French fries with a Side of Charlie
Adriana's P.O.V.
As soon as Monday afternoon arrived, an employee had forcedly introduced to my shock consumed being, the brand new office that belonged to me.
As I permitted my foot to take the very first step within the boundaries of the office, immense admiration soured through my physique. My azure tinted irises explored the average sized office; ogling the fragile glass consumed desk that was gladly accompanied with a sleek leather swivel chair. Placed right on the sheer desk was a dark computer, and a printing machine, along with a guest chair facing the office desk. On the right part of the room was a shelf and a white wooden cupboard on the far left side.
I initiated taking slow, patient and steady steps towards the desk, running my thin fingers along the flat surface of the glimmering glass. Bending my entire physique forewords, a thought crossed my mind out of the blue. Lowering my face, I flared my nostrils in unison, sniffing the fragile glass. I deeply inhaled in exceptional joy, and headed towards my next destination; the chair.
Signaling permission towards my lower region, my bottom slowly descended towards the seat. Finally landing, I repeatedly advanced from left to right, adjusting to the comfort that was engraved within the dark colored chair.
Once the finale made an appearance, I commenced on mentally preparing myself for the most magnificent part of my entertainment for the day; twirling on the swivel chair. Chanting a countdown, I impatiently waited for the number one to make an appearance.
"One." I twirled and swiveled like there was no tomorrow and rocked my body from left to right as I was situated on the lavish leather swivel chair that belonged to none other than myself. My thin, sun-kissed arms were waving in the air, as if I were riding a roller coaster.
As I continuously swiveled on the chair, the corner of my ocean blue eyes caught the site of an amused Morgan that was glancing at me from a glass window that separated my office from his. The sudden realization hit me like a massive truck; he saw my bizarre self sniff the table, swivel and dance on a chair, and even hold a conversation with my own self. I huffed at the sudden awareness that he could see my every move due to the glass window and due to the fact that I made a fool of myself in front of none other than the devil himself.
The once amused man concealed his previous expression into a slightly serious one, signaling for me to get to work. I saluted his being as I mouthed an 'Aye Aye Captain'. As I buried myself in office work, I was abruptly interrupted with the ringing sound of the telephone that was situated on the desk. Placing the phone on the palm of my hand, I motioned it towards my ear.
"Come to my office. Now." A grumpy Morgan stated from the other line and I did nothing but obey. Heading towards his office, I wrapped my palm around the knob and opened the door. As my eyes stared at his face, his perfectly groomed brows rose a few centimeters from their original position.
With an oblivious and confused expression, I spoke."What?" I inquired.
"You didn't knock the door." he crossed his muscular arms across his built chest.
"And?" I questioned once more.
"I'm your boss, you're obliged to knock on my door before entering my office," he stated in an authoritative tone that would have appeared threatening to some.
"Well, according to the media I'm your lovely girlfriend and what girlfriend is obliged to do that to her boyfriend." although Morgan and I's deal has lasted for awhile, I could never get acquainted to referring to that man as my lover.
He rolled his coal like irises in annoyance and initiated a divergent topic. "I have a very important meeting to attend to in two hours, so I need you to call Mister Moreau, the man I'll be securing the business deal with tonight and to re-inform him and his men about the location and time." he stated in an ever so quick manner.
"Mister Moreau you say?" I said. Inhaling deeply, he spoke once more."Is that all you got from what I said?"
Ignoring his inquiry, I continued. "Is he French? Oh, wait, he could be German!" having no clue on the reason behind my sudden interest on the man's ethnicity, but I still managed to continue."Wait, he could also be Norwe-" my speech was cut off by the devil himself.
"Why the hell do you care? Go do as you were told." he motioned a hand for me to exit as if I were some sort of animal.
"I don't care, I'm simply inquiring on aspects regarding my work in order to become an exceptional employee," I sarcastically muttered.
"You're really useless," he shot towards my being and my eyes widened in offense.
"Excuse me? I'll have you know that I am useful in many things such as-"
"What? Being annoying?" he chuckled at his remark.
