"Ms. White, this was just delivered for you."
I looked up from the mail I was currently reading to find Leah bringing in a medium sized box wrapped beautifully with a golden paper. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes as I immediately knew where it came from. Refraining from letting out an exasperated breath, I quietly dismissed her after thanking.
Once Leah was gone closing the door on her way out, I gingerly picked up the 'gift' sitting innocently on my desk. Flipping it over, I saw a small card with the now familiar and stupidly elegant scrawl on it.
Bribe #18
Mission: Bring a smile on your face.
I love you.
-your dashing prince
I bit my lip, resisting the goofy grin that threatened to form on it. The stupid fool had made it his mission to shower me with stupidly cute gifts ever since Eva left, claiming to restart his bribes.
It had now been month since we dropped her off. Her eighteenth birthday had just passed, which she wanted to celebrate with her new friends at the college. So I had only sent her a gift and a giant cake for her birthday, this being the first one she celebrated without me, the first one where I wished her through FaceTime instead of wishing her in person. I didn't want to admit it but I felt like she was no longer my little sister. She was now an adult, a grown up and had a life of her own.
Apparently I wasn't so good in hiding my emotions that the devil of my boyfriend- it still felt strange calling him that when I felt that he was so much more- had been sending these little gifts every single day, either to my office or even at home to 'make me smile' ad he put it. Sometimes there would be more than one gift in a single day- just like today.
The thoughtful man had even made it to the point of hiring a person just to deliver his packages since I was still opposed to the idea of the paps finding out about us and interrupting. But this just made him sent the poor guy over with a package whenever he felt like it, regardless of the time. I had a feeling Leah and the delivery guy had already began hitting off quite well due to the frequency of his visits.
Shaking the thoughts of the probably budding romance between my secretary and the delivery guy out of my mind, I gently started peeling off the wrapping, taking care not to tear it. As much as I pretended to be annoyed, I couldn't help but feel excited every day at the prospect of being spoiled by the devil. Neither did that stop me from treasuring every single thing he sent me- down to his cards and the wrapping papers.
He had turned me into a fool like himself.
I peeled off the wrap to reveal a circular wooden box with a small lock in the front. I flicked the lock, making it open. I gently lifted off the lid which was still attached on one side. Immediately, a soft and lovely music filled my office room. I instantly recognized the song. Stand by me. I watched in awe at the dancing figures of Mickey and Minnie swaying with the music inside a glass ball, their features illuminated by the flickering of colorful lights all around them. Little snowflakes were continuously falling inside the glass, making it look magical. I squinted at something that seemed to be written inside the ball. Bringing it closer to my eyes, a wide smile slipped from my lips when I read the words.
Addie and Eve~ for the rest of time.
It was so cliché yet so typically Adrian that I felt as if I was a high schooler getting my first gift from my crush. Feeling silly yet happy at the same time, I focused my attention back to the dancing figurines, absorbing the familiar words of the song- as if hearing it for the first time, as if the song was made for me, by him.
If the sky, that we look upon, should tumble and fall
Or the mountains, should crumble, to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no-no-no I won't shed a tear
Just as long, as you stand, by me
And darlin', darlin' stand, by me
Oh-oh-oh, stand, by me
Oh darling, stand by me, stand by me, stand by me
My phone went off suddenly, pulling me away from the magical world I had just immersed into, the words touching deep into my soul. I hadn't felt the tears that had somehow escaped my eyes without my knowledge. Scolding myself for being emotional over a song, I quickly wiped them off before looking at the caller's ID.
Think of the devil.
"Got my gift?" His cocky voice sounded from the other side as soon as I picked up the call.
"I did. I knew you were cheesy, but to this extent? Tsk, Tsk, Stone, I officially crown you the ultimate king of cheesiness. Even McDonald's won't be able to compare with you." I smirked at him, knowing he couldn't see me.
I heard him scoff. "Call it cheesy, but that still made you smile, didn't it?" He sounded grumpy and adorable.
I rolled my eyes all the while sporting a wide grin on my face. "No, it didn't." I lied. There was no way he'd know I was smiling like a maniac.
No sooner had I uttered those words, the door of my office suddenly opened and in walked the smirking form of a human devil, his smirk the widest I'd seen on him. He cocked an arrogant eyebrow at me. "Really?"
So much for him not knowing.
