《Mr CEO’s personal assistant》


 01

    It had been 7 o¡¯clock when Elizabeth entered the office. Smiling to herself as she walked over to her desk. Nearly every day for thest three years she had entered this office exactly one hour before her boss would.


    Today however she didn¡¯t know if she would see her ¡®boss¡¯ in an hour. Mr. McGregor jr. Was quite unpredictable. Yesterday she had avoided him on purpose, feeling that his first time back in the office should be without her.


    She had only met the guy once. It had been in her first month working there and in all honesty, she really did not want to be reminded of it. Closing her eyes as if to rid herself of that old memory.


    Though she did only meet the guy once, she had read enough about him to feel like she knew him. Every now and then he would pop up in one of those gossip magazines, being a dick like usual. Even the way he had treated his own father told her that he was no good.


    Once she opened them she looked at the clock noting that it was 7:10 am, meaning that she¡¯d have to get started.


    It was eight o¡¯clock on the dot when McGregor walked out of the elevator. His nostrils immediately filled with the smell of freshly made coffee. He looked around trying to spot the person who made it but found no one there.


    He walked over to the office and sat down behind the desk. On the desk stood a cup of coffee and right in front of himy a note.


    Dear Mr. McGregor,


    You are expected to be at a meeting today on the third floor at 9 o¡¯clock. Before that, you¡¯ll need to read the paper on located on your right. (He looked to his right and saw indeed a paper lying there.) After that, you have a lunch appointment at the Pompadour. As for the afternoon, the reading of Mr. McGregor¡¯sst will and testament will be done at 3 pm.


    I will be out today taking care of several wishes of Mr. McGregor sr. In case you need me, call or text the number on the back of this paper.


    Yours Faithfully,


    Elizabeth WavertonN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    PS. The coffee was made at 7:57, ck with no sugar.


    He scoffed turning around the piece of paper. ¡®Who the hell does she think that she is?¡¯ As said in the letter there was a phone number written there, quickly he took out his phone and entered the number.


    For a moment he wanted to call her but then decided against it, instead, he saved the number on his phone and started reading the paper.


    It was around eleven o¡¯clock when James left the meeting. He knew that after that he as supposed to go to lunch, but she hadn¡¯t written down what time. So he decided to actually call her.


    He took the elevator up to the top floor and was just about to call when the door opened and he saw a young auburn haired woman sitting behind the desk.


    At first he thought he was being ignored when he saw that she was on the phone. ¡°Mr. Scanlon, with all due respect, this was arranged months ago,¡± she said in an angry tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, Mr. McGregor wants the red.¡±


    James looked at her surprised at her tone of voice. When he first saw her she had seemed different somehow, not fragile but also not like the way she was now.


    The woman was wearing a dark green body con dress that he guessed would end right above the knee. She wore small pearl earrings and a dainty watch on her wrist.


    Her auburn hair had been put into a neat bun on top of her head. She wore red lipstick which seemed to be just right for her and just right with the rest of the makeup.


    This without a doubt had to be the ¡®perfect¡¯ personal assistant. He had always heard a lot about her from everyone. Most people that were in business with his father, or friends of him, knew the youngdy and they all adored her.


    ording to his fathers best friend, she could make a reservation at any restaurant, even if it was packed full. Another one of his friends once told him that she could speak fournguages.


    He didn¡¯t know if he believed all they said about her, but her knew that even thepetition absolutely loved her.


    It wasn¡¯t until she was standing right in front of him that he had noticed she had finished her phone call.


    ¡°Good Morning sir.¡± She started with no emotion, not even a smile on her face. ¡°Your coffee is on your desk as is a copy of your schedule for tomorrow.¡± She said as the two of them walked over to his office. For a moment he listened intently seeing what she was made of but he soon had enough.


    ¡°Where were you yesterday?¡± He said cutting her off. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± She said furrowing her brows.


    ¡°I will only say this once more, where were you yesterday?¡± He said steadily getting angry. ¡°I had a personal day.¡± She replied straightening up.


    ¡°A personal day?¡± He scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re a personal assistant, they don¡¯t get personal days. You are supposed to be here at my every beck and call.¡±


    ¡°Mr. McGregor, I am not ap dog.¡± She said her tone changing ever so slightly.


    ¡°O I think that is exactly what you are-¡± He started but was cut off by a very angry Elizabeth.


    ¡°I am not ap dog! And I am not your personal assistant. I am, I was Mr. James McGregor sr. Personal assistant. I will not, not now or ever be your personal assistant. I have already handed in my two weeks notice a week ago.¡±


    ¡°You did what?¡± He said looking menacing.


    ¡°You heard me. By the end of the week, I¡¯ll be gone don¡¯t worry.¡± She said straightening her dress.


    ¡°Now to get back to current business. The Young deal has been taken care of and Mr. Young has invited you over to have dinner tomorrow night. As for the g, most things are prepared, I do need your opinion on the meeting arrangement but other than that it is all done.¡±


    With that she started to walk away only to turn around and say:


    ¡°Oh, and your lunch reservation is at 1 o¡¯clock.¡±

 02

    James had no idea how she had known that the Pompadour was his favourite restaurant. Nor did he know how she had  managed to get a lunch reservation for him.


    He also had no clue how she knew the way he liked his coffee. He had never met the girl.


    Currently he was sitting at a table for one in the Pompadour waiting for his lunch. A part of him was still fuming over his earlier introduction to Ms. Waverton. Where did she get the nerves to speak to him like that?


    ¡°Did you hear about Elizabeth Waverton?¡± He suddenly heard an elderlydy at a table behind him say. ¡°What do you mean Elenor?¡± The otherdy asked. Curiosity got the best of James as he started listening in on the conversation.


    ¡°Rumour has it she¡¯s going to quit her job.¡± Elenor said. ¡°O dear¡­ She was one of the best things to ever happen to thatpany.¡±This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I know, but apparently she doesn¡¯t¡¯ want to work for the new CEO.¡± She continued.


    ¡°But how did she get to work there in the first ce?¡± Thedy who wasn¡¯t Elenor said.


    ¡°Ah now that my friend is an interesting story.¡± Elenor giggled. ¡°It was around three years ago when young Elizabeth Waverton walked into the McGregor building. At the time I was still working as the coffeedy, bringing it to Mr. McGregor himself.


    I was in the lobby when she walked in. That poor girl looked hopelessly lost as she walked up to the front desk. Behind it sitting Natalie of course, she told her that her job interview would be on the top floor. Now Elizabeth was never anything business rted, she was oh I don¡¯t know, some sort of thing that had nothing to do with corporate.


    She went up to Mr. McGregor¡¯s office for a totally different job then she ended up with. Apparently there was no other job for her and Mr. McGregor said that he needed a PA. She told him that she wasn¡¯t cut out for that profession. But he needed one so badly that he told her he¡¯d pay her double.¡± Elenorughed at that.


    ¡°So that was when the ¡®perfect¡¯ assistant was born,¡± The otherdy said sipping her tea.


    ¡°O lord no my dear, it took months for that to happen. At first, she was terribly clumsy the poor thing. Nothing seemed to go right, nor did she dress and look the way she does now. I don¡¯t know how that happened.¡± Elenor said.


    Strange, James thought, so she didn¡¯t want to be  a PA in the first ce¡­ He still didn¡¯t like her attitude at all.


    It was five minutes to three when Elizabeth entered the office of thete Mr. McGregor¡¯s attorney. The grizzled old man looked up from his desk and said, ¡°A little to early  as always Ms. Waverton.¡±  With a chuckle at the end that turned into a cough.


    ¡°Early as always Mr. Jacobi.¡± She said smiling as she walked over to the man. ¡°Need any help with that sir?¡± She motioned to therge folder lying on the desk. ¡°No no no my dear, what kind of gentleman would I be having you carry that?¡± He said giving her a kind smile.


    Together they talked and walked over to therger conference room were the will would be read. It was when they walked in when someone cleared their throat.


    ¡°A Mr. McGregor, good to see you again son.¡± Mr. Jacobi said as heid down the folder. ¡°My condolences.¡± He said shaking his hand.


    ¡°Good to see you too Mr. Jacobi.¡± He said shing a rare smile. ¡°Ms. Waverton.¡± He said, losing the smile and nodding at Elizabeth. ¡°Mr. McGregor.¡± She said nodding back.


    ¡°Now all we need to do is wait for the rest, and then we¡¯ll begin.¡± Mr Jacobi spoke sitting down.


    It was an hourter when the reading of the will was nearly finished. That the first mention of Elizabeth¡¯s name came. In all honesty she wouldn¡¯t have evene if it wasn¡¯t for Mr. McGregor asking her personally.


    ¡°Andst, but not least, my dear assistant and friend, Elizabeth Maria Waverton. To Elizabeth I leave my penthouse in the city, which I have tried to give her for thest three years but she never epted.


    Furthermore I leave her all the money in the bank ount left in her name.¡±


    At this Elizabeth frowned, he had never talked to her about a bank ount in her name? Why would he do that?


    ¡°Other than that I leave her my BMW, a car which has been a favourite of hers for quite some time.¡±


    After that he finished reading the will, but Elizabeth didn¡¯t hear much of it. She was confused, why would her give her all of those things? Why would he do that for her?


    She felt tears stinging her eyes as she tried to blink them away. Her hands went up to her eyes as she wiped them away.


    ¡°Ms. Waverton are you alright my dear?¡± Mr. Jacobi asked her with concern clear on his face.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± She said noticing that everyone was looking at her. Quicklyposing herself she sat up straight, ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±

 03

    James McGregor marched into his building with an air of, speak to me and you¡¯re dead, hanging around him.


    Most people moved out of his way immediately as he walked into the elevator. Natalie waited patiently knowing that in a few minutes she would be called toe up to the top floor.


    And sure enough, within five minutes she was called up.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± He asked her looking livid.


    ¡°She told me to tell you that if you asked, she¡¯ll be here at 9 o¡¯clock,¡± Natalie replied. ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked, I asked where is she?¡± He said getting angry.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know sir,¡± Natalie said sighing. ¡°I would tell you if I knew sir, but honest to god, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    At nine o¡¯clock on the dot, the elevator opened revealing Elizabeth Waverton wearing a blue dress and ck heels. In her hands, she carried several files and what seems to be a clipboard.


    James silently sat in his chair waiting, for her to get closer. He observed as she walked over to her own desk andid most of the files down, he watched as she checked in one of the mirror¡¯s whether she was looking alright and he watched as she entered his office.


    Three short knocks were heard, to which he replied with a short e in¡¯ and the door swung open. ¡°Good morning Mr. McGregor.¡± She said walking over to his desk.


    ¡°Ms. Waverton, why were you not here this morning?¡± He asked calmly as he toyed with a pen lying on his desk.


    ¡°I had a prior engagement.¡± At that James looked up from the pen with a menacing look in his eyes, grabbing the pen tightly in his hand.


    ¡°Prior engagement?¡± He scoffed contempt clear in his dark eyes. ¡°Ms. Waverton, you do know that until the end of this week you still work for thispany.¡±


    Elizabeth opened her mouth to try and say something but she could not get a word in before he continued, ¡°You work for thispany, meaning that you work for me! You can¡¯t just run of and show up whenever it suits little miss perfect! You might have gotten away with batting yourshes at that old man, but that won¡¯t work on me.¡±


    Elizabeth was seeing fire, ¡°For your information, I was working for thepany. In fact, I was working for thepany at the request of ¡®that old man''¡± She said with air quotes, taking James by surprise.


    ¡°And what might that request be?¡± He asked, anger still clear in his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡± But Elizabeth was cut short by Natalie walking into the office in a hurry. ¡°Liz, Mr. Young just walked into the building, right now he¡¯s talking to Fred, but he wants to see Mr. McGregor.¡±


    ¡°What?! But he isn¡¯t supposed to show up until tonight.¡± Elizabeth said surprised going back into work mode.


    ¡°I know, but apparently he doesn¡¯t keep to schedule,¡± Natalie replied.


    ¡°Alright, get him his usual tea, it is in the bottom drawer of my desk. Call Fred and tell him to sent him to conference room 2 that should be empty and I¡¯ll make sure Mr. McGregor is prepped.¡± She said throwing the keys to the drawers at Natalie.


    It took a second for Natalie to take all of that in. ¡°Go!¡± Elizabeth yelled, startling her slightly as she started running back to the elevator.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± James said slightly confused.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin, but first we have to change your tie, Mr. Young hates this shade of blue.¡± She said opening a thin cab door revealing several neckties.


    ¡°This one should do it¡±, she said holding up a simple ck tie.


    ¡°Alright, so one of thest major events to happen before your father¡¯s death was the Young deal.  Basically, hispany, name, and product would be part of McGregor industries. The problem, however, was that at one point Mr. McGregor couldn¡¯t do it himself anymore, so that¡¯s where I stepped in.¡±


    She said taking off the tie he was wearing. A bit dazed and confused James stood up from his chair. As she started tying the new one.


    ¡°Usually the PA isn¡¯t allowed to do such thing, but Mr. McGregor urged me to speak on his behalf. The final meeting and everything would be done the day after your father passed away. So I took his ce. Everything went well and we got the merge, but now he wants to see you and have dinner with you tonight.¡± She said finishing the tie.


    ¡°Right now all you have to do is wee him and be nice to him.¡± She gripped his tie pulling him in closer, which she only managed to do by taking him by surprise. ¡°Do not, under any circumstances insult him.¡±


    Once she realized what she had done she quicklyposed herself and straightened her shirt.


    ¡°Now we mustn¡¯t keep him waiting. How much do you know about him?¡± She said opening the door of the office and singling for James to walk through it.


    ¡°I met him at a fundraiser once.¡±


    ¡°Good talk to him about that, he knows you probably don¡¯t know much about the deal yet, but for now just keep him happy.¡± She said as the two of them got into the elevator.


    ¡°You did this after the day he died?¡± James asked quite intrigued. ¡°Yes I did, anything wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Elizabeth continued to give him more information about Mr. Young when they reached the conference room 2.


    ¡°Alright, good luck.¡± She said, straightening his tie. As she moved to walk away she turned around for a brief moment and said, ¡°And don¡¯t fuck it up.¡±

 04

    It was six pm when Elizabeth walked into the familiar building, a ce she hadn¡¯t been in a couple of months.


    ¡°Good evening Ms. Waverton.¡± The kind doorman said as she walked over to him.


    ¡°Good evening Wace.¡± She said smiling as she walked closer to him. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you a thousand times just to call me Elizabeth.¡±


    Wace chuckled shaking his head, ¡°I know ma¡¯m, but I ain¡¯t one to break rules like that. Now, can I get you anything?¡±


    Her smile wavered for a moment, realizing what she came to do. ¡°Yeah,¡± she said not looking into his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m here for the keys.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She looked back up at him, staring into his eyes for a moment as she saw the same unshed tears in his eyes as she felt in hers.


    It was strange seeing a man at the size of Wace, who had been a bouncer for years before getting this job, showing that much emotion.


    ¡°He was a good man.¡± He said shaking his head as he stood up walking over to the keys.


    ¡°He was.¡± She said as she felt the single tear run down her face, quickly wiping it away with her hand.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± he said turning towards her. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make you cry.¡± A sad smile came upon he face. ¡°Trust me, he wouldn¡¯t have wanted it.¡±


    Elizabeth smiled ever so slightly as he handed her the keys. ¡°At least I get you as a new client .¡± He said smiling


    ¡°Thank you, Wace.¡± She said as she walked over to the elevator. ¡°Anytime sweetheart.¡± He chuckled watching her go up.


    It was strange walking down that hallway again and even stranger knowing that he won¡¯t be there¡­


    For a moment she fumbled with the key before she finally opened the door. Stepping inside she was greeted by the same warm scent.


    She softly closed the door behind her walking further into the penthouse. It was truly a beautiful ce, located at the top of a skyscraper and looking down at the city. One entire wall was a ss window from floor to ceiling, making the view even more impressive.


    The only thing that blocked her view was another skyscraper across the street. From this penthouse, she could look into some other houses across the way.


    She sighed sitting down on the couch letting her face sink into her hands as she started crying¡­.


    It wasn¡¯t until her phone rang that sheposed herself. She wiped her tears and looked at the screen, the number was recognized as that of James.


    Shit, she thought as she picked it up. ¡°Elizabeth Waverton,¡± she said sitting up straight.


    ¡°Did you make the dinner reservation?¡± She heard him angrily ask.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re going to Wanira¡¯s. Everything is taken care of, all you need to do is step into the car that will be ready at 7 o¡¯clock.¡± She replied in her work voice.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He said a bit surprised. ¡°Alright.¡± He said hanging up not even thanking her.


    James didn¡¯t know what to expect at all as he stepped into the car. Mr. Young would meet him at the restaurant as he would be going home straight after.


    He had been surprised by how prepared she had been and by her quick response to the arrival of mister Young.


    He smiled to himself as he recalled what Mr. Young had said¡­


    ¡°Curious thing that assistant of yours.¡± He had said. ¡°Howe?¡± James said curiously.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve known her for quite a while now and multiple times I¡¯ve offered her to work for me. You know offer better payment, tripling what she had now, better benefits and better hours. But she never took it. She always told me her loyalty was with your father.¡± Mr. Young said sipping his wine.


    ¡°And I know I¡¯m not the only one to do that, others have told me about that too. But she never took it. I asked your father about it, he would always say that she was the best you could ever have, but her heart wasn¡¯t in it.¡± At that Mr. Young paused for a moment, ¡°She is an architect he always said. Business was not her thing.¡± He endedughing.


    ¡°You are one lucky man Mr. McGregor.¡± He pointed at James.


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°You get her thrown into yourp.¡±


    James hadn¡¯t told him that she had resigned, he couldn¡¯t have him think that he lost her. Overall he didn¡¯t like her attitude, but he was impressed by the work she delivered.


    He walked further into his apartment sitting down on the coach. Sighing he slit down into a rxed pose. He put his hands on his face for a moment before looking back up.


    Suddenly from the corner of his eye, he saw something, he saw the light burning in the apartment across the street. He had only lived there for a few weeks and never in that time had the light been on.


    At first, he wanted to draw the curtains, to keep that person from seeing him. But then he looked a bit closer and saw his across the way neighbor. It was a girl, with auburn hair and she was wearing a towel.


    Intrigued he stared at her. The lights in his own apartment were turned off so he knew she didn¡¯t know he was there.


    From what he could see she looked quite pretty. She walked over to the kitchen ind where she poured herself a ss of water. After that, she walked away and didn¡¯t return he decided to pour himself another drink.


    As he sat there casually enjoying his drink he decided to stand up and look down at the city. His eyes trailed the tiny cars driving past down below. He still hadn¡¯t bothered to turn the lights on, the lights of the city, however, were enough light for him to see what he was doing.


    After he finished the drink he was about to turn away and go to bed when he saw the girl again. Curiosity took over when he saw her walk into the room, dressed in a camisole and short shorts. Her hair was up in a bun and she was carrying aptop. She sat down on the couch and opened theptop.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    He watched intently for a moment, feeling that he knew her from somewhere but shook of the feeling soon. He watched as she moved her face to rest in her hands and her body started shaking. For a moment he felt sad for the crying girl before he turned away and went to bed.

 05

    It had been quite early when James woke up. He had tried to fall back asleep again but failed miserably. So after ten minutes or so he stood up and got out of bed. He looked outside his window and saw that the sun was rising. Yawning he looked at his clock, 5 am. Great just great¡­


    Deciding to just go with it he started his usual morning routine. He took a shower, shaved, got dressed and walked into his kitchen. Usually, there would be a maid to cook him his breakfast, after which she would tidy up the apartment and in the evening prepare dinner. Today, however, he texted her saying that she could stay at home today.


    He decided to make scrambled eggs and bacon and started preparing the dish. It was when he looked up for a moment that he saw her. The girl was also standing in her kitchen, but she wasn¡¯t cooking, she was making phone calls and putting on her shoes.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    When the scent of burned food filled his nostrils he realized he had forgotten about the eggs whilst staring at her. ¡°Shit.¡± He muttered trying to save his eggs, but it proved to no avail. As he looked back up again he noticed that the girl was gone. He sighed deciding to have Elizabeth bring him breakfast at the office. After all, what is an assistant for?


    It was 6 o¡¯clock that Elizabeth had gotten the text from her boss stating that he wanted eggs Benedict for breakfast, on his desk at 7 am. ¡®Great¡¯ she thought. ¡®Just great¡¯.


    Immediately she called her contact at the Ritz asking if it were to be possible. Thankfully they had been a loyal client of the Ritz for years and it was located right next to their building.


    Elizabeth took her car to the nearest Starbucks and there she got her morning coffee and breakfast. Soon after that, she sped up to the Ritz to pick up the eggs benedict and want up into the building.


    She looked at her watch, it was 6:53 meaning that if she¡¯d go straight up now she would have his breakfast there at exactly the right time.


    Carrying her bag in one hand and the tray with food in the other she walked out of the elevator. Carefully she put her own bag down on her desk as she walked into his office.


    She was quite surprised to see him sitting there this early, already working.


    ¡°Good morning Mr. McGregor.¡±


    He looked up from hisputer screen for a moment and sat back once he saw the tray. He, however, did not say a word to her as he did so.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your eggs benedict sir.¡± She said as she put the tray down in front of him. She could feel his eyes on her as she removed the lid covering the food.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also gotten you salt, pepper, some bread and a regr ck coffee.¡±


    She took him by surprise as she grabbed the napkin andid it down on hisp before continuing. ¡°If you need anything else, you know where I am. Enjoy.¡±


    She started to walk out of the office when suddenly he said, ¡°Wait!¡±


    She turned around. ¡°Thank you.¡± He said for the first time¡­


    The rest of the day went rather smoothly. Elizabeth got the chance to get some of her work done and Mr. McGregor followed his schedule as usual.


    It was around seven in the evening that James finally decided he was done for today. Most of the people in the building had probably already gone home at this time and he had not even eaten dinner.


    He stood up from his chair grabbing his coat when he noticed another person there. Elizabeth was still there with him, going over god knows what.


    He smiled to himself as he saw her work, he had to admit to himself, this girl did actually work hard.


    Elizabeth was sitting hunched over her desk busying herself with seating arrangement of the g when her phone rang. She picked it up and was greeted by a voice that was unfamiliar to her.


    ¡°Hello?¡± The voice asked before she even had the time to say something. ¡°Good evening, this is the personal assistant of Mr. James McGregor Jr., how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I need to talk to James.¡± The voice on the other end, which sounded like a female, said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but he is rather busy at the moment, is there anything else I could do for you?¡± She asked pinching the bridge of her nose.


    The voice on the other end suddenly went higher in pitch as the girl huffed and started speaking in an angrier voice again.


    ¡°I need to talk to him now.¡±


    Elizabeth sighed and felt like just hanging up the phone when James walked out of his office.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor?¡± She asked as she covered the microphone with her hand.


    ¡°There is a girl on the line saying she had to talk to you right now.¡±


    Confusion became apparent on his face before it went emotionless. ¡°Her name?¡± He asked.


    Elizabeth held up one finger as she put the horn to her ear again, only to find the girl had been ranting for quite some time.


    ¡°Name please?¡± She asked grabbing a post-aid.


    Suddenly the ranting stopped as the girl said. ¡°Tiffany Gomez.¡±


    Elizabeth put her hand on the microphone once more as she turned to look at  Mr. McGregor again and said. ¡°Tiffany Gomez.¡±


    For a split second, she thought she saw his face change, but then it went right back to emotionless.


    ¡°Direct her call to my office.¡± He said turning to go back into his office. Elizabeth nodded and directed the call when suddenly he spoke again. ¡°And Ms. Waverton, do go home, it is quitete.¡± And with that, he closed the door behind him.

 06

    James had been quite bothered by Tiffany¡¯s call. In all honesty, at first, he had not wanted to take it. When he had walked out of his office his intention had been to go and have dinner. And maybe, he¡¯d had even asked Ms. Waverton to join him.


    But in the end that didn¡¯t happen, in the end, he spent two hours on the phone with Tiffany. She started talking to him about how she missed him, and all the good times that they had had and god knows what.


    He had sat there listening to all the lies as they left her mouth. The two of them had dated in the past. Back when he was still in College and she didn¡¯t know who he was. The two of them were right for each other back then. She was a party hoe and he had been a party asshole, perfect right? Well, that changed when people figured out who he was.


    Suddenly everybody was nice to him and wanted to be his friend, and he didn¡¯t like it one bit. He knew it was just because of is money that they liked him and not because of him. But then he learned something that really hurt him. Even his girlfriend had be nicer to him. She had started acting differently. She would call him more, she would tell him about all the things she wanted and got mad when he didn¡¯t give her them.