Glaring, I spoke."No, that's your specialty."
"Oh, really? Then tell me Miss Lancaster what you are so useful in." he beckoned for me to continue my previous statement. As soon as said that, I recalled that he was accurate; I was useful in absolutely no field. Gulping, I finally decided to create multiple things that I absolutely had no idea on how to accomplish.
"I–uh–um, you see, I am perfectly capable of doing many things such as. ." silence envelopes the room. "Such as?" he inquired with a smirk plastered on his visage.
"Oh, yeah, such as eating ramen better than a man,"I smirked and continued,"I'm useful when it comes to–uh, engineering and fixing things, I'm excellent at cooking, playing soccer, football, baseball and even golf. I'm trilingual and–um, I am phenomenal when it comes to dancing." the chain of lies poured continuously out of my mouth. None of the talents I mentioned were accurate in any level possible, as I was even horrible at the most simplest things such as walking.
A smirking Morgan managed to smirk even harder."Oh, you say you're trilingual?" What languages do you speak?" he questioned whilst leaning backwards on his seat with amusement slapped on his features.
Recalling the countries I previously stated, I thought of uttering them."English and–um, French and German." I bit my lip and I finished spitting the false statements.
"French? Wow, what a coincidence, my business deal is with Mister Moreau who just happens to be a French man! I was planning on telling you to call my personal translator, but why do that when you speak French, right?" my eyeballs fell out of their sockets as shock electrified all of the nerves situated within my being. My jaw smacked the rock-hard floor in fear. Although a few would refer to me as dramatic and accuse me of exaggerating but I was nowhere near dramatic as this situation involved Morgan.
"W-w-what?" I stuttered as I gulped.
He waved a hand right in front of my face before speaking."Say no more. You're coming to the meeting with me. We're having dinner with them so I'll call Melanie to fix you up." he dismissed me but it felt as if I was trapped inside an enormous ice cube, frozen in place. Turning on my heel, I scurried out of his office and sprinted towards the female's restroom. Once I entered, I commenced pacing back and forth, my mind speedily searching for a solution to the crisis that was brought up among my soul.
"Adriana, why are you so freaking dumb? Huh! Tell me! Why?!?" I shouted at my reflection in an irking manner. Snatching my phone from its safe haven that was my pocket, I speedily dialed the only person that could be capable of solving my dilemma.
"Hey, babe." Anna's voice welcomed my eardrums, and I sighed in relief. I explained my crisis to the only person that I found a liking towards, with immense hope that she would find a solution electrified my entire physique.
As soon as I concluded explaining my issue to her, she allowed silence to settle in for awhile. A few moments later, she decided to break the silence.
"Adriana, you're a freaking idiot," she wholeheartedly laughed and I scowled in dismay.
"You think I don't know that? Anna you're the only one who can help me, please tell me you're Napoleon and you're fluent in French," I begged and hoped.
"Babe, I still don't even know if French fries are actually French or not let alone speak the language," I repeatedly allowed my forehead to collide with the marble counter due to my idiocy.
"But," Anna muttered and I speedily lifted my head, almost snapping my own neck in the process.
"My mom does, she's half French."
Anna and I formulated a plan that mainly consisted of her mother and bluetooth earphones. She would fill her mother in with the situation at hand, and I'd stay in contact with her as she states the words in my ear and I would repeat. Thanking the Lord for the help, I strolled back towards my office to grab my belongings and then make my way to the company car that would take me to Melanie. Upon arriving, I was greeted by her marvelous smile.
"Bonjour mi amor," she flashed her pearly whites and chuckled at her own greeting.
Melanie and I conversed for awhile until she lead me to a room present within the fourth floor where she placed all of her essential belongings. A metallic rack was placed within the heart of the room with a few dresses hanging. She rested her makeup and hair equipment on a table nearby. Wasting no time, she initiated working her art on me. An hour and a half later, she halted stabbing my face with makeup brushes and aggressively pulling my hair with the blow dryer, allowing happiness to seep through my being.
