Unbreak Me

Chapter 17

How is it none of my concern?!

I groaned and banged my head on my desk before getting back to work and retrieving files for the devil.

By the time 5pm rolled around I had sat through an hour of a verbal lashing for getting the wrong file, when it was actually the correct file all along, I had a mountain of paperwork and meetings to still schedule, and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I received a call from reception saying the Blacks had arrived.
I sighed harshly and stood up.
When I walked into Mr. Adley's office he took one look at me.

"Jesus Christ, girl. Go and fix your face. At least try not to look as ugly as you are." Adley growled. "We don't want to scare them away!"

"Yes sir." I walked back and took my small make up bag out and tried to fix my make up. There was only so much I could do to get rid of the dark circles and dullness of my skin.

I did what I could and went to meet up with everyone in the meeting room.
Mr and Mrs Black sat happily making small talk while Mr. Adley flicked through pages of the contract reading and rereading paragraphs and clauses.
Oliver just sat there looking as stern as usual.

I hesitantly opened the door. I felt nervous all of a sudden. I hadn't really prepared myself for literally signing my life away.
Although, it hadn't been mine for a long time.

"Avery!" Mrs. Blacks pleasant voice chirped. "It's good to see you!"

I smiled politely and greeted everyone before taking my seat next to Mr. Adley.

"Avery, have you had a chance to read through the contract?" Mr. Black asked.

Just as I was about to answer, Mr. Adley did it for me.

"She doesn't need to do such things." Mr. Adley said. "Avery just has to worry about the wedding."

A small sigh left my lips and I could see Mr and Mrs. Black weren't too happy.

"Let's get on with this, shall we?" Mr. Adley said.

He signed a few dotted lines and slid the papers over to me.
I hesitated nervously. I felt a painful squeeze on my knee that caused me to flinch and wince slightly.
I quickly signed the indicated lines and pushed the paper away.
Oliver did the same.

"All done?" Mrs. Black asked. "Now it's about 2 weeks until the engagement party! I'll meet up with Avery and Marie to go over the plans." She beamed happily.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Mother will kill me for sure. "Then after that we'll set a date for the wedding and Avery will move into Oliver's apartment."

Everyone nodded and we all stood from our seats. I didn't miss the clenched fist from Mr. Adley. I only hoped that fist wasn't going to be turned on me.

"Also, I've brought invitations for the charity gala myself and Max have organised for this weekend. I would love it if everyone could attend." She smiled warmly while rummaging through her bag.

"What is the charity for?" I asked.

"We're raising money for the homeless." Mr. Black answered. "We'll have an auction but people are welcome to donate freely."

I smiled and nodded.

I only have about $3,000 in savings... I could just donate $1,000, right?

Mrs. Black found the invitations and gave me five black embossed envelopes.

I smiled and thanked her. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.
"I'm so glad it's you." She whispered in my ear, successfully shocking me.

I went back to my office and looked up when there was a brief knock on the open door.

"Oliver?" I thought he had already left.

"Avery, I'll be taking you to the gala on Saturday night."

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly and placed my pen down.

Isn't he supposed to ask, not tell?

"You're my fiancee now, so it's expected for you to be my date." He explained.

I sighed and nodded my head.
A large yawn I've been trying to hold in escaped me. I covered my mouth to hide the black hole, as mother calls it.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked stepping further into my office.

"I'm fine, just tired." I smiled up at him. I knew I looked horrible, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"What time do you finish work?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I have a whole stack of paperwork to finish by tonight." I said motioning to the papers that had been piling up all day.

"Maybe you should work on your time management and not leave a weeks work to the last minute." He stated as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

My jaw clenched and unintentially gave Oliver a pointed look.
I was far too tired to put up with someone commenting on my work ethic.

"Mr. Black," I started sternly. "This is not from a week of me not doing anything. This is all from today. I pride myself on my efficiency and won't tolerate anyone telling me to 'work on time management' when my work is already exceptional."

But if you ask Mr. Adley...

A flash of shock passed through his eyes, before returning to his emotionless state.
"I apologize Avery." He said. "I thought that would be way too much work for one day and for one person."

"It's fine." I sighed. "I'll probably be here all night." I mumbled.

"You have my number, call me when you have finished. I'll take you back home." He said firmly.

"I'll be fine. I don't want to cause any trouble." I smiled.

"Nonsense. I'll come here at 9pm. If you're not done I'll wait around for you."

"You don't ask do you?" I asked.

"Never." A playful glint shone in his eyes and a smirk was plastered on his face.

"Avery!" A harsh  snapped yelled through the intercom.

I closed my eyes momentarily and stood from my seat.
"If you'll excuse me, I must get back to work."

"Of course." He nodded curly and walked out.