The Assistant(102)

“Shortcake, you know I trust you. I trust you more than I trust Allen; and I’ve known the guy since High School. Just please drop this, I don’t think you’re ready to hear it just yet. You’ll freak out and I’ll lose you,” Adrian mumbled, no longer looking angered by my persistent behaviour.


I sighed. “I’m not weak, Adrian. I can handle it. Especially if it’s something concerning me. Do you know how unfair that is? I have a right to know!”

“Not with this you don’t,” he replied, his voice becoming cold again.

I let out a frustrated growl. “I can handle it, A-”

“Fine! I’m in love with you, Emily!” Adrian yelled. “Are you happy now?!”

I could only stare back at him after that. Everything went silent; even the usual murmurs we would be able to hear from the offices outside fell quiet. I’m pretty sure Adrian yelled loud enough for the entire top floor to hear him. He was breathing slightly heavier than usual as he looked straight into my eyes before he looked away.

“I knew this was going to happen,” he mumbled, before shaking his head in disappointment and disappearing into the mysterious glass door across from my position.

Chapter Twenty Four

A few questions ran through my mind just as the glass door clicked shut.

Did Adrian Kingston, arrogant playboy sex symbol of New York, just profess his love to me?

What was behind that goddamn glass door?

Why was I still sitting at my desk, when I should be in there, telling him how I feel about him?

But most importantly, why didn’t I eat that doughnut?

Snapping out of my mental state, I made my way over to the mysterious glass door and let out a nervous sigh before knocking softly. “Adrian?”

“What?” came his dull reply. I heard shuffling within the room, and I took his reply as an indication to open the door.

My shoulders sagged in disappointment once my eyes landed on the décor within the small room. There was a queen sized bed fitted with plain back sheets, a small flat screen television across from that, a cupboard that was small enough to fit in the corner of the room, and a small replica of a kitchen sink in the farthest corner from my position.

Adrian was standing in that corner, holding a square shaped cup with a light brown liquid inside it. “Scotch?” I asked softly, afraid of his reaction.

“Brandy,” he replied, before taking a huge gulp of the alcoholic substance.

I nodded meekly before stepping further into the small room. The tension hung thick in the air, and I decided to sit on the edge of the bed while Adrian poured himself another glass.

I looked around the room again, searching for anything to focus on in order to take my mind off the man standing in front of me. It occurred to me then that Adrian still didn’t know my favourite colour, and the urge to inform him overpowered the awkward state I was currently in.

“Pink,” I mumbled, looking down at my lap.

Adrian’s reply never came after that, and I looked up to find him looking at me in confusion. “My favourite colour,” I added, blushing slightly. “It’s pink.” I sounded like an idiot. A random idiot.

“That was going to be my next guess,” Adrian replied. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly in my direction, before his expression turned hard again.

I sighed before speaking up, “Adrian-”

“No, Emily. If you’re going to lie to my face. I’d prefer that you didn’t say anything at all. In fact, I’ll do you one better. Let’s forget this entire thing happened. We can go back to being-”

“I’m in love with you, Adrian,” I said, cutting his suggestion short.

His expression morphed into one of pure surprise as his gaze fell on me again. He glared. “You’re lying. You wouldn’t love someone like me.” He shook his head, before gulping his entire glass of brandy. His knuckles began to turn pale, giving me an indication of just how tight he was gripping onto the glass.

“What gave you that idea?!” I exclaimed angrily.

“Come on, Emily.” He laughed bitterly, before placing his cup down onto the table in front of him. “I’ve seen the way you associate with other men. You’re freer, you smile all the time. You don’t need to worry that they’ll suddenly have a mood swing or that they’ve had a bad past with women. You know I will, so naturally, you’re going to want to walk away from me. I told you not to lie-”

“I’m not lying!” I snapped, jumping out of my seated position on the bed and making my way towards him. “I’m not lying. I can’t lie about something like this. You- You waltzed into my life without a care in the world! I don’t know how you did it, but somehow, you’ve made me fall for you harder than I can describe. You’ve made come to accept, and even like the fact that you’re jealous, possessive, moody and arrogant. You also love to make me squirm in any way possible, you’re a pervert, you’re stubborn as hell, but you know what? I love that about you; because underneath all of that, Adrian, you’re also kind, caring, funny, and – although you’ve had a rocky past which made it hard for me to do this – you’ve even made me trust you. So, if you still don’t believe me, let me know, because this trust thing? It’s becoming clearer that it’s only a one-way thing happening here.” I was huffing from anger by the end of my speech, and I glared up at Adrian, waiting for his response.