    After a while, he found out that she had been cheating on him with a friend of his and that¡¯s when it all fell to pieces. He had walked in on the two sitting on his own couch and sucking faces.


    She had stopped once she saw him and started with the, oh baby this isn¡¯t what it seems. He knew exactly what it meant and left the room saying. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother.¡±


    After that, he had cleaned up his act. He stopped chasing the girls that just weren¡¯t right for him and focused more on his education. Overall most would agree that it made him a better man. Maybe a bit bitter but overall he stopped the partying, the excessive spending and most of the excessive alcohol drinking.


    But now here she was, calling him again. He didn¡¯t even know how she had gotten the number of his PA.


    She had rambled on about how she missed him and she had made a mistake. Then when he turned her down she got angry and after angry came crying and begging for money.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    He was fuming when he mmed down the phone. As he walked out of his office he noticed Elizabeth was gone, he felt a hint of sadness at that before returning to full-on anger.


    Hell even when he got home he was still angry. He mmed the door behind him as he walked over to the couch once more. Looking at the clock he noted that it was ten at night and he still hadn¡¯t eaten dinner.


    He nced over at the auburn-haired girl across the way and he saw her cooking. For the first time in three hours, he smiled as he watched her dart across the kitchen. For a moment he thought about how nice it would be toe home and to see your girlfriend running around the kitchen like that. Making him dinner when he woulde homete and want to know about his day.


    How he would yell, ¡°Honey I¡¯m home.¡± And kiss her on the cheek. How he would wrap his arms around her and she¡¯d get yfully mad at him for almost letting her burn dinner. Then he would tell her that then they could just go out for dinner instead.


    Of course in that scenario, he wouldn¡¯t mind cooking for her as well. But just the thought of having someone being there when you get home, someone who actually cares about you, that is what he wanted.


    He sat and watched her before he returned to reality and decided he should get dinner. At first, he thought of taking out but then he remembered that he still had the best assistant for one more day¡­


    He picked up the phone and dialed her number. What he failed to notice however was how the girl across the way suddenly left her cooking and ran over to her purse to find her phone.


    Elizabeth was frantically looking for her phone as shey halfway on top of the couch where her phoney. Once she got it sheposed herself and said, ¡°Mr. McGregor, how may I help you.¡± A little bit out of breath.


    ¡°I still need to have dinner, any rmendations?¡± He said on the other end of the line. ¡°Uhm, are you feeling like staying in, or like going out?¡± She asked him as she sat up straight. ¡°Either one is fine.¡±


    He looked back up at the girl and noticed that she was now lying halfway across the couch and trying to sit up. He chuckled as he saw her fumble for a moment before he saw that she was on the phone.


    ¡°I there is a nice Chinese ce that delivers, if you give me your address then I can have them sent it up to you,¡± Elizabeth said.


    Then something strange happened, the girl across the way stood up and identally hit her toe on the coffee table. It was only a few secondster that he heard Elizabeth mutter a curse word under her breath over the phone.


    ¡°What was that?¡± He said staring at the girl. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m very sorry sir, I just identally hurt my toe.¡± She said before continuing to talk about the restaurant.


    It was then that a theory formed in his head. He couldn¡¯t quite see the girls face, for she was too far away, but could the girl from across the way be Elizabeth?

 07

    Elizabeth sighed as she walked around the empty office. She trailed her fingers over the desks as she wandered off in thought.


    This was the ce where she had worked for thest three years of her life. She smiled to herself thinking about the fact that this had been her first job. Straight out of university she hade here, looking for a job.


    She had always wanted to be an architect, quite frankly it had been her childhood dream. So right after university, she had gone looking for a job. This, however, didn¡¯t work, she had gone everywhere and no one would hire her.


    Then when someone told her about a job at McGregor industries, she swallowed her pride and went over there. She chuckled when she couldn¡¯t even remember the job for which she was applying, that was how nervous she was.


    What she did remember, however, was Mr. McGregor. How kind he was, how much he helped her and how much of a father figure he had been.


    The smile left her face however when she thought of him. God, she missed him¡­ She felt the tears prickle in her eyes and quickly blinked them away.


    One nce at the clock told her that she should go up to her desk and get ready for herst day at work¡­R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    This morning James had just nced at her weirdly as he had walked by. She told him her usual good morning to which he replied with a mumble that sounded like ¡®morning¡¯.


    Most of the day he sat in his office, he didn¡¯t call her or say anything for her. It was only when she told him that she was leaving for a quick coffee break that he had even looked her in the eye.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Had been his reply. ¡°Alright, you may go.¡± He had said as she closed the door behind her. A little bit ticked off by his reply she grabbed her bag and went down to the ground level.


    ¡°No way,¡± Natalie said with a smile on her face and a breadstick in her hand. ¡°Yes, way,¡± Elizabeth replied with an annoyed look on her face.


    ¡°First he treats me like a dog, now he ignores me and has the idea that he has to excuse me, like a child going to the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Oe on Elizabeth, it¡¯s not that bad. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re overreacting?¡± Natalie replied.


    Elizabeth sighed at her friend¡¯s response and was about to reply when her eyes widened. ¡°What is he doing here?¡± She said out loud.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± A confused Natalie said turning around. Her eyes widened to match Elizabeth¡¯s as she witnessed James McGregor walking into a simple diner, still wearing an Armani suit.


    Quickly the two of them looked away, not wanting to be recognized by their boss. They both let out a sigh of reliving when he took a table outside, (the two of them were sitting inside) and he was out of hearing and seeing range.


    ¡°God he is intimidating,¡± Natalie said taking a sip of her tea. ¡°But you have to admit he really is a sight for sore eyes.¡± She added wiggling her brows. At that Elizabeth nearly spit out her tea.


    ¡°Oe on, even you have to admit. Especially when he hasn¡¯t shaven and he still had that light morning stubble.¡±


    ¡°Natalie!¡± Elizabeth eximedughing.


    ¡°What I can¡¯t help it. Don¡¯t you ever wonder what kind of body is hiding underneath that sculpture that is his face?¡± She said innocently.


    ¡°Alright, he isn¡¯t ugly,¡± Elizabeth said thinking about him. To be honest she thought he was the opposite of ugly. Come to think of it, he actually was quite handsome. She, however, had never thought of him that way, as his personality was ugly. She is a firm believer in beautyes from within and she knew he hadn¡¯t shown her that kind of beauty. Yet.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t ugly?¡± Natalie started, but Elizabeth drew her out quickly as she started thinking about her boss.


    ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± Were the first words that she was greeted with when she walked out of the elevator doors. She looked up and saw James sitting on her desk. Looking at her watch she saw that she was two minutester that she was supposed to be.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± She said, knowing in the back of her mind that this was thankfully herst day.


    ¡°I need the Johnson ount file on my desk asap, I want you to call Haxel corp, and cancel my meeting and pick up my clothes from the dry cleaner.¡± He said in one breath as she walked over to her desk.


    ¡°Alright, Mason called and he wanted to move his meeting up to 9 o¡¯clock, is that ok?¡± She said sitting down behind her desk as he turned around to look at her. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be in my office.¡± He said standing up.


    Elizabeth went about the tasks that he had given her and when it was around ten o¡¯clock she walked back into the office having everything finished. She sat down behind her desk when Natalie came up to her desk.


    ¡°Hey honey, how are you?¡± She asked sitting down on her desk. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Busy, but fine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strange seeing you go, sweetie. I always thought you would stay here longer than I did.¡±


    Elizabeth chuckled looking at her friend. ¡°God, I thought I would have left after one year. I mean that was the deal.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you really got this whole thing you know,¡± Natalie said. You¡¯re the only one who stayed here for this long.¡±


    ¡°Oe on.¡± Elizabeth chuckling. ¡°But for real, you¡¯re going to be missed,¡± Natalie said sighed.

 08

    James had been surprised when he came up the elevator and he saw a bunch of people surrounding the desk of his assistant. The second they noticed him however everything went quiet and most started walking away, leaving Elizabeth behind.


    ¡°Make me a reservation at Pompadour, lunch for two at one o¡¯clock.¡± He said as he walked over to her desk. Elizabeth nodded and called the restaurant and within seconds she had the reservation made.


    ¡°I want you to be ready at 12:40.¡± He said looking at his watch. ¡°That gives you 40 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Ready for what sir?¡± She said confused. ¡°Lunch.¡± He simply said walking into his office, leaving a slightly confused Elizabeth behind.


    Her eyes were focussed on the screen in front of her when James walked out of his office. He walked over to her desk and leaned up against it. Through hershes, she looked up at him seeing him look down at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready, just give me a second.¡± She said finishing her work and saving it. He didn¡¯t say anything and just stood there, waiting.


    ¡°Alright, all done.¡± She said standing up and grabbing her bag. Strangely James still didn¡¯t say anything as he just extended his elbow for her to take.


    Confused she stared at it for a moment, unsure what to do.


    ¡°Usually the woman takes the arm.¡± He said with one corner of his mouth slightly curling up.


    She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the man¡¯s arm.


    When the two of them walked through the lobby of the building arm in arm everything went quiet. Everyone was staring at the two, no-one was even trying to hide it as they followed them with their eyes.


    Natalie nearly had a heart attack when she saw it. She knew that the both of them didn¡¯t particrly get along well together, but apparently, for now, they did.


    Like a gentleman, he walked with her on his arm. As soon as the pair reached the door he opened it for her and he even opened the car door for her.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Elizabeth was taken aback by his actions. What was he nning? She thought as he stepped into the car himself.


    With a quick nod to the driver, he signaled to start driving.


    For a while it was quiet when James suddenly spoke up. ¡°So have you ever eaten there before?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She said confused before answering. ¡°Oh, yeah actually I have.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± He said looking at her with a strange look on his face. ¡°I quite liked it. It has been a while ago but it is a good ce.¡± She said avoiding eye contact and nodding.


    There was something so strange at being so close to this guy. She never did expect him to recognize her, but it still felt strange when he didn¡¯t. It was after they first met that she had started to dislike him. Then as time went by things gradually became worse as she heard stories from his father. Of course, he loved his son, but there was something about him that she didn¡¯t quite like.


    She at first had hated him for noting to visit his sick father. But it was nearing his time of death that she figured out that Mr. McGregor sr. Had never told his son about the illness, so he couldn¡¯t have known.


    After that, she desperately wanted to tell him, even though she still really didn¡¯t like him. But upon request from his father she didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I think we have arrived.¡± She heard James say as he got out of the car. The door on her side was suddenly opened by the valet of the restaurant. Carefully she got out and walked over to James who was patiently waiting for her.


    It was only a matter of minutester when the two arrived at their table. ¡°So, you might wonder why I took you here,¡± James said leaning back.


    ¡°You¡¯ve only been my assistant for a short while, and I must say you live up to the legend. So this is why I am treating you to lunch.¡±


    Elizabeth quietly sat there, not knowing quite what to respond to that.


    It was six o¡¯clock on the dot when Natalie saw Elizabeth pacing out of the building with a look of pure rage on her face. At first, she had wanted to run after her, ask her what was wrong. But she decided against it. She knew that Elizabeth didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone just by the look on her face. But still, the entire lobby seemed to be looking at the very door that she just left through.


    Suddenly people started whispering, talking about what must have happened. It was then that Natalie decided to go up to her boss and find out for herself. Once she got up to the top level she saw that the normally closed door into Mr. McGregor¡¯s office was now open.


    She walked over to the room, finding Mr. McGregor himself, setting there with water dripping down his face.

 09

    ¡°Mr. McGregor!¡± Natalie eximed, rushing over to him, ¡°What happened?¡±


    For a moment he didn¡¯t respond as he watched her getting a paper towel and handing it to him.


    ¡°We had a disagreement,¡± he said nkly drying off his face and shirt.


    ¡°About what, you do know it is herst day.¡± She stated matter of factly.


    ¡°That is none of your business.¡± He said harshly.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She said she replied. Right before she left his office she turned around and said. ¡°Good luck finding another one like that.¡±


    When Natalie came back downstairs people starteding over to her. Asking what had happened and what Mr. McGregor had said. She sadly had to tell all of them that she didn¡¯t know, up until she decided to call Elizabeth herself.


    It took a few rings for her to pick up when Natalie finally heard Elizabeth¡¯s Hullo. ¡°What on earth happened?¡±


    ¡°That son of a bitch happened, that¡¯s what,¡± Elizabeth answered angrily.


    ¡°Just tell me.¡± Natalie sighed.


    ¡°So¡­¡±


    The waiter that brought the two their menu¡¯s was a tall slim man, with a rather grumpy looking face.


    ¡°Good afternoon Madam and Sir. Can I get you anything to drink?¡±


    Elizabeth had opened her mouth to speak but James beat her to it. ¡°Arge bottle of t water and two sses would be fine.¡±


    She would have been cross with him for ordering for her like that, had it not been her intention to drink water anyways.


    The two of them were quiet as they looked over the menu and even when Elizabeth knew her choice she still didn¡¯t speak. She simply closed her menu andid it down in front of her.


    ¡°I take it you  know what you want?¡± James said, not looking up from his menu.


    ¡°I do.¡± She said absentmindedly.


    ¡°Now now Ms. Waverton, you are allowed to talk.¡± He said looking up at her with a sly grin.


    ¡°I am well aware of that Mr. McGregor.¡± She said slightly annoyed.


    It wasn¡¯t until after they had ordered that one of them started talking again.


    ¡°I must say I love that skirt.¡± He said eying her legs. Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked at him. ¡°Thank  you.¡± She said politely.


    ¡°So what¡¯s on your mind?¡± He said surprising her with the question. ¡°Nothing.¡± She said looking him dead in the eye. ¡°Oe on, a smart girl like you?¡± He said smiling.


    Elizabeth was about to open her mouth when the waiter returned with the drinks.


    ¡°And here¡¯s your water madam and sir.¡± He said putting down her ss and pouring the two of them some water. ¡°Anything else?¡± The waiter said standing up straight.


    ¡°Yes,¡± James said, his eyes not leaving hers. ¡°We¡¯ll have two sses of my usual white wine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it right up.¡± He said nodding and walking away.


    Elizabeth felt a bit awkward sitting here lunching with her boss. Sure she had done it quite often with Mr. McGregor sr. But not with his son.


    She felt his eyes on her as she shifted in her seat not meeting his gaze. Suddenly Elizabeth heard a voice she hadn¡¯t in months. Her head turned around quickly as she saw him walking in.


    Giovanni Moreno, a ratherrge set, mustached, 60-year-old Italian walked in with a smile on his face.  She smiled as she watched him and waited for him to look at her. She knew it wasn¡¯t that nice of her to invite him to sit with them, but then again, he was a partner of thepany.


    ¡°Ahh, Be! It is good to see you, my friend!¡± He bellowed walking over to her. ¡°Signore Moreno, it has been too long.¡± She said standing up. Behind her sat a very confused James, staring at therge man now walking over to his assistant.


    The two of them hugged and that¡¯s when Moreno saw James. ¡°Ah, you must be the boy of James!¡± He said walking over to James and grabbing his hand. ¡°He was a true friend that man.¡±


    ¡°Signore Moreno, why don¡¯t you join us for lunch,¡± Elizabeth said, earning a look from James, which she chooses to ignore.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I?¡± He said with a smile on his face.


    After that Giovanni had called over a waiter making him set down a chair for him. Elizabeth always loved the man¡¯s stories, and right now he was telling all of them.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    She noticed how James seemed to be bothered by it at first, sometimes he¡¯d even tap her leg with his foot making her look at him for a moment.


    But after a while, he seemed to warm up to the Italian, and actually, have a nice time.


    It had been around four o¡¯clock when the three of them left the restaurant. And of course signore Moreno wouldn¡¯t let them leave without giving the both of them a big hug.


    Elizabeth smiled wide as she waved the man off. James straightened his tie and jacket with slight annoyance on his face when he looked over at the woman beside him.


    He smiled ever so slightly realizing this was the first time he had seen her smile so carelessly, so happily¡­


    It was, however, the second that she turned around to face him that her poker face was back on. Sure she smiled, but he just knew it wasn¡¯t sincere.


    ¡°Ah, there is the car.¡± She said pointing behind him.


    He turned around and watched the car roll up indeed.


    After that, she avoided talking to him as much as she could. Though he didn¡¯t like it very much, he got the message.


    When the two of them arrived the office she immediately went over to her desk and sat down behind it. James sighed as he walked past her and into his office.


    The rest of the afternoon seemed to be quite uneventful until the phone rang¡­


    Usually, Elizabeth would answer the phone, but she had gone down to the second floor to help some guy do something. (James didn¡¯t really remember). He stood up from his chair and walked over to his door. For a moment he eyed the phone on her desk before picking it up.


    ¡°Hello?¡± He said confidently. ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Novak¡¯s assistant speaking, I¡¯m calling regarding Ms. Waverton.¡± Thedy on the other end of the line stated.


    Novak? He thought for a moment trying to figure out where he heard the name before. Then suddenly something in his head clicked. Novak was the CEO of one of theirpetitors¡­


    ¡°Proceed.¡± He told the girl on the other end of the line. ¡°Mr. Novak wants to know if she can start Monday instead of Wednesday.¡±

 10

    ¡°Excuse me, could you repeat that?¡± James said not quiteprehending what the woman on the other end of the phone had said.


    ¡°Mr. Novak wants to know if she could start on Monday instead of Wednesday.¡± She paused for a moment before saying, ¡°I can call back at another time if that would be better?¡±


    The second James opened his mouth he saw the elevator open and Elizabeth walking out of it. Her head was tilted to the floor before she looked up and saw him sitting behind her desk. For a moment he saw something close to fear behind her eyes, but it only showed for a second.


    ¡°Yes, that would be better.¡± He said hanging up the phone.


    She stopped in front of her own desk and looked at him. He crossed his arms and turned the chair towards her. ¡°Mr. Novak wants to know if you could start on Monday.¡± He said with an using tone.


    Elizabeth raised her brows and crossed her arms too. James stood up from the chair he was sitting on and leaned over the desk cing his hands on it.


    ¡°Care to tell me, why Mr Novak would want to know that?¡± He said with a dark look on his face.


    ¡°That would be between Mr. Novak and me.¡± She said not averting her gaze form his, challenging him to say another word about it.


    He didn¡¯t say a thing as he shot her onest menacing look before storming into his office. It was then that the phone on her desk rung once more.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor¡¯s office, This is Elizabeth Waverton speaking, how can I help you?¡± She said in a sugary sweet voice she only used when answering phone calls.


    ¡°Liz we did it!¡± She immediately recognised the voice of her coworker Quint. ¡°What?¡± She said confused. ¡°We closed the Sanderson deal!¡± He nearly screamed. ¡°You did?¡± She yelled back at him. ¡°Quint you are the best!¡±


    Right after she got of the phone with Quint she knew that she would have to inform James of it. She sighed as she got up from her chair and walked over to his office door. She hesitated for a moment before gripping the handle firmly and opening the door.


    James only nced up a second before looking back down again. ¡°Quint closed the Sanderson deal.¡± She said.


    ¡°Good.¡± He said not looking up at her. She nodded and turned around to leave. From the corner of her eye she could see the digital clock hanging on the wall next to and saw it sh 17:50.


    ¡°So tell me.¡± He said as he took of the sses she had never seen before. ¡°Was it the money? Or just the chance to suck another old mans dick?¡± He said as she whipped around. The second he looked her in the eye he could see the mistake he had made by saying that.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She nearly growled out with her eyes zing fire. ¡°Ohe on, why else work for the enemy.¡± He said knowing he couldn¡¯t just crawl out of it at this point.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    ¡°Not that it is any of your concern, but it was your father that actually got me that job!¡± She said raising her voice.


    ¡°My father was an idiot! Why else would he do such a thing?¡± He yelled back at her.


    ¡°Your father was a better man and CEO then you¡¯ll ever be!¡± She yelled so menacingly that she surprised him by it. In the heat of the moment, she grabbed the ss of water that was standing on his desk and threw it in his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll never have to see me again.¡± She said walking away and mming the door behind her.


    ¡°That is¡­ That¡¯s something.¡± Natalie said stunned. ¡°Yeah I know.¡± Elizabeth sighed on the other end of the phone. ¡°I¡¯m just d this was myst day.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll see youter I guess.¡± Natalie said before hanging up the phone.


    It was around midnight when James entered his apartment, actually, he didn¡¯t know for sure what the time was, and he didn¡¯t care.


    He walked over to his couch and slid down onto it. He sighed as he just sat there staring at his hands.


    Why had he said that to her?


    Why didn¡¯t he just keep his yap shut?


    He knew that his first impression had been different from how he knew her now. He hade to realize that the stories of the amazing assistant were actually true. Deep down he realized that even though she had only been his assistant for a week, he was kind of, sad to see her go.


    Looking out at the city through the window he let his mind wander for a moment. When he saw the lights sh on in the apartment across the way. The woman he hade to know as the ¡®Redhead across the way¡¯ walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her.


    She put her hands on her face and pressed her back into the door. Slowly she let herself sink down to the floor as her body shook ever so slightly.

 11

    It was quite early when Elizabeth awoke. Drowsily she wiped the sleep from her eyes as she rolled over to look at her clock.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    She groaned when she saw the lights sh 6:30. It had been three weeks since she hadst set foot on the McGregor building. Yet she still awoke every morning at least an hour before she had to.


    She swung her legs out of the bed as she sat up. She had never been particrly good at going back to sleep after she had woken up.


    Her morning ritual had changed quite a lot. Finally, she actually had time to make breakfast and watch the news. After that she would leave the building at 8:30 and walk over to the star bucks on the corner. Here she would pick up two regr ck coffee¡¯s, one cappino and one vanitte, which had already been made for her.


    She would smile, say hi to Ria, pay for the coffee and be on her way again. Then at 8:45 she would walk into the building and into the elevator and up to the 14th floor.


    ¡°Morning Paul.¡± She said to the receptionist as she set down one of the ck coffees on the counter. ¡°Morning honey, it¡¯s such a lovely day isn¡¯t it?¡± He said smiling. ¡°It always is when I see you, sweetie.¡± Elizabethughed as she walked towards her office.


    Down the hall on the right was a bright office with three desks, one for Elizabeth, One for Oscar and one for Hailey. She set down the vanitte on Hailey¡¯s desk and the cappino on Oscar¡¯s. As she walked over to her own desk.


    The two of them usually wouldn¡¯te in until 9 and that was also true for today. It had been only three weeks since she started, but she knew that those two might actually be some good friends.


    The two of them started the day with their usual banter as Elizabeth went about her work. Everything went as usual when the phone rang. On it, she saw Natalie¡¯s name shing and with a smile she picked up.


    ¡°Hey! How are you?¡± She said in a cheery voice.


    ¡°Elizabeth! I need your help honey!¡± Natalie said panicking. ¡°Calm down, what¡¯s going on?¡± She said shushing Oscar and Hailey. ¡°The g! I know I know, it¡¯s tonight. But there are some problems. The Ritz had  a fire and we can¡¯t use the venue.¡± Elizabeth groaned.


    ¡°Mr. Moreno said that he can¡¯t make it and Mr. McGregor hasn¡¯t even found himself a date yet.¡± She continued.


    ¡°But Moreno is the biggest contributor,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to lose that. I mean you can¡¯t. O, God¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright here¡¯s what you do, you call the Four Seasons and ask for Red. Then offer them twice the money as the Ritz and that should fix that. I¡¯ll call Moreno and get that fixed and you¡¯ve got to be Mr. McGregor¡¯s date.¡± Elizabeth started writing herself a memo to call Moreno.


    ¡°Ok. I can do that!¡± Natalie said cheerfully on the other end of the line. ¡°But what will Jack say about that?¡± She said. ¡°Nat, your boyfriend will be fine, just trust me,¡± Elizabeth said.


    ¡°Alright, thank you thank you thank you! I gotta go! Bye!¡± She yelled in one breath before hanging up the phone.


    Elizabeth sighed and sat back.


    ¡°My my, so that¡¯s the perfect assistant,¡± Oscar said pping andughing, causing Elizabeth to look up.


    ¡°Perfect Assistant?¡± She said with a smile.


    ¡°Oe on, the boss told all of us the stories when you wereing,¡± Hailey said. ¡°I mean not the stories but how every big shot in the city wants you to be at their beck and call.¡±


    Elizabethughed. ¡°Well, I did get some nice offers.¡±


    The three of them talked for a minute before returning back to work and they worked until around noon. Then the second the lunch break started Elizabeth dialed Mr. Moreno¡¯s number.


    ¡°Good afternoon Mr. Moreno, this is Ms. Waverton.¡±  She greeted him.


    ¡°Ahh Ms. Waverton, you had me wondering who knew my personal number.¡± He said cheerfully.


