Personal Assistant (MXM - EDITING )

Chapter 23: Every action has a reaction. pt. ii

Nicolas would always put down his assistants, neglecting their opinions and emotions and it frustrated Marcel at how easily they accepted the fact that they were 'below' him. Now, Marcel understood. Seven was formal, doing an assistant job out of the goodness of his heart. Not because he felt obligated to be a 'servant' for someone, but because he wanted to help. Marcel recognized now the difference between Seven and Nick's former assistants: Seven didn't see himself as below Nick, but rather someone standing beside him... and being looked down on was not something Seven was going to take.

A good change, to say the least.

Nicolas turned his head, swallowing the cold water, "Excuse me?"

Seven kept his glare on the CEO, "With all due respect, Mr. Anderson, I don't appreciate the fact that you're talking for me."

"I'm not talking for you, Mr. Ochoa. I just really don't care about what you have to say on a business matter." Nicolas threw back.

Seven scoffed, stepping back at the remark, "Seriously? I may not be relevant in this conversation, but God helps me if you don't let me advise you with this situation."

"This isn't a math class, Mr. Ochoa. You can't just raise your hand and expect me to listen to you-"

"Yeah, this isn't a math class! Don't confuse the topic of the conversation with a simple 2 plus 2 question. The fact is, your father wants to marry you to someone you don't even know. You don't even have a say. Are you even going to argue with him? Assumingly, the way you're acting now, you're just going to follow up with the order - which in essence, could benefit the company, but what about you?" Seven kept his stern look on Nicolas, keeping his tone flat and formal, not wanting to step over his boundaries. Of course, he also recognized that Marcel doesn't know much about the two, so he didn't want to give off any ideas that they were 'close'.

He wasn't going to say anything on the topic. He knew if he did, he'd go off and talk in a way that an assistant shouldn't speak to a CEO. But being shut down... being spoken for has possibly gotta be one of his all-time pet peeves.

Marcel stepped back a bit, keeping his eyebrows raised and realizing now was the time to see how close the two associates really were.

Nicolas rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "Is that all, Mr. Ochoa? Are you pleased with letting out everything you kept inside?" he said in a sarcastic yet genuine tone as if he were mocking the PA.

Seven balled his hands into a fist, biting the inside of his cheek, "Can I ask what exactly are you going to do?" he calmly asked, keeping himself under control from shouting.

"I don't know, Ochoa. I'll let my future self figure it out when the time comes." Nicolas smiled.

"Really? Wouldn't it be better if you figured it out now so you wouldn't have to stress about it later?"

Nicolas sighed, throwing his head back relieving the stiffness from his neck, "Ochoa, go sit down. You have a priority, right? Go focus on that rather than trying to get involved in my personal life." Nicolas stepped forward before Serene could get a chance to respond. Closing the space between them, the height difference could be pointed out. Serene eyed up at the male that stood in front of him, feeling the warmth cluster between their chests. Nicolas kept his ocean eyes at Seven's, a sly smirk appearing on his face, "Unless you want to... you know... get involved in another way."

Seven's eyes widened, feeling his chest tighten at the statement. A lump grew in his throat, hearing the comment being whispered to him. It was just embarrassing at this point, how close the two were. Whatever the intention that Nicolas had with saying what he said, Serene didn't take it lightly. His eyes darted down to Nicolas' chest, now remembering the night of the party. How close they were and how intense the pleasure felt that night. Seven's lips parted, keeping his emerald eyes on the CEO's white plain shirt, his cheeks heating as he remembered the build-up, the sweat, the noises, the intensity. It was too much to think about, Serene had to step back, putting his hand on Nicolas' chest, pushing him away.

Nick stepped back from the push, raising his chin high, looking at the reaction of the assistant. He bit his lower lip as the corner of his lip curved into another smirk. He raised an eyebrow, almost proud of the reaction he had gotten. How quickly Serene turned around to hide the embarrassment from his face was exactly what Nicolas wanted to see. Though, he didn't do this to shut him down. Nicolas knew what he wanted. He knew that he would give up talking just to hear Serene talk for hours! Though the way the assistant was speaking... advising him... it was his job, but Marcel was still in the room and Nicolas was taking caution of Serene's words, making sure he didn't say anything that would hint to Marcel how close the two were.

To the PA, Nicolas whispering that comment came off as sexual, taunting. Him whispering 'Unless you want to... you know... getting involved in another way was out of the blue and embarrassing.

On the other hand, Nick said it because he knew how obvious it was that Seven had grown onto him. The fact that Nick brought up his aunt and made Seven shift gears mid-conversation was enough to make Marcel start questioning their relationship. Seven's reaction was not expected at first; The CEO did not expect the assistant to react so bluntly in front of Marcel, and Nick felt the need to take it down a notch. So... he said what he said to catch the PA off-guard and step back before he said anything else. Reasonably, he had to whisper it, too. So Marcel wouldn't hear him and also add a little 'intensity' to his comment.

"Speak, Ochoa." Marcel eventually spoke, noticing the weird tension between the two.

Seven cleared his throat, turning his back to the two taller friends, shaking his head, "I have work, Mr. Adams." Seven muttered, walking towards the couch.

Marcel frowned, raising an eyebrow and turning to Nick, "What the hell happened there?"

Nicolas sighed, shrugging, "Must've realized he had a job to do. Unlike you, Marcel! Why are you still here?"

Marcel shook his head, turning his back to Nicolas, "We're not done with this topic, Nick!" he shouted, waving at his friend as he walked out of the office. For a split second, he glanced at Serene who stood by the coffee table and saw how tensed the assistant was.