The Assistant(84)

“Adrian, get up!” I exclaimed, slapping his exposed cheek a few times. He groaned and shifted his position before falling silent again.

I sighed before bending down to be at eyelevel with him. “Adrian, you need to get up. We need to leave in 15 minutes!” I tried again, shaking his body.

“I don’t want to go,” I heard his muffled voice mumble, before his breathing steadied again.

I let out a frustrated sigh before another method came to mind. “Adrian… I’m naked and need your help with the dress…” I trailed off in a low whisper, trying to sound seductive. In reality, I probably sounded like I had smoker’s cough and was trying to muffle it.

Thankfully, Adrian didn’t think so, because he was sitting upright milliseconds after the words left my mouth. His eyes landed on my form and any grogginess or lust instantly disappeared from his expression and he stared back at me with an unreadable expression.


I flushed in embarrassment under the intense gaze, and began to button up his shirt. “We have to leave soon,” I murmured, trying to distract him from looking at me in the way that he was.

“Emily…” He trailed off, making me look up at him. His expression was still glazed as he studied my facial features and hair before his eyes landed on my dress again. My flushed face deepened in colour as I continued buttoning up his shirt, and began working on his tie.

Once I was done, I stood up from my crouched position and looked down at my shoes.

“Come on,” I urged him, still feeling self-conscious under his intense gaze. “Grab your suit jacket and let’s go.”

He snapped out of his haze-like stare once I looked up to meet his eyes again, and he blinked blankly. “You look… nice,” he muttered, looking away from me suddenly.

I frowned at his unusual behaviour before clearing my throat. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go,” he ordered, slipping on his suit jacket before grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.

“You’re suddenly eager to get there. You were sleeping less than 5 minutes ago,” I pointed out in amusement.

“That’s because I can’t wait any longer,” Adrian stated as we stepped into the elevator.

“For what?” I asked, biting my lip curiously again.

“You’ll see when we get there,” he replied flatly.

I frowned, both from curiosity and his sudden mood change just as we stepped out of the hotel into the black car that was waiting for us. Once we got in, Adrian turned to me. “There are going to be quite a few people from the press there. We need them to promote the charity so we’re going to have to answer most of their questions. Just let me do all the talking, you don’t need to worry about a thing, okay?”

My eyes turned wide with shock at the mention of the press, but I swallowed and nodded in response. “Is that the thing you can’t wait any longer for?” I asked, hoping to get a response.

“No, but that will be during that time.” He didn’t elaborate after that, and I found myself burning with curiosity for the rest of the trip.

***

Once we arrived at the reception, my heart began to beat rapidly against my chest. The beating was so intense that I could hear it in my eardrums, and I looked over at Adrian with desperation. “Just go in alone. Can’t you do that? What if they ask me questions because I’m next to you? Adrian, please-”

“Shortcake, breathe,” Adrian said, cutting off my panicked rambling. “I’ll take care of it, okay? Just trust me.” He hooked his thumb around my chin and lifted my face up to meet his gaze.

I stared back into his hazel irises for a few moments before nodding slowly, letting myself trust him.

“Let’s go,” he said after a moment of silence, grabbing my hand.

“Thank you for driving us!” I called out to the driver before getting yanked out of the car by Adrian.

Flashes of bright light instantly blinded my field of vision, and I felt Adrian chuckle and pull me closer. “Always the nice one,” he murmured into my ear, making me momentarily forget about the blinding lights and blush.

“Mr. Kingston! Mr. Kingston! Over here! How much are you planning to raise for the charity in tonight’s gala?” someone asked, making everyone turn quiet as the flashes continued to erupt from random corners of the crowd.

“As much as I can,” Adrian replied with a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

“Mr. Kingston! How many people are attending the event?” another person asked, and I looked over to find a woman with bright orange hair holding out a recording devise.

“There are over 350 people here today, including myself,” he answered as he dragged me along the long walkway that was set up.

“What do you plan to do with the money raised tonight, sir?” another woman asked, smiling at the both of us.

“Cassandra, lovely to see you again. All the money that will be raised tonight will go towards any families in need of the money as well as funding towards the research that will be conducted in regards to cancer,” Adrian explained, before checking his watch. “I’m sorry, that’s all I have time for. We will take more questions at the end if you are willing to wait. Thank you for joining us.” He gave them all a brief wave.

The cameras instantly began to go off again with bright flashes, and I decided to speak my thoughts aloud. “Why do they continue to take photos of the same people? I don’t get it,” I mumbled to him with a frown on my face.