widened in shock, before she spoke up again. “Are you being sarcastic? Because I heard you’re a bit of a queen when it comes to that.” Her eyes narrowed at me, warily.
I laughed before shaking my head. “No, I’m being genuine. There is no point in having bad blood between us, like you said.”
“Oh my God! Thank you so much! You’re really the nicest girl I know, Emily. Adrian is really lucky to have you,” Anna gushed, pulling me in for a hug.
I laughed again and hugged her back. “Thank you, Anna.”
“No problem! Okay, so I know I just said we don’t have to be bum chums or anything but I was thinking we should grab coffee or lunch or something on our breaks tomorrow! We have it at the same time, I see you walk out of here every day and come back the same time as I do! That sounds really creepy… I mean, I don’t do it on purpose. It’s just something I’ve noticed, you know?” Anna grimaced once she finished rambling and looked over at me.
I stifled another laugh and nodded. “I understand you completely. Lunch sounds great. I’ll meet you outside the building tomorrow and we can have a chat.”
“Oh, that’s really great! Thank you so much!” Anna squealed, pulling me in for another quick hug and dashing out of the small conference room.
I walked back to the office with a slight frown on my face. Adrian noticed it instantly, and was by my side before I was able to blink. “What happened? Are you okay?” he asked.
I looked up and smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Anna… Anna just apologised to me.”
Adrian stared back at me blankly, before he slightly raised an eyebrow. “… Who is Anna?”
“I… Anna? Don’t you remember? The woman from marketing department that you… well, you know,” I finished, avoiding his gaze.
“Honestly Shortcake, I don’t remember anyone since you came along.”
He smirked.
I began blushing at the comment before playfully pushing him away. “You’re an idiot,” I mumbled with a smile.
“A very lovable idiot,” Adrian said while waggling his eyebrows.
“A very egotistical idiot,” I corrected, smirking smugly.
“Did you say testicle?” Adrian faked gasped. “Shortcake, that’s positively scandalous!” He gushed, widening his eyes as they landed on me.
“What- Adrian, where did you even come up with that?!” I laughed, before placing the new employee files on his desk.
He shrugged with a grin, before speaking up again. “My father has invited us over for dinner this weekend. Are you up for it? He was jealous that I went to my future in-laws’ house and you haven’t seen yours yet.” He shook his head at his father’s behaviour, before looking over at me for an answer.
I took a seat at my desk before raising an eyebrow. “‘Future in-laws’?” I asked.
Adrian nodded eagerly. “I may as well get used to calling them that since we’ll be getting married soon.” He shrugged.
“How are you so sure that I’m going to say yes?” I asked in amusement.
“Well, you can’t say no,” Adrian glared, clenching his jaw.
I was taken aback by his sudden anger towards the subject. “Um… Why?” I asked slowly, afraid of how he’d react.
“That’s not important,” he muttered, avoiding my gaze. “Are you going to accept my father’s offer or not?” he asked, steering back the subject. “I need to let him know.”
“Yes, of course I’ll go. Now tell me why I can’t say no,” I demanded, bringing up the previous topic.
“Just forget about it, Emily. It’s not important.” Adrian sighed, avoiding my stern gaze.
“Clearly it is, since you got angry over it and won’t tell me what the reason is! Come on, did someone blackmail you into marrying me? Is that why you’re with me?” I pressed, frowning slightly.
“What? No! I don’t have to tell you anything. You didn’t tell me about David Walter. I think it’s even now,” he reminded me.
“You know why I didn’t tell you about David Walter! It concerned my best friend’s safety! Does this concern my safety? Are you being forced into marrying me because someone is threatening my life?” I asked with wide eyes.
“No! Who said I’m being forced into marrying you in the first place? I’m Adrian Kingston; I do whatever the fuck I want,” he snapped.
“What is it then?” I asked again. I knew I was becoming annoying. Hell, I was annoying myself. But curiosity was like a bug I couldn’t get rid of.
“Forget about it, Emily,” Adrian repeated through gnashed teeth with a clenched jaw.