The Assistant(98)

“Whoops?” He shrugged, before using a chair to shield himself from me.

“I think we should all sit at the dinner table, the food looks almost ready!” Sienna brought up, trying to change the subject.

I gave her a grateful look before I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. “You guys go ahead, I need to get this,” I announced, pointing at my vibrating phone.

“Don’t be long,” my mom warned. I nodded and answered the phone while walking away from the group, making my way around the house.

“Hello?”

“Emily Johnson,” a low voice greeted, making the blood in my veins freeze in its path.

“Mr. David Walter. I- I didn’t know you had my number,” I stuttered, swallowing nervously.

“I didn’t. I got it off a… friend. That aside, how are you, Emily? That short encounter we had at the charity gala a month ago didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I was hoping we could talk.”

I frowned at his words before speaking up. “I’m really sorry, sir. I’m actually with my family at the moment. Maybe another time-”

“No, I’m sure now is a great time, Emily,” David insisted coldly. “I want to have lunch with you. Alone. You don’t tell anyone, not even your precious little boss.”

I shivered unconsciously, before clearing my throat. “With all due respect sir, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“Your friend Amy is a lovely girl. She’s a teacher, correct? She takes the same route to work every day. It’d be shame if someone noticed that and did something to her.”

I froze at the mention of my best friend’s name, growing angry. “Are you blackmailing me?” I snapped.

“Why Emily, I would never do that to you. Am I blackmailing Amy? Well that’s new territory we haven’t crossed yet. So I guess that’s a yes to the private lunch? I’ll text you the details. Goodbye, Emily. It’s been lovely, hearing your voice.”

The line went dead after that, just as I heard my name being called out by Adrian. “Shortcake? Are you okay? You’ve been on the phone for a while.” Adrian rounded the corner just as I slipped my phone back into my pocket, feeling it vibrate again just as a text message came through.

“Sorry, it was Amy. She’s having a meltdown about a dress she can’t find.” I tried to force out a laugh, but settled with a smile instead.

Adrian studied me closely, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t believe you,” he growled with a fierce glare.

“Hey, Lovebirds! Are you two going to eat with us tonight or not?!” Blake called from the dinner table.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I murmured, before stepping back into the view of my family. “Sorry,” I announced, smiling.

Blake began to make sloppy kissing noises and motions, but stopped once Sienna threw a napkin at his face. I briefly looked back at Adrian, who was already glaring at me, before my gaze made its way down to my feet. This was going to be one hell of a secret to cover up.

Chapter Twenty-three

I managed to keep the truth from Adrian. I ended up telling him it was an old friend that I didn’t expect to call, which is why I was so shocked, and that I was meeting up with them on Monday during my lunch break. After countlessly reassuring him that it was a girl, Adrian finally let the subject drop.


And now, here I was, waiting for a man I couldn’t stand to be near. I nervously checked my phone again, waiting for Amy to reply to the text message I randomly sent her. I had to know she was okay, and didn’t trust David Walter and his snake-like personality when it came to Amy’s safety.

I looked away from my phone just as David Walter appeared across from my seated position. “Emily.” He nodded, as a smile curled its way onto his lips.

“Mr. Walter. I hope we can make this short. My break ends soon and I need to get back to work. Take a seat.” I tried to stay calm, amd motioned toward the chair that he was standing behind.

His smile grew slowly, as he pulled out his chair. “Emily. I’m sure you know that I’m the one pulling the strings in this situation by now. This lunch ends when I want it to end.” His voice was firm as he called over a waitress in the restaurant.

“What can I get you guys?” she asked cheerfully, oblivious to the tension in between us.

“I’ll just have a glass of water and a caramel doughnut, please.” I smiled tightly. This was going to be my only lunch break for the day, and I couldn’t even stomach anything because of the man sitting across from me.

“I’ll have the chicken wrap,” David muttered, staring at me. The waitress nodded with a smile before turning to leave, and I briefly glanced at my phone again before focusing my attention on David.

“So, why am I here?” I asked while tracing a pattern on the wooden table.

“Well, since you’re so adamant on getting to the point, I’ll tell you. I want you to date me, Emily,” David announced.

I choked on my own salvia just as the words left his mouth, before giving him a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me?!”

“I don’t ‘kid’, Emily. You’re a very beautiful woman; both physically and emotionally. I would like to have you as my own. I’m sure I can treat you way better than that man whore of yours-”