curiously. Why was he being so nice?



“Where are we going?” I asked after a while.



“To eat,” he replied bluntly, still tapping at his phone.



“Really? I thought we were going to a circus!” I exclaimed sarcastically. He stopped looking at his phone to meet my eyes and glare, before looking back down.



I rolled me eyes and looked out the window and sighed. That lasted long. I thought to myself as silence consumed the car.



***



“Mr. Kingston. I can’t even afford to use the bathroom in this place,” I muttered in awe once the driver dropped us off. I should’ve expected it – Adrian Kingston bringing me to a five-star restaurant where a glass of tap water was worth $30.



“Why do you care?” Adrian frowned. “I’m the one paying. And call me Adrian outside of the office. Mr. Kingston is my father.” He took my hand in his and led me inside.



I looked down at my plain grey business skirt and white shirt and grimaced. These clothes were nowhere near good enough to be in if I was eating in this place. My hair was down in no-frills curls as well. I sighed and kept my gaze on my feet as the waiter led us to a private booth at the end of the restaurant.



I could feel people – women in particular – glaring at me like I was something unwanted stuck to their shoe.



“What’s wrong?” Adrian asked once we were seated.



“I’m just not very comfortable eating here,” I muttered, glancing back at the people occupying tables within the restaurant. Adrian must’ve noticed my brief glance, because I turned around to find him glaring at the women throwing daggers in our direction.



“Ignore them. They think they’re on top of the world because they have a bank account that’s full. It’s not as full as mine, so you don’t need to worry.” He reassured me before opening up the leather menus that were placed in front of us.



I opened my copy and scanned over the menu briefly. The writing was in gold and carved against the leather in a cursive font. “Won’t I get in trouble for going over my half an hour break?” I asked as I scanned the seafood section, cringing at the price of the caviar.



“I’m your boss,” Adrian murmured distractedly, preferring to concentrate on the menu. “You’re with me, so of course you’re not going to get into trouble.”



“Oh, right,” I laughed. “Sorry, I forgot for a moment. So is there a particular reason as to why we’re here?” I asked curiously as my eyes landed on a burger in the menu and I grinned. I looked up when Adrian didn’t reply and found him smirking at me.



“I take it you’ve found your order?” he chuckled, and I felt my cheeks warm up and the grin slowly start to slip off my face.



I nodded briefly and looked down at the table, waiting for my blush to fade.



“I want to discuss what you’re wearing to the event on Saturday. There’ll be a lot of press there, so I expect it to be something brand-named. I’ve put $2,000 in your account for you to find something decent. Remember,” he said as he called the waiter over, “its black and white themed.”



My eyes widened in shock. I was still stuck on $2,000. I found myself repeating the figure in a hushed tone, feeling completely gobsmacked.



Adrian’s eyes met my widened ones and he raised an eyebrow. “Is it not enough? That’s fine. I’ll add another-”



“No! No. It’s plenty! That’s practically what I used to earn a year!” I exclaimed in shock. Adrian replied by giving me a confused look before telling his order to the waiter, then fell silent as I did the same.



“Please don’t freak out at everything we talk about from now on. Now, I’ll get someone to do your hair so you’re not late…” He launched into his expectations for the night, and I found myself listening intently, laughing at the occasional jokes he made and scoffing at the inappropriate comments he made about my body as we ate our lunch.

 Maybe Adrian Kingston wasn’t such a bad guy, after all.






“Stop gawking and help me find a dress!” I hissed