The Assistant

Chapter Sixteen -

My eyes widened in shock and I quickly bent down to retrieve the utensil just as Adrian began smirking as he caught me looking at his bare torso. “Smells good.” He commented once I threw the spatula into the sink. I nodded meekly and sat across from him just as he dug into his meal hungrily.

Adrian hadn’t brought up last night yet, and I was beginning to wonder if they were just drunken thoughts. Why would he come here, to my house? It had been over a month since we last spoke to each other, and it wasn’t on good terms either.

I looked down at my scrambled eggs with a small frown. I was hoping the job offer part of his drunken speech was true – I didn’t want to go back to that mouldy underwear factory and have to put up with creepy Cooper again.

My thoughts reminded me that I was going go into work tomorrow and quit my job at that factory, and I cringed as I thought of being in the small office alone with the old man that was my boss.

“Emily?” Adrian’s voice sounded, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to meet his amused expression, frowning slightly. “Sorry, what?” I asked, blushing slightly at the thought that Adrian watched me cringe at my own cooking.

“You tell me. You’re looking at your food like it just twerked like Miley Cyrus at the VMA’s.” Adrian chuckled at his own joke, looking proud of himself, and I fought the smile that was threatening to escape my lips.

“I was just thinking.” I replied, taking a bite of the loaf of bread on my plate.

“About my offer last night? You don’t have a choice in the matter. You’re coming back to work for me.” I almost choked on the piece of bread that I was trying to swallow as he said those words, and looked back up at his smirk with wide eyes. So he did remember.

“I… I’m pretty sure it’s my choice, not yours.” I glared in response. In reality, I wanted the job back more than I could describe – but he didn’t need to know that.

Adrian’s arrogant smirk as the words left my lips, and his expression turned to one of desperation. “Shortcake, please.” He begged, and I bit my lip and tried not to blush at the nickname he had assigned to me. I hadn’t heard it in a while. “Ever since you left… Well, I haven’t exactly been paying much attention to the business. My mind has been on you the entire time; I need you to come back in Emily. Please.” Adrian had stood up during his talk, making him stand directly beside me.

I looked up at his eyes and inhaled sharply. The amount of vulnerability in Adrian’s expression caught me completely off guard, and my steady breathing hitched in my throat as I looked straight into his hazel eyes. Something hit me internally just then, and I realised just how much Adrian had an effect on me.

I dragged my gaze away from his and looked down at my plate of food before letting out a sigh. “Okay.”

“No, please Emily. I need you – wait, what?” Adrian asked, cutting his begging short.

I laughed softly. “I said okay. I’ll come back, but there are going to be some rules.” I replied sternly, giving him a hard look.

“Anything. Okay, not anything. If I don’t like it, I’m not going to listen to the rule.” Adrian smirked, shrugging once I gave him a look of disbelief. “I’m still the boss.” He pointed out with a sly smirk, making me blush again.

“Whatever.” I grumbled, trying to stop my blush from deepening. “Number one, no more mood swings. If you have a problem – business or personal related – you tell me straight away. I’m not going to tolerate your PMS Sessions where you’d give me the cold shoulder.”