Chapter Seventeen –
I stared back at Adrian’s expression, blinking blankly for a few moments, before bursting into a fit of laughter. I had momentarily believed him, before it registered in my mind that he was just joking. I began to laugh at his ridiculous suggestion – then abruptly cut myself short once his serious expression didn't change. “You’re not serious.” I stated.
“As the plague.” He remarked, smirking slightly.
My expression turned skeptical. “No way! Not happening!” I exclaimed, giving him a look of disbelief.
His smirk instantly fell and was replaced with a frown. “Why not?”
“Because- Because- Just because! No! You’re my boss, its wrong.” I wasn't going to lie, the thought of living with Adrian – waking up with him on a daily basis, watching movies together, having dinner together – had my stomach doing summersaults and my heart feeling like a feather; but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He was my boss.
“I don’t care. You’re moving in and-”
I cut him off. “Adrian. I can’t move in with you. I like my apartment! I worked my ass off to get it – it’s small, comfortable, and perfect to me! Plus, I have friends that like to see me every day and family who visit on occasion! And what about all the reporters that follow your every move? Moving in with you will send a wrong image out to everyone and-”
“And I don’t know how many times I have to say this to you, I don’t fucking care about how I look to the public. I care about you. So move in with me.” His tone was still commanding, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to change his mind on the matter any time soon.
I sighed, before meeting his eyes. “Adrian…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say to change his mind, before my phone began to ring; filling in the silence that settled in the office. “Hello?” I answered, not paying attention to the caller ID.
“Smelly Emily.” A deep voice answered, making a large grin instantly stretch across my face.
“Flaky Blakey!” I squealed in excitement at the recognition of my older sibling’s voice. “Have you come out of hibernation? Or come back from space? Because no other excuse will be accepted for not calling me for this long!” I warned, still grinning broadly. My eyes briefly flickered over to Adrian’s tall form, which was now leaning against his desk with his hands in his pockets and staring at me with an amused smirk.
“It was your turn, not mine!” He replied.
My grin instantly transformed to a shocked expression, and my eyes narrowed at the small coffee table that was in my line of vision. “It was not!” I argued, “Don’t you remember? I called you and you were at Michael’s house, and then you snuck out to the bathroom to talk to me and then you promised you’d take the double shift because you had to end my phone call short!”
Blake was silent for a moment, before I heard his tongue click in recognition. “That’s right, and my favourite pair of boxers ripped that day. That sad, sad day.” He remarked.
I rolled my eyes and grinned at the same coffee table I was looking at earlier. “You’re such a dork.”
“That’s because I had to live with you for 17 years. You were bound to rub off on my amazing personality just to sabotage my-”
“Shut up Blake.” I laughed, making Adrian’s smirk grow even wider as he watched. He began walking over to where I was, and pulled me into his torso from behind.
“Anyway, guess who’s coming over this Sunday, Smelly Emily?” Blake asked, oblivious to my physical position.
“W- Who?” I stuttered, suddenly feeling ever hair on my body stand up from Adrian’s touch.
“Me, dufus! And mom and dad; so you better make something nice for dinner!” Blake exclaimed.
My mind momentarily stopped focusing on the feeling of Adrian’s arms around my waist and I focused my attention to the phone call with a small frown. “That’s… a surprise… Why?” I asked out of disbelief. “I mean, not that I don’t want you guys to, because I do! I miss you heaps! Well, you and our parents. No, wait, that didn’t sound very nice. What I meant was-”
Blake cut me off with a laugh, and I felt Adrian’s chest vibrate from a low chuckle behind me. “Smelly, chill! I know what you mean. Mom has been complaining to me that she hasn’t seen you for too long. So, I decided we’d pay you a visit. Sunday, we’ll be there at 4PM. See you Smelly Emily!”
I smiled before ending the phone call, before it registered in my mind that Blake couldn’t see me, and I gasped and turned around to Adrian. “I just accidentally hung up in his face!” I exclaimed with wide eyes, feeling panicky.
Adrian smirked down at our close proximity, and I instantly began blushing. “I’m coming over this Sunday.” He informed bluntly as his expression became serious.
Accidentally hanging up on Blake suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal, and I focused all my attention to my boss with a stern look. “No, you’re not. I have plans that I know you’re trying to interfere with. And just to be clear, Blake is my brother; no one you should be getting all possessive about the way you usually do.” I warned.
