The Assistant(60)

“No,” he answered bluntly.

I inhaled deeply and made my way over to my own desk – which I now wished wasn’t in the same room as his – before beginning to call up all the scheduled appointments for the morning. Just as I settled in, the door burst open. A tall, slim red head walked into the room, and I vaguely recognised her from the day of the interview for this job.

“Hey Adrian,” she purred, closing the door behind her slowly. My eyes scanned her skimpy skirt and flimsy tank top. I put my head down, concealing my anger.

“Amanda,” he greeted. I saw his lips curl into a tight smirk as his eyes scanned her body and he rose from his seat. The red head – Amanda – giggled uncontrollably, as if Adrian had made the joke of the century. She then sauntered over to him, kissing him full on the lips. He responded instantly, pulling her slim body into his own and kissing her back.

My lungs closed off at the sight – and I felt my breath stop midway in my throat as I looked over at the pair with wide eyes. Adrian began to lead her to the glass door that he had disappeared into a few times, and just before he shut the door completely, his eyes met mine. He pulled away from her lips and gave me a cruel smirk, before he began to trail kisses down Amanda’s neck and shut the door behind him.

For some identified reason that I tried to ignore, my eyes began to well up with tears, especially when loud, high pitched moans began to erupt from behind the glass door. I jumped out of my desk and grabbed the papers in front of me, as well as my bag, and inhaled deeply. By this time I was no longer crying, but pulsing with anger. I left Adrian’s office, slamming the door shut behind me, and made my way over to Suzie’s.


She looked up at me in surprise, then with a thoughtful frown. “Emily, are you okay?” she asked. “You look a little teary eyed.”

“I’m fine. Do you mind if I stay here for a while? Adrian… Adrian’s occupied for the morning.” I had said it bitterly, and mentally cursed myself for feeling so much anger towards the situation. Suzie nodded with no hesitation, and began to drag a small table she had on the side of the room, before placing it in front of the chair I was standing beside.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a guilty look, “I don’t have anything larger.”

“It’s fine, Suzie!” I assured her, offering her a strained smile. “Thank you so much. This is more than enough.”

She gave me a knowing look, and I frowned curiously as she turned around to walk back to her desk, but didn’t question it.

***

By the time lunch time came around, my body was cramping in areas I didn’t even know were capable of cramping, and Adrian was still going at it with different girls in his office. My anger never dimmed down during the four hours it was going on; not being at my desk adding more fuel to the fire.

I decided to text Allen and take him up on the lunch offer we talked about earlier, and told him to meet me at the burger shop across from Kingston Corp. He agreed and was even at the place before I was – making me laugh once I saw him standing in front of the burger shop in a black shirt with the Starbucks logo printed on the left chest area.

“You don’t look too eager to have lunch with me,” I teased, smirking slightly as his cheeks began to flush a light shade of pink.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, looking down at his black Converse shoes. I laughed and opened the door to the small diner, Allen following in tow. “So what made you finally agree to have lunch with me?” he asked good-naturedly. “Have my killer good looks finally caught up with you?”

I rolled my eyes and raised my eyebrows. “Yes, Allen. How will I ever be able to survive this cruel, cruel earth without you having lunch with me?” I gushed sarcastically, putting my hand over my chest to emphasize the damsel in distress role.

He chuckled and slid into the booth we walked to in the corner of the diner before smiling up at me. “Sexy, smart, feisty, and funny,” he declared. “The list just keeps growing every day.”

I rolled my eyes again at his attempt at flirting, before picking up the slightly greasy laminated menu in front of me. “I’m going to go out on a limb here,” I said as I scanned it, “and say you and Adrian were the playboys of your high school.”

“And college,” Allen grinned, making me laugh.

“Figures,” I stated, biting my lip as I tried to decide between a chicken burger or a beef burger. “So, what was the deal between you and Lisa this morning? And don’t bother saying it was nothing.” I narrowed my eyes at Allen, whose eyes snapped to mine at the mention of the topic. “She began to say Adrian’s name,” I went on, “so I know it’s not ‘nothing’.”

“She was just reminding me of a deal I made with Adrian,” Allen replied. “It’s nothing big. You don’t need to worry that sexy and smart mind of yours.” He smiled slyly at my unwavering expression.

“Oh, Allen. Your words touch me. Right here.” I pointed to the middle of my chest where my heart was, before throwing another sarcastic smile in his direction.

“I know something else that can touch you there, if you like.” He smirked, winking at me.

I laughed before throwing a sugar packet at his face, blushing. “Shut up, you idiot.”

He chuckled just as a waitress made her way over to our booth. “My offer still stands,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me.