After I introduced them to each other, I headed into my office, needing to get prepared for my meeting tomorrow morning. I was already behind on looking over the logistics, I’d be up all night.
This past week, I had been consumed with finding whatever I could on Paige to use to my advantage while having her work for me. Discovering she had a stalker wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Good thing I worked better under pressure. No matter the circumstance, this was where I excelled. I was used to fighting for what I wanted. It came with the territory of being the best in the business.
“Adrian!” she yelled with her feet stomping on my wooden floors. “Where are you?!”
I chuckleed before loosening my tie, getting ready for yet another battle in such a short span of time. The sound of her determined strides echoed off the hallway walls.
Louder and louder, they arose as she continued to scream my name, “Adrian! Answer me! Where the hell are you?!”
Three stomps.
Two.
One.
The door to my office slammed open, almost knocking the wall art to the floor. She didn’t waver, marching into my space. Each step was more determined than the last. Taking in her frenzied demeanor, I hid back a laugh. I simply leaned back into my leather chair and awaited the inevitable wrath that I knew was coming from my girl.
“You’re just going to sit there and act all you?”
I cocked my head to the side, arching an eyebrow.
“You know how arrogant you are. I can’t believe you think you can do this and I’ll just roll over and agree. You have got to be kidding me, right? This is just another one of your little games, huh?”
“You know there’s nothing little about me.”
“Listen, asshole—”
“Is that any way to speak to your boss?”
“You’re not my boss yet. I haven’t signed anything.”
“Yet you are here. Tell me, what’s the problem I need to fix now, Cherry?”
“You know what it is. Don’t play dumb! It doesn’t suit you.”
“As you can see, I’m busy, so get to the point.”
“Fine! Where’s my bed?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, amused by her dramatic behavior.
“Don’t look at me like that. Miss April showed me to my room and there there was no bed. There’re two nightstands, a TV, an armoire, there’s even a headboard, but there’s no mattress on the bedframe.”
I knowingly innocently shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
She glared at me.
“Until we find out what happened to your mattress, you’re going to have to sleep in my bed with me.”
“Your bed, huh? How convenient.” she mocked in a condescending tone I didn’t appreciate.
“It’s the least I can do for not having the proper accommodations for my guest of honor.”
“Adrian… I’m not stupid. I know you had the bed removed, so I’d have to sleep with you.”
“Your accusation offends me, Paige. I don’t know where your mattress went.”
“Bullshit.”
“Have I told you how much I don’t care for this vulgar language you’ve picked up? You never used to swear this much. Where’s my good girl, Cherry?”
“Fuck off, Adrian.”
“I’d much rather fuck you.”
“You agreed to hav—”
“The only thing I said yes to was leaving you alone after everything is said and done. It isn’t my fault you jumped to the wrong conclusion”
“What about the part where my room was furthest away from yours?”
“It is. The guestroom is on the far end of my penthouse and my bedroom is on the other side.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I don’t usually have guests spend the night with me.”
“Right… Tell that to all the women who I’m sure have done the walk of shame in the morning. I’m surprised there wasn’t a woman waiting for you when we arrived.”
“I told her to leave.”
She winced. It was quick, but I saw it.
“Does that bother you?”
“No.”
“No?”
“What bothers me is the lack of respect you’re giving me.”
“My demeanor toward you hasn’t changed.”
“You mean treating me like I’m that dumb naive girl?”
“You were neither.”
“Of course I was, or I wouldn’t have let you use me.”
“That card is getting a little old, Cherry. Are you going to be singing this same tune for the next six months?”
“I want my own bed.”
“For tonight, you’ll have to sleep in mine.”
“Adrian… I’m five seconds away from—”
“Paige, why don’t you go take a shower and cool off?” I stated ignoring her outburst.
“Let me guess, you removed the shower curtain and the door to the bathroom?”
Sidestepping her accusations, I simply stated, “Or you could make yourself comfortable and take a bath? I had my housekeeper buy all the girly shit you used to leave in Cade’s and my apartment.”
She adamantly repeated, “I want my bed.”
“What’s mine is yours.”
“This isn’t a marriage.”
“Well…” I rasped, leaning forward on my desk. I set my elbows on the wood, making sure to look deep into her eyes. “It’s the closest I’ll ever get to being in one.”