“I know that. I’ve read your profile. That still doesn’t change the fact that I’m coming over on Sunday.”
“No, you’re not Adrian! This is my family. If you show up, they’ll think there’s something going on between us!” I hissed, frowning up at him.
He studied my expression momentarily before shrugging. “Fine, but you’re moving in with me.”
I groaned. “Adrian! I am not moving in with you. Don’t make me list my reasons again.” I sighed, suddenly feeling tired of re-stating my argument.
“Don’t make me tell you my care factor about people’s opinion’s again.” He glared in response.
“Adrian-”
“I’ll give you time to think about it. Come on, we have a meeting.” He grudgingly brought up, cutting me off.
I bit my lip to stop myself from telling him that I didn’t need to think about it, but refrained myself by walking over to my desk and collecting all the necessary paperwork needed for the meeting.
We began to walk out of the office when I felt Adrian bend down so his lips were in line with my ear. “I forgot to tell you how good your ass looks in that pants suit today. You should wear them more often.” He pulled away and I looked up at him with an expression of disbelief, blushing furiously from his arrogant smirk.
“Shut up.” I mumbled, pushing him away from my body.
***
Sunday came sooner than I liked, and I found myself checking if everything was properly positioned double, even triple times, before my heart was able to relax slightly. Amy was going to arrive any minutes to calm me down and have dinner with us, and I found myself mentally thanking my best friend once again.
Knowing my parents – my entire apartment would be evaluated to make sure everything was cleaned and positioned to perfection. If there was anything out of place; I’d be forced to move back in with them because I’m ‘incapable’ of living on my own.
“I’M HERE BITCH! Oh shit, are your parents here yet? I SAID WITCH, NOT BITCH – JUST TO CLARIFY!” Amy’s voice echoed through my quiet apartment, making me jump in my position just as she slammed the door shut. I turned to her and rolled my eyes as she held up a bottle of wine and fresh bread rolls. “Have no fear, superwoman is here!” Amy sung out once she scanned the apartment for my family.
I shook my head and grinned at her behaviour before pulling her into a hug. “I owe you big time.” I declared while taking the things out of her hands.
“It’s fine. I’m going to get to tease Blake the entire night anyway; you being related to him is pretty much paying me back.” She winked.
I laughed while taking out the bread rolls. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with your crush on him, will it?” I winked.
Amy’s eyes went wide and she instantly began to turn tomato red – a trait I loved to see on her. “I do not have a crush on Blake.”
“Yet you react like that every time I bring it up.” I smirked while setting down the plates around the island in my kitchen. Luckily, most of the food was already prepared. I just had to toss the salad together and I was done. Unfortunately, my parents had decided to be late the one day that I was 100% organised.
“It’s not like them to be late.” Amy murmured to herself, mirroring my thoughts. She looked up at met my eyes and I nodded in agreement with a small frown etched on my forehead.
“Maybe I should call th-” My voice was cut off by a firm knock sounding from the living room, and Amy’s eyes instantly widened. “It’s like they could sense we were talking about them!” She hissed frantically, making me laugh and throw a carrot in her direction.
She dodged it neatly and glared at me as we went over to the front door together. As soon as I opened the front door, I was engulfed in a hug. “Emily! Are you sure you’re okay to live on your own? It took you quite a while to get to the door… Maybe it’s best if we sell this apartment and you can come back and-”
“It’s great to see you too, mom.” I grumbled loud enough to cut her suggestion off.
She pulled away from me with a small smile on her face, and I instantly regretted the harshness of my tone. “I’ve missed you so much honey. Talking on the phone and that time with the face app isn’t really the same as real life, you know?” She pouted, and I looked into her brown eyes with the same longing feeling.
“I know mom, I’ve missed you too.” I replied, placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
“Stop hogging our daughter Michelle.” A deep voice grumbled, and I instantly grinned as my dad held me up and spun me around in our traditional hug. “How are you, Kiddo?” My dad chuckled once I pulled him in for another hug.
“I’m great, how are you?” I asked with a huge grin.
“Great now that I’m looking at my little princess again. I don’t like this long distance thing you’ve got going on with us. I’m always having to fake lose against your mom in Mario Kart.” He gave me look of disappointment, and I began to giggle at his immaturity.