    Elizabethughed and said. ¡°I heard you can¡¯t make it tonight?¡±


    ¡°Oe on Elizabeth, you know I am a busy man.¡± Heughed


    ¡°Too busy to have lunch with me?¡±


    ¡°That never. But I don¡¯t think we can get a reservation at this time¡­ Do you still have your magic touch, when ites to that?¡± He inquired.


    ¡°I still do. Meet me at 13:00 at the Pompadour.¡± Sheughed.


    The two of them met at exactly that time and hugged each other. They went over to their table and started talking about all kinds of things when suddenly another man entered the restaurant.


    ¡°Ah, Mr. McGregor!¡± Moreno said happily. ¡°I seem to have found an old employee of yours.¡± Elizabeth stiffened as she felt his presence behind her.


    ¡°Mr. Moreno it¡¯s nice to see you again. Elizabeth.¡± He gave a curt nod to Elizabeth as he walked around her and over to Moreno.


    The two of them shook hands and spoke for a second in hushed voices before he went over to his own table.


    Elizabeth shifted awkwardly as Moreno turned to talk to her again. After they finished lunch and Moreno had promised her he would be at the g tonight she went back to work.


    The rest of the day seemed to be quite normal and uneventful until around eight o¡¯clock. Elizabeth was sitting on her couch when the phone rang once more.


    ¡°Elizabeth! I¡¯m at the hospital, Jack was in an ident! I can¡¯t go to the g.¡± She yelled. ¡°Calm down Nat! Stay with him and forget about the g! I¡¯ll fix it!¡± She said.


    ¡°No Elizabeth, I can¡¯t ask that of you! I¡­ I¡­ just don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± She said breathing heavily.


    ¡°I know saying this usually doesn¡¯t help, but calm down. I¡¯ll take care of it, stay with Jack. It will be alright.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Natalie breathed, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Elizabeth sighed as she put down the phone. How am I gonna find that man a date to show to the cameras?

 12

    Elizabeth nced at herself in the mirror as she put on her heels. She put on her earrings as the doorbell rang.


    ¡°Come in!¡± She yelled as she walked out of her bedroom. In her room stood a boy no older than 17 years old wearing a chauffeurs outfits and hat. ¡°Good evening Ma¡¯am, I am to take you to the four seasons.¡± He said taking of that very hat.


    ¡°Good evening.¡± She said with a smile as she got her purse. Together with the young man she went downstairs and walked out of the door and into the limousine.


    The hotel was like a beacon of light when as she saw it around the corner. She smiled as they got closer. The smile however faded from her face when she saw the paparazzi outside.


    ¡°Take me around back.¡± She said to the driver. ¡°But Ma¡¯am-¡± ¡°Just do it.¡± The driver nodded and drove her around back. Here she got out of the car, thanked him and walked into the back door.


    She smiled as she walked past the hotel staff and greeting them as she did so. She then walked into therge ballroom and immediately she was met with the sounds and sight of hundreds of the richest men in the country.


    From the corner of her eye, she spotted him. James McGregor Jr. Stood tall in his tailored smoking, looking stunning. She knew he didn¡¯t see her when he started walking away from her. Behind him, she could see the young blonde in the pink dress that was his date.


    Jolene Stone was her name. A young actress trying to make it big in the city of New York. She was pretty and had been in a few tv shows, and Elizabeth knew she would jump at a chance like this. So she had called her and arranged for this pretty girl to be his date.


    ¡°Ah, you look stunning as always!¡± She spun around and was met with the sight of Mr. Moreno standing there. ¡°Why thank you.¡± She said with a smile as he took her arm.


    Together they walked around the room for a while, talking to other guests andughing. Then after a while, they were led to their tables and they awaited the auction.


    The g had been Mr. McGregor seniors idea. He wanted the g to be perfect and to raise money for the orphanage his wife hade from. He wanted to have an auction. The auction was to be of his art and furniture collection, as he knew he wouldn¡¯t have long to live.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Elizabeth felt tears in her eyes as she watched the all too familiar paintings and statues be sold off the highest bidder. It wasn¡¯t until midnight that she decided to leave. She had fulfilled her duty and had been Mr. Moreno¡¯s date. Sure it wasn¡¯t a romantic date, but it was his one condition toe.


    She said goodbye to everyone and stood up from the table. She was about to leave the room when the auctioneer said something that got her attention.


    ¡°A painting, of his private collection. A painting of his perfect assistant, Elizabeth.¡± She turned around and saw the painting of her standing there upon the stage.


    With a confused look on her face, she stood there and watched be bidding go higher and higher. It was a painting of her, sitting on an arm chair in a green dress. She smiled as she remembered that day.


    At that moment, she had only been his assistant for about a year. They had been at his home, right before a big meeting. By now she didn¡¯t quite remember what the meeting was about, but she did remember that it was important. She was quite nervous as she stood in his office waiting, as he sat behind his desk working.


    At some point, he had looked up from his work and to stop standing around so awkwardly and to sit down. So she sat down in the chair that was the closest to her. It had been arge old-fashioned armchair with red velvet seating. As she sat there he remarked how her dress fit so well with the chair. It looked just right and like she belonged in that chair.


    At the time he had taken a picture, one sheter saw standing on his desk, next to other photos of family and friends. Once she had asked him if he considered her a friend and he had replied, ¡°No my dear, you are family.¡±


    She was however abruptly brought back from her thought as the bidding started. At first, it seemed a little slow, but then it took off. Suddenly the bids started to getting quite high and soon they were at 500. 000 dors. Then suddenly a voice rang from the other side of the room. ¡°2 million dors.¡±


    She turned to see James standing there, but his eyes were not on the stage, but on her. Then suddenly Mr. Moreno yelled, ¡°3 million dors.¡±


    The crowd gasped when suddenly James went up to four million and before she knew it the piece was sold for 6 million dors.


    Elizabeth gasped as she watched James and watched all of the faces in the crowd turn to her.


    She turned back around and ran.

 13

    She sighed as she raked her hands through her hair. God, what had just happened? She thought as she stared down at her hands.


    For a moment she dared to look up as she saw the lights of the city sh by. She was thankful for the cab that luckily enough drove by right when she needed one.


    The man had stopped for the girl in the long red evening gown who came running out of the Four Seasons. She had thanked the man a thousand times as she told him her address.


    And now she sat there. Staring out of the small window trying to process what had just happened. Her phone buzzed in her clutch telling her that people were texting her. She knew that people were asking her about the painting or telling her about the sale.


    Only looking for a second she saw the 84 messages and the number grew and grew. Quickly she turned it off and put it back in the clutch.


    She didn¡¯t even notice it as the cab reached her house until the man yelled at her. She apologized and paid the man as she got out of the car.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Before she noticed it Wace had already opened the door for her. A smile came over her face as she saw the tall man standing in front of her. ¡°Thank you, Wace.¡± She said as a tear fell from her eyes.


    ¡°Sweetie¡­ It¡¯s alright.¡± He said as he hugged her. He let her go and wiped the tear from her face. ¡°It¡¯s ok. Sweetie.¡±


    She nodded her head and he let her to the elevator. Little did she now that what happened at the Four seasons had already been on thete evening news. Wace smiled sadly as he watched her go up.


    He had watched the whole thing on the news. The story started with the newsdy talking about  Mr. McGregor sr. And his ¡®perfect assistant¡¯ and the painting. Apparently, his will had said that that was the most precious piece of art that he owned. It had also been the newest addition to his collection as he had it painted not too long before his death.


    Wace had been surprised when he saw James Jr. Had bought the piece at that outrageous price. And he had been saddened when he saw the look on Elizabeth¡¯s face as the camera focussed on her.


    The poor girl had looked like a deer in the headlights as she ran off and out of the building. After that, he sat there waiting. Waiting tofort her.


    Straight after she headed up to her apartment she washed off her makeup and took off her dress. She sighed looking at her own reflection in the mirror, knowing that she couldn¡¯t hide from the world forever. Luckily tomorrow was Saturday, meaning she could hide from the world for at least one more day.


    The following day she awoke at around 8 o¡¯clock. It felt nice for a change waking up at a somewhat decent hour. She went through her normal routine right up until she turned on the tv to watch the news¡­


    ¡°Now William, it has been the talk of the day, tell us about the McGregor g.¡±


    Quickly Elizabeth whirled around and watched the screen intently.


    ¡°Well Kate, it sure was something. But first a little bit of background story.¡±


    She stared as the man in the suit on television started talking about none other than her.


    ¡°Apparently Elizabeth Waverton was the personal assistant of thete Mr. McGregor Sr.


    The man said whilst standing right next to an old picture of her and James Sr.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor Sr. Was the CEO of McGregor industries and one of the most influential men in the city. Last night a g was hosted in his name in order to raise money for the orphanage his wife hade from. Here there was an auction selling off pieces of his art collection. The final and most expensive painting sold off that night was the painting of his P. A. Elizabeth.¡±  He continued


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t care to hear more of it and shut the damn TV off. She walked over to her phone and decided to bite through the sour apple and just turn the goddamn thing on. As soon as she did she saw that she had over five hundred text messages and more the 100 missed calls.


    Most of them seemed to be from media outlets, wanting to hear her side of the story. She ignored all of those and blocked the numbers.


    Then she saw that Natalie had left her a voice message.


    ¡°Elizabeth!¡± She started sounding frantic ¡°O my god are you alright? I saw the whole thing! O my god dear, that¡­ I mean¡­ it was even on the news. People think that you and James Jr. Had a rtionship and that you broke up with him and that¡¯s why you quit your job. They think he¡¯s still in love with you that¡¯s why he bought the painting for that absurd amount.


    I mean I know that isn¡¯t true but I mean¡­ Why else would he pay that for a painting? I mean god this is just all so strange¡­


    And thank you so much for helping mest night! Jack is alright, he just has a concussion and a couple of stitches. The doctor made him stay the night, but this morning he coulde home again. So that¡¯s all sorted out. I¡¯m sorry that I sprung that on you yesterday¡­


    So please, call me when you feel like it!¡±


    Elizabeth sighed as she walked over to her fridge and got out some eggs. This was a nightmare¡­ He had bought the painting for a price equivalent of that of a Picasso or something like that. She didn¡¯t know why he would do such a thing either and it bothered her to no end.


    She sighed once more as she started making waffles and tried to get her mind off of things.

 14

    The second Elizabeth had set foot outside of the building she saw the news vaning her way. She avoided thedy in the pantsuit and hurried off to the park. Here she just sat quietly, wanting to be alone for a moment.


    After that, there were several moments that some paparazzi tried to get her to appear on camera. So before noon she had already run home and decided to stay in for the rest of the day.


    At first, she had thought about calling Natalie, but decided against it. Thinking that for now she just didn¡¯t feel like talking to anyone.


    Then around six in the evening, she decided to order in. So she got the menu from the Chinese restaurant around the block and ordered.


    She hung up the phone and turned around. The lights in the apartment across from her had turned on. It was dark outside so she could see rather clearly into the apartment on the other side and that¡¯s when she saw it¡­


    There the painting was, hanging above a firece were probably the tv had been before. She squinted her eyes trying to see if it was actually her painting when she saw a man walking into the room.


    Quickly she ducked behind her counter and turned off the lights. Does James live across the street from me? She thought as she sat there.


    She squatted peeking over the counter trying to see whether it was him. Though she could see his overall features, it was too far away to actually see his face¡­


    But then there was a knock on the door. Who could that be? She thought as she turned on the light and walked over to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw an Asian man holding a Chinese takeout bag. That¡¯s really fast¡­ she thought but opened the door never the less.


    The man swung the door open further pushing her out of the way. Two more people came into the apartment, one of them being a woman in a pantsuit with a microphone and the other being a man with a camera.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Elizabeth said seething with anger.


    ¡°Ms. Waverton, what is your thought on the events ofst night?¡± Thedy said not even a little bit phased.


    ¡°Get out!¡±  She just yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.


    Suddenly the door burst open once more. From it emerges the dark tall form of Wace. Wace was one of the kindest men that Elizabeth knew and she had never seen him angry, that is until now¡­R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Everybody that doesn¡¯t live here, out!¡± He bellowed. The crew still didn¡¯t seem to fased by it. Then suddenly he grabbed the camera and smashed it to the ground. ¡°Now get out before I do the same for you!¡± He said to the people making them leave.


    It was only then that Elizabeth realized she was sitting on the floor. Wace put out a hand to her and helped her up, immediately pulling her into a hug. ¡°I¡¯m so so sorry sweetie.¡±


    ¡°They all came in separate and it all seemed fine.¡± He said still holding her.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the person across the street to see it happen I wouldn¡¯t have been here when I was. That man is a good man.¡± He said.


    Wace stayed with her for a moment before going back downstairs. She called the Chinese ce canceling the order, as she did not want to open her door again.


    She sat down on the couch for a moment thinking about what to do when the doorbell rang once more.


    At first, she ignored it, but then the man behind it yelled her name. The second he did that she knew it was him. She recognized James his voice.


    She walked over to the door and stood next to it. ¡°What do you want?¡± She yelled back.


    ¡°To talk to you.¡± He said in a quieter voice. She scoffed, ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Look I want to apologize for what I said on your st day of work.¡± He said and staying quiet for a moment. Then he added, ¡°And I brought food.¡±

 15

    ¡°Come Elizabeth, just let me in¡­¡± James sighed out as he stood outside her door. He heard her sigh as well. ¡°Why did you do it?¡± She asked him.


    James knew exactly what she was talking about, he knew she was asking about the painting. In all honesty, he himself didn¡¯t even really know why. All he could think at that moment was that he didn¡¯t want anyone else to have that painting.


    ¡°I¡­¡± He started ranking his fingers through his hair. ¡°I don¡¯t really know¡­¡± He said leaning on to the door. ¡°I think it would¡¯ve just felt weird of some stranger owned it¡­¡± He added sighing.


    It was then that he heard the lock of the door slowly turn. Surprised and happy he took a step back from the door but then the sound stopped. ¡°Why should I let you in?¡± She asked, ¡°It¡¯s not like you and I have ever gotten along.¡± She added in a hushed voice.


    ¡°I want to make it up to you¡­¡± He said as he heard her walk away from the door. ¡°Wait!¡± He yelled, but he got no response.


    He softly put his fist up to the door in defeat and hung his head low. God, I¡¯m being stupid¡­ he thought as he was about to walk away.


    But then he heard the rest of the lock turn and the door slowly opened. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯ve brought food.¡± She said with a soft smile on her face as she walked further into her apartment.


    Carefully he followed and closed the door behind him. He felt his heart clench for a moment as he saw the small tear stains on her cheeks.


    Elizabeth walked over to her kitchen area and crossed her arms. ¡°Alright, all we need is two tes and two wine sses.¡± Said, James, as he opened the stic bag he was carrying and revealed the food and bottle of wine.


    ¡°White or red?¡± She asked him as she opened the cab. ¡°Red, we¡¯re eating meat.¡± He said with a small smile on his face.


    She grabbed therger, rounder red wine sses and two tes and carried them to the table. ¡°Here let me help you with that,¡± James said grabbing the tes from her hands, to which Elizabeth replied with a small, thank you.


    Together the two of them set the table. James then opened the packages he brought with him and revealed two perfect looking steaks and vegetables. Without hesitation, he served the food onto the tes and grabbed the bottle of wine.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ve been told that you¡¯re quite picky when ites to wine, so I hope you appreciate this one.¡± He said showing her the wine that he brought. ¡°One can always appreciate a good wine.¡± She said cracking a wider smile than before.


    Heughed and opened the bottle of wine, letting her taste it before pouring the two of them a ss.


    ¡°I would have never guessed you to be such a cook,¡± Elizabeth said eyeing the food.


    ¡°O god no¡­¡± He saidughing, ¡°I can make breakfast, but that is about it. I had this made by someone else. Bon appetit.¡± He said gesturing her to start eating.


    The two of them just atefortably for a while, both enjoying the quiet around them.


    ¡°So how is your new job?¡± James asked her like she was an old friend he hadn¡¯t seen in years.


    ¡°Good actually.¡± She said, feeling a bit strange answering his question.


    ¡°I heard your an architect now, I would never have guessed that.¡± He said taking a sip of his wine.


    ¡°Well, it is the thing I went to school for.¡± She smiled looking at him.


    It was strange sitting here like this. The two people that were almost at each other throats a few weeks ago. But somehow they were now having dinner like old friends would. The silence that would normally be ufortable felt nice and calm.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± She said breaking the silence. He immediately looked up at that and said, ¡°For what?¡± With a puzzled look on his face.


    ¡°For earlier.¡± She said sighing. ¡°For calling Wace.¡±


    James sighed as he looked at her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, if I hadn¡¯t done what I did, then this whole thing wouldn¡¯t have happened. So I kind off owed you that.


    ¡°Well I have to say though, it is kind of ttering to be hung above the firece like that.¡± She said smiling shyly.


    ¡°The best ce for a true masterpiece like that.¡± He said looking deeply into her eyes from across the table.


    Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat up as she cleared her throat. ¡°Well, I must say that the food was delicious.¡± She said looking away from his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass it onto the chef.¡± He said taking onest sip of his wine and downing the ss.

 16

    James was about to say something when Elizabeth¡¯s phone rang, it was only for a second that her eyes nced over to it. The name Natalie was shing upon the screen and a picture of her face appeared.


    ¡°Take it.¡± He said with a sad smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s about time that I go anyways.¡±


    James stood up from his chair as Elizabeth said, ¡°No that would be very rude of me.¡± The words had left her mouth before she even thought about it. Startled at her own response she stopped for a moment. The ringing of the phone continued, or well the buzzing off it.


    ¡°Well, it was kind of rude of me to just expect you to let me in and have dinner with me.¡± He said with a chuckle.


    ¡°Well-¡± Elizabeth started but once again the phone started buzzing. ¡°Just take it.¡± He said grabbing the empty food bags. ¡°It¡¯s ok. Really.¡±


    Elizabeth nodded as she reached for the phone and picked up.


    ¡°Hi.¡± She said but was immediately cut off by Natalie¡¯s voice.


    James couldn¡¯t hear what she exactly was saying on the other end of the line, but he did know that she sounded quite panicked.


    He watched as Elizabeth stood up from the table and started pacing around and nodding to what Natalie was saying.


    James took that opportunity to grab the dishes from the table and putting them in the dishwasher. He grabbed all of the paper and stic bags and folded them all into one.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Looking over at her he saw an indescribable look on her face as she just kept pacing around. Then suddenly she started talking.


    ¡°Alright, calm down Nat, it will be ok. Just call the warehouse and ask for Justin, tell him I sent you. Next sent flowers to Mr. Webster and his wife, that will solve the problem most likely. As for Jack, thank heavens that he¡¯s sorta alright, you had me worried there.¡±


    She paused for a moment and listened to the other end.


    At first, James had nned to leave when she didn¡¯t notice, but it was kind of interesting to watch her do her old job again for a moment. He had known exactly what Natalie was calling about and why she was calling her.


    After Elizabeth left he had had three new assistants, one for each week. It seemed a bit off at first, but none were like the one he used to have. So he knew that Natalie was handling most of the PA¡¯s tasks, and calling Elizabeth when she didn¡¯t know what to do next.


    ¡°I can¡¯t talk about that right now¡­¡± Elizabeth said in a hushed voice.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m just leaving, it was very nice having dinner with you.¡± He smiled from near the door to her. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said. ¡°Thank you for bringing me dinner.¡±


    ¡°We should do it again soon.¡± He said as he opened the door and left.


    He knew that right then and there Natalie must have asked her something about the events of thest night.


    He sighed as he took the elevator down and walked over to his building.


    ¡°Yes, Nat he was just here,¡± Elizabeth said still pacing around.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not making any of this up.¡±


    The two of them talked about all of it for a while before they hung up. Elizabeth had said that she¡¯d visit Jack at the hospital soon and she was actually looking forward to seeing him again.


    She sighed as she nced at the apartment across the way. The painting still hanging above the firece, illuminated by two lights that shone upon it.

 17

    A month was about to go by before she would hear from James again. During this time the whole ordeal about the painting would slowly blow over and be old news.


    Elizabeth went about her job as usual and asionally she would meet up with Natalie and sometimes she¡¯d visit Jack.


    She was quite contend with the way things were going and only asionally thought of James. Sure she could still see the painting hanging in his apartment, but it would bother her less and less.


    As for James himself, well he¡¯d actually been quite busy. He was going from meeting to meeting, from country to country. On the few asions that he actually was in town, he¡¯d still have no time for anything else than work. Unlike Elizabeth however, he didn¡¯t just asionally think of her. His old assistant was nearly always on his mind¡­N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    ¡°Natalie, I want you to make me dinner reservations at that steak house near my apartment for tonight.¡± He spoke through the phone as he waited at O¡¯Hare airport.


    ¡°For how many and at what time?¡± She answered on the other end.


    ¡°For one and at about 7. Also, get me a new assistant thest one didn¡¯t cut it.¡±


    Natalie couldn¡¯t help herself when she heard that, ¡°Two weeks sir, that¡¯s a new record.¡±


    Followed by an, ¡°o god, I¡¯m so sorry sir I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± But by then she had already heard the click of him hanging up on her.


    James shook his head as he hung up his phone. He had already been on edge and thatment might have pushed him over it¡­


    Usually, the young billionaire flew on his private ne. Due to some problems with nning the flight, his now ex-assistant had, he now had to flymercial, something he truly, utterly, despised.


    ¡°Natalie I am not going on a blind date¡± Elizabeth eximed. ¡°Ohe on, he¡¯s a nice guy.¡± She retorted.


    ¡°Nice guy my ass. Thest guy you set me up with collected dolls. That man was all kinds of crazy.¡± Elizabeth scoffed. ¡°Alright, I have to admit, I didn¡¯t know that Dennis guy very well¡­ But Pete is really a great guy, trust me on this one.¡±


    Elizabeth sighed as she shook her head. ¡°Alright, one date.¡± She said holding up one finger. ¡°I¡¯ll text him right away!¡± Natalie said happily.


    Elizabeth had regretted saying yes to going on a date with this Pete guy the second she had said yes. She couldn¡¯t quite fathom why she had agreed in the first ce, but now here she was, waiting for this guy to show up at the restaurant.


    Sure she had only been waiting for a few minutes, and she was quite early, but still, she didn¡¯t like the waiting. It was right then and there that a Te drove up onto the parking lot and a young man stepped out of it.


    The man was tall, blond and overall quite handsome. He had a kind face and brown eyes, that zeroed in on Elizabeth the second he saw her.


    He handed the valet the keys to the car as he walked over to her. ¡°Hi,¡± He said extending his hand for her to shake. ¡°I¡¯m Pete.¡± Elizabeth greeted him and shook his hand in the two of them went inside.


    James wasn¡¯t sad to sit by himself at the table, for he had sat alone many times. Today though, he would¡¯ve preferred to have someone to talk to.


    Quietly he just sat there, waiting for his dinner, drinking his wine and watching the people in the restaurant. James liked sitting in restaurants like this. It is sorta quiet, and sorta really not quiet and that he found just right.


    Everything changed however when the hostess walked in with two people walking behind her¡­


    There she was, stunning as ever. Her hair was loose and curled, her dress was tight fitted and navy and on her feet, she wore simple ck heels. Elizabeth didn¡¯t even look at him as she walked passed him following the guy in front of her.


    The guy she was following, however, wasn¡¯t a guy that he knew. He didn¡¯t give him any nces as all he had eyes for was her.


    Annoyance and some anger filled his body as he watched the two of them. Sure he had no right to feel that way, but he didn¡¯t care.


    Elizabeth had noticed him the second she walked in. Quickly she looked away and pretended to not have seen him, guild, however, filled her as she did so¡­


    She watched as he looked upset as he threw down a couple of fifties, stood up and left. But not before throwing her onest look at her as he did do¡­.

 18

    ¡°So I heard you and Pete are going on a date again?¡± Natalie said taking a bite of her sandwich. ¡°He told you that?¡± Elizabeth said surprised. ¡°No, he told Jack.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s he doing by the way?¡± Elizabeth inquired.


    The two of them were sitting in a booth of a small diner. Though it didn¡¯t have the best food in town, they did have nice sandwiches and was close to both of the girls their offices.


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject. But he¡¯s doing great.¡± Natalie said shooting her an using look. ¡°Good. And well he kind of texted me yesterday, I mean the date went well like I told you.¡±


    ¡°Except for mister drama queen.¡± Natalie scoffed.


    ¡°Ohe on that¡¯s exaggerating it,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t just talking about that, the man still hasn¡¯t found a new, good assistant, I mean it has been nearly two months¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, well with that I can¡¯t help you.¡±


    Natalie sighed. ¡°I know¡­¡±


    Elizabeth reached for her phone when she heard a buzzing sound but stopped once she saw Natalie holding up one finger. ¡°That¡¯s mine.¡± She said grabbing it and picking it up.