Having not seen my reflection yet, she ordered me to conceal my body with the dresses she had brought along with her. Nicely asking her to exit, I stripped out of my business attire and harshly snatched the concealer in order to have all the bruises that were engraved within my delicate skin vanish. I was in a complete and utter daze, permitting my irises to trail down my body and ogle at all the scars embedded within my canvas. The process took awhile, and as soon as I was done, I slipped on the first dress.
She demanded for me to play dress up and doing as I was instructed, I impatiently awaited for her approval in any dress within my line of vision. Several dresses later, I pulled on every piece of fabric without paying no ounce of attention as I was feeling a lack of enthusiasm and excitement. Allowing her to step foot inside the room, she immediately gasped along with releasing an earth shattering shriek that would awaken animals hibernating, Her emerald glimmering eyes roamed by body with satisfaction oozing out of her physique.
"This is the one. Adriana, you look absolutely breathtaking," she excitedly gushed, the joy evident within her tone of voice. With a soft smile etched to my features, I warily stumbled towards the full length mirror.
As soon as those azure jewels of mine captured my reflection on the lustrous mirror, immense shock aggressively electrified ever single nerve voyaging within my figure. The ever so simple female whom concealed herself in nothing but a sweatshirt was harshly assassinated and buried; nowhere to be found. The nut-brown locks that I possessed framed my heart-shaped visage in an ever so appealing manner, cascading and flowing over my back in smooth yet rich curls. My eyelids that were capable of concealing my sea-blue eyes were coated in a nude eyeshadow, with a soft brown color on the crease. An eye liner was of assistance in painting a cat-eye wing, and the lashes I owned were coated with mascara. Light blush tinted my cheeks, and a dark nude, rosey lipstick was glazed over my lips. Permitting my vision to travel lower, a slightly audible gasp flew out of my parted lips at how magnificently breathtaking the dress was, appearing red in color and hugging my curves to perfection.
Thanking her, a question managed to sneak within to my head."Melanie, you don't by any chance have a headpiece lying around, do you?" she shot me a quizzical look followed by a chuckle."I'm not even gonna ask why you need it, but yes I do. And don't ask why I have one," she winked as I chuckled, observing her as she pulled it out of a drawer. Feeling immensely thankful to that woman, I exited the salon. I attempted to stroll whilst wearing heels towards the company car that had assisted in transporting me to the salon. Whilst being situated in the car, I fiddled with the tiny earpiece, attempting to position it within my ear. Tapping my fingers continuously on the window due to anxiety, the car eventually arrived right in front of the glass consumed building that I happened to work at.
"You can do it, Adriana. Have faith in—," I whispered to myself, which grabbed the chauffeur's attention.
"Did you say something, madam?" he politely inquired.
"Oh, don't worry about it, man, I'm just talking to Jesus." not waiting for a reply, I quickly thanked him and refused when he offered to open the door, but he did so nonetheless. Placing one leg out of the car, the other followed. As soon as I stepped out of the exquisite vehicle, I spotted Morgan standing right beside the entrance typing on his device. Appearing exceedingly proper, his luscious locks were combed to perfection along with a perfectly fitted suite accompanying his physique. When the chauffeur closed the door, Morgan's head ascended, his eyes catching mine in no time. The brows he possessed that were groomed to perfection rose a centimeter or so, in what appeared to be awe, allowing discomfort to settle within me as I felt self-conscious. His plum lips parted, as he remained ogling my physique. Lost in a trance, the device that was once on his hand dropped to the floor which resulted in a thud to erupt. As if reality slapped him harshly on the face, Morgan left his trance, looking upwards and backwards for the phone that was present within the floor right in front of his vision.
Taking slow strides towards his physique, I halted right in front of his confused being as he remained searching for his phone. Picking up his phone, I stood back up with it dangling from my fingers. "Looking for this?" I inquired with a smirk. Locking eyes, he gulped."Why are you holding my phone? That's illegal."