“Hey! I win those games fair and square. Your ego does not need another boost old man!” My mom whacked my father’s arm, who chuckled at her weak hit. A sense of déjà vu washed through me as I remembered the night I had fought with Adrian over the same thing – except our fight was based on UNO cards. Adrian had been nagging me all week about moving in with him – to the point where he even wrote a list of why it was one of his best ideas ever. The list had things like: I get to see Adrian shirtless, and if I’m ‘lucky’, naked all the time; the kitchen was huge and I had an unlimited supply of food due to the fact that his apartment was a hotel suite.
The list had a total of 64 reasons on it, and most of them involved either a naked Adrian or me being naked. That didn’t mean it wasn’t funny though.
“SOMETHING SMELLS REALLY BAD IN HERE. OH, IT MUST BE SMELLY EMILY.” Blake shouted out randomly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I laughed and attempted to glare at him with a grin, before he cracked a smile and pulled me into his biff torso. “I’ve missed you little sis.” He laughed while ruffling my hair.
“I missed you too Blakey Wakey.” I grinned while pinching his cheeks. He slapped my hands away, making us both laugh. “Why were you guys so late? You’re usually never late.” I pointed out with a small frown.
“Traffic.” Blake mumbled, looking a little worn out at the thought.
“Yet another reason why the long distance thing you have going on with us should end right – oh, hello Amy! I didn’t see you there.” My father brought up abruptly. We all turned to look at Amy, who smiling in amusement at the exchange happening in front of her.
“Hello Liam, Michelle.” She nodded and waved at both my parents before turning over to Blake. I watched as her cheeks tinged a slight pink colour, but she covered it up by narrowing her eyes at Blake’s hair. “Is that… no… it couldn’t be, is Flakey Blakey back? I’m starting to see more white stuff appearing it that lovely jet black hair of yours friend.” Amy smirked, making Blake glare back in response.
“It’s nice to see you too Amy. Is that… Wait a minute; did you forget to take the wax off your upper lip again?” He asked with a smirk. Amy was absolutely mortified once Blake had walked in on her waxing her upper lip at my house in senior year. He hasn’t let it go since.
“Shut up.” She scowled, growing red in the face.
We all laughed at her lame retort before I turned to all four guests. “Let’s eat then, shall we?” I grinned, just as my stomach grumbled slightly. They all nodded their heads in agreement and we began to walk into the kitchen before another knock at my door sounded. I frowned and bit my lip curiously. I wasn’t expecting anymore company.
“Amy, did you tell Molly and the other girls to come over?” I asked.
Amy shook her head, looking just as curious as I was. “I’m coming with you! I want to know who it is. It’s bound to be someone interesting because you have no friends!” Amy squealed in excitement, and I slapped her arm at her comment. “Ouch!”
“’Serves you right for calling my sister unpopular. You should be thankful she’s hanging out with someone like you wax face.” Blake said, smirking down at Amy’s short figure.
“Shut up, Flake.” She snapped back, glaring.
“Is it really necessary for all of you to follow me to answer my front door?” I asked with an exasperated sigh, looking at my family and best friend pointedly.
“Yes.” They all answered.
I rolled my eyes and pulled the door open – before almost slamming it shut. Adrian’s foot stopped me. “Hello Shortcake.” He smirked once his eyes met mine before stepping into my apartment. “I hope I’m not too late?” His expression changed to once of innocence as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side while pressing his lips to my cheek.
“I- What are you doing here?” I asked slowly, keeping a phony smile on my face while glaring up at Adrian’s smirking face. I looked over to Amy who had suddenly paled and was staring up at Adrian with her jaw hung open. She’s no help. I thought to myself bitterly.
“I couldn’t miss your family, Shortcake.” Adrian said it as if the answer were obvious, and I just blinked up at him blankly.
“Who… Who is this?” My mom asked cautiously, giving Adrian a nervous smile. I knew that smile all too well. I groaned internally; my mom was checking out my boss.
“Adrian Kingston, Ma’am. Emily’s boss and boyfriend. It’s very nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about all of you.” I choked on my own saliva as soon as the words left Adrian’s mouth, and so did Amy. Boyfriend?!