    Elizabeth couldn¡¯t hear the person on the other end, but she did see the facial expression of Natalie change into work mode, indicating it probably was James.


    Natalie just said yes and no a couple of times before hanging up again. ¡°I have to go.¡± She said as she grabbed her purse and left money on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll walk with you,¡± Elizabeth replied.


    ¡°The idiot just fired thest assistant and now he needs me, again.  I mean I am not his assistant, but currently, I am the closest thing to it¡­¡± She sighed.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find one, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The two talked for some time more before they both had to go a different way. Elizabeth sighed as she walked thest couple of blocks to her office alone. She didn¡¯t mind being alone on the streets of a busy city like this. Some girls would say that she¡¯s insane for thinking that. But she actually thought it to be quite peaceful and a time for her to just get lost in her own thoughts.


    She would have nearly walked past her office building, hadn¡¯t she stopped daydreaming in time. Casually and Quietly she went up to her floor and got out of the elevator. ¡°Daniel wants to see you in his office.¡± Said Paul causing her to look up.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°He does?¡± she asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he¡¯s looking for you,¡± Paul said shrugging.


    It didn¡¯t bother her that her boss wanted to see her. But it did spike her curiosity¡­


    She started making her way over to his office when she was intercepted by Oscar. ¡°He¡¯s in our office, so you need to go the other way.¡± He said yfully.


    ¡°Thank you, dear!¡± She yelled after him, making himugh as he continued along his way.


    ¡°Ah Elizabeth, there you are.¡± Daniel Trenton said as she walked into her office. ¡°Yeah, I heard that you¡¯re looking for me, whats up?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a project for you!¡± He said enthusiastically. ¡°The man even asked for you in person.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She said not really believing it.


    ¡°He¡¯s building a new mansion, right outside of town. I¡¯m not yet allowed to tell you his name as of yet. But this is a big opportunity.¡±


    ¡°A mansion?¡± Elizabeth asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like that, how did he even know me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, tomorrow he¡¯ll be here to discuss things with you, so be prepared,¡± Daniel said as he walked over to the door. ¡°Good luck!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a huge thing!¡± Hailey said as Oscar emptied his beer. ¡°I know, it¡¯s just so weird,¡± Elizabeth said sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t know man, it just doesn¡¯t sit right with me,¡± Oscar replied, staring off in the distance for a moment.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hailey said confused. ¡°Well she hasn¡¯t been doing this for long, how would he even know her?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because of the painting?¡± Hailey replied earring a look from Elizabeth. ¡°What? It was on the news.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long however for the conversation to switch topic again. Elizabeth loved the evenings that they would spent at the bar. They had invited her along in the first week and she¡¯d joined them every week, so on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday¡¯s, you could find them there.


    Most of the time they¡¯d stay until quarter to midnight walk home afterward. Tonight had been no exception as they left at exactly that time. Elizabeth said goodbye to Oscar and then two blockster to Hailey. After that, she walked thest two blocks on her own and into her building.


    She sighed as she entered her apartment and looked out of the window. From where she stood she couldn¡¯t see him as his lights were off. She did however still notice the painting on the wall¡­ She looked at it once more before deciding to go to bed.


    The following morning actually might have been one of her better mornings. She dressed in one of the best outfits she owned and went to therge building. Smiling she gave everyone their coffee before walking over to Daniels office.


    She knocked on the open door before causing Daniel to turn around, ¡°Ah, there you are¡± He said as she approached. This is the man you¡¯ll be designing it for, his name is-¡± The tall man standing beside him turned around too.


    ¡°James.¡± She breathed out as a smirk formed on his face.

 19

    ¡°Ah, of course, the two of you are already acquainted,¡±  Daniel said smiling. ¡°Now Mr. McGregor, as you requested, Ms. Waverton will be overseeing your project.¡±


    ¡°She might not be the most seasoned one here,¡± Daniel said ncing at her, ¡°But she is quite capable if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have faith in that,¡± James said smirking.


    Elizabeth shot him a re from the corner of her eye before turning to Daniel. ¡°So where do we start?¡±


    ¡°The piece ofnd is on the edge of the city in quite a wooded area,¡± Daniel said turning on the beamer pointed at his wall. On that a picture of the piece ofnd was shown, to be honest, it looked nice, quite idyllic actually.


    ¡°The n is to make a modern, yet somewhat vintage mansion.¡± Daniel continued showing more pictures of examples. ¡°Please, sit down.¡± He motioned for the two of them to sit down.


    Elizabeth sat down at the table and James sat down right next to her. She gave him another re as she focused on the wall in front of them again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get Donaldson and Miller to help you set it all up and then you can start with-¡± Daniel turned as Paul knocked on the door and walked in, ¡°April called, she asked if you could call her back asap.¡± He said and Daniel nodded. ¡°Thanks, Paul.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± He said to Elizabeth and James grabbing his phone, ¡°I really need to make a quick call.¡± As he walked out of his office.


    ¡°Requested me, that sure is something new.¡± She said not even looking at him. ¡°Well let¡¯s just say I have good faith in yourpetence.¡± He said leaning back.


    Elizabeth chuckled softly before standing up and walking over to the sink, ¡°Coffee?¡±


    ¡°Yes please.¡±


    James watched her from behind as she started making the coffee. He watched her bnce on the tips of her toes as she tried to reach the top cab.


    He chuckled shaking his head, ¡°Need some help?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± She said making a small jump and grabbing the coffee. ¡°I am perfectly capable on my own thank you very much.¡±


    He smiled as she finished making the coffee and walked over to him with two mugs of coffee.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± She said setting down the cup in front of him. ¡°Thank you.¡± He replied.


    ¡°How do you feel about dinner.¡± He said turning to her. ¡°Not sure, I mean they say it is the least important meal of the day, yet we put the most time into it.¡±


    ¡°I meant dinner with me.¡± He said leaning over to her. ¡°I figured.¡± She replied as Daniel walked back in.


    ¡°Alright, that is settled, now let¡¯s start.¡±


    The meetingsted for half an hour before James had to leave for his next meeting. Right when he was about to leave he turned to Elizabeth, ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up at seven.¡± She was about to say no when he said, ¡°Wear something nice.¡± Leaving a steaming Elizabeth behind.


    She walked into her shared office with a look of murder on her face. Oscar and Hailey shared a look before asking her what happened. ¡°The one who requested me, the idiot, was James. That mother fucker.¡± She said sitting down at her desk.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Oscar started, ¡°A little stalker-ish.¡± Hailey finished for him. ¡°Then the fucker had the audacity to, not ask me, no, to inform me that we are going on a date.¡±


    ¡°Oh god, he didn¡¯t¡­¡± Hailey sighed. ¡°I thought some girls thought that was sexy?¡± Oscar said. ¡°That my friend depends on the girl and on the context,¡± Hailey said.


    ¡°So whats the n?¡±


    ¡°Well, tonight we¡¯re going out,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°Out?¡± Oscar asked confused. ¡°Yeah, as long as I¡¯m not home for the entire night, I¡¯m happy.¡±


    It was seven o¡¯clock on the dot when James stood in front of her door carrying a bouquet of roses. When she didn¡¯t open the door however he felt a pang in his heart. He stood there for a while before going down stairs again.


    ¡°She¡¯s not in.¡± Therge African american man sitting at the front desk said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± James questioned. ¡°Lizzy, she isn¡¯t in. Her two friends picked her up an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where they went?¡± James asked curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t know sir, but if you want, I could bring the roses up to her apartment.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± James sighed looking defeated.


    Wace sighed before saying. ¡°Alright, I heard her talking about the club near her old ce at second street.¡±


    James looked up. ¡°A club?¡±


    ¡°Elizabeth is a strange gal, now go and get her.¡±


    James told his driver to go down to the address Wace had given him.  But it turned out there was more then one club there¡­


    An hour had gone by as he had figured out that she wasn¡¯t in any of the clubs there. Defeated he was about to walk back to his car when he saw someone sitting by the water. Someone with auburn hair.


    Thinking it was hisst shot at finding her that night he walked over to the girl. She didn¡¯t look up as he sat down next to her. Instead, she said, ¡°Came all the way out her just to find me huh?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really making me work for it you know.¡± He said looking at her.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°It¡¯s not like your giving me any choice.¡± She said finally looking at him.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± He asked her. ¡°I wanted to be unfindable so I decided to go down to a club. So I partied, pretending to like going out, and now I am sitting here. You see there is some guy at my house waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°Alright fair point.¡± He said nodding. ¡°I still haven¡¯t eaten though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, not my fault.¡± She said holding up her index finger. ¡°True. Very true.¡±


    The two of them just sat there for a while staring at the water and not saying anything.

 20

    Elizabeth sighed as she stared down at her feet. ¡°Have you already had dinner?¡± James asked looking at her.


    She did not look up as she smiled. ¡°No, actually I haven¡¯t.¡± Turning her head to finally meet his gaze. ¡°Well it might not be much of a date, but how do you feel about pizza?¡± He said standing up and patting the dirt of his suit pants.


    ¡°Pizza isn¡¯t the problem¡­¡± She said taking his outreached hand. ¡°I figured¡­¡± He sighed.


    ¡°But since me just avoiding you wasn¡¯t exactly very nice, or actually just in rude, I¡¯ll allow it.¡± She said smiling at him. ¡°But don¡¯t you ever just order me to go out with you again.¡± She said jabbing him with her finger.


    He chuckled and held up his hands, ¡°Fair, very fair.¡±


    The two of them sat quietly eating pizza in a small pizza joint near their houses. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯ve never been to this ce,¡± Elizabeth said half what joking.


    ¡°Never?¡± He asked smiling. ¡°No, have you ever been here before?¡± She said in disbelief. ¡°No, I actually hardly ever eat pizza, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡±


    At that James chuckled and the two of them sat infortable silence.


    ¡°I want to apologize.¡± He suddenly said. ¡°For what?¡± She said confused. ¡°For what I said, on yourst day.¡±


    She looked up at him meeting his eyes and staring into them. Opening her mouth to say something she quickly looked down again.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He said gently grabbing her chin with his hand and turning it back up looking at him. Using her hand she pushed him away and gave him a sad smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    James sighed looking away not knowing what to do next. His hand went up to his forehead and he leaned back. ¡°Why do you keep pushing me away?¡± He said getting frustrated.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t remember me, do ya?¡± She said looking at him with sad eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± He said reaching out to her.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, but just¡­ Just leave me alone¡­¡± She saidying down cash from her wallet and leaving the restaurant. ¡°Elizabeth wait!¡± She turned for a split second before leaving the restaurant.


    Natalie was confused when the call came telling her toe upstairs. Usually, Mr. McGregor would call her and just give her instructions. It didn¡¯t happen to often when he would call her and tell her toe upstairs.


    With caution, she left the elevator, almost as if she expected to be jumped by a tiger right at that moment. Her eyes darted over to the PA¡¯s desk, looking very different from when Elizabeth sat there. Now a young Asian woman sat there in her ce. She still had to learn the woman¡¯s name but in all honesty, at this point, it just felt like a waste of time.


    She took a deep breath as she reached to the office door andposed herself. She knocked three times and walked in after hearing the familiar,e in.


    ¡°You called sir?¡± She asked tentatively walking over to his desk. ¡°You know Elizabeth, don¡¯t you? I mean you¡¯re a friend of hers?¡± She asked. ¡°Sir I-¡± She started and James just knew what she was going to say but cut her off.


    ¡°Why would she say that I don¡¯t remember her?¡± He leaned forward. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean sir?¡± She said confused. ¡°She said, you really don¡¯t remember me do ya? Tell me, did she already work herest time I was here?¡±


    At that Natalie¡¯s head shot up, fear filling her eyes. ¡°I¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°She did.¡±


    ¡°What department?¡± He asked hopefully, but Natalie shook her head. ¡°Right here.¡± She said, watching his expression go from confusion to fear and realization.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± He said leaning back. ¡°That girl had-¡± He started. ¡°She used to dye her hair brown.¡± Natalie responded sighing, ¡°She had brown hair in a different cut and used to wear different clothes and radically different makeup.¡±


    James sighed gripping his head with both hands and leaning on the desk and groaned. ¡°Are you alright sir?¡± Natalie asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I fucked up even before I knew¡­¡±

 21

    For two weeks he hadn¡¯t talked to her and not even seen her at all.


    He closed his eyes as he leaned against the back of the elevator. His chin tilted up as he stood there thinking about what to say. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling as he thought back to his talk with Natalie two weeks ago¡­


    ¡°What do you mean you fucked up?¡±  Natalie asked taking a step forward. James sighed as he recounted the events that transpired three years ago¡­


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen my father in quite a while. And in all honesty, I didn¡¯t even want to see him. Sure I hadn¡¯t been the best son, but he sure as hell wasn¡¯t the best father. I was quite surprised when he called me and asked me toe down to the office.


    The second I walked into the building I was already in a bad mood. Then when I came up the elevator his young new assistant stopped me. She started talking about how he didn¡¯t want to be disturbed and asking if I had an appointment. But I didn¡¯t listen as just pushed her out of my way whilst saying something along the lines of, look I don¡¯t have time for this. That was probably the first stupid thing I did, as I was quite rough. She nearly fell and stumbled a bit.


    I didn¡¯t even look at her face before I walked into his office. Sure he was busy alright, talking on the phone to god knows who. But when he saw me he hung up immediately. He started talking but I felt something was off, something just wasn¡¯t right. So then he started talking about my childhood, the death of my mother and my upbringing.


    I don¡¯t know why, I just couldn¡¯t hear him talk about that, so I was inching closer and closer to the edge. Then that girl walked in with coffee, she handed my dad his and then gave me a cup of the same coffee. My dad likes sugar and milk whilst I like it ck, I¡­ I just was so on edge that I yelled at her for something as trivial as that. I could see the tears brimming in her eyes but I didn¡¯t care.


    Why did that old man think he¡¯d have the right to talk about my mother¡¯s death like that. Why he¡¯d have to the right to sent me away instead of consoling me¡­


    So when she came back I was near breaking point, she walked over shaking and wanted to set the coffee down in front of me as she identally spilled some of it over me. I got angry because of the burn and started yelling again. But that was also at the height of my fight with my father, so when I stood up to storm out of the room I knocked the coffee over her. Though not on purpose I never apologized and just said dumb bitch. Adding to that I lost my temper and struck her across the face.¡±


    James took a break as he sighed. ¡°I¡­ I felt terrible of that after I left.¡± He rubbed his forehead. ¡°But well, you know the rest of the story, I stormed out and never came back. I really should have made it up to her, told her I was sorry, but I never did.¡±


    Natalie looked at him with sad eyes as she listened to his story. She knew that Mrs. McGregor had died whilst giving birth to what would have been James his sister. Sadly the child was stillborn and the mother didn¡¯t survive the birth.


    James Sr. Was a wealthy businessman at that time who just focus on work after that. Poor James Jr. Was brought up by nannies and boarding schools. His father simply didn¡¯t know how to handle the situation like that and pushed the poor boy away, instead of giving him the love that he needed.


    ¡°But what happened to her after that?¡± James said looking up at her, waiting to beckon her to talk.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Natalie started, ¡°She didn¡¯t really want to talk about any of that at the time. All she said was that she made a mistake, entirely her fault and that she thought she was done for. After all, she threw coffee in thep of the boss his son.¡±


    Natalie paused taking a deep breath before continuing. ¡°To be honest the second I saw her I didn¡¯t think she would even make a  good assistant. I even told Mr. McGregor that when he asked me what I thought of her. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t seem to be a good person, she just didn¡¯t seem cut for this world.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Natalie smiled staring out of the window, ¡°She used to wear these god awful jeans with patches and holes in them, don¡¯t get me wrong I don¡¯t mind them, but they just didn¡¯t fit right you know. She had these blunt bangs and brown hair with some highlights in it. But then suddenly something changed, I can¡¯t really tell you when it happened gradually¡­


    When I found out about the hair dying I told her to stop, why cover such a pretty color? It was Mr. McGregor that took her shopping for the first time, I mean those jeans just didn¡¯t work for the PA of the CEO of apany like this.


    After that things just started changing, she got a new haircut, her clothing style changed and her attitude to the world changed. No longer was she that little push over of a girl, but she became the perfect assistant.¡±


    Natalie shook her head,  ¡°she sure surprised me.¡± A sad smile crept up her face.


    ¡°Perfect is definitely a way to describe her¡­¡± He said sighing.


    Natalie looked at her hands when she started talking again. ¡°You know after she met you all she really knew about you was what the media said and your father.¡±


    ¡°And I haven¡¯t exactly had the best behavior¡­¡± James said filling in what they both were thinking.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Natalie looked straight at him, ¡°So when your father became sick she told him that he should tell you. That you could say goodbye and all that. But he used to tell her that you¡¯d only be happy with his death.


    All of thatbined caused her to have a dislike for you. Or well, a little more than just a dislike.¡±

 22

    Elizabeth sighed as she walked into her office building on a quiet Friday morning. The weekend was close, yet so far¡­


    Though she felt guilty about leaving things the way she did with James, she knew she couldn¡¯t stay at that moment. She couldn¡¯t let him know how much that encounter had hurt her.


    How he single-handedly had made her feel so inferior. One could say it was an overreaction to act the way that she had, but as she learned more and more about him over time, it became apparent that he was just a in asshole.


    Maybe he had cleaned up his act, but the once party animal adolescent sure didn¡¯t have a clean past. He used to be your average, stereotypical bully and even into adulthood that stayed. She remembered how his father spoke about him, a sad smile adorning his face as he recounted the things his son had done.


    Things ranging from ying with the hearts of girls to getting into fights and even ending with sleeping with his best friends girlfriend.


    All thatbined had caused the dislike that Elizabeth had toe to harbor for the man. Sure he was different to her now and she hadn¡¯t even seen him with any other girl then she had set him up with.


    For a moment she wondered what happened with her as she set foot out of the elevator and walked down the hallway.


    ¡°Morning Paul.¡± She said with half a smile as she handed him his coffee. ¡°Morning honey.¡± He said with a cheerful smile. ¡°Have a nice day!¡± He yelled after her as she waved.


    She hummed softly to the tune of herees the sun as she walked down the hallway over to her office. Setting down the two coffees she was startled by the deep voice of a man behind her. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    Swiftly she turned around to face the tall br standing behind her. His chiseled features as strong as ever and a light stubble that she hadn¡¯t seen that often before adorned his face.


    ¡°Morning.¡± She said not looking away from his face. Something about him looked¡­ different¡­ She, however, could not pinpoint what it was¡­ Other than the stubble, however. Somehow he seemed less polished¡­ It was then that she noticed he wasn¡¯t wearing his usual suit and tie, but a leather jacket and t-shirt. Her eyes went all the way down to his shoes and to her surprise she found him wearing sneakers.


    He watched her observe him and her eyebrows raise as she noticed his footwear. A smirk crept upon his face as he saw her reaction.


    ¡°Well, you look¡­¡± She started turning away. ¡°Different?¡± He said stepping forward. ¡°That.¡± She said walking over to her desk and grabbing a stack of paperwork. ¡°Is that all you want to say to me?¡± He said.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± She said walking towards the door. ¡°Aren¡¯t youing?¡± She said as she stood in the door opening holding the door open with her foot.


    His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he followed her down the hallway. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He said walking beside her.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re here to discuss the mansion right?¡± She said not even looking up at him as she walked at a steady pace down towards the meeting room.


    He didn¡¯t reply as he quickly walked past her to hold the door open for her. In return he got a short, curt thank you and the two of them walked in.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Morning Daniel,¡± Elizabeth said to her boss who apparently was already in the room. ¡°Ah, there you two are,¡± Daniel said running his hands as he stood up from his chair.


    ¡°Good morning Mr. McGregor, how are you today.¡± He said shaking James¡¯s hand. ¡°Good how are you,¡± James replied stiffly. ¡°Good good thank you, please sit down.¡±


    ¡°Do you want coffee? Or anything else?¡± Daniel asked sitting down next to him. ¡°No thank you.¡±


    Elizabeth cleared her throat and both men turned their heads towards her. ¡°Ah right, well show us what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    James watched as she showed them her drawings and design styles for his mansion. He wasn¡¯t paying attention however as he just watched her. He watched the way she moved, the way she wore her hair down more often and the tight but ssy dress she wore.


    It was at some point that it registered in his mind that she had stopped talking. He turned to look at Daniel and he saw him looking at him too.


    ¡°Well?¡± Daniel started, ¡°What do ya think?¡± James turned away from Daniel and looked at the drawings in front of him. The drawings were striking and clean images of the design. The pictures of other houses looking clean and modern as well, all quite masculine but none of them looked homy and cozy¡­


    It had started some time ago that James felt himself leaning away from the hard business world and more towards a nice and homy world. No, he wasn¡¯t ready to quit working or anything or to marry the first girl he met for that matter.


    James had always been one of the guys who liked children, just as long they weren¡¯t his. But when he had seen his best friends first son something changed. He had watched as his best friend and his wife held their firstborn son, the joy in their faces radiating off of it as they looked down at their bundle of joy.


    That had been two years ago¡­ Back then he had been dating a young model, a blond girl with amazing breasts and long legs. Sure she was nice looking, but he just knew they wouldn¡¯t stay together. And sure enough a weekter he was single once more.


    It was then that the strays stopped and he started thinking about ¡®the one¡¯. But instead of going out to try and find the love he had focussed his efforts on his work and work alone¡­


    Now he didn¡¯t want to admit that Elizabeth was the one, not yet¡­ but some voice in the back of his mind seemed to be sure about her¡­


    Broken from his trance he looked up at Elizabeth and back down at the drawings. ¡°I like it.¡± He said making Daniel smile. ¡°But it¡¯s a little too sterile, how about something a little more homie.¡± He said like looking into her eyes.


    ¡°How about a little bit more of a female touch in my mansion?¡±

 23

    ¡°How about a little bit more of a female touch in my mansion?¡±


    There was a slight smirk on his face as he said that and it didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Elizabeth as she crossed her arms.


    ¡°My Mr. McGregor, you aren¡¯t going soft are you?¡± Daniel saidughing. ¡°Trust me, just get yourself a wife she¡¯ll solve that problem for you.¡±


    Elizabeth looked away from the men as she felt James his gaze burn into her skin.


    Daniel was about to reopen his mouth again when Paul popped his head into the room. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s your wife on the phone, she¡¯s asking about Margret or something like that.¡± He said shaking his head.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    ¡°O crap¡­ Well speaking of the devil.¡± Daniel stood up and walked out of the room.


    ¡°So¡­¡± James started looking down at the table and then up slightly at her. ¡°What else have you got?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Elizabeth said shifting to standing on one leg. ¡°Well have you got something a little bit cozier?¡± He said with an amused smile on his face.


    ¡°No.¡± She said moving to pick up all of the drawings and paperwork again. ¡°You didn¡¯t really strike me as the person who¡¯d go for that kind of thing.¡± She said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. Her eyes went straight up to his face with a surprised look on her face. ¡°You really think I¡¯m that cold?¡± He said feigning hurt and cing a hand over his heart.


    She pulled her hand from his as she looked down at the paperwork again and grabbed thest view. Clearing her throat she looked him straight in the eye and said. ¡°I¡¯ll have the new drawings done by Monday.¡±


    ¡°But that means you have to work in the weekend.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°But what about your ns?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have any.¡± She said as she was about to leave the room when he grabbed her arm. ¡°Good, because I wanted, to this time, actually ask you out.¡± He said causing her to sigh. ¡°Wait to hear me out, I¡¯ll take you anywhere you like, and I¡¯m paying so you just name it.¡±


    ¡°Now you think I can be bought?!¡± She said with the anger clear in her voice and face. ¡°No no no no, that wasn¡¯t how I meant it.¡± He said realizing his mistake. ¡°Just want to make you happy and give you the perfect date.¡±


    Elizabeth scoffed at that and looked down at the floor for a moment when she looked up again and saw the fear of rejection in his eyes. She sighed before saying, ¡°Alright how about this, you take me anywhere I want, just for the weekend, and if after that I still want you to leave me alone you will.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like music to my ears.¡± He said with a smile on his face.


    ¡°So what do you want?¡± He asked as she walked over to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll text you before noon today.¡± She said walking out of the door.

 24

    11:49 was blinking in the top corner of the screen of hisptop as he sat waiting. He was trying to focus on the task at hand but he just couldn¡¯t. All he wanted was to know her answer. Where would she want to go? What would she want to do?


    Every time his phone buzzed he would look at it anxiously, hoping just hoping that it would be her. It wasn¡¯t until thest minute however when the message he received, was actually from her.


    He excitedly brought the phone to his face and read the text.