"Caught ya." He whispered, his sound resonating through the phone as well as on my ear where he breathed those words on. I couldn't comprehend how fast he had crossed the distance between us and come to stand right behind me as I stood in front of my desk in excitement at his call. A shiver ran up my spine when he lightly nipped the skin on my neck before hanging up.
I turned around, fully facing him now and once again, I was struck by how handsome he was. He was wearing a deep blue suit jacket paired with the same pants and a black shirt. His eyes peered down to mine, the rich blue in them intensified by the color of his jacket. His dark hair had been swiped to a side neatly, not a hair out of place and I suddenly had a strong desire to tousle it. I let out a dreamy sigh inwardly as I drank in his features down to his sharp jawline and smirking lips. I'd be committing the greatest sin against dear almighty if I said he didn't look edible.
"Hasn't anyone taught you that it's bad to lie?" He whispered just over my lips. The sinful pair were so close to my innocent ones that the slightest movement would make them touch. I bit my lips to resist the urge to close the distance.
Returning my eyes back to his which were regarding me intensely, I tried my best seductive expression- although I had no idea what I was doing. I raised myself up on my tiptoes so that my lips were close to his left ear. Then I mimicked what he had done just a moment ago. "Why don't you teach me then?" I whispered against his ear, biting it gently before pulling back to observe his reaction.
The expression of pure shock that appeared on his face was the one that would be on my mind for a long, long time. The devil of the human actually blushed. I could see his ears and the top of his cheeks turning pink, contrasting over his flawless skin. I squealed and placed my hands over my own cheeks dramatically.
"Oh. My. God! Adrian Stone, are you blushing?"
I watched in amusement, shock and giddiness as he reddened one more shade, all the while attempting to glare at me. I felt beyond proud of myself for making the smirking devil blush. It was about time he got a taste of his own medicine. It really wasn't fair that he turned me into a blushing mess every single time.
I could tell he was feeling uncomfortable, what with me eyeing him like my blueberry muffin in the shape of a cute teddy bear. I should've stopped, but I was enjoying it too much. Besides, I had a strong inkling that this would be the only time he blushed. So better enjoy it to the fullest.
I reached up and pinched both of his cheeks, planting a giant kiss on them. "Aww, Stone, I didn't know you had it in you to be cute."
He groaned and attempted to swat my hands away from his face but I was basically clinging on him. "Evelyn White," he called sternly- well, tried to, but the sound came out adorably with his cheeks being assaulted by my fingers. I squeezed them and squashed them together making him look like a duck. I was giggling uncontrollably as I tried to shape his face.
I was so lost in playing with his face that I gasped out aloud when my hands were suddenly gripped by the stronger ones, pulling them away from his face and behind me. His hold on my hands were tight enough to hold them away from his victimized face but not too tight as to hurt me. I raised my eyes to meet his and reveled in the dark, smoldering gaze they held.
"Now, now, love, do you really want that? Because I wouldn't mind a bit to teach you. The quite opposite, as a matter of fact." The devil pressed his lips against mine for the briefest of touches before he pulled away, smirking. He suddenly released his hold on me, making me suppress a shiver of cold without the heat of his body near mine.
A distinct click grabbed my attention and I turned around to find my office door locked from the inside and an overly pleased Adrian walking towards me with his equally overly annoying smirk. Before I could get a word out of my mind and command him to undo the lock, though, I was rendered speechless by his lips slamming into mine and molding them with such intensity that I forgot how to breathe.
I responded almost immediately despite my reservations about the closed door. It was like all my senses flew out of my head, up in the air and started dancing in pink tutus when he kissed me like that- like his very life depended on me. I wondered briefly if that was exactly how he felt when I kissed him, or if he felt something different.
"Adrian, the door..," I breathed out when his lips left mine and attacked the skin just below my ear. I was torn between wanting to push him away and pull him closer- impossibly closer- at the same time. My hands found themselves in his hair, rearranging them just as I wished to do earlier. One of his hands were buried deep into my hair while the other held my waist, holding me impossibly closer to him, not that I was complaining. You are supposed to be complaining, you idiot! Remember the locked door of your office!
Right.
"Adrian Stone, release me... right now and um... o-open the door. It... this is my office... shouldn't... lock..." I blubbered like a fool under his spell. I literally felt him smirk against my skin of my neck as I was struggling to put the words together. The devil of a-
"Remember, you wanted me to teach you, White." The arrogant Satan had the guts to state with a smirk before coolly detaching his lips from my neck and swiftly moving to the door. In surprising speed, he unlocked it and walked back to stand in front of me, all the while sporting the annoying smirk.