"You dropped it and you were looking in the sky for it, smartass," I replied. Ignoring me, he took long strides towards the car that would be taking us to the destination. Being the gentlemen he has always been, he entered the car whilst slamming his door without thinking of kindly opening mine.
Fixing the earpiece, I made sure my hair concealed it. Situating my physique within the car, my phone began ringing. Viewing the contact name, I answered the phone immediately. "Hey, what's up?" I inquired, waiting for Anna's voice to envelope my eardrums.
"Adrianna, everything's all set. My mom reviewed her french vocabulary. And by the way, I don't think french fries are French. I mean just because they—"cutting her off, I spoke. "Anna, I'd love to discuss fries with you but not right now, I'm in the car. So I'll call you later and tell you about it."
"Alright, babe, text me whenever you're ready and I'll prepare everything." smiling, I replied."Perfect, I'll see you later." Hanging up, I heard Morgan clear his throat.
"Not that it's any of my business, but what is it?" he inquired with immense curiosity lacing his tone. "You said it yourself, it's none of your business." I stated whilst shooting him a sarcastic smile.
"You know, I suggest you go through Google translate and revise all the words you memorized," he smirked.
"First off, I can't memorize I'm an idiot. Second, I already told you I'm fluent in French," I said whilst attempting my best to appear as confident as ever. Raising his hands up in a defensive manner, he spoke."Never said you weren't, I'm just trying to tell you that Mister Moreau speaks old French," with that said, I bit my lip in fear, as I felt the food I digested earlier coming back upwards. Fixing the fly aways I assumed I had, I replied,"Morgan, shut up before I throw you out of the window."
Chuckling, he replied "Lancaster, you're literally two feet tall, I can throw you out of the car from the A.C. opening," not replying, I decided on settling with a glare. After a few minutes have passed, I eventually decided on asking him the question that has been on my mind for awhile. Not knowing the answer was quite aggravating, and he might have possessed the answer to my dreaded question.
"Hey, Morgan, can I ask you something?" as soon as he heard my voice, his head lifted upwards and his coal-like eyes were glued to mine.
"Is it important?"
"To be honest, yes."
"Ok, then don't ask," he said, shutting me out.
"Morgan, I'm serious! This question has been on my mind for awhile and it's been bothering me I guess," I said, allowing sorrow to claim my soul.
As he observed my facial expression form into an unhappy one, his expression changed too, appearing shocked.
"Are you discussing your problems and opening up to me about what bothers you?" he inquired with immense confusion masking his features.
"I guess, I mean you're the only one here right now so I can't really ask anyone else," feeling discomfort, he nodded his head. "Uh, not that I care but, what's your question?" he asked with an exceeding amount of curiosity engraving his physique.
"Okay, here goes nothing. Are French fries French?" I asked with a complete and utter seriousness.
"Are you fucking serious? You looked like you were about to cry with all that sad shit on your face," I pondered for awhile about the words he spoke, 'what sad shit was on my face?'
"But, I mean wouldn't you know? You speak French after all, don't you?" he stated with a sickening smirk slapped on his face.
"Of course I do! Besides, what does speaking French have to do with the history behind French fries?" and from there, we began a heated argument regarding French fries. The argument went on until we arrived in front of an immensely fancy restaurant located in the heart of New York City. Stepping out of the vehicle, I strolled inside of the golden walled restaurant with Morgan by my side. After inquiring on our reservations, we located our vacant table. As we waited for Mister Moreau to arrive, I contacted Anna and made sure she was on the line with me.
A century later, two large figures emerged. Focusing my vision on the individuals, I noticed that not only was there an old French man, but a younger green eyed one hot on his heels. Wide-eyed, I stood up, mirroring Morgan's actions.
Morgan firstly greeted and shook hands with Mister Moreau, and moved on to shake hands with the blonde. As he did that, I greeted Mister Moreau.
"Bonsoir, Monsieur Moreau," I greeted, attempting to perfect a french accent. Analyzing the old man's features, he appeared handsomely young for a man his age; grey hair sleeked to perfection, along with emerald eyes, resembling his companion's.
