Personal Assistant: Limited Edition[MXM]✔

Chapter 23

23.

Tchk. Tchk. Tchk.

It was annoying. I wanted to toss him out the window with his Rubik's cubes and his luggage and just drive off.

Ross had an intense like for the Rubik's cube that bordered on obsession. He had it with him wherever he went. He shuffled it this way and that way while on a conference call to some guy in Japan. He threw it up in the air and caught it just to speed-shuffle it with no purpose while lying in bed. He got angry and frustrated when he couldn't find it.

I tolerated his obsession many times, barely giving it the interest he showered on it. I could ignore it but not that morning. The road was silent and the car made minimal noise. The only thing I could hear was "tchk, tchk" and the sound was close to driving me mad.

We'd left Linksfield almost two hours prior. We'd stayed one more day since he'd sprung the ball idea on me. That day had been largely quiet. We swam, took a lazy walk in town and had shower sex. Ross had stuck to his suggestion of forgetting we'd argued and his outburst and pretended nothing had happened. I went along with it. Clearly Ross and I weren't in a relationship and didn't need to discuss things.

Our random conversations had died down a few minutes into our trip and Ross had whipped out the Rubik's cube. As usual he shuffled it with no apparent purpose. I had half a mind to grab it and just throw it out the window. I had a feeling I'd be walking home afterwards.

Instead I whipped out my own obsession. I'd been smoking less and less since I moved into Mitchell Mansion. I was calmer and didn't think I was going to die every few seconds. That meant I still had the box I'd walked in with. The box was half-full. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it, balancing it between the index and middle fingers on my right hand. I had both hands on the steering wheel.

I must have taken two puffs before I felt something creep up on my hand. My eyes were focused on the road so my immediate reaction was to take my hand off the steering wheel to shake off whatever was on me.

"Fuck!" I heard yelping.

I turned slightly to a sight of Ross massaging his hand.

"What happened?" I said quickly. I think I got my answer the moment I asked the question. A quick look at my cigarette returned a bent cigarette that was no longer lit.

"You burned me, again!" he yelled.

"What were you creeping on me for?!" I yelled back and almost ran over an animal crossing the road. I rammed my foot on the brakes. The car came to a screeching standstill. The raccoon seemingly unharmed ran into the trees on the side of the road.

"What the hell was that for?! I should have hired a PA who can drive," Ross said.

"You didn't see that raccoon crossing the road? Should I have run it over? I'm not a murderer!" I shouted and tossed my cigarette out the window.

"Are you sure? I think you've been trying to kill me this whole time!"

"You crept up on me! I didn't freaking see your stupid hand!"

"How do I fucking creep up on you in broad daylight? You knew I was in the car with you!"

I let out a frustrated breath. "I've been trying to ignore your existence for the past two hours. I'd succeeded."

He narrowed his eyes. "Good for you."

"What was your hand doing on my hand anyway?"

"I was just going to borrow your cigarette for a few seconds," he said softly.