    ¡®Dear James,


    After long consideration, I sadly have to say that I couldn¡¯te up with a ce¡­ So instead of me chasing a location and activity, I propose a new idea. (Since I did say I¡¯d go out with you)


    Youe up with something, anything you think I like. Just tell me what I need and where to be and I¡¯ll be there.


    I hope I can trust you,


    Elizabeth¡¯


    A smile crept upon his face as he read the message. This meant that the ball was in his court again. He dialed the number on his phone¡­


    Elizabeth had weed the early weekend as she left the building at around 12:30. A smile crept upon her face as she walked into the light of the fall afternoon. The smile however faded when James invaded her mind.


    What would hee up with? Did she make a mistake by letting him chose? She sighed as she walked down the street. Her eyes were zing over as she just walked, not really paying attention to the world around her.


    Sure he had been nice to her. At times. I mean it wasn¡¯t like he had been the perfect gent to her. It was strange the mood change towards her. The painting was still in the back of her mind as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.


    Without really paying attention to the road in front of her she took out her phone and unlocked it. The background picture of a rose fading into her text app.


    A car honked, bringing her attention to the outside world again as she noticed that she had walked through a red light. Whilst saying sorry she stepped back and put her phone back into her pocket. Maybe New York isn¡¯t the best ce to not be paying attention to the traffic¡­R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    As she walked onward to her building she quickened her pace as her curiosity to the text grew and grew.


    She said a quick hello to Wace as she ran past him and up into the elevator. With surprise clear on his face as she did so. He yelled a quick hey back as he turned his head to watch her run into the elevator and m the button of her floor.


    Once up in her room she quickly closed the door behind her and set her bag down on the floor. Without paying attention she hung up her coat, which promptly fell down, but she took no notice as she walked over to the couch.


    She sat down as she unlocked her phone and stared down at it, curious as to what he would say¡­


    ¡®Dear Elizabeth,


    I have decided that our little ¡®trip¡¯ will be a surprise. All I want you to bring is your toiletries, anything else you¡¯ll need will be taken care of¡­


    I¡¯ll pick you up at four¡­


    Love,


    James.¡¯


    Elizabeth sat there as she re-read the message over and over again. Her brows furrowed as she realized what she had gotten herself into¡­

 25

    Edward Johnson had been Mr. McGregor Jr.¡¯s driver for a while now. And for all of those years he had hardly ever seen the stoic man smile. But now as he watched Mr. McGregor leave his building and walk over that of her, arge smile graced his features.


    Wace watched as Mr. McGregor Jr. Entered his building. ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. McGregor, shall I inform her that you¡¯ve arrived?¡± He said standing up from his seat. ¡°Good afternoon,¡± James replied a smile still evident on his face. ¡°And no that won¡¯t be necessary, she is expecting me.¡±


    ¡°Alright have a nice day,¡± Wace said as he sat back down again. His fake smile faded from his face as Wace prayed for Elizabeth.


    Elizabeth paced around the room nervously. She took another look at the clock and noted that he could be there any minute. The next second she was startled by the sound of her doorbell and a knock that followed.


    For a second she just stood there, staring at the door not knowing what to do next¡­ She sighed releasing the breath she was holding. What was the worst that could happen this weekend? Worst case scenario she could just leave, I mean for crying out loud she is an adult.


    Sheposed herself before walking over to the door and opening it. Behind the door stood James with the same smile as before still stered on his face. She only saw it for a split second before he got a hold of himself and reced it with a smirk.


    ¡°Are you ready mdy?¡± He said tilting his head to the side. ¡°Yes. I just need to get my purse and then I¡¯m ready to go.¡± She said putting on her poker face, not letting him know how she felt.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Before you do that I want you to have this.¡± He said holding up a single rose. As the light reflected on it however it was revealed that the rose was shiny. Elizabeth carefully took the rose from his hand and stared at it. The weight of it was different then what she expected and she soon realized that the rose was made up of gold and ss.


    She stared at it for a second before looking up at him. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said not quite knowing what to say as she looked into his eyes.  ¡°It kind of reminded me of you¡­¡± He said as she took a step back into the apartment looking down at the rose.


    She walked towards the kitchen before turning her head and saying, ¡°You maye in if you want to.¡± Once in the kitchen she grabbed an empty thin ss and put the rose in it.


    James watched her as he stepped into the apartment and sat down on a stool that stood near the entrance. His legs set apart in a way one could best describe as ¡®the guy pose¡¯ and leaning forward folding his hands and waiting for her.


    A smile graced his features once more as he watched her quickly nce at him before walking over to the corner where a small carry on suitcase stood.


    ¡°I thought I only said toiletries.¡± He said chuckling. ¡°Well, I assumed that I would need pajama¡¯s too and such.¡± She said not even phased by theughter.


    ¡°Ready when you are ma¡¯am.¡± He said giving her his elbow and taking the suitcase.


    ¡°This better be good¡­¡± She said making him chuckle.


    Wace watched as James once more appeared in his lobby. Though he still didn¡¯t like the guy, he had to admit. They still looked right together.


    Wace could see the happiness in his eyes just as much as he saw the apprehensiveness in hers¡­ But something, however, told him, that she¡¯d be alright.


    Edward waited carefully as he saw the two approach, we went to stand up and open the door when he remembered what Mr. McGregor had said. ¡°I¡¯ll get the door for her.¡±


    He watched in his rearview mirror as she carefully stepped into the car. When a few secondster he heard and saw his boss get in he started driving.


    ¡°So where are we going, if I may ask?¡± Elizabeth said as she sat up straight. ¡°You may, but I won¡¯t tell you¡­¡± He said a smile creeping up to his mouth. ¡°Yet.¡± He added as she turned away.

 26

    Elizabeth silently sat as she watched the surroundings change around her. She listened to the sound of the ac and radio softly humming in the back. Her eyes were trained of the window beside her.


    She could feel his presence beside her and mostly, his eyes on her¡­


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He asked her cing his hand on her shoulder. Startled she jumped slightly before turning to him. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± He said with a sly smile on his face.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­ But yes I am alright. Just curious about what you have nned.¡± She said looking him in the eye. ¡°Good.¡± He said smiling as the car stopped. ¡°And I¡¯ll guess you¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Suddenly the car door beside her opened and a hand appeared beside her. She took the hand and the man helped her out of the car. Once she looked up her eyes were met with a ne¡­ A fucking ne¡­.


    ¡°James?¡± She said nervously looking behind her. ¡°Something wrong?¡± He asked suddenly standing beside her. ¡°Why is there a ne?¡± She said motioning towards it. ¡°That¡¯s for me to know and for you to find out¡­¡± He said extending his arm for her to take.


    She drew in a breath as she looked at it for a moment before taking his arm. He smiled at her for a moment before leading her up the stairs and into the ne. A young flight attendant weed the two of them as they walked by.


    The inside of his private ne looked quite different than his fathers had. Elizabeth thought as she took it all in. This looked more, well modern, more like him. He lead them over to two arm chairs.


    Elizabeth sat down in the first one and he said down across from her. ¡°So are you excited yet?¡± He asked her as the flight attendant handed him a ss of champagne. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet¡­¡± She said as the flight attendant handed her a ss as well.


    ¡°Well, to a nice weekend!¡± He said raising his ss.


    Elizabeth wasn¡¯t sure what to think of it all¡­ Hell she wasn¡¯t even sure what to think about this guy¡­ She sighed as she took another sip of her champagne.


    ¡°How was your week?¡± He said casually setting down his own ss. ¡°Fine.¡± She said looking up at him. ¡°Nothing really eventful happened.¡±


    There was a strange expression on his usually stern face. One that seemed to be rxed and showing genuine interest in her week. It was strange seeing the man before her, a man who usually had no time for anything other then work at all, make time for her.


    She looked away for a moment, lost in thought and staring out of the window. Why did he do that? Why would he do that?


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He said touching her knee. Elizabeth snapped back to reality and looked him dead in the eye. ¡°Uhm¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m fine¡­¡± She said leaning back into her chair.


    ¡°You looked zoned out for a moment.¡± He said brows still slightly furrowed. ¡°I think I was.¡± She said grabbing the champagne ss once more and taking another sip.


    ¡°Now do tell me, what did the great James McGregor Jr. Do this week?¡± She said.


    ¡°The great?¡± He said with a smug look on his face as he leaned back into his chair. ¡°I must say I never did care much for being named after my father.¡± He said rxing visibly. ¡°I can imagine.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked the old man?¡±


    ¡°I do, it¡¯s just that being named after someone can put a lot of strain on someone. I mean your father was quite the business man, everyone knows his name. It can be very tough to make a name of your own, and not to be immediately associated with him.¡± She said recrossing her legs and drinking her champagne.


    ¡°I just never liked having the same name as that asshole.¡± He replied chuckling.


    ¡°So were are we going?¡± Elizabeth said changing the subject and putting her ss down. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough¡­¡±

 27

    Elizabeth had not noticed falling asleep. Nor had she noticed the nket that was ced over her. James still sat in his chair across from herm hisptop resting in hisp. Every now and then he would look up from his screen and at the sleeping figure before him.


    She had drifted off about two hours ago and he did not have the heart to wake her. So instead he put a small pillow between her head and the chair and got her a nket. asionally she would stir and he would look up.


    It was not until the pilot spoke that he knew he had to wake her up. They were about to descent and well,nd. Carefully he got up from his seat and crouched down in front of her face. His eyes were now aligned with her closed ones as he softly raked his fingers through her hair.


    Sure to most it probably seemed creepy, but he had been dying to touch her hair since the day he met her. She stirred once again before her eyes fluttered open. Quickly she sat up straight and looked him in the eye. ¡°I¡­¡± She started not quite knowing what to say.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± James said standing up and going back to his own seat, ¡°But we¡¯re about tond.¡±


    She quickly nced at the window before looking back at him. ¡°I must have dozed off. Where are we?¡± She said. James chuckled and shook his head, ¡°You dozed off a couple of hours ago and you¡¯ll see.¡±


    Elizabeth groaned as she looked out of the window again. ¡°Well all I can see from here is that it is dark out.¡±


    The nended and the two of them got out of the ne. Elizabeth was about to ask James where to go to when she spotted the big ck car. ¡°Really?¡± She said turning back to him crossing her arms.


    ¡°Really.¡± He said with a smug look on his face.


    ¡°Good evening Ma¡¯am.¡± The chauffeur said tipping his hat to her. ¡°Good evening sir.¡± She replied chuckling. ¡°Hands off, Johnson,¡± James said joking. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare sir,¡± Johnson said holding up his hands and chuckling.


    Johnson moved to open up the door, but James stopped him and did it himself. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said getting in. James walked around the car and got in on the other hand. ¡°To the hotel Johnson.¡± Was all James said ¡°Still not saying anything?¡± She said looking out of the window.


    ¡°Ohe on a smart gall like you?  I thought you would have figured it out by now.¡±


    Elizabeth shook her head with a smile creeping upon her face. ¡°You¡¯re really something aren¡¯t you?¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Well I think I see¡­¡± She said looking out of the window. ¡°Are we in the mountains?¡± She continued and turned to look back at him.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± He said smiling at her.

 28

    Elizabeth released the breath of air that she was holding as soon as the door closed behind her. With her hands behind her back still upon the handle she stood there for a moment,posing herself.


    Why had she said yes for an entire weekend? Not just a simple date?


    She could p herself at this point.


    It wasn¡¯t soon after she saw the mountains that they arrived at their destination. It had been a ratherrge hotel which James just ¡°happened¡± to be the owner of.


    Apparently, he had booked them separate rooms but with a door that connected them. After seeing the look on her face he reassured her that it had a lock on it. Also that he wouldn¡¯t dare.


    Now she was up in her room, by herself. She looked around the room and noticed that it was, in fact, a ratherrge suite. Her eyes raked over therge leather couch, to the tv and then on to the bathroom door. Curiosity struck her as she went over to it, with outstretched arm she opened the door.


    The sight before her was something to behold. The bathroom wasrge, with a gigantic bathtub and shower behind it. She racked her hand over the marble sink as she walked through the room. Almost lost in thought she wandered through it, taking every little detail in.


    It was only when her phone buzzed that she snapped out of her trance. She looked down at it and noticed that it was a text from James. After they had arrived at the hotel things had gone rather quickly and soon he had to leave due to him being called. If it was not for the fact that she knew how important those calls could be, she would have been offended. But this time she wasn¡¯t he really seemed to have cleared his schedule for her and she knew from experience that that was no easy task.


    So he had walked her all the way up to her room. He had stood before her, he had evene in closer as she stood with her back towards the door. The two of them had been joking about something unrted and they were simply enjoying each otherspany. Right at that moment, she didn¡¯t know what was about to happen, but she didn¡¯t really care. It wasn¡¯t until his phone rang that she had snapped out of it.


    At first, he wanted to ignore it. But then the phone went off a second time, and so he excused himself and took the call. After a quick ¡°goodnight!¡± he went into his room and she went into hers.


    But now he had texted her. She opened her phone and noticed that it was quite a short text.


    Tomorrow I¡¯lle to pick you up at 8  for breakfast.


    She smiled as she set the rm for the following day.


    It wasn¡¯t until 7:30 that she realized something. What on earth should she wear? She didn¡¯t know what they were gonna do and she didn¡¯t really bring anything either.


    But then right when she wanted to text James and ask him, she saw he had sent her a text;N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I almost forgot, check the closet.


    Puzzled Elizabeth looked around the room before finding the walk-in closet. But instead of finding it empty, as usual in hotels, it was fully filled. The funny thing was that though half of the clothes looked like they would fit in at a g. The other half seemed to resemble cowgirl clothes.


    What are we gonna do? Ride a horse?  She thought sarcastically as she took some of the clothes out of the rack.


    Even though she thought it was slightly creepy he got the size and everything right, she did like the style he chose. I mean the country western wasn¡¯t really her thing, but these clothes she liked.


    So after she had dressed in a gray tank top, blue jeans and a nnel shirt she felt ready. And at exactly 8:00 on the dot, he knocked on her door.


    ¡°Goodmorning gorgeous.¡± He said as she opened her door. ¡°See I could guess these sizes, with Natalie¡¯s help of course, but we still need to get you some boots.¡±


    A small chuckle escaped Elizabeth as she looked him over. His usual suit had been reced with a simr outfit as hers. Though it looked good on him,  it was kind of strange seeing him like this.


    ¡°What are youughing at?¡± He said in a fake southern drawl, causing her to startughing a little bit louder. ¡°It¡¯s just so out of character.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well I thought you might like that.¡± He said smiling.


    The two of them sat down at breakfast at around 8:15 and where done at around 8:45. During this time Elizabeth had asked James all sorts of questions about what they were gonna do, but all of them went unanswered.


    It wasn¡¯t until their where nearly back at their rooms that James said, ¡°Just be ready at nine, you don¡¯t need anything, just yourself and maybe your phone.¡±


    So just as he had told her, she was ready at nine. First, they bought a pair of boots and at this point, she kinda just assumed they were going horseback riding.


    But it was only when they arrived at the ranch that she noticed the name. McGregor Ranch. ¡°You own a ranch?¡± She said turning to him. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. It used to be my fathers but he gifted it to his best friend.¡±

 29

    Elizabeth looked at him questioningly. ¡°Who?-¡± She started but was cut off by James. ¡°His very old best friend.¡±


    It was only minutester that they were walking down a sand path and up to what appeared to be a barn. ¡°You¡¯re taking me to a barn?¡± She asked raising a brow, ¡°I mean I know, I should¡¯ve gotten the hint before, but seriously James? This does not seem like your style.¡±


    ¡°My style?¡± A chuckle escaped his lips. ¡°So what is my ¡®style¡¯?¡±


    She turned her head to look at him as the two of them kept walking. She could see his poker face cracking with a glint of mischief and amusement in his eyes. She felt the corners of her mouth move up ever so slightly at their own ord.


    ¡°Oe on, you¡¯re such a city slicker. That outfit on you almost looks like a costume.¡± She said trying not to smile.


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s riching from Ms. New York over here.¡±


    ¡°Wow, hold up. I¡¯m not a New York native mister.¡± She replied, with the best New York ent she could muster.


    James was about to counter when suddenly a voice rang out from the barn. The two of them stopped in their spots and looked up. Right there at the barn there now stood an old man.


    ¡°Frank!¡± James yelled to the old man as he started walking over to him. For a split second Elizabeth stood still, a little bit confused by the appearance of the old man. But once she saw the happy looks on the faces of both of the men she walked over to the two.


    She watched as the men hugged like they were old friends. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Jimbo.¡± The old man as he let go of James. ¡°Good to see you too old man,¡± James said smiling like a kid.


    ¡°So who¡¯s the prettydy?¡± The old man said turning to Elizabeth. ¡°This is Elizabeth.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ the assistant I¡¯ve heard so much about. We finally meet.¡± The man said extending his hand. ¡°Frank Miller. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Elizabeth Waverton.¡± She said shaking his hand.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°So you¡¯re taking her out for a ride?¡± Frank asked turning back to James. ¡°I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s ready for that Frank.¡± He said smiling, ¡°But a pic for sure.¡±


    Frankughed and smiled, ¡°Well it sure is a nice day for both. You can take Porridge and Fred if you want to of course. They could both use the exercise.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see Frank, We¡¯ll see,¡± James saidughing.


    For a moment the two men stood there, talking, with Elizabeth observing the two and smiling to herself. She felt strange, seeing such a different side of her old boss. Suddenly that arrogant billionaire was gone and she just saw two friends talking.


    She smiled as she watched the two of them together, it was almost like watching a father and son talk. The second that thought appeared in her head the smile on her face disappeared.


    Quickly she turned her attention to the man called Frank. Looking him upside down she noted that he looked very stereotypical. He was kind of tall, wearing a id button up, jeans, cowboy boots, and arge white hat. Other than that he had white hair and a big white mustache.


    The two men talked for quite a while before they said their goodbyes and James and Elizabeth continued towards the barn.


    ¡°So now you know Frank, My dad¡¯s oldest friend,¡± James said as he opened the door for her. ¡°He seems nice.¡±


    ¡°He is.¡±


    Elizabeth nodded as she started walking further into the barn. Her eyes immediately went over to the horses as she walked over to them.


    ¡°Ever met a horse before?¡± He asked her smiling.


    ¡°Actually I have, a long time ago. Also, they do have them in central park.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He said chuckling. ¡°Yeah, she did, now tell me what¡¯s the n?¡±


    ¡°Well either we hike to our pic spot, or we ride.¡± He said crossing his arms. ¡°Lady¡¯s choice.¡±


    ¡°Honestly never ridden a horse before, do you think I¡¯ll be safe?¡±


    ¡°We will just go at a walking pace, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± He replied smiling.


    Soon the two of them had taken Fred and Porridge out of their stables and started saddling them.


    ¡°So how do you know to do all this?¡± She asked him as he helped her. ¡°I spent a couple of summers here.¡± He said.


    ¡°You see my dad and Frank have been friends since they were children. Originally this ranch was my family¡¯s. My dad and his siblings grew up here, and the idea was that once they were ready to take over the family business they would. My father being the oldest son meant that he would inherit everything. Then one day fate struck and both of his parents died the same night, car ident.


    Here he was 23 years old, still studying and not quite sure what to do with an old Ranch that was suddenly thrown into hisp. His best friend, however, Frank, wasn¡¯t studying and that¡¯ s when he gifted it to him. That way it would stay in the family and someone who actually liked ranched would run it.¡±


    ¡°Your dad didn¡¯t like the ranch?¡± Elizabeth asked.


    ¡°He hated it. Something about finding it stupid and not liking horses all that much. Frank, however, loved it.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Elizabeth said.

 30

    ¡°So howe I haven¡¯t heard about Frank?¡± Elizabeth asked as they took out the horses. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say for sure.¡± He reached out to hold Porridge for Elizabeth but she shook her head. ¡°No need I can get on by myself. But do continue.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± He asked crossing his arms.


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She said trying to ce her foot in the stirrup. For a moment she struggled before she finally did it. ¡°There step one done.¡±


    ¡°Yeah now, all you¡¯ve got to do is just mount the horse.¡±


    ¡°I got this.¡± She replied trying to pull herself up. As she did that however the horse moved ever so slightly causing her to nearly lose her bnce.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± He said taking the reins. ¡°Now before you hurt yourself let me give  you a boost.¡± He held the reins as he folded his hands together for her to put her foot in. Using that bit of help she managed to finally mount the horse.


    ¡°Now hold on to the reins, and don¡¯t do anything alright?¡± He said as he walked over to Fred.


    ¡°So as I was saying,  when I was younger their contact had already be less. I mean I knew they were friends, but they lived in different worlds.¡± He spoke as he mounted the horse.


    ¡°Alright, now just loosely hold the reins like this.¡± He said gesturing to his hands. ¡°Give the horse a soft kick and just follow my lead.¡± He said as they started their ride.


    ¡°Now, they both grew up here, my father and Frank. My father, however, didn¡¯t like the country life all that much. For years he had watched as people never left their safe little town.¡±


    Elizabeth listened carefully as the two started riding down the path towards the forest.


    ¡°When he grew older he just wanted to leave, to go out into the world. Frank however just wanted to work on the ranch. The two had a fight and in the end, he left. Later on, they reconciled and he gifted Frank the ranch.


    Later in life they started having less and less contact, they talked every now and then but that¡¯s all I know. Then after my mother passed away he¡¯d sent me to this ranch in the summer.¡±


    James turned his head to look at Elizabeth and their eyes connected. He watched her for a moment, looking deeply into her eyes.


    It was then that he truly looked at her, then that he noticed how different she looked now. Her eyes and face were the same, but everything else looked different. Her long hair looked wild and unkempt, very unlike the tidy perfect hair that she usually had. Furthermore, the more ¡®western¡¯ outfit that she was wearing was very unlike the modern dresses and skirts she usually wore.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    She smiled at him before turning her head away from his gaze. ¡°So how did you meet that horse a long time ago?¡± He asked changing the subject.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked surprised.


    ¡°Well, you said that you met one a long time ago. So tell me the story.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that story.¡± She replied. ¡°It¡¯s not that interesting.¡±


    ¡°Tell me anyway¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She sighed. ¡°But honestly, this story could just have been, I went to a barn once. The end.¡±


    ¡°But it isn¡¯t¡± He replied smirking.


    ¡°As if you knew that.¡±


    She was about to continue when Porridge made a minor misstep scarring her more then she would have liked to admit. A small yelp left her mouth as it did so.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± James asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just didn¡¯t see thating.¡± She breathed out.


    ¡°So as for how you met the horse¡­¡±


    ¡°You are way to interested in that story.¡± She chuckled. ¡°But alright. But first, let me tell you that my dad is a veterinarian. One day his patient was a horse and I went along. I mean growing up in Chicago I¡¯d never really been to a farm. And that is where I met the horse. See, it is not an interesting story.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re from Chicago?¡± He replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you got from that?¡± Sheughed. ¡°Yeah, I am.¡±


    The two of them continued talking about their childhoods and riding the horses at a slow pace. At first, Elizabeth had felt a bit uneasy riding a horse, but luckily that feeling had disappeared quickly.


    After a while, they reached a clearing and got off of the horses. ¡°Nice spot,¡± Elizabethmented.


    ¡°I used toe here when I was younger.¡±


    Jamesid out a nket for the two of them and they sat down. ¡°Such a gentleman,¡± She said chuckling. ¡°What you don¡¯t like it?¡± He said looking up with a smirk on his face. ¡°Not really my cup of tea, but I do like pic¡¯s.¡± She smiled.


    They sat, ate lunch and talked for a while. Laughs where shared and in the end, all that Elizabeth could think was, this is not so bad after all¡­

 31

    It was Sunday afternoon when Elizabeth walked into her apartment. She put down her bag on the floor and hung up her coat. She then picked up the bag and brought it to her bedroom. With a smile on her face, she recounted the day before¡­


    After they had ridden back to the ranch the two of them had coffee with Frank and then returned to the hotel. The second they stepped into the hotel however, James was approached by a man from behind the front desk.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor! I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, sir, your secretary called.¡± The short, stocky man said quickly walking over to them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but she said it was urgent.¡±


    It was then that James excused himself to call his P. A. It had felt strange when he told her that. Once she had been the one on the other end of the line. The one that had to tell her boss that something had gone wrong and that he was needed asap.


    Lost in those thoughts she started walking up the stairs all the way up to her own room. It had been little over an hour when she heard a knock on her door.


    The James that had been dressed like a cowboy before now stood before her in a well-fitting ck suit. Her brows furrowed for a second, confused by the sudden outfit change.


    ¡°I am so, so sorry Liz. But I have to go and fix this. I don¡¯t want to cut our weekend short but I-¡±


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t mean to do so when she stopped listening to him. But somewhere during the time that he was talking to her, her mind had wandered off¡­


    Right now she saw one of the most arrogant men she had ever met fumble over his words. She watched as he racked his fingers through his already messy hair. She listened to his apologies and felt as though this was apletely different James than the one she had met years ago.