"C'est mon petit-fils, Charlés (This is my grandson, Charles,)" Mister Moreau said, and I nodded although the only thing I comprehended was that none other than Charlie was stood right in front of me, with a smirk painted on his face.
Moving on from Mister Moreau, I gulped as I held my hand out for Charlie. Expecting a handshake, I was left dumbstruck when he steadily placed my hand in his, and carefully placed his lips on it. Cringing, I forced a smile. Beside me, I felt my arm being tugged by none other than Morgan. Facing him, I mouthed a 'what?' he replied with nothing as he placed himself within his seat.
As we were all seated, Morgan spoke,"Mister Moreau, I want to thank you for coming here today with your grandson Charles, as I'm aware he'll be taking over your empire soon. Shall we get down to business right after we order?" I grabbed the menu, searching for whatever my stomach desired until a certain someone nudged me. I once again mouthed a "'what?' in annoyance and he replied with a 'translate for him you dipshit'.
Oh right. How could I have forgotten. Coughing to get Anna's attention, I heard a voice similar to hers, assuming it was her mother's.
"Monsieur Moreau, je tiens à vous remercier d'être venu ici aujourd'hui avec votre petit-fils Charles," I said speedily as her mother talked with an immensely fast speed. Forgetting whatever came next, I whispered a 'slowly' to the earpiece, which caught everyone's attention.
"Did you say something?" Morgan inquired, looking at me. Gulping, I replied. "Uh, no just fixing my earring." I easily lied.
Charlie then decided to speak, "You're not wearing any," he stated with a confused expression masking his features.
Faking a shocked expression, I resumed."What?! Oh my goodness, I lost my diamonds!"
Morgan fake gasped, "Oh my, your diamonds??!!" Realizing that he was in a business meeting, his serious expression emerged once more."Can you please resume translating for our guest?"
Nodding, I continued."Je sais qu'il prendra bientôt le contrôle de votre empire. Allons-nous nous mettre au travail immédiatement après avoir commandé."
The old man shot nothing but a smile, replying,"Cela semble génial! (That sounds great!)."After that, they all initiated ordering and so did I. As my vision viewed the heavenly dishes plastered on the menu, I felt a pair of emerald eyes on me. Raising my head, my eyes locked with Charlie's, and as soon as they did, his lips lifted upwards into a smile.
"Adriana, I didn't know you were Ryder Morgan's secretary," Charlie said.
"Oh, well I wanted some job experience and he happily hired me," I replied, hearing Morgan snicker at the word 'happily'.
"A high school student who has a job, impressive," he spoke leaning backwards into his chair, still smirking. "Uh, thank you." I awkwardly thanked him, noticing Morgan's eyes that were fixated on Charlie as he muttered a 'I'm running an empire at this age and no one compliments me over it'.
"Okay, so let's get down to business, shall we?" Morgan stated in a slightly rude manner, directing those words towards Charlie whom happily agreed. "Alright, Mister Moreau, I wanted to discuss the investments you made last March on the Ember Campain, as they benefited your empire greatly."
Mimicking her mother's words, I translated." Très bien, monsieur Moreau, je voulais discuter des investissements que vous avez faits en mars dernier sur la campagne Ember, car ils ont grandement profité à votre empire."
And that's how the night was spent, Morgan stating paragraphs that I had to translate. With all gratitude towards the Lord, no one had caught me in the lie I had formulated. When the meeting was coming to an end, Mister Moreau along with his grandson stood up, shaking hands once more and biding their farewells.
"Merci de me rencontrer ici aujourd'hui, et je me réjouis de nos futurs projets." Morgan said to Mister Moreau, allowing shock and anger to settle within my physique. All that time, all the struggle I went through was nothing but a waste of time as the devil himself spoke French fluently. As I witnessed the men leaving, I turned my head towards Morgan with anger soaring through my body.
"You speak French?" I said, gritting my teeth.