“Boyfriend?” Blake asked, narrowing his eyes at Adrian suspiciously, mirroring my thoughts.
Adrian gave a swift nod before answering. “You must be Blake. The fun, older brother. Emily talks a lot about you and how you’re always calling her smelly.” Adrian chuckled before I felt his arm tighten around my waist. He stepped forward, completely ignoring Blake’s possessive glare, and turned over to my father. “Mr Johnson. It’s an honour to finally meet you. I’ve heard what you have done for our country, and you’ve also brought the most beautiful woman to this planet – I can’t even begin with how much respect I have for you, Sir. I’ve also heard you’re quite a Mario Kart fan. I hope to verse you one day.” He said, and my head spun around to meet his so fast that I thought I had whiplash.
How the hell does he know all of these things about my family?!
“Mom, Dad, Blake… Why don’t you all get yourselves seated at the dinner table? I need to have a few words with Adrian.” I muttered through gnashed teeth, glaring up at his arrogant smirk.
“Of course sweetie! You take all the time you need with Adrian Kingston!” My mom gushed, looking up at him with a flustered expression. I gave her a look of disbelief before looking over at my father for help. He began dragging her and a pissed off looking Blake into the kitchen; leaving a still-in-shock Amy and an all-too-arrogant Adrian behind in the living room.
“Are you crazy?!” I whisper shouted once I knew they were out of the room completely.
“I believe I’ve already responded to that question before, but I’ll tell you my answer again just to refresh your memory. When it comes to you, yes, completely and utterly bonkers.” Adrian smirked.
My eyes widened with disbelief as I looked up at his amused expression. “Did you not get a single thing I said in the office on Monday?! Now what will I tell them once they find out you lied? And how the hell did you find out about all that stuff about my dad?!” I demanded.
“I looked him up.” He shrugged, before continuing. “Plus, I had to meet the parents soon enough, didn’t I? I mean, you’ve already met mine. It’s only fair-”
“It’s only fair that you leave and let me clean up after your mess with my family!” I hissed, glaring up at him.
“Mess? I don’t think I’ve made a mess. Your mother and father seem very fond of me already. Blake still needs a little more time, but he’ll get there as well eventually. The only person I wasn’t aware of is the creepy girl that’s been staring at me with her mouth open in shock the entire time we’ve been speaking. Who is she?” He asked, casting an uneasy look in Amy’s direction.
I looked over at her and realised she was still in the same jaw dropped position, making me giggle. “Amy, snap out of it! You’re finally going to meet the guy you fan girl over. Adrian this is my best friend Amy. Amy, you already know who Adrian is.” Amy instantly snapped out of her shocked state and looked up at Adrian with stars in her eyes, making me laugh. “You’re a loser, Ames.” I teased, making her turn to me with wide eyes.
“Is that real or am I dreaming? Because there is no way he could get hotter than he was in photos. No, no way…” She trailed off, staring at him again. I laughed before clicking my fingers in her field of vision, making her snap out of her hazy state once again. Her eyes widened at the realisation of her actions and she cleared her throat. “S- Sorry. Hello, Amy am I. I mean, I Amy. Uh- Hi.” She mumbled lamely, going tomato red again.
Adrian chuckled at her caveman talk and I tried to stifle my own laughter, afraid of the death glare I’d receive if I let out my amusement. “Ames, I need you to go and distract my family while I try and get rid of-” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence because Adrian was already strolling into the kitchen, where the food was set.
“Sorry for making you all wait.” Adrian smiled – actually smiled this time; no smirk – before taking a seat near my father. Amy instantly took the seat in between my mother and Blake, and I glared at her once I realised she was trying to make me sit next to Adrian.
“That’s fine honey. We put you all a plate of food anyway. So let’s dig in!” My mom exclaimed in excitement, still keeping an eye on Adrian. I threw a glare in her direction, and her gaze instantly met the food on her plate once she saw my expression.
“So, Adrian, how is the infamous Kingston Company going?” My father asked once everyone began to eat. I shoved a large piece of steak into my mouth; trying to eat away the fact that I was pissed off that Adrian had a friendly charisma that won over my usually over-protective dad way too quickly for my comfort.
