My Life as Duke Starr's Assistant

My Life as Duke Starr's Assistant...[Epilogue]

I went up to Duke's apartment, fighting past the paparazzi that were clustered around the entrance being held back by an army of security guards.

I rang his doorbell and waited patiently. I didn't move out of the way of the peep-hole. I wanted him to see me. Otherwise he'd think it was some crazed fan that got into the building somehow. After a few moments, I rang the doorbell again. I wondered if he was even home. But he had to be. He had said he was tired and wanted sleep. But then again, I don't think anyone could sleep with the amount of noise that was outside. From where I was standing, I could hear screaming fans.

Finally, the door opened. Duke stood with a slightly annoyed, but mostly weary look on his face. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a loose black henley.

"I'm kind of busy right now," he said. I internally rolled my eyes. He was a bad liar.

"That's all right. You don't have to invite me in. I'll be quick," I replied. He sighed and leaned against the doorframe.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I quit," I said flatly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"I quit. I'm not your assistant anymore," I said. He frowned.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

"This morning. After the trial," I answered. His eyes took in my expressionless face.

"Why?" he asked after a moment.

"There are two reasons, actually," I said. He waited for me to say them.

"The first, is that a few days ago, my parents called and told me they wanted to get dinner. I agreed and during dinner, I told them that I had gotten fired from Camden, the firm I worked at before, and that I was now the assistant to a celebrity. So then they told me the real reason they called me for dinner," I paused. "They offered me a job on their team at Sparks. I told them yes," I finished.

He looked at me, a peculiar expression on his face.

"What's the other reason?" he asked after a silence. I gazed up at his face, taking in his features. My eyes wandered over his strong jaw, his perfectly shaped lips that were pursed right now, his snow-slope nose, and his beautiful blue eyes.

"The other reason," I began. "Is that it's extremely inappropriate for an assistant to be dating the person she's assisting. But I'm not your assistant anymore," I said.

He raised his eyebrows at me, confusion still etched in his face. But I saw his eyes brighten from the navy blue that they were currently to a lighter, clearer blue that I had been so accustomed to.

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"I'm saying that if you're willing to forgive me, then I'm willing to give this a chance," I answered.

He was silent for a moment, his expression contemplative.

"So you quit this job so that you can become apart of your parents' team at Sparks. And now I'm assistant-less. And you're suggesting that you want to give "this" a chance," he summarized. I nodded. "Can I ask you what "this" is?" he asked, putting air quotes around the word.

"'This' can be anything you want it to be. I'm open for whatever," I said.

"Valerie..." he said.

"Duke..." I replied.

We stood staring at each other silently for a few minutes. I tried to read his expression to see what he was thinking. Had he forgiven me? Or was he just going to slam the door shut in my face?