"Qui, n'est-ce pas évident? (Yes, isn't it obvious?)" he stated, allowing the anger to grow rapidly.
"And why was I here?"
"For me to test your French, why else?" he innocently replied as I glared daggers towards his face. Morgan turned around in order to leave. As I watched him walk away, he stopped midway, facing me."Oh and by the way, your earrings are on the floor," with confusion, I searched the floor only to find the dark earpiece lying flat on the ground. Allowing embarrassment to set in, I picked it up in humiliation and anger. I was caught in my lie, and on top of it all, I wasted a perfectly good evening. The humiliation that soared through my veins was incredible, and the realization that he would hold this against me for the rest of my life made me want to cry a river.
"Screw you, Ryder Fucking Morgan,"
With his signature smirk,"Place and time?" inhaling sharply, I walked past him, not missing the chuckle he released.
The ride back to his company was rather silent. When we arrived, we both exited and made our way to his floor. Morgan strolled towards his office and I made my way towards mine. Collecting the paperwork I had to finish up, I organized my desk. After that, I headed towards his office. Strolling in, I inquired. "Anything else before I leave?" as soon as I asked, my phone beeped, alerting me of a new message.
Reading it in confusion I replied to the 'hey'
Who is this? - Adrianna
Not even waiting a second, an immediate reply came through.
It's charlie - Charlie
Hello! - Adriana
As I texted him, a wave of confusion hit me on how he managed to get my number.
No, I'm not a creep, I got your number from Anna. I just wanted to say it was great seeing you today, it was shocking but I guess i'm a fan of surprises now - Charlie
Lol I was shocked too, who knew you were French - Adriana
Hahah, half French. Speaking of French, would you wanna go with me to this nice french restaurant downtown? I promise they don't sell frogs :') - Charlie
Immense shock masked my entire physique at his words. Never in all my years of living has a person from the opposite sex stated such words. Was it a date? What exactly was it? I highly doubted though, as he knew I had a boyfriend. My hands were frozen, not knowing what to say. But then realization hit me; I was a loner. Never have I ever went out before moving to the new school, and everytime I did, it was with Morgan and it was all one big fat lie. Yes, I never was a fan of socializing but Charlie made the effort of actually asking to hang out, which has never happened before. Why would I say no?
That doesn't sound bad, send me the details later :) -Adriana
Hitting send, I heard Morgan's voice. "Are you even listening to me?" He inquired angrily. "Uh, no?"
"What the hell's so important that you couldn't listen to my instructions?"
Looking distantly in utter confusion,"Not that it's any of your business, but I think I just got asked out," I said, proving to him that I was more than capable of being asked out my a guy, as he always said I wasn't.
"What?" Finally focusing my vision on Morgan's face, I noticed it still appeared mad due to me not listening to him, with a hint of confusion.
"You heard me," I confidently said, proving to him that I actually can grab a man's attention.
"What the hell do you mean a date?" he said through his clenched jaw. Not allowing me to say what's on my mind, he continued."To the world, we're a couple. Do you not understand that?" clenching his jaw even harder, he inquired.
"So? It's not like I'll tell the press that he's my boyfriend. Besides, it's just a date. You don't see me complaining when I see naked girls prancing around your house."
"There, you said it, my house. Not in public!"
"Oh, okay, I'll ask him to come over to my place," I smiled in sarcasm.
"Lancaster I swear to God if you fucking ruin this shit—"
"I won't, calm down. Now, do you need anything before I leave?"
"Who is he?"
"That's none of your business,"
"Incase the press say anything, I need to know who he is," he justified.
Rolling my eyes, I gave in."Charlie," as I said those words, his jaw clenched ever harder. Immense seriousness was engraved within his face. No longer looking at me, he rummaged through his files as he said. "You're dismissed."
• • • • • • •
HELLO TO ALL MY BEAUTIFUL READERS!!!!! HOW HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN?
ITS BEEN AGES IM SO SO SORRY :(
As usual, I hope you guys enjoy and if you did, don't be afraid to vote, comment and share x
Until next time,
Danah