Adrian swallowed his salad before nodding briefly. “I’m not going to lie. The short period that I didn’t have Emily working for me was quite a large failure. I wasn’t able to concentrate without her by my side. But now that she’s back, I can happily say things are booming again Sir.” Adrian smiled slightly, before placing his hand on top of my thigh.
I looked up to meet his amused expression and glared slightly, letting him know that I was still angry with him.
“Call me Liam son.” My dad patted Adrian’s back briefly, before giving a smile. My eyes widened before I looked across the table to meet Blake’s eyes. He got the pat on the back! I mouthed in shock.
Blake stared at Adrian for a few moments, before his gaze fell back on mine and he nodded. If my father ever patted a boy’s back, it meant he approved of him. Adrian managed to get it in less than half an hour. That had to be a world record. Blake’s best friend, Michael, had to wait four months until he received his.
The rest of the dinner was eaten with comfortable small talk going on; and I was thankful that everyone was acting normal about the fact that I hadn’t told them I supposedly had a boyfriend. Once we finished eating, I placed all the plates into the dishwasher that was built into the kitchen before re-entering the living room where everyone else was seated except for my mom –who was no doubt, inspecting the apartment.
“I can take you down in Mario Kart any day man.” Blake laughed, throwing a pillow at Adrian.
“Is that a challenge?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at my older brother.
“Oh, bring it on bro.” Blake smirked, and I watched as he flexed his muscles in front of Adrian to look more intimidating. Amy rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath which earned a glare from Blake, making me laugh.
“Shortcake, come and sit by me.” Adrian smirked, before shuffling over so he could make more room in between him and my father.
Uh… I think I should just sit on the chair. It looks pretty tight over there already-”
“Oh nonsense, Kiddo. There’s plenty of room for you. Don’t feel embarrassed to sit beside your boyfriend in front of your family.” My dad smiled, and I almost choked again at the word ‘boyfriend’. The word was beginning to hit too close to home, and I was trying to push back the alleged feelings I had for Adrian.
Adrian waggled his eyebrows at my dad’s words before patting the sofa beside him, making me sigh in defeat and take my seat in between the two tall men. Adrian instantly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his body. “At this rate, I could have sex with you on the table and they’d still approve of me. You’re welcome.” I tried to push him away in disgust but ended up looking playful in front of Blake and my father, making my cheeks flame up.
Adrian chuckled and stole another kiss on my cheek before turning over to the movie on the screen.
“Emily, honey. Your tap in the bathroom leaks! See, I knew you weren’t fit enough to handle this whole apartment on your own just yet. We should sell it right away and you can come back home and live with us.” My mom ordered as soon as she entered the living room.
Adrian stiffened at the mention of me moving away from here, and I watched as he clenched his jaw in anger. “She’s not moving away from me.” He stated, frowning slightly.
My mom looked over at Adrian sympathetically. “I’m sorry Adrian. It’s just; well, if she can’t take care of a leaking tap then who knows-”
“Mom!” I exclaimed, turning around to face her fully while still managing to stay in Adrian’s hold. “The tap isn’t even leaking that much. Plus, I’ve already called someone to look at it and he’s going to be coming in within the next week. I know how to control an apartment.” I frowned in anger while giving her a warning look.
“Honey… We’re just concerned for your safety. What if – and God forbid this ever happen to you – but a break in occurs? You live alone. There is no one to protect you and you may not be strong enough to take care of yourself in that situation, Kiddo.” My dad sad from beside me, making me eyes trail over to his concerned expression.
“That won’t be a problem, because she’s moving in with me. Tonight.” Adrian spoke up, making my neck almost snap from turning so quickly for the second time tonight.
He did not just drop that bombshell on my all too satisfied looking family.
---
Hello! How are we all?
I’m soooooo tired it’s not even describable. I’ve been up since 5AM to watch the 1DDAY live stream! And slept at like 2AM to finish school work just so I can write this chapter today! So I’m sorry if it’s not all good. (See, I didn’t say bad this time! haha)
But never mind the chapter right now. I just wanted to thank each and every single one of you readers out there. No, like thank you isn’t even what I want to do. I want to like hug you all so tightly because you guys are the best readers on this planet! You guys got The Assistant to have over 75, 000 reads, over 2, 000 votes and almost 500 comments! Not to mention the fact that I almost have 500 followers! :O I love you all so much! Thank you for all the messages as well, btw!
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