The Assistant(105)

I rolled my eyes before stepping into the elevator, blushing slightly at the thought.

“EMILY!” Mason’s cheerful voice echoed through the modern-day mansion. I turned around to follow the direction of the voice in confusion just as I was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by the man. He pulled away after a while and smirked down at my deep purple dress. “Still can’t hide those killer curves, even with a dress made for church.” Mason winked.

“Hello Mason.” I smiled in amusement.

“Why are you always greeting her first, Dad?” Adrian grumbled from beside me.

Mason’s amused gaze lingered on mine for a few seconds longer, before he turned to his son. “Oh, it’s Emily’s bitch,” he stated in a bored tone, no longer looking amused.

Adrian glared down at his father. “It’s not like that in bed, trust me.” He brought up coolly, casting a sideways smirk in my direction just as my jaw dropped to the floor.

Mason’s eyes widened as he looked at both of us, before a wide grin broke out. “About f*cking time, mate! I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while, you know,” Mason declared, pulling us both into a group hug.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Adrian frowned in realisation once Mason pulled away.

He began walking into the dining room, and replied to Adrian as we followed him. “What question?”

“Why you always greet your daughter-in-law before you greet your son,” Adrian reminded him. I tried not to react to the fact that Adrian referred to me as Mason’s daughter-in-law, and decided to look down at my flats to avoid any eye contact.

“Come on son, don’t you know the old saying? Ladies first,” Mason answered lazily, before pouring a glass of water.

My eyes widened in shock as my head snapped up at the saying, and I found Adrian smirking down at me knowingly. “Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with it,” he responded, still keeping his gaze on me.

I glared up at him in an attempt to cover up the fact that I remembered his rule in the bedroom, and decided to look around the room to avoid any more of his perceptive gazes.

“Adrian dear, it’s so lovely to see you,” a cool voice spoke up, making me look away from the enormous painting I was examining.

Katherine Kingston smiled at her son with open arms, waiting for him to step into them for a hug. I looked over at Adrian to find him looking at her open arms with narrowed eyes.

Sighing, I cleared my throat to get Adrian’s attention. His head snapped towards me, and I tilted my head in his mother’s direction as encouragement to hug her. I didn’t want any more bad blood in between the pair, and hoped he would accept the gesture. He glared at me for a while, before looking back at his mother.

“Adrian,” I warned in a low voice.

Adrian clenched his jaw before stiffly walking into his mother’s arms. The entire exchange looked awkward and out of place as he rigidly encircled his arms around her waist and she did the same.

“Hello mum,” he managed to respond tautly once he pulled away.

Katherine looked momentarily surprised, before her gaze trailed over to where I was uncomfortably standing. She briefly nodded in acknowledgement. “Emily.”

“Hello Mrs. Kingston,” I replied softly, smiling.

Her gaze lingered on my attire for a few moments before she looked back at Adrian. “Are you hungry? Mary said dinner should be ready in about 5 minutes,” she said in an even tone.

Adrian looked over to me. “Are you hungry?” he asked, ignoring his mother’s question.

I sighed before walking over to him. “Can we talk?” I murmured, looking up at his glare.

“We’ll be back.” Adrian informed his parents, before dragging me out of the room. “What’s wrong, Shortcake?” he asked with a worried expression.

“Adrian,” I told him softly, afraid that his parents may hear. “I want you to talk to your mom normally. Just forget about how she treated me. I don’t want any issues in between you two anymore.”

Adrian gave me a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Emily, she barely acknowledged your existence in there! How the f*ck do you expect me to stand in there and watch her treat the girl I’m in love with like the shit she finds on the sole of her shoes?!” he raged, glaring down at me angrily.

“She didn’t.” I shook my head. “It may have looked that way to you because you’ve known her all your life. But she was actually nice in there. She usually doesn’t even look my way unless she has a glare on her face,” I explained, trying to reason with him.

“It’s not good enough,” he snapped.

“Adrian, please. Just for tonight. Be nice,” I requested, looking into his eyes while squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Please?” I added after his glare didn’t flinch.

He sighed after a while. “Fine. But if she does or says one thing that’s out of line, we’re leaving.” He stated firmly, glaring down at me.

I smiled slightly before placing a lingering kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” I murmured, before dragging him back into the room.

“Adrian! I’m getting old. Will you go and fetch me my newspaper from the living room?” Mason whined once we entered the room again.

“Okay,” Adrian said warily, before grabbing a hold of my hand again to pull me out with him.