I knew I walked right into that one.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I rearranged my hair and sat down on my seat. I ignored Adrian, who was still smirking, looking as pleased at himself as a 5 year old boy who had successfully managed to steal a whole jar of cookies from right under his parents' nose. Inwardly rolling my eyes at his smugness, I refocused my attention to the mail I had been reading before the devil had decided to disturb me by his thoughtful little gift.
I had been trying to expand Eva's to other countries. Since most of my designers as well as consumers were of French origin, I had deemed the place as a good start. Adrian had agreed that it would be a good investment when I'd mentioned about it to him a month prior. Since then, I'd been making arrangements to open a branch office in France.
The mail I was currently attending to was sent by Derek, the person I'd appointed to make all arrangements for the new establishment. He had just notified me that things were running out smoothly. There were a few legal matters I needed to tend to, and some papers I needed to sign before I would have the green to officially start the branch office. I could feel my body humming with excitement at the prospect of this new addition to my company.
From what I'd been told and from the bits and pieces I remembered about my childhood, my dad had been a businessman, although it was a small company he ran. Gramps and Gran had told me that he had a sharp mind for business and would've been a rich figure in the business world if only he hadn't been taken away so early from this world. I could remember the pride and respect they both held in their eyes for their late son-in-law as they talked about how hard dad worked to establish himself after his parents cut him off for marrying mom.
"Eve, my child, you are just like him. You have the same mind as him, the same dedication he had for his company. I know for a fact that he is grinning proudly as he looks at you from up there." Gramps had told me that night a couple of years ago when he'd found me looking at the stars from the rooftop of their house, trying to find if my parents were among the twinkling bodies.
Initially, when I'd started this company, I'd done it for Eva, knowing how much she loved designing. I wanted her name to be the topmost brand in the fashion market, just as she had wished for. But that day, when Gramps told me about my dad, I decided that it was more for him than anyone else.
Dad hadn't been rich, according to what Gramps said. We only had enough to live modestly but I believed when he said dad would've been much more, if only he had been given a chance. That night, once I was left alone, I'd vowed to myself and my dad under the stars that I would do what he wanted to. I would expand my company and make him proud. I would fulfill his dreams. I had felt such a strong connection with my father that night as I voiced out my promise, that for a moment it felt as if he were right there beside me, smiling at me.
"Eve?"
I blinked, startled when Adrian touched my hand and looked at me with concern lining his features, all traces of his playfulness and smirk gone. His brows were turned down into a frown as he saw me lost in my thoughts.
"Eve? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's alright. I'm sorry I was just... thinking. Did you say something?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't press for more.
I inwardly sighed in relief when he seemed to understand I didn't want to talk about it now and nodded slowly. I watched warily as his lips slowly turned up in a smirk once again. I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms and resting them on the desk.
"I said, did you like my gift?" He asked, his eyes twinkling like little crystal stones.
I smiled as I looked over to the two figures dancing merrily on the top of my desk. The music had stopped by now. I frowned as I held the ball in my hands. The lights had also stopped flickering. I gently closed the lid and opened it back up, grinning widely when the music and the lights started once again. I didn't know how long I watched it in trance until it was broken by a voice so smug that no one other than Adrian Stone could pull off.
"I take it that you love my gift." It wasn't a question, rather a statement.
I rolled my eyes at him before placing the ball back on my desk, securely. Trying to control my grin, lest the idiot's head grew bigger than mercury, I raised my eyebrows at him, smirking slightly. "Addie and Eve for the rest of time," I read out the words written inside the ball, letting a full smirk grace my face as I watched him try to appear nonchalant. "Gosh, Adrian, you're such a goof!"
"A goof you love nevertheless," he shot back, his tone only half teasing now.
All the retorts I had died in my throat as I gazed at the mixture of playfulness, hope, anxiety, seriousness and love, the expressions all rolled in his eyes. The words were on the back of my throat, ready to tumble out if only I so much as opened my mouth. But I clamped them shut tightly, forcing the words to return back to where they escaped from- into a secure corner of my heart.
"According to whom?" I asked him, instantly regretting the words when hurt and disappointment flashed in his eyes before he hastily cleared them up. Just a few more days, I repeated myself. A few days- few weeks more and I'd tell him what he'd been wanting to hear, what my heart had been wanting to let him hear since the day he took me home all those days ago when I'd first learned of Eva's condition from Keith. As I remembered that night now, it felt like ages ago.