    Before even she knew what she did she closed the space in between them. Suddenly her hands were in his hair and his around her waist. It had taken a second for James to react but soon, the man that had stood fumbling over his words in front of her was now kissing her passionately.


    One of his hands went up to her neck and pulled her even closer. The two of them momentarily lost themselves in the kiss. It, however, ended abruptly when James his phone rang. Elizabeth had been the one to break the kiss, gesturing for James to pick up his phone.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m on my way.¡± He said quickly putting the phone away again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I really have to go. The pilot will be back tomorrow morning to pick you up and a taxi will bring you to your apartment.¡± He said turning to leave.


    ¡°Wait!¡± She said, causing him to turn back to her. ¡°Your tie isn¡¯t straight.¡± She said adjusting the tie around his neck. ¡°Have a good flight.¡±


    For a moment James just stood there looking at her. Debating what to do next¡­ Tell her toe with him, kiss her once more, or say goodbye and leave.


    The desision was made however when his phone rang once more and he turned around and left.


    That night Elizabeth received a text message telling her that her flight back to New York and taxi to her house etc. had been arranged. At first she thought she would have to leave right away, but she soon noted that her flight left tommorow morning.


    Ten minutes after he had left there was a knock on the door. A young woman of the hotel stood there carrying a folded piece of paper. ¡°Sorry to disturb you miss, but Mr. McGregor told me to give this to you.¡±


    Elizabeth thanked the young woman and took the piece of paper. Once the door closed behind her she unfolded it.


    Dear Elizabeth,


    I am sorry for cutting our weekend short¡­ Tomorow my driver will take you to the airport. The ne will leave at ten o¡¯clock in the morning and my driver will be there at the other end and drive you back to your apartment.


    As for dinner and breakfast, both things have been taken care of.


    Love, James.


    The paper was slightly crumbled and looked like it had been written in a hurry. She smiled down at it as she read it. Of course he would have taken care of all of those things¡­


    That evening Elizabeth ate roomservice and packed her bags. At around eleven Natalie called and the two of them talked for a while.


    The following morning she calmly ate breakfast and started on the trip home. And that is were she found herself right now, home.

 32

    ¡°So? How was your weekend?¡±


    Elizabeth jumped slightly, startled at the voice appearing behind her. ¡°Paul¡­ You scared me.¡± She said letting out a breath.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry dear, but I gotz to know.¡± He smiled at her as they walked.


    ¡°Well¡­ It was quite nice actually.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t quite nice me woman, I want details.¡± Elizabethughed and the two of them walked into the building.


    Elizabeth proceeded to tell him all about her weekend as they went into the elevator. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me? That¡¯s where it ended?¡± Paul eximed a little bit to loud.


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± She said as they walked into the office.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you taunt me woman!¡±


    Elizabethughed. ¡°We kissed.¡±


    ¡°You did what?!¡±


    ¡°I kissed him.¡±


    Right at that moment, more people started walking into the office. A wide-eyed Paul stood there, lowering his voice, but his eyes were screaming entire novels at her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter!¡± She said running of to her office.


    ¡°You better!¡± Paul yelled after her shaking his head.


    From that moment all the way to her lunch break Elizabeth hadn¡¯t had one quiet moment. It seemed like almost every second a new client rolled in¡­


    It was one o¡¯clock on the dot when Paul¡¯s head popped around the office door. ¡°Elizbeth.¡± He said in a sweet singsong voice, ¡°You still have a story to tell me.¡±


    Elizabeth turned around andughed, ¡°Alright, that I owe you.¡±


    She continued to tell him about the kiss when suddenly another head popped around the office door. ¡°Elizabeth, there you are, I need to ask a favor of you.¡±


    She looked up to see Oscar standing in the doorway. ¡°I identally made two appointments at the same time. One of them is an old client and another one is a new client. Could you please take the new one?¡±


    ¡°I uhh¡­ I, Yeah. What time is the meeting?¡± She said a bit stunned.


    ¡°Actually in half an hour¡­ I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s a lunch meeting, But he couldn¡¯t meet at any other time. And I-¡±


    But Elizabeth cut him off, ¡°It¡¯s alright, go, just text me his name and where you were supposed to meet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an angel!¡± Oscar yelled being him as he nearly ran off.


    ¡°Well looks like I¡¯m going to have to wait for that story¡­¡± Said Paul looking slightly annoyed.


    It wasn¡¯t long after that that Elizabeth found herself in one of the nicest restaurants in town. Once Oscar had texted her the address she recognized it immediately, Charly¡¯s, named after its famous chef cook.


    She sighed as the hostess took her to her table. Apparently, the reservation had been made by the P. A. of the Client, and she had specified that the table had to be at the window.


    So now here she sat, next to arge window waiting for the client to show up. It felt strange only knowing a name and nothing more, for she usually researched her clients, but apparently, Oscar hadn¡¯t done so.


    ¡°Now you don¡¯t look like an Oscar Ramirez to me.¡± A low voice said behind her.


    Quickly she looked behind her and saw a blond man wearing what appeared to be an Armani suit, smirking at her.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not an Oscar Ramirez.¡± She said in a cool tone.


    ¡°Then who might you be?¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Elizabeth, Elizabeth Waverton,¡± She said shaking his hand, ¡°And you must be Mr. Anderson.¡±


    ¡°I must.¡± He said not quite letting go of her hand. He held on to it for a second longer before moving to the other side of the table.


    ¡°May I?¡± He asked pointing at the chair, to which Elizabeth nodded.


    ¡°So to what do I owe this pleasure, Ms. Waverton?¡±


    ¡°Well you requested to meet with Mr. Ramirez, he, however, is currently unavable, so for the moment I¡¯m filling in.¡±


    She watched him carefully, as a surprised expression appeared on his face.


    ¡°A personal assistant filling in for an architect?¡± He said raising his eyebrows.


    ¡°Ex personal assistant, currently architect.¡±


    ¡°Ah right, that¡¯s true, talk of the town really. Little miss perfect finally leaving McGregor, everyone in town dying to have you work for them but none of them were so lucky.¡±


    At that one of Elizabeth¡¯s brows rose. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mr. Anderson, I was under the impression that we were here to talk about the building you want to have built, and not about my personal life.¡±


    ¡°Getting straight to the point are we now?¡± He replied chuckling, ¡°Alright, I need a new office building. But I want it to be a sight for sore eyes.¡±


    The next half an hour was spent discussing the details of the building and other such things. Elizabeth didn¡¯t even notice the person standing behind Mr. Anderson until he cleared his throat.


    She looked up and her eyes met with those of James.


    ¡°James.¡± She said almost breathlessly.

 33

    ¡°Ah Mr. McGregor, fancy seeing you here,¡± Anderson said turning around in his seat, ¡°Have a seat with us.¡±


    For a moment she could not read the expression on James his face, and whatever the expression was it was soon masked by a carefully practiced smile.


    ¡°Well I won¡¯t say no to that,¡± he said, his eyes on Elizabeth. As he sat down he immediately called over a waiter. ¡°Have you two already had lunch?¡± He asked the both of them, but only really looking at Elizabeth.


    ¡°No. Actually, I think we were to caught up in conversation to order.¡± Anderson replied with a sly smile on his face.


    ¡°Well we cannot let thedy starve now can we?¡± James replied mimicking his smile. With one movement of his hand, James had called over a waiter.


    The short stocky man all but ran over as soon as James his hand went up in the air. ¡°Yes, sir?¡± The waiter panted slightly.


    ¡°Three menu¡¯s please,¡± James said not ncing at the waiter.


    Elizabeth frowned slightly at that behavior, what was he ying at?


    ¡°So McGregor, hows the hunt for personal assistants going?¡±


    ¡°Well you know how it is, theye and they go. This one is actually quite ok. I¡¯ve kept her for a week now.¡± James said chuckling.


    ¡°My my, well you should¡¯ve just never let this one go,¡± Anderson said gesturing to Elizabeth.


    ¡°It was not so much a question of letting go, more one of having the inevitable happen really,¡± Elizabeth said in an icy tone, ¡°But now Mr. Anderson if you do not mind, I think I should get going, as our meeting hase to an end.¡±


    Elizabeth was about to stand up but was stopped by someone gently grabbing her arm. ¡°Now Elizabeth, why don¡¯t you stay? I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt your meeting.¡± James said with a sly smile.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even had lunch yet,¡± Anderson added, causing Elizabeth to purse her lips.


    ¡°I would hardly call it appropriate to stay. Besides, I have a meeting I need to prepare for.¡± She said standing up. ¡°Mr. McGregor, I see you this afternoon. Mr. Anderson, I shall give the notes from this meeting to Oscar, and it was nice meeting you.¡±


    It was three hourster when Elizabeth next saw James. Both she and Daniel were already sitting in the conference room when Paul brought James in.


    As he walked in he had a stern look on his face and gave a very short thank you to Paul before he sat down.


    ¡°Ah Mr. McGregor, how are you today.¡± Daniel started standing up to shake his hand.


    The expression on James his face, however, didn¡¯t falter as he shook his hand and said a quick, ¡°Good as always.¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Mr. McGregor,¡± Elizabeth said with a little nod as she shook his hand. ¡°Elizabeth.¡± He said with a small smile and a nod as well.


    When he said her first name her eyebrows rose ever so slightly. Of course, he had called her that before but she didn¡¯t know what to think when he did so in this environment.


    ¡°Well Elizabeth, show the man the new drawings,¡± Daniel said nudging her gently.


    ¡°Yes, right.¡± She grabbed the drawings and showed them to him. ¡°Here.¡±


    For the next forty-five minutes, the three of them sat there discussing theyout and style of the mansion. In that conversation, several things became clear, first of all, that he really know what kind of house he wanted. And second of all, that Daniel is oblivious of the flirting between the other two in the room.


    The three of them were about to leave the room when James grabbed her arm once more. ¡°Not so fast mdy.¡± He said jokingly.


    She turned around to face him, only to get flustered by how close they actually were together. ¡°Now I finally have you alone again.¡± He said, whilst moving to wrap his arm around her waist.


    ¡°Alone in a conference room with ss walls.¡± She said looking into his eyes.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that just make it more exciting?¡± He said jokingly.


    With papers in his hands, Paul rounded the corner. At first, he was lost in thought, thinking about all the things he still had to get done that day. Every thought, however, left his mind as he got a glimpse of something he wasn¡¯t expecting.


    There was Elizabeth, hands lost somewhere in James his hair and passionately kissing him. The tall, handsome man whom she was kissing was holding onto her as if she would disappear once he¡¯d let her go.


    At that moment Paul nearly dropped everything he was holding, before rposing himself.


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t hear as the conference room door opened. What she, however, did hear was Paul clearing his throat.


    Feeling caught red handed she pushed herself away from face and took a step back and straightened her skirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but this room is reserved for a meeting,¡± Paul said with an innocent smirk on his face.


    Elizabeth nodded and started grabbing her stuff. ¡°Oh and your next appointment called, he will be here in fifteen minutes.¡± He added.


    Elizabeth gathered her stuff and together with James she was about to leave the office. ¡°Thank you for reminding me Paul.¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got some lipstick right here.¡± Paul said pointing at slightly above his lip. Elizabeth was about to remove it when Paul added, ¡°O not you sweety, handsome over there. Well have a nice day.¡± And with a sly smile on his face he left.


    Elizabeth looked at James and saw him wiping of the lipstick very quickly. ¡°So I¡¯ll see you tonight?¡± He said moving closer again to her.


    ¡°Tonight?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes, how about I make you dinner?¡± He said smirking.


    ¡°You? And Cooking?¡±


    ¡°What? Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You just don¡¯t strike me as the person.¡± She said as she started to walk away from him.


    ¡°Well maybe you just don¡¯t know everything about me.¡± He said moving to walk beside her.


    ¡°Alright,¡± She said, ¡°Tonight 7 o¡¯clock I¡¯ll be at your house.¡±


    ¡°My my demanding aren¡¯t we?¡± He said, ¡°Now at least give me a goodbye kiss.¡±


    ¡°And ruin my lipstick again?¡± She said as he grabbed her by the arm.


    ¡°Oe on, that¡¯s already a lost cause.¡± He said smirking, caging her in between his arms.


    ¡°Elizabeth stop your flirting, you have a meeting.¡± Paul yelled, momentarily taking James by surprise and Elizabeth slipped out underneath his arms.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really gotta go.¡± She said. ¡°You know, I have to redo my lipstick and all.¡± She smirked at him as she walked away.


    ¡°See you tonight!¡± He yelled after her, smiling and shaking his head.

 34

    James cursed as he smelled something burning. Quickly he went over to the source of the smell and turned off the stove.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± He muttered as he took the lid off off the pot. Why had he suggested cooking himself? I mean except for making breakfast he didn¡¯t really know what to do.


    At that moment the bell rang, his head turned to see the screen behind him and right there he saw Elizabeth standing. Quickly he dried his hands with a towel and slung it over his shoulder.


    He walked over to the door and opened it. ¡°Come in mdy.¡±


    ¡°Why thank you.¡± She said taking a step inside.


    ¡°Shall I hang up your coat?¡± He asked her with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°Normally I would say yes, but right now I would turn that off,¡± She said pointing at the kitchen behind him. He turned around and saw smokeing out of the oven.


    ¡°Shit¡± He said once more as he nearly ran over to it.


    Behind him, he heard Elizabethugh as she hung up her coat.


    ¡°So how¡¯s the chef doing?¡± She said walking over to the kitchen ind.


    ¡°Failing miserably.¡± He said still running around.


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± She said frowning. ¡°Need any help?¡± She said opening her bag.


    ¡°No I think I can manage, thank you very much.¡± He said looking up at her and putting one hand on his side.


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± She said holding up her hands.


    ¡°Thought so.¡± James said smirking and turning around. He was about to continue whatever he was doing when Elizabeth said, ¡°O mister Chef?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Your towel is on fire.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± he said yet again as he tried to extinguish the fire. It, however, didn¡¯t work very well as the fire still wasn¡¯t out.


    Suddenly he felt water ssh on his face. ¡°You really do like doing that, don¡¯t ya?¡± He said as he looked up to see Elizabeth standing there with an empty ss in her hands.


    Her hand went up to her mouth to cover the smile forming on her face and to keep herself fromughing.


    ¡°Go aheadugh.¡± He said with an amused look on his face.


    Elizabeth startedughing for a moment and put the ss down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you were really getting nowhere with that fire.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, you saved me.¡± He said looking around for a towel.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± She said as she handed him another towel.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said as he dried off his face.


    ¡°So cooking might not be my thing.¡± He said looking around the kitchen.


    ¡°I noticed.¡± She said smiling, ¡°How about this, you put on a dry shirt and I¡¯ll order take out.¡± She said turning towards her bag.


    ¡°I think that would be a lot safer than to eat what I made¡­¡± James replied.


    Elizabeth grabbed her phone from her bag and turned around. ¡°So what would you like-.¡± She stopped mid-sentence as she saw James standing behind her, shirtless, water still dripping down him. For a moment the only thought that went through her head was, my my, he really is a sight for sore eyes.


    ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­¡± She started eyes wide, ¡°I¡¯ll just order something.¡±


    With an amused look in his eyes, he watched her for a moment, not saying anything.


    ¡°Now you go put a shirt on.¡± She said turning away from him.


    He, however, didn¡¯t move. She turned back around again, ¡°Oe on, get moving.¡± She said pushing him towards the bedroom.


    ¡°Alright, Alright I¡¯ll put a shirt on.¡± He saidughing as he walked out of the room.


    It wasn¡¯t long after that that he walked into his living room, buttoning thest button on his shirt. ¡°Elizabeth?¡± He said when he didn¡¯t see her.


    ¡°Here.¡± She said from the kitchen. ¡°You really made quite the mess.¡±


    He walked over to her and saw that she was cleaning his kitchen. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that, the maides tomorrow.¡± He said his eyebrows furrowed together.


    ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t think you can save this pan unless you clean it right away.¡± She said holding up one of his pans.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± He said leaning on the kitchen counter.


    ¡°Yes, that is so.¡± She said scrubbing the pan, ¡°What were you trying to make anyway?¡±


    ¡°Spaghetti,¡± He said rolling up his sleeves, ¡°What are you wearing?¡±


    ¡°It is called an apron.¡± She said looking up at him.


    ¡°You brought that thinking you¡¯d need it?¡±


    ¡°Well I was right, wasn¡¯t I?¡± She said smiling.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± He replied shaking his head and helping her clean the pots and pans.


    ¡°Well, I think that that is all.¡± She said looking around the kitchen.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± James said putting away thest pan.


    Elizabeth untied the ribbon on her back and took off the apron. She then folded it neatly and ced it back in her bag.


    ¡°You know, it hurts, you thinking that I would screw up dinner in advance.¡± He said as he walked over to the kitchen table and motioned for her to sit down.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d screw up dinner. I thought that you¡¯d need some help, and I didn¡¯t want to get my dress dirty.¡± She said sitting down across from him.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Well, I must say that apron really looked nice on you.¡±


    Before Elizabeth could reply, the doorbell rang. ¡°I¡¯ll get it.¡± She said getting up.


    ¡°No you¡¯re my guest, I¡¯ll get it,¡± James said grabbing her arm. ¡°I got this.¡± He said as he walked over to the door.


    Elizabeth sat down as she waited for James toe back.


    ¡°You went with Italian, I like it,¡± he said as he put the food down in front of her.


    It was only when Elizabeth looked at the clock that she had noticed how much time had gone by.   First, the two of them had had their dinner and talked for quite a while. The two of them then had a drink in his living room and talked for quite a while. It was around twelve in the evening that she noticed the time. And though she was having a wonderful time here, she knew that she had work in the morning.


    ¡°No I really have to go.¡± She said to James once more as he once more asked her to have one more drink.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a great time James, but I¡¯ve got work tomorrow, and so do you.¡± She said smiling.


    James sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. ¡°I know.¡± He said.


    The two of them now stood near the front door. He took a step closer to her looking deeply into her eyes. Almost automatically she took a step towards him, closing the distance between them.


    One of his hands went down to her waist and the other one up to her face as he kissed her passionately. Her hands went to his neck and into his hair as she lost herself in the kiss.


    When the two of them broke free James muttered, ¡°You should really stay.¡±

 35

    Still, in his arms, she stood there, breathing heavily not looking up at his face. She felt him move ever so slightly, as he brushed the hair out of her face.


    Softly he moved her chin up to look up at him. ¡°I should, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± She said softly gazing into his eyes.


    ¡°No I can¡¯t.¡± She said shaking her head and looking away. ¡°I¡¯ve got a thousand things to do tomorrow and so do you. And a walk of shame isn¡¯t one of those things.¡± She continued, trying to move away from him, but he held her in ce.


    A small chuckle left his lips, ¡°I could do that walk together with you if that makes it better?¡±


    ¡°No it doesn¡¯t.¡± She said with a yful smile on her face and smacking him in the chest.


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll let you go under one condition¡­¡± He said, holding on to her tightly. ¡°I get a goodnights kiss.¡±


    Before she could even reply he started kissing her. Slightly surprised at first, she soon melted into the kiss. All thoughts of leaving left her mind and only the thought of him remained. Suddenly she didn¡¯t think about those deadlines or all those other things that she had to do.


    The moment his lips left her mouth and moved on to her neck, her mind seemed to fully go nk, leaving all reason behind, lost in passion.


    ¡°I¡­¡± She softly spoke.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He said in between kisses.


    ¡°I¡­ I think I should stay¡­.¡±


    With one swift motion, she felt herself being lifted off the floor and into James his arms. One arm behind her back and one below her knees he held her kissing her on the lips once more.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°That¡¯s all I wanted to hear.¡± He said taking her further into his apartment.


    When Elizabeth awoke she knew that it was still early. As no light was peeking through the curtains yet.


    She tried to move to the edge of the bed to grab her phone and see what time it was when she felt an arm around her waist, holding her in ce.


    A smile appeared on her face as she became aware of the warmth behind her, reminding her of earlier that evening. It seemed funny to her at first, that James was a cuddler, not that she minded, but it didn¡¯t seem to suit him.


    Stretching out her arm she was just able to grab her phone. Slowly she pulled it towards herself, trying not to wake up James.


    Pressing the button on the side, the screen lid up, showing that it was 5:00. She knew that she normally would not have to get up until at least 7:30 but she also knew that she would have to wake up earlier since she wasn¡¯t at her own house.


    She sighed as she decided to set an rm in two hours on her phone. That way she would at least wake up on time she figured.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Said a deep, sleepy voice behind her.


    ¡°Setting an rm.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to do that?¡± He said tightening the arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly close to him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°Now go back to sleep.¡±


    When she awoke once more it wasn¡¯t because of the sound of her rm clock, but of a crashing sounding from the kitchen. Quickly she was up and out of bed, startled by the sound.


    A quick look around the room told her that James was no longer in bed behind her. Confused as to what time it was she picked up her phone. 6:55 it read.


    Another loud noise came from the kitchen and she decided to investigate it. Looking around the room she saw her clothes, that were previously scattered, lying neatly on the chair next to her. She smiled to herself as she put them back on again, and walked out into the kitchen.


    ¡°Morning!¡± James said smiling standing behind the stove. This surprised Elizabeth.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± She said walking over to him. ¡°You made breakfast?¡± She said chuckling.


    ¡°He! Maybe dinner isn¡¯t my thing, but breakfast sure is.¡± He said turning off the stove and walking over to her.


    ¡°Be careful, I have morning breath,¡± Elizabeth said taking a step back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± James said taking a step forward and kissing her.


    ¡°Well Good morning,¡± Elizabeth repeated once he let her go, emphasizing the good part.


    James chuckled and took the pan off the stove, ¡°I made you eggs, I hope you like them scrambled.¡±


    The two of them ate breakfast in afortable silence before Elizabeth had to go to her own apartment.


    ¡°Good thing I live right across the street.¡± She said as the two of them left his building. ¡°Good thing indeed.¡± He said hooking his arm in hers.

 36

    Several weeks had transpired since Elizabeth¡¯s first night at James¡¯. Though they both had their own busy schedule the two of them seemed to make it work. When they had the time they would stay at each other¡¯s ces, have dinner together, go out on dates etc.


    Though the both of them had never said it out loud, they both knew that they were in a rtionship.


    This week, however, James was away on a business trip, and Elizabeth was swamped with her new project. They had been sending each other text messages but, due to their busyness, those had also be sporadic.


    Today was a Friday, a particrly long Friday to be honest. It had started quite early as Elizabeth had to be in at 8 a. m. on the dot. After that, she spent the entire day running around trying to clean up everyone¡¯s messes, including her own.


    So when the clock finally read 5 o¡¯clock, and she had finished all of her tasks that day, she nearly cheered. A sigh of relief left her mouth as she entered the elevator taking her down and out of the building. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, before remembering to turn her phone back on.


    Tonight an old friend of hers had an art exposition, where she was showing her work. Her friend, Phoebe, was an unknown photographer, but now finally she had a chance to show her art and possibly even sell it.


    Elizabeth had been thrilled when she got the invitation, happy to see her friend finally fulfilling her dream.


    When her phone was turned on she saw that she had gotten several texts, alling from either Phoebe or Natalie. Distracted by them for a brief moment she nearly walked into a person.


    ¡°O god, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She said looking up at the man she had into. He was a tall man, strongly build and with sandy blond hair. Overall she had to admit, he didn¡¯t look bad, not at all.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, but be carefull.¡± The man replied and Elizabeth was about to walk away. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re Elizabeth right?¡± He said smiling. ¡°Elizabeth Waverton?¡±


    ¡°Yes, how do you know?¡± She said feeling awkward, this man didn¡¯t appear to havee out of a corporate setting, so it seemed unlikely he had heard about the P. A. Nor did he strike her as the person who cared about the painting.


    ¡°Thomas.¡± He said pointing at himself. ¡± Thomas Diamond, we went to high school together.¡±


    ¡°Omg, Thomas? God I didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± Elizbeth saidpletely baffled. Thest time she had seen that Thomas, he as a very tall andnky person. Now he looked tall, confided and strong. His bowl haircut was reced with a slicked back, but in a good way, look. Most of all his face had been cleared fully of all the e and pimples that he used to have.


    ¡°I get that a lot.¡± He said chuckling, ¡°So how are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Good, How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, but god it¡¯s good to see you. You were one of the few people that was actually nice to me.¡±


    ¡°Well I-¡± She started but Thomas stopped her.


    ¡°But enough about that, what have you been up to?¡± He said smiling at her.


