“Shut up, will you?” he demanded, walking over to where I nervously stood. My mouth abruptly sealed itself, too nervous to argue about his rude language. “Why don’t you wear stuff like this to work every day?” he murmured, the green in his eyes dominating the honey brown as he snaked an arm around my waist and took in the dress on my body again.
“W- We really should get going…” I trailed off, suddenly self-conscious under his intense gaze. A blush made its way to my cheeks as he leaned in closer so that I could feel his solid torso through his suit. I mentally cursed. I shouldn’t be paying attention to those things. He was my boss, and a womanizer.
I was about to put my hand on his chest to push him away but he sighed and pulled away himself.
“Let’s go,” he muttered, avoiding my gaze. “Adrianna will meet us there.”
We stayed silent as we made our way to the black limousine waiting in front of the office.
I stopped short and gasped, “Shoot. I forgot my coat.” In my worry, I was barely conscious of just how close Adrian was standing next to me.
“Are you cold?” he asked has he opened the door of the car.
“Thank you. No, no. I would’ve just preferred to wear it over this dress after…” I didn’t finish my sentence, but by how he filled in what I could not say and how he reacted, the implication was clear, and it hurt more than I thought it would.
“I prefer that as well. We can drive to your apartment to pick it up before we go.”
He picked up his phone to dial the driver’s number.
I frowned angrily. “I know you don’t like the dress, but do you have to be such an asshole about it? If you want to cover me up from the paps and hide the fact that you didn’t get a size 2 model as your assistant, then you shouldn’t have hired me in the first place.” I tugged at the dress to cover more of my legs but as I pulled down, the cloth slipped slightly from my chest area, revealing more cleavage than intended. I pulled it back up. Unfortunately, the man beside me missed nothing. I could only glare and blush at his amused expression.
He covered it quickly with a glare of his own. “No. I was offering so that you wouldn’t have so many bloodthirsty men looking at your body tonight and making comments and suggestions. But clearly, you don’t care about that; so we’ll just leave you how you are.” He slipped his phone back into the pocket of his pants.
I felt my jaw drop. “So it’s okay for you to make the ‘comments’ and ‘suggestions’ but when someone else does it, it’s not okay? You’re such a hypocrite!” I exclaimed angrily.
“I’m allowed to make those comments because I’m Adrian Kingston,” he retorted, making my blood boil.
“Are you kidding me right now? Do you honestly believe that you can get away with whatever you want just because you’re ‘Adrian Kingston?’ You know what, I’m glad Amy picked out this dress. Maybe it’ll ruin your flawless reputation.” I snarled at him as the glare I thought had slipped off came crawling back onto my face.
His head whipped back to meet my eyes, and I found his expression mirroring mine. “I don’t give a fuck about what they think of me. I wanted you covered because you’re mine. Now be quiet for the rest of the trip, and memorise the names so you’re prepared to give me any information I need on them when I ask you to. Remember that this is your job, Ms. Johnson, and I am your boss.”
Adrian gave me a stern look and turned away before I could comment, ending the conversation.
***
We arrived at the hotel about half an hour later, and I froze in my position as the rapid flash of bright lights surrounded the car the moment it stopped. My eyes widened as the flashing came closer to the vehicle, and I felt my breathing hitch in my throat.
“Hey. It’ll be alright, they’re only outside, so we’ll walk as quickly as we can so I can get you inside, okay?”
I looked over to where Adrian was sitting and found him looking at me worriedly. I nodded, answering his question before taking in a deep breath. “We should go. We’re already late.” I reached out to open the door on my side.
“No, don’t.” Adrian spoke up, as I felt his hand pull mine away from the door handle. I looked at him in confusion.
“How am I supposed to get out?” I laughed, attempting to cover my nerves.
“Come out after me from my side,” he said, before I let out a small squeak as he pulled me over to him by wrapping an arm around my waist. He smirked down at me before releasing my body from his hold and opening the door. Shouts of his name instantly erupted from the photographers around the car, and I used the attention on him as a hopeful distraction as I got out of car.