"So you don't?" Adrian countered, never once removing his intense gaze from me. He was looking at me as if he could see right through my soul, right through my heart where I'd locked those words in a tightly sealed cabinet.
I tried lightening up, not liking the way I felt so vulnerable under his gaze. There would be plenty of time to show him my feelings later. Just not now, not until a few more weeks, I repeated it in my head like a sacred mantra.
"I don't know," I replied in a teasing tone, smirking at him, "you are yet to finish your mission. Or do you give up on your bribes?"
He didn't question my lack of a proper answer. Instead, he went with my flow, but not before I caught another flash of disappointment in those orbs I had come to love so much. I forced my heart to add one more wall around it when the words threatened to break through the lock and escape out of my mouth.
"Never, love. You're not getting rid of me- or my bribes- that easily. I'm going to spoil you." He winked at me easily. The fact that he accepted my response- or my lack thereof, for that matter- so easily, without question made me love him more than I thought possible. Every time, when I thought I couldn't love the devil more than I already did, there he went and did these little thoughtful things making me wonder how it was that my heart was able to accommodate all the love I had for him, which only seemed to be growing every day.
Just a few weeks more.
"Careful there, Stone, or you'll be begging on the streets if you keep 'spoiling' me." I emphasized the word making air quotes with my fingers, which he caught swiftly and planted a kiss on before releasing them like nothing happened. Smooth.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I've heard my woman has a huge business of her own. I'm sure she'll take me off the streets in that case." He wiggled his eyebrows at me, making me roll my eyes.
"Speaking of business, I almost forgot to tell you. Remember when I told you about opening a branch office of Eva's outside the states?"
He nodded almost instantly. "Of course I do. You wanted to start with France, didn't you?"
I nodded, not being able to hide my smile at the warmth that enveloped me with his words. He remembered. "Yeah. So, I just got a mail from Derek. It looks like I am to be heading to France for two weeks." I bit my lip as I waited for his response.
The relaxed look in his face vanished immediately. He shook his head vehemently. "Why would you need to go? Didn't you assign the redheaded clown to do the job? I wonder if he spends all his salary in feeding his nose."
I choked a laugh at his dry sense of humor. While his descriptions fit Derek rather snugly, I didn't want to add more about his... rather oversized nose. I sighed. We were going out of topic.
"I did. And Derek has done his job well, Adrian. But there are other legal matters that need me to be present. Don't worry, I'm not travelling for the first time. Well, come to think of it, I believe I haven't travelled abroad since I met you. I didn't realize I've been missing it. I'm sure it's going to be refreshing, especially since it's Paris!" I tried sounding excited despite not feeling it.
"When?" He asked quietly.
I checked the mail again before answering. "Next week. I leave on Tuesday."
He looked determined as he spoke next. "I'm coming with you."
I immediately shook my head at him. "No, you're not. You have that annual meeting on Wednesday, don't you?" He groaned loudly.
"I can postpone that," he replied lamely, knowing it wasn't possible.
I shook my head with a smile. "No, you can't, Adrian. And you know it. No one can postpone the company's annual meeting unless it's an emergency."
"You leaving me is an emergency." He ground out like a petulant child. I suppressed the urge to pinch his cheeks again.
"Adrian, I'm not leaving you! I'm leaving the states for two weeks!"
"Might even be two lifetimes without you." If I didn't know better, I'd say he was pouting.
I walked around my desk and came to stand in front of him. He spun his seat a little so that I stood between his knees. Leaning down, I pressed a soft kiss on his lips. "Adrian, it's only two weeks. It'll go in a blur. Don't worry, you'll be fine. And it's not as if we're living in the seventeenth century when there was no means to contact each other."
"There's no other way to change your mind, is there?" He asked in defeat.
"No. Now, shoo. Don't you have your company to run?" I raised my eyebrows at him and tried my best to level him with a disapproving look.
He stood up, winding his arms around my waist. "Work can wait, love. I just wanted to see you so bad. Now that I have, I have no desire to return."
I groaned. "Leave it to you to spurt literature every time to win."
He smirked. "I'm quite good, aren't I?"
I rolled my eyes, detangling myself from his arms. "Yeah, whatever. Now, if you insist on staying uninvited at my office, the least you could do is feed me. Come on! You don't want to be around me when I'm hungry."
His chuckle reverberated through the office as I dragged him behind me.
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