    ¡°God that¡¯s a long list.¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°Well in that case, how ¡¯bout we grab a bite?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to but, I have this thing at seven that I can¡¯t miss,¡± Elizabeth replied surprised by this old acquaintance of hers. Sure she had known him in high school, but she had never really been friends. She did, however, remember how others used to bully him, something which she hated with a burning passion.


    Back then she had stuck up for him several times, and the two of them had gotten along pretty well. But in the end, they had different friend groups and never really considered each other friends.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be quick.¡± He said, shing her a grin.


    ¡°I really have to be there at seven.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you there.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°Wow, that is some story honey.¡± He said wiping his mouth with his napkin.


    ¡°But how about you?¡± She said smiling.


    ¡°How about me?¡±


    ¡°Well, how did you end up in the fashion world? I had always thought you would work at NASA or something.¡±


    Thomasughed, throwing his head back and said, ¡°O god no. To tell you the truth, I did use to think that too, but honestly, it just wasn¡¯t my thing. Don¡¯t get me wrong, science has still got a spot in my heart, but I just can¡¯t stand the fashion there.¡±


    At that Elizabethughed, ¡°O God you really have changed.¡±


    ¡°Oh Honey no, I¡¯ve just let out what was on the inside. I always knew I liked fashion, but I was already getting bullied for being a nerd, I couldn¡¯t have loving fashion being added to that. Then as I got older I got confused about my sexuality. I mean it was no walk in the park, but thank god, finally, I know who I am, and who is the real me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just so happy for that poor boy that I used to know,¡± Elizabeth said smiling. ¡°It really is good seeing you again.¡±


    ¡°It is good to see you too Elizabeth.¡±


    It was quarter to seven when Elizabeth and Thomas left the restaurant. Both still arguing about who should have paid for dinner. Elizabeth insisted on doing so, whilst Thomas had done the same thing. In the end, he paid, iming that though this wasn¡¯t a date, it was the gentlemen thing to pay.


    ¡°So you still didn¡¯t tell me what your thing is,¡± Thomas said as the two of them waited for a cab.


    ¡°Actually if you want you cane too. My friend had an exhibition that is opening tonight.¡±


    ¡°Sounds interesting, go on.¡± He replied hailing a cab.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s a photographer, and now her dream ising true,¡±  Elizabeth said stepping into the back of the cab.


    ¡°Alright scootch, I¡¯ming with.¡± He said making Elizabethugh.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the two of them to arrive at the gallery.


    Elizabeth was surprised to see the number of people that were already there and started looking for Phoebe. After a bit of searching, she found her friend talking to a stocky stranger.


    ¡°You came!¡± Phoebe eximed, hugging Elizabeth.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have missed it for the world. And look I¡¯ve brought a friend.¡±Elizabeth said pointing at Thomas.


    From that moment on the evening went quite well, Elizabeth mostly talked with Thomas and Phoebe, asionally some other people, but overall she had a great time.


    Suddenly she noticed several people turning to the entrance, watching as they saw one of the most influential people of New York walk into the small gallery.

 37

    James frowned as he walked into the building unsure at first if he had the right ce. With his phone in hand, he checked the address once more and walked into the gallery.


    Quite quickly he fell out of ce, as many people turned to look at him. Though most people were dressed nicely, none of them looked quite like James looked in his Italian suit.


    He looked around, ignoring the people around him, trying to find Elizabeth. Some time ago she had told him that she would be here tonight. He had then proposed going together, which she had dismissed, saying that he would probably be to busy and that it wasn¡¯t his scene anyway.


    Soon his eyes fell on Elizabeth, standing there in a gorgeous green dress, talking to a blond man standing next to her.


    ¡°Hi there.¡± James said slipping his arm around her waist.


    Startled, Elizabeth jumped up a bit cing her hand on her chest. ¡°James!¡± She eximed, ¡°You startled me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He said proudly before kissing her, taking her by surprise.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Elizabeth asked after breaking the kiss.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± James said raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡­ I told you not toe¡­¡± Elizabeth said looking around watching the people around her looking at them.R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± James replied eyeing Thomas.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this outside,¡± Elizabeth said taking his hand and walking towards a door and leaving Thomas behind.


    ¡°What is wrong? Why didn¡¯t you want me toe?¡± James said once the two of them stood in an alley.


    Elizabeth sighed, not meeting his eyes.


    ¡°Elizabeth talk to me.¡± James said tilting her head gently so that she was looking at him.


    ¡°Look, don¡¯t take this the wrong way.¡± She said moving away from him, ¡°It¡¯s just that having you at an event like this isn¡¯t a good idea.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He said moving over to her.


    ¡°Tonight, was Phoebies night. But the second that you walk in all eyes  are on you.¡± She started pointing at him. ¡°And I didn¡¯t want that to happen, all eyes should have been on her. It is like wearing white to a wedding.¡±


    ¡°You could have just told me that.¡± James said not quite understanding where this wasing from.


    ¡°No I couldn¡¯t James, I know you. You would have said that you would blend in and thene anyway.¡± She said touching her forehead, ¡°And then the papparazzi would follow behind soon enough.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about? The papparazzi.¡±


    ¡°Not just that, just-¡± But he cut Elizabeth off.


    ¡°But it¡¯s still about that, look I told you before, it¡¯s not something that I can control.¡±


    ¡°And I told you not to worry about it, remember?¡± Elizabeth said slightly raising her voice, annoyed by his response. ¡°Look it¡¯s just you¡¯re¡­ You¡¯re not like most of my friends, you¡¯re not like most people. Once you walk into a room everyone notices you. You¡¯re one of the most influential people in this city, hell probably the whole country and it is like you don¡¯t even know it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± James said looking slightly defeated.


    Elizabeth sighed and walked over to him, ¡°Look how about we both go home now, Ie over to your ce and we¡¯ll talk about it there instead of this alley.¡±


    James wanted to reply something, but chose to nod instead as the both of them left they alleyway back into the gallery.


    Elizabeth quickly said her goodbyes to her friends and told them she was sorry, whilst James waited standing behind her. As soon as she turned towards him to leave he slipped his arm around her waist  and the two of them walked out of the building.


    ¡°Did youe by car?¡± James asked looking around trying to spot her car.


    ¡°No I took a cab.¡± She replied replying to a text.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll hail a cab.¡±


    ¡°You came by cab?¡± Elizabeth replied surprised putting her phone away.


    ¡°No but I told my chauffeur to leave.¡± He said right as a cab pulled up. ¡°Shall we?¡± He said opening the door for her.


    ¡°We shall.¡± She said smiling and stepping into the car.


    After a short cab drive the two of them arrived at James his building and went inside. Soon they were in his apartment and Elizabeth walked over to the kitchen table putting down her bag there.


    ¡°So tell me.¡± James said walking over to her, ¡°what did you want to say?¡±


    ¡°Is it alright if I change out of this dress first?¡± Elizabeth said taking of her heels.


    ¡°Actually I wouldn¡¯t mind taking that of myselfter.¡± James said walking over to her and putting his arms around her, whispering in her ear.


    Elizabeth smiled, ¡°God you¡¯re a dog.¡± She said moving away from him and over to the couch.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just get it over with.¡± She said sitting down.


    James sat down in the chair next to her loosening his tie.


    ¡°You¡¯re a very powerful and important person. And people know that, they know you, they recognize you. Everywhere you go, everywhere we go, people know who you are, and you draw a lot of attention. Usually I don¡¯t mind all that much, but since the paparazzi got more and more involved, I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t like seeing my face on a cover of a magazine, being shielded by bodyguards, I don¡¯t like that every time you are spotting with a different girl around you they start posting stories about you cheating.  I don¡¯t believe them,¡± she added quickly, ¡°but I don¡¯t like them. And tonight, I knew that the second you walked in Phoebe would lose the spotlight and I didn¡¯t want that to happen.¡±


    James looked away for a second, taking in what she had just said. ¡°Alright, that¡­ that sounds reasonable. But why didn¡¯t you say anything? I mean I know you don¡¯t like the paparazzi but¡­ still why?¡±


    ¡°Because it is like you don¡¯t even notice.¡± Elizabeth said standing up. ¡°I know that you¡¯re used to this, but I am not. And neither are my friends.¡±


    ¡°Look I cannot change the way others see me, well I can, but it is not that easy. But I can change the way I behave, and if you don¡¯t want me there then you don¡¯t want me there.¡± He said as she stood up as well and walked over to her wrapping his arms around her.


    ¡°Maybe I should have just told you the truth.¡± Elizabeth said sighing and hugging him back.


    ¡°Now how about I help you out of this dress?¡± James said suggestively.


    ¡°Oh you dog¡­¡±

 38

    After their minor argument, although more of a misunderstanding, their weekend went rather well. They decided to avoid public ces in order to avoid the paparazzi and spent most of the weekend at James¡¯ apartment.


    In fact it wasn¡¯t until Sunday evening that Elizabeth went back to hers. Elizabeth knew that the following morning she had to be at work early, for an early meeting, so she decided to sleep at home.


    That Monday morning the meeting went quite well and Elizabeth was about to sit down in her office when Paul came into her office nearly screaming her name.


    ¡°Elizabeth! Have you seen this honey?¡± He held his phone nearly in her face.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked taking the phone from him. Right there she read the front line of a story that had been posted that morning.


    ¡°TROUBLE IN PARADISE?  COUPLE IS SEEN FIGHTING AFTER  JAMES MCGREGOR  WALKS IN ON A DATE OF HIS GIRLFRIEND ELIZABETH WAVERTON.¡±


    ¡°O no¡­¡± Elizabeth said as she looked at the pictures of her and James in the alley, her seeing James enter the gallery and her and Thomasughing together.


    Quickly she read the article which went on and on about her ¡°Date¡± with Thomas and about how James found out and fought about it with her.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± She said handing the phone back to Paul. ¡°I know honey, I know¡­¡± He said patting her on the back.


    ¡± O god I have to leave, I got a meeting in five.¡± She said looking at the clock. ¡°See youter!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until after lunch that Elizabeth finally had a moment to herself and turned her phone back on. Immediately she was surprised by the number of texts and calls that she had received from James. She was about to read through all of them when Daniel walked in to inform her that she had toe for a meeting with a client that had been pushed up.


    Quickly she turned off her phone again and followed her boss into the conference room. Quietly she closed the door behind her. For a second she tried to remember with whom her meeting was, it was however when her eyes met those of James that she realized which client.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor, how are you doing?¡± Daniel said, looking as happy as ever.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Fine. How are you?¡± James replied, looking stern.


    ¡°I¡¯m good, now let¡¯s get down to business shall we.¡±


    Daniel and James started discussing parts of the mansion and all the while Elizabeth was listening, but not participating in the conversation. Quite frankly, for this meeting, she realized that she was not really needed. But then why am I here? She wondered lost in thought.


    ¡°Elizabeth?¡± Daniel said looking at her. ¡°Elizabeth are you still paying attention?¡± He added waving his arm in front of her.


    ¡°Oh. Yes! I¡­ I.. just, my mind wandered off for a moment. What did you ask me?¡± She said sitting up straight again.


    ¡°James and I were just taking another look at the top floor, at the rooms there,¡± Daniel replied.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Well, how many bedrooms do you think are needed?¡± James asked her looking at her intently.


    ¡°I would say a master bedroom and possibly two guestrooms, I mean the space is there,¡± Elizabeth said looking back down at the drawings.


    ¡°But how about a kids room?¡± James asked, making Elizabeth choke on her own spit.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked coughing, whilst Daniel patted her on the back.


    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t die it would be such a mess.¡± He saidughing as his phone rang. ¡°That must be the wife.¡± He said taking his phone out of his pocket. ¡°What do ya know, I¡¯m psychic, it is the wife.¡± He picked up the phone and left the room.


    ¡°Why did you move the meeting up?¡± Elizabeth asked him confused.


    ¡°This is why,¡± he said with a stern look on his face as heid down a magazine cover in front of her.


    ¡°What in the-¡± She started but stopped once she saw a picture of her and Thomas at the restaurantughing. ¡°O my god, I didn¡¯t even see them.¡± She said picking up the crumbled cover and looking at the picture closely. Sure enough, it had the same title as the article that Paul had shown her. ¡°But I don¡¯t understand why did you move up the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Is it true?¡± James asked her, not even looking at her.


    ¡°What?¡± She replied, confused by his question.


    ¡°Was it a date?¡±


    Anger coursed through her veins at that question. How could he even think that that was the care? Countless of times had she seen headlines like this, but then with him and a girl in the photo. But not once, had she used him of anything because she trusts him.


    ¡°Yeah, of course, it was a date.¡± She said in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Just like all the dates that you had with all of those girls.¡± Elizabeth crossed her arms. ¡°But then again did we ever say that we were dating exclusively?¡±


    ¡°Oe on.¡± He said mming his hand on the table. ¡°Then exin to me why you never told me about you two having dinner? Don¡¯t think I am a fool Elizabeth.¡±


    ¡°I did tell you, I told you I had dinner with an old friend of mine. You asked me where we went, I told you and then we continued on.¡± Elizabeth said.


    ¡°But why didn¡¯t you tell me that it was a guy.¡±


    ¡°Because I also don¡¯t tell you when it¡¯s a girl. I just don¡¯t see what the problem is, so I had dinner with a guy that wasn¡¯t you, big deal.¡±


    James was about to counter when Daniel walked back into the room. ¡°Well I need to pick up some stuff for dinner, but other than that I¡¯m fine. So where were we?¡±


    He looked between James and Elizabeth, but he didn¡¯t sense the tension between them. He didn¡¯t even notice the anger in their eyes as he just continued his meeting as normal.


    ¡°Ah I remember, a kids room,¡± Daniel said looking back down at the drawings. ¡°nning on starting a family soon Mr. McGregor?¡±


    Elizabeth looked down and touched her forehead with her hand. Daniel had to be one of the few people in the city that didn¡¯t know about her rtionship with James.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± James replied looking atpapace Elizabeth. ¡°That depends on the woman.¡±


    Daniel missed the look that James gave Elizabeth, but she couldn¡¯t say the same.


    ¡°Ah, yes once you¡¯ve found the right one, things just go naturally. But we can still reserve a room for such an event. Elizabeth what do you think?¡± He said looking over at the woman beside him.


    ¡°Like said before, the space is there, so it is most certainly possible. The only problem I see is that a fully ready baby room, might scare a woman away.¡±

 39

    ¡°Well that¡¯s a rather strong opinion Elizabeth, but thank you,¡± Daniel said, slightly confused. Normally she would be amazed by the fact that even now he didn¡¯t seem to feel the tension in the room. But at that very moment, it felt like she had a stare down with James. What was he ying at?


    ¡°I think a kids room is a good idea. It doesn¡¯t have to hold anything in it yet, but it¡¯s nice to have the space avable just in case.¡± James said, finally breaking his gaze away from Elizabeth and looking at Daniel.


    ¡°Well spoken, well spoken. Alright, that settles it.¡± Daniel said putting his hands together, ¡°Next week the build will start and then my friend, within no time you will have your mansion.¡±


    Feeling that the meeting had ended Elizabeth started gathering her stuff. She didn¡¯t want to talk to James right now, in fact, she didn¡¯t want to see him at all. When she looked at him all she could see was that spoiled brat she saw years ago.


    So quickly and quietly she left the conference room. She knew she had other meetings, and other responsibilities, but right now she needed a moment.


    It didn¡¯t take long for James to notice her absence. Daniel, on the other hand, seemed to be preupied with a story about him and his wife. James knew that he had to go after Elizabeth now, so he quickly excused himself and nearly ran out of the room.


    He looked around for a moment, trying to spot her. She was not in her office or the breakroom, so he ran to the elevator.


    All he saw was a glimpse of her face as the door closed on him. He knew that it would be a long way down by stairs. But he also knew that he had to talk to her now and that he couldn¡¯t risk losing her, so he started the long descent.


    In their time together the two of them hadn¡¯t had that many fights. Sure there had been minor ones, small disagreements. But never had she looked at him like that. Well not since they started dating at least.


    He had felt betrayed when he saw the article. Was that the reason why she didn¡¯t want him toe? Was she seeing someone else?


    He trusted her with all his heart. But he had done so once before, and it had gotten shattered into a million pieces. He wanted to trust her so badly, but he also did not ever again in his life want to feel so broken as he did then.


    But he loved her, so he ran. He ran after her. He ran down all those flights of stairs in his Boss suit.


    God this was a bad day to wear a three-piece suit.


    Once he finally reached the ground floor he saw a glimpse of her hair right as she left the building. He ran after her and grabbed her by the arm. ¡°Elizabeth! Stop.¡± He said turning her around.


    It was only then that he noted that the hair was too light and that this wasn¡¯t Elizabeth.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ I thought you were someone else.¡± He said looking at the startled women in front of him.


    Without saying anything the woman sped of, leaving behind an out of breath billionaire.


    Once Elizabeth stepped into her car she didn¡¯t know what she wanted to do. All she knew is that she needed to get some air. So that¡¯s what she decided to do, she decided to drive. She put the car in gear and sped out of the parking garage and into the streets of New York.


    James tried calling her several times but to no avail. Defeated he looked down not sure what to do at this point. That was when he saw her car round the corner onto his street. He knew that she wouldn¡¯t stop for him, but he knew he had to go after her.


    Thanking God that he had found her so quickly he stepped into an empty cab waiting for a stop sign.


    ¡°Woah buddy, what do you thi-¡± But James cut the driver off. ¡°Follow that car and I¡¯ll pay you triple the amount that you should get from me.¡±


    The cab driver held up his hands. ¡°Alright, whatever you say, you¡¯re the boss.¡±


    Soon the cab started following her car as it rode through the streets of New York. But then it did something that James didn¡¯t seeing, it left the busy part of the city and went into the suburbs.


    What really surprised James that she was headed to a ce he knew rather well. A ce that he in fact owned.


    When he was sure he knew where she would go he told the cab driver to stop. There he paid the man and walked thest part.


    As he rounded the corner in the street he saw her. She was standing right there.


    ¡°Who¡¯d have known you¡¯de here?¡± He said in a soft voice walking over to her.


    Right in front of the two of them was the piece ofnd, they had talked about only a minutes ago.


    ¡°I needed air,¡± Elizabeth said wiping away tears from her eyes.


    ¡°I understand, but we also need to talk.¡± He said soflty.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± James said looking at the ce were soon his mansion would stand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Where do you want to be going?¡± He said turning towards her.


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know either.¡± She said looking down.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± James said surprised at her reaction.,


    ¡°I mean that I don¡¯t know James. I don¡¯t know what I want. I know that I love you and I know that I love being with you, but I don¡¯t know if I can.¡± She said looking at him intently. ¡°It¡¯s just the life that I¡¯m not sure about. The working hours, the paparazzi, the traveling and the list goes on. I love you James, but I don¡¯t know if I can do that. If I can take it to be followed around by strangers only to see my picture in a magazine. I don¡¯t know if I can take it that every time you¡¯re with any other girl then me, they print that as well. And I don¡¯t know if you can take it to see me photographed with some guy.¡±


    James was about to respond when Elizabeth continued talking.


    ¡°Look I trust you, I trust you with all my heart, and I know you weren¡¯t dating all of those girls. But you¡¯ve got to trust me too.¡±All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I do trust you,¡± James said quietly as he felt his heart slowly break. ¡°And I don¡¯t wanna lose you.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t wanna lose you,¡± Elizabeth said looking away. ¡°Where do you see us going?¡±


    James sighed and looked away from her as well. ¡°Here.¡± He simply said looking at the piece ofnd in front of him. ¡°To the mansion.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Elizabeth said looking back at him. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, was that your n for the mansion?¡±


    ¡°What did you think it was?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know, I could¡¯ve asked, but it didn¡¯t feel like my ce to ask.¡± She said.


    ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked, but I should¡¯ve just told you, but I was afraid you¡¯d run.¡±  He said looking up at her.


    ¡°I almost did when you started talking about that kids room.¡± Elizabeth chuckled. ¡°We should have talked about this sooner.¡± She added


    ¡°We should¡¯ve¡­¡± James sighed. ¡°What do you want in the future?¡± he said.


    ¡°Like I said before, I don¡¯t really know what I want. I just need to get my head straight.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that I need time. I¡¯m sorry James.¡±

 40

    James didn¡¯t fight her when she said that. Nor did he stop her when she walked up to him and pecked him on the cheek before leaving.


    For a moment he just stood there, staring at the ce where soon his mansion would stand. Wondering whether he had just done the right thing. It was only after a while that he moved from his spot.


    He sighed as he realized that he hade here by cab and was currently car-less. Quickly he took his phone out of his pocket and called his chauffeur.


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t realize that she was crying until she felt the tears run down her face. As she pulled up for a traffic light she pulled down the mirror and removed the mascara from under her eyes.


    Pushing the mirror back up she debated on what to do next. Soon , however, she decided to drive back to her apartment.


    The second that she walked into her apartment she remembered that her phone was still turned of. Reaching into her purse she grabbed it and turned it on.


    Taking of her shoes she walked further into the apartment. She sighed as she walked into the kitchen and got herself a ss of water.


    Calmly she looked down at her phone but was soon startled by the amount of missed messages and calls. Most of them had been from James but several had been by Daniel.


    Shit! She thought as she realized that she had just walked away from work, without saying a word¡­ As fast as she could she called Daniel hoping that he would pick up right away.


    ¡°Hello?¡± She heard on the other end.All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Daniel! I¡¯m so sorry, I had a¡­ minor breakdown.¡± She said, not able toe up with a better reason.


    ¡°Ah that exins it. Well it can happen to the best of us. Why don¡¯t you just take a couple of days of, you know calm down and get well.¡±


    Elizabeth was quite confused when he said that. She had to admit, Danial was a great boss. But he confused her to no end.


    ¡°Alright?¡± She said not quiteprehending what just happened. ¡°Thank you?¡±


    ¡°Alright, now I¡¯ll take care of your appointments, and I¡¯ll see you next Monday.¡±


    Natalie had a nice and calm morning. She was very pleased to see that Johanna, James his assistant for thest few weeks was still sitting at her desk typing away. Finally had she found the right assistant for him, and finally could she stop doing all that extra work.


    Everything seemed to be great. That was until James walked in.


    His face was set in a scowl and his usually clean shaven face was now adorned by a stubble. With powerful strides he walked into the building.


    Oh boy¡­ Natalie thought as she watched him. ¡°Good morning Sir.¡± She said but was met with nothing more then a scowl.


    Great¡­ Just great¡­ She thought as she dialed the number of Johanna sitting upstairs.


    James usually wasn¡¯t that rude to Natalie, but that morning it wasn¡¯t a good morning. Once he got out of the elevator he was met with the sight of histest assistant. Johanna was quite a nice girl, she was around 23 years old and had short ck hair. She wore thick rimmed sses and usually wore pink lipstick.


    He had to admit, that he actually quite liked her. But seeing her sitting there, right were Elizabeth had sat just didn¡¯t sit well with him. So instead of greeting her like he normally would he just walked straight passed her.


    It was around lunch when Natalie saw her boss again. This time however, he actually spoke to her.


    ¡°Natalie, make me a reservation at an Italian restaurant for lunch.¡± He said, leaning on her desk.


    ¡°Alright sir. Trust my opinion on good restaurants more than your assistants?¡± Natalie said looking at him briefly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that Natalie, it¡¯s just that she¡¯s not the same.¡± He said sighing.


    Natalie was surprised by his response. In all honesty, she had expected him to be brisker, or get angry, but strangely he didn¡¯t. Instead he just calmly waited for to make the reservation.


    ¡°Your reservation is in fifteen minutes at Mno¡¯s.¡± Natalie said as she hung up the phone. ¡°I¡¯ll send the address to your driver.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± James said surprising Natalie. ¡°I¡¯m walking.¡±


    Not that far away from James was Elizabeth. It felt strange having a day of in the middle of the week. Not quite knowing what to do she went to a nearby park to have lunch. So she walked over to a bench and sat down on it before grabbing her lunch.


    Soon her mind drifted to James at first she thought about how she missed him. But then the thoughts of all the other things came back. Sure she was in love with him, but there were so many other factors.


    First there is dealing with the schedule, of course she knew what kind of schedule he had from having been his assistant. But with her having another job then just following him around and him being gone all the time, she didn¡¯t actually get to see him often.


    Then on top of that times when he was away on business the paparazzi seemed to take every chance they got in taking a photo of him with a beautiful girl. Elizabeth knew that nothing had happened between him and them, but still she didn¡¯t like seeing those pictures. Most of those girls he hade across randomly and then snap! A picture was taken before you knew it.


    Elizabeth wasn¡¯t all that bothered by the pictures at first, but then there was this one photo of her with a guy. Just one photo, with an old high school friend of hers. And then immediately he acted as if he didn¡¯t trust her. It was strange how much that had hurt her. That he would even think that she would do such a thing.


