“Just you,” he replied simply, with a small shrug.
I frowned at him. I had to admit, curiosity tugged at me, drawing me towards the idea of going to Adrian’s place. I looked down at my flats and bit my lip in thought, mentally weighing out the Pro’s and Con’s in my mind.
Pros: Adrian had a television that was the size of the wall, and I would no doubt enjoy that. His sofa was comfortable, and the room had surround sound, giving me the ultimate season premiere experience. He also had any snack at the touch of a button due to the hotel’s 5-star accommodations.
Cons: I’d feel slightly uncomfortable in the foreign setting. Adrian would be around, need I say more? I wouldn’t be able to wear what I classified as pajamas – especially not with his prying eyes.
My comfort was much more important than the size of the television, so… “No,” I said with a shake of my head, my gaze meeting his once again.
“No?” he echoed.
“No. I’d prefer to be home alone, where I can pig out without having to worry about wasting your resources or having to worry about you in general, and I’d be able to comfortably wear what I want…” I trailed off, blushing.
“You mean no bra and only your underwear under a shirt?” He smirked. “I’m definitely coming along then.”
“No, you’re not.” I glared. The conversation was starting to repeat itself, and I sighed in defeat. “We’ll just stay in the office then,” I decided grudgingly. “Since you’re so desperate to have me around.” I looked down at my shoes and glared at the black leather. A mental image of Damon Salvatore’s face formed into my mind just then, and my glare softened into a pout.
“I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses,” Adrian’s mood perked up immediately. “Pizza or Chinese food? Like I said before, I personally don’t mind either; so it’s solely up to you. We’ll work in my office since it’s the most comfortable.”
“Whatever,” I muttered.
Real mature, Emily. I berated myself.
Adrian just threw another amused expression in my direction and I glared before walking over to the sofa on the left side of his office. I placed my papers and bag on the soft furniture before leaving the room without so much as glancing at him.
I made my way to my office and locked the door behind me before dialing Amy’s number. She picked up on the third ring.
“Hey Em, what’s up?” she shouted into the speaker over the loud music in the background. “Hold on a second, it’s really loud in here. Let me just go outside.”
I listened as the music from the phone began to decrease in volume, before I heard a door being pushed open and the music was almost completely gone. “This place is amazing, you should’ve come!” Amy exclaimed excitedly.
I sighed. “I’m glad you’re having a good time. Even if I did end up planning on going, I wouldn’t be able to.” As I said this, I felt myself becoming angry again.
“Why, what happened?” she asked, concern lacing her tone thickly. I began my short whining rant about how Adrian was making me stay in the office. I said it as briefly as I could so that she could get back in the club. Once I finished explaining, she squealed with delight and – to my annoyance – began laughing.
“Are you kidding me? Em! If you still think that man has no interest in you, then you are obviously delusional! He’s making up any excuse to be around you now! I always knew my best friend would be shagged by one of the hottest males walking this earth!”
I choked on my own spit and she started laughing again.
“Ames! That is not going to happen,” I assured her, before sighing. “I’m going to miss the season premiere. You know how serious I am about my TV shows!”
“I know babe, I know. But honestly? You’re 24. I’m not saying don’t watch television anymore – but you have to live a little, and not let them consume your life! How about this, tomorrow night, I’ll come over and we’ll watch it together, okay? For now, go eat some oily takeout and stare at Mr. Sexy Pants all night.” She giggled again and I glared at nothing in particular.
“You’re the worst best friend,” I muttered, tracing an invisible pattern on my shirt.
She laughed again and I sighed. “Okay, go and have fun in there. And text me when you get home safely! And don’t go home with a stranger that looks like he has an STD!” I warned, smiling a little at her happiness.
I practically felt her rolling her eyes. “Okay, mom.” She laughed again before we said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. I turned around to open the door again but let my hand rest on the cool metal as an idea popped into my mind. Adrian was keeping me here by force, so I didn’t have to be cooperative, right? I decided that I was going to give him the silent treatment the entire night.
My lips stretched into a smug smile as I opened the door and left my office to make my way over to his. I pushed open his door and Adrian looked up from his position near my things on the sofa. “I ended up ordering pizza, is that okay?” he asked, cocking his head to the side as he waited for my answer.
I shrugged, not wanting to say anything. I was hoping he ordered a cheese pizza, because that’s the only kind I liked.
“Okay. I ordered cheese because I didn’t know what you liked. Let’s get started.” He beckoned me over and patted the seat beside him, and I made my way over to it slowly, avoiding his gaze in the process. He had moved my papers onto the table in front of the sofa and had the draft planner out in front of him as the main focus of the papers.
“I have a crucial conference call next Friday with my business partner in New Zealand,” he said once I was seated beside him. “We need to put that in as the main focus point for Friday.”
He shifted toward me, closing the small space that I had purposely left between us. I looked up to meet his gaze and glared. He just looked at me with that grin of his. I sighed in frustration before I moved the position of my work bag to my lap, and rummaged inside it for some spare paper and my pen. Something red flashed in my side vision, but I decided to ignore it as I pulled out my favourite pen in triumph.
I wrote down what he said on the spare sheet of paper I found before turning around to find Adrian’s smug smirk on his face once again. After a short moment, he held up a bright red lace thong by the corners of the garment, and my eyes widened in disbelief as my cheeks flamed from embarrassment.