    But overall Elizabeth wasn¡¯t to fond of the paparazzi. Every time the two of them would go anywhere there would be pictures of it the next morning.


    And then came that kids room. She didn¡¯t even know if she wanted kids¡­ Well she knew that she did want to. Eventually. But was she ready for it now? Was that what he wanted? Or did he think she wants that?


    On top of that came the mansion. At first she thought that the mansion was just a way of getting to her, but now he was actually going to build the damn thing. Was that his n all along? She didn¡¯t even know how to feel about moving in together¡­ On one hand it seemed great, but was this what she wanted. Was this it? Is he her one and only?

 41

    All James wanted to do was call her. He wanted to tell her that he needed her and that he loved her. But he knew that no matter how many times her phone would ring she wouldn¡¯t pick up.


    He was sitting in his office, nkly staring out of the window when there was a knock on his door. ¡°Come in.¡± He said not looking away from the window.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor, your tux is ready and your limousine will be ready to pick you up in an hour,¡± Natalie said smiling.


    ¡°What? What tux?¡± He said turning towards her furrowing his brows together.


    ¡°For the event, you know the charity g? Tonight? Don¡¯t tell me you forgot.¡±Natalie said crossing her arms.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± he said looking at the window again.


    Natalie sighed as she looked at her boss. Over thest few days, the man had changed significantly. He hadn¡¯t shaved in a couple of days, and every day he would stay and workte. At this point, she had felt bad for Johanna and sent her home at five and would stay behind herself.


    ¡°You know boss, she will be there.¡± She said taking a step closer to his desk.


    ¡°What?¡± He said turning back to look at her with big eyes.


    ¡°Her boss can¡¯t make it, so she¡¯s going in his ce.¡± Natalie said hoping to get him out of this rut.


    ¡°Really?¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes really, so you¡¯ve got to go.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± He said standing up and leaning against the window. ¡°She needs time she said. So I am giving her time.¡±


    Natalie sighed and walked over to him. ¡°Look, I know that I am just the secretary and that I am way out of line here. I can see what she means to you. And I can see how this is hurting you.¡±


    James was about to reply and turned to look at her, but Natalie cut him off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Look, I know you love her and she loves you, it is as simple as that. Now you¡¯ve just gotta go to that g and get that girl.¡± Natalie said grabbing his shoulders and shaking them.


    James was surprised by the behavior of the secretary, but somehow let it happen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as that.¡± He said. ¡°At least, not for her.¡±


    Natalie sighed looking down at the ground. It was then that she realized that she was still holding his shoulders and quickly let go. She let out an awkward cough and straightened her shirt. ¡°Oh¡­ I know it isn¡¯t. But it would be nice if it was.¡± Natalie said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± James said with furrowed brows.


    ¡°Well you¡¯ve got to admit, the mansion was quite much,¡± Natalie said. When she saw the look of confusion on his face she continued. ¡°I mean, it is sweet and all, but it is also quite scary. Having your future set like that. Plus that whole baby room? Did the two of you ever even talk about having children? Did you two every talk about that?¡±


    ¡°No, not really¡­¡± James sighed.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s why she wanted time. It was too much at once.¡±


    Elizabeth practically ran out of her apartment once she finished putting on her gown.


    God, I amte! She thought as she stepped into the elevator. Quickly she put on her shoes and her earnings in right before the elevator doors opened.


    With longs strides, she walked over to the entrance only to find that her ride had already left. ¡°Shit¡­¡± She muttered under her breath.


    ¡°Is everything alright ma¡¯m?¡± Wace said walking over to her. ¡°And might I add that you look stunning tonight.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Wace. And well, not really I amte you see and my ride left.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that right away ma¡¯am,¡± Wace said walking back over to his desk.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°O you don¡¯t need to, I can take a cab.¡± Elizabeth protested.


    ¡°A woman looking like that deserves a better ride than that,¡± Wace said grabbing his phone. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ll get you there in no time. In style.¡±


    Wace was true to his word as only several minutester a limousine stood in front of the building with a chauffeur holding the door open for her.


    ¡°Oh, Wace you¡¯re the best!¡± Elizabeth eximed kissing him on the cheek.


    ¡°I do try ma¡¯m. I do try.¡± He said with a chuckle as he waved her off.


    James had looked everywhere for Elizabeth, but when after an hour of waiting she still hadn¡¯t arrived, he assumed that she would not being after all. He sighed as he walked over to the nearest chair and sat down, putting his face in his hands.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to look up when someone sat down next to him. It was only when the man started talking to him that he looked up.


    But then something else caught his attention¡­


    There she was. Looking as stunning as ever.


    He watched her as she walked into the room, looking around and looking slightly rushed.


    She was wearing a floor-length, red, off-shoulder gown that fit her tightly, but red out at the bottom. Her hair was curled into, what he could only describe as an old Hollywood mour style with loose waves.


    Slowly he stood up from his chair, ignoring the man beside him and made his way over to her.

 42

    ¡°Miss Waverton!¡±


    Elizabeth turned as she heard a voicee from her left, calling her name. It was a young man, probably not even allowed of drinking the champagne that stood on the tter that he was holding. His hair was short and blonde, buzz cut and his full of excitement as he looked at her.


    ¡°Miss Waverton, it¡¯s good that I catch you at his time. The gentleman over there told me, that as soon as I saw you, I should ask for you to join him.¡±


    Stunned by this Elizabeth looked in the direction that the young man was pointing in, quite frankly she saw no one that she recognized. ¡°Who if I might ask?¡± She said furrowing her brows.


    ¡°Mr. Daimon ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± She said walking away from the boy and over to the direction of the man.


    To be honest she still had no clue who that man was. But apparently, that man did know who she was. What would he want from her? She thought as she walked through therge crowd of people.


    James was halfway to walking over to her when he was stopped by a business associate of him, who wanted to introduce him to his wife. James quickly shook their hands and told them that he had to go, but the second he turned around, she was gone.


    ¡°Shit.¡± He muttered under his breath as he started looking around the room for her. The only problem, however, was that the entire room was filled with people, making it harder to find her¡­


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t quite know to whom she was walking over to until she heard her name once more. This time it came from a man who looked to be more her age. He had dark hair and a well-kept stubble on his face.


    ¡°Miss Waverton how nice of you to join me.¡± He said taking her hand and cing a soft kiss on it.


    Perplexed by this Elizabeth quickly pulled herself together and said, ¡°Mr. Daimon I suppose?¡± whilst pulling back her hand.


    ¡°The one and only.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Elizabeth had to admit, he was quite charming. ¡°Why did you want me to join you?¡±


    ¡°I have a business proposal.¡± He said getting a little bit more serious.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Elizabeth said crossing her arms.


    ¡°Well, you see I want to make you a job offer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to stop you right there sir, I¡¯m not looking for a new job, nor am I interested in bing a personal assistant again.¡±


    ¡°I understand, and though you are a very capable personal assistant it was not the job I was reverting to. I want you in a different position, you are far more usefull then just a personal assistant.¡±  He said smiling at her.


    It didn¡¯t take long for James to spot Elizabeth again. The only thing that struck him as odd was the person she was talking to. Quickly he recognized him as Mark Daimon, apetitor of his. Jealousy coursed through him as he watched the two of them talk. It was only when he caught a glimpse of her face that he knew she wasn¡¯t too happy with the man.


    He started walking over to the two of them and on his way grabbed two champagne sses from a waiter walking by.


    ¡°Ah there you are darling, I wondered where you wandered off to.¡± He said walking up to Elizabeth from behind her.


    Quickly she turned her head to look at him. For a split second, he saw the surprise on her face but then she said. ¡°Well, luckily I didn¡¯t wander off that far.¡± She said as he handed her one of the sses.


    ¡°Very true, I still got you your champagne in a very reasonable time,¡± James said cing on hand around her waist.


    ¡°Ah Mr. Daimon, have you met my fiance yet? James McGregor Jr.¡± She said turning back to the other men.


    ¡°Yes, I have, good to see you again James.¡± He said with a nod.


    ¡°Good to see you again.¡± James countered. ¡°But if you don¡¯t mind, then I ¡®m borrowing my fiance for a  moment.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Daimon said with a forced smile on his face.


    James and Elizabeth then proceded to walk away from him. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you,¡± Elizabeth whispered in his ear as they walked away.


    James smiled and replied, ¡°Well it¡¯s the least I can do for my Fiance.¡±


    Elizabeth chuckled smacking his chest.


    ¡°Ouch, I must say though I don¡¯t recall asking you.¡±


    ¡°O shut it, boyfriend sounds so juvenile.¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t mind being called that, not at all. You just took me by surprise that¡¯s all.¡± He said cing his hand on the small of her back.


    ¡°Well don¡¯t get too used to it.¡± She said with a mischevious smile on her face as she removed his hand and walked away again.


    ¡°Wait!¡± He yelled after her.


    He heard herugh as she disappeared in the crowd again. ¡°Then catch me, if you can.¡± She said.

 43

    ¡°So what do you think?¡± James said holding up a blue tie.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just not right,¡± Elizabeth said walking over to his closet.


    ¡°Then do tell me what is right.¡± James replied sarcastically.


    ¡°O don¡¯t worry, I will.¡±


    James smiled, as he shook his head watching the woman before him intently. Standing on her toes she tried to reach the top shelf, her fingers barely touching the fabric above.


    ¡°Let me help you with that.¡± James said walking over to her.


    Elizabeth was about to step away to let him grab the tie, when she felt his hands on her waist. Before she knew it she was lifted up and the tie was at eye level.


    She let out a little yelp, making Jamesugh as she grabbed the tie.


    ¡°Very funny.¡± She said handing him the tie.


    ¡°So what the n?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She said turning around to face him.


    ¡°Are we on for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. I mean I have meetings all day and so do you. Plus you have this thing with Mr. Yamato remember.¡± Elizabeth said as she straightened his tie.


    ¡°Good point.¡± He said putting has arms around her.


    ¡°How bout this, I¡¯ll call you at five, you tell me wether or not you can make it and then I¡¯ll make reservations at the Pompadour.¡± She said giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before grabbing her purse and walking out of his apartment. ¡°But right now I gotta run, so see ya tonight!¡±


    James smiled and shook his head as he watched her leave.


    ¡°Goodafternoon, this i-¡± Natalie started as she picked up the phone.


    ¡°NATALIE! YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS! THIS IS HUGE!¡± The voice on the other end of the line screamed.


    ¡°Mattie?¡± She said flinching away from the phone. ¡°What are you screaming about?¡±


    ¡°Sorry! But you¡¯ve gotta hear this. So today Mr. Urrick walked in talking into his phone about a certain Ms. Waverton.¡±


    That was the sentence that really grabbed Natalie¡¯s interest. ¡°Why was he talking about her?¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s the thing, you see I didn¡¯t know. But at that moment, things were quite busy so I stayed put. Then once I had the change to sneak away I went up stairs with his post. Usually Micheal does that, but I told him that I was going up anyways so¡­ Well, to get back to the story, so I went up the stairs and into his office.


    So there he was sitting behind his desk, talking to a guy I have never seen before. Then I heard them say: Trust me, this girl will be worth it. Especially with the pay she¡¯ll be getting.¡±All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°So why would that be about Elizabeth?¡± Natalie said not quite following the story.


    ¡°Well I got a glimpse of the email that they had sent her¡­ They¡¯re offering her everything¡­ I mean, they want her for a job on the west coast. But they¡¯re offering a house, all expenses payed, and on top of that she¡¯ll be getting a sry that is at least four times mine.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think she¡¯d ept?¡± Natalie said frowning. ¡°I mean she¡¯s had ridiculous offers in the past. She never said yes to any of them either.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but she¡¯d be stupid not to take it.¡± Mattie said.


    The two of them continued on their conversation until they both realized they had jobs to do and got back to them.


    Then around four Natalie got a phone call on her cell phone. Looking down at the caller ID she noticed that it was Elizabeth. Slightly confused she picked up the phone.


    ¡°Hello?¡± She said sounding unsure.


    ¡°Hi¡­¡± Elizabeth sighed. ¡°Have you got a moment?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Natalie said curious.


    ¡°I need your advice. I got a job offer¡­ A really good one¡­¡±


    ¡°Go on¡­¡± Natalie said as a man approached the front desk. He was about to say something when Natalie held up a finger indicating for him to wait.


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t know what to think. I mean the pay is great. The job itself isn¡¯t really up my alley but¡­ Well god, Natalie, everything is payed for, hell he¡¯s even offering me a house¡­ The only problem is¡­ Well¡­¡±


    Natalie on the other hand was gripping the phone with two hands. Patiently waiting for what her friend would say. In all honesty she wasn¡¯t expecting this at all. She had never heard Elizabeth take any of the offerings she had in the past¡­


    The man in front of her started to grow impatient  as this woman was obviously not having a business call. He tapped his foot in annoyance and he looked down at his watch¡­. ¡°Excuse me I.¡± He started but was soon cut off by Natalie.


    ¡°Shhhh.¡± She said holding up a finger to her mouth.


    ¡°I have an appointment.¡± He stated, angered by the secretary.


    ¡°Oh keep your socks on. ¡°Natalie replied as she waved over one of her coges.


    ¡°Lookdy, I-¡± The man started but was cut short once more.


    ¡°Here¡¯s Mary, she will help you now.¡±


    The man was about to reply when Natalie just walked away.


    ¡°Alright now go on, what¡¯s keeping you from taking it?¡± Natalie said to Elizabeth.


    ¡°Well first of all it is in a business setting, so no more architecture. Which is what I prefer, and to tell you the truth it doesn¡¯t suit me at all. And it would also require me to move to California. And that would be away from¡­¡±


    ¡°James¡­¡± Natalie breathed out.


    ¡°Yes?¡± A voice said behind Natalie, startling her.


    Quickly she spun around and was face to face with James himself. God what is he doing here? She thought as she quickly muttered a I¡¯ll call you backter to Elizabeth.


    ¡°Is everything alright Natalie?¡± He said brows ever so slightly furrowing.


    ¡°Yes!¡± She said a little bit to loud. ¡°Yes, everything is fine. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± She said standing up straight.


    ¡°Yeah, there actually is¡­ I cannot seem to get a hold of Elizabeth and I have a meeting in ten. Could you check if she¡¯s free for dinner tonight and if so, make reservations at the Pompadour?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I will¡­¡± Natalie said, still thinking about her phone call with Elizabeth.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re fine?¡± James said furrowing his brows even further.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Natalie said as she started walking away. ¡°I just need to get back to work, that¡¯s all.¡±

 44

    ¡°Talk to me woman!¡± Natalie all but yelled as she sat in a supply closet calling Elizabeth.


    ¡°No need to scream!¡± Elizabeth replied keeping the phone away from her ear.


    ¡°But what are you gonna do? What¡¯s different about this job over all the other ones you refused?¡±


    ¡°Give me a second, I need to find a ce to talk.¡± Elizabeth said, getting up from her office chair and walking out of the room. ¡°Alright, well I don¡¯t know what to do at the moment. And this job is different. It¡¯s not just being someones assistant. It¡¯s an actually important job, something like this you usually don¡¯t get thrown into yourp.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll take it?¡± Natalie said sitting on the edge of her seat.


    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s be real I¡¯d be stupid not to take it. But¡­¡± Elizabeth paused for a moment and sighed. ¡°But this is not what I want, nor what I ever wanted¡­ What I wanted was to be an architect, lead a nice and simple life, maybe get a dog or something¡­ Now I have be an architect, it¡¯s just not nice and simple. But to tell you truth, I can live with that.


    It¡¯s just well¡­ Like I said I¡¯d be stupid not to take it, but I¡¯d be a person I did not want to be.¡±This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Have you told James this?¡± Natalie asked.


    ¡°No, not yet. He¡¯d just tell me that I don¡¯t need the money. Or he¡¯d tell me that he¡¯d move thepany to L. A. or something stupid like that.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡±


    For a while they just talked, they talked about the job offering, they talked their weekends, hell they even talked about the weather. It wasn¡¯t until they were about to hang up that Natalie remembered the dinner reservation.


    ¡°Oh! Before I forget, are you free for dinner tonight? James asked me to ask you that.¡±


    ¡°Oh god yeah I forgot myself. But yes I am, though it will bete and I don¡¯t want to go out. So please tell him I¡¯ll be home at around 7 or 8 and we¡¯ll order in.¡±


    ¡°Will tell him. Talk to youter!¡±


    And with that Natalie hung up the phone and left the supply closet. Quickly she walked around the corner heading back to the front desk.


    Noticing that it was almost five o¡¯clock she put the phone back in its stand and practically ran to the elevator. Once she got inside she pressed the top button as fast as she could and mmed the door close button repeatedly.


    The second the elevator doors opened she was met by the eyes of James himself as he made his way over to the elevator.


    ¡°You.¡±  She said walking over to him in a brisk walk. ¡°Come with me.¡± She pointed to his office.


    James his brows furrowed as he pointed at himself confused.


    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have time for this.¡± She said grabbing him by the tie as she walked passed him.


    Stunned by the whole situation James just followed her not uttering a word. He did however note the surprise on the face of his newest P. A. as she watched him being dragged by the short secretary.


    Natalie pulled him into the office and closed the door behind them.  ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna make this short, and you¡¯re gonna listen.¡±


    James narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms and nodded.


    ¡°Make your move, do something. Honestly I¡¯ve been watching you two twirl around it for too long. I mean I thought something would finally happen after that whole incident earlier. But even then you two just made up and nothing changed.


    If you really want her, you gotta ask her. I mean for gods sake she stayed after the whole house thing, if she stayed after that, it¡¯s safe to say that she¡¯s yours.


    But the two of you need to know where you¡¯re at, so do something because she¡¯s  not going to be the one to do so.¡±


    After she stopped talking, James just stood there for a moment looking at her with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Did you just hear anything I said?¡± Natalie said crossing her arms and raising one eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, yes I did.¡± James said snapping out of it.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°Are you gonna go out and get her?¡± Natalie said louder.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He said realizing what he had to do and started walking over to the door.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Natalie said stopping him. ¡°She will meet you for dinner tonight, but she will be offte, at around 7 or 8 so she wants to just order in.¡±


    James nodded getting ready to leave as he turned back around. ¡°Wait, but what do I do now? I mean I don¡¯t have a ring or anything¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Natalie said walking over to his desk and sitting down behind it. ¡°I can make sure the food will be there and ready. Then all you have to do is get the ring and put on your best suit.¡±


    ¡°Where do I find a ring at this hour?¡± James said walking back over to her.


    ¡°Do I have to do everything?¡± Natalie sighed as she grabbed the phone.


    ¡°What are you-¡± James started but was cut off by Natalie holding up her finger.


    ¡°Yes, hello I¡¯m calling on behalf of James McGregor, He needs to find a wedding ring tonight.¡± She was then quiet for a moment before she spoke again.


    ¡°Good. He¡¯ll be over in ten.¡±


    She wrote down an address on a post it and pushed it into his hand as she hung up.


    ¡°Now go! I¡¯ll call you in half an hour.¡± She said as she watched him leave. For he didn¡¯t have to be told that twice.

 45

    James told his driver to wait for him as he stepped out of the car, right out in front of Tiffany¡¯s.  Straightening his jacket he walked into the store, letting the door close behind him.


    He immediately turned to the first person that he saw.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. McGregor, I presume.¡± The elderly man standing behind the counter said to him.


    ¡°Good afternoon and yes,¡± James replied.


    ¡°Alright sir, I know that you¡¯re looking for a ring, but what kind of ring?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± James started furrowing her brows. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Well, sir¡­¡± The man said turning around and walking over to a drawer. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just show you some examples.¡± He then put down a trey with all sorts of the different ring in front of James.


    ¡°Paul, could you copy this for me?¡± Elizabeth said cing a stack of paper upon Paul¡¯s desk looking frantic.


    ¡°Sure, are you, alright girl.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a little bit overworked that¡¯s all,¡± Elizabeth said as she turned away again. ¡°Now I just have one meeting left, have to bring those copies to Johanna and then I can finally go home.¡±From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Good luck girl, I¡¯ll put them on your desk!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Elizabeth walked over to the conference room and took a deep breath before opening the door. Truth be told, after that moment she didn¡¯t pay much attention to the meeting and mostly spent it staring out of the window.


    It wasn¡¯t until Oscar tapped her arm that she even noticed that the meeting was over.


    ¡°God where are you with your head?¡± Oscar said smiling.


    ¡°O god, sorry I am really tired.¡± She replied gathering her papers.


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± Oscar said, walking out of the room.


    Elizabeth chuckled at that following him out of the room and towards their office. Once she reached her desk she noticed the copied stack of paper left by Paul.


    ¡°Thank you Paul!¡± She yelled out loudly as she grabbed the stack and went over to Johanna.


    It was only ten minutester that Elizabeth reached her car and was on her way back home. Then twenty minutester she reached her apartment.


    She then parked her car in the garage right as her phone buzzed. As she got out of her car she grabbed her bag and fished her phone out of it. Quickly she checked her texts and saw that Jame had sent her one.


    -Food is at my ce


    She chuckled as she sent a quick, ¡®I¡¯m on my way!¡± Before putting her phone back in her bag and walking out of the garage.


    Without going up to her own apartment she walked out of the building and over to James his building. She greeted her doorman and quickly went up the elevator.


    James on the other hand was adding the final details to the dinner. He had put on her favorite suit and set the table. At that very moment her was igniting the candles on the table when heard the elevator doors to his apartment open.


    ¡°James?¡± He heard her yell from the other room.


    ¡°In here!¡± He yelled back, quickly putting away the lighter and straightening his suit.


    ¡°God I have had the longest day¡­¡± Elizabeth yelled, taking of her heels. ¡°I¡¯m so happy for it to finally be over.¡± She continued walking into the room, taking the bun out of her hair.


    The second sheid eyes on everything that in front of her she fell silent. She stared at the table for a moment, then turned to look at James.


    ¡°What is this?¡± She said slowly walking over to James.


    James smirked at her before saying, ¡°Well you didn¡¯t want to go out, so I brought the restaurant to you.¡±


    ¡°My my I feel under-dressed.¡± She saidughing gesturing at her blouse, pencil skirt and bare feet.


    ¡°Nah, for you there is no such thing.¡± He said getting closer to her putting his hand on the small of her back. ¡°Now, please take a seat mdy.¡±


    At that Elizabethughed and sat down muttering a, ¡°God, you¡¯re so cheesy.¡±


    The two of them proceeded to eat their dinner, talking about their days andughing at each others stories. As dinner progressed however, James was getting nervous¡­


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Elizabeth asked the normally calm James.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine.¡± He replied loosening his tie, ¡°Just a little bit tired that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°James your hand is shaking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, trust me. I¡¯ll just go and get desert.¡± With that James grabbed his and her te of of the table and went over to the kitchen.


    ¡°Let me help you with that.¡± Elizabeth said getting up as well and bringing more of the dishes to the kitchen.


    ¡°No!¡± James yelled a little bit to loudly, causing Elizabeth to flinch. ¡°I mean no, I got this, sit down. You had a long day at work.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Elizabeth replied slightly confused.


    ¡°Yeah, just sit down, rx.¡±


    James quickly put the dishes down on the sink and walked over to the freezer. He took a deep breath before opening it and grabbing the two deserts out of it. Both of them were a te with a chocte orb on it. Only one of them however had something else inside of it as well¡­


    He grabbed both of the tes out of the freezer and walked over to the table. ¡°And now for desert, we have chocte surprise.¡± He put down the te with the cherries on it in front of Elizabeth and the one with the raspberries he put down in front of himself.


    This is it¡­ He thought as he sat down.


    ¡°James, though this looks stunning. I¡¯m quite full, mind if we save it forter?¡± Elizabeth said.


    James felt his heart sink¡­ He had always been a confident man, but right now he felt like a teenager with anxiety that had to do a presentation in front of the whole school.


    Momentarily he fell quiet. What should I do? He thought to himself as he stared of in the distance. Should I wait forter ? Or-


    ¡°James are you alright?¡± He heard her say. ¡°I¡¯ll just put this back into the freezer.¡± She said getting up.


    ¡°Wait.¡± He said snapping out of it. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the surprise yet.¡± He stood up from this chair and walked over to her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to eat it just yet¡­ Just break the orb.¡±


    With a confused look on her face Elizabeth grabbed her fork. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is James, but you¡¯re acting strange tonight.¡± She started as she tapped the orb with the fork. ¡°I mean I thought I had a long day, but you seem really stressed out¡­¡± She gave the orb another tap when it broke.


    The second it broke something caught her eye. Something shiny¡­


    She gasped the second she realized what it was¡­.


    James watched her intently as he gently grabbed the ring from the te, and went down on one knee.


    ¡°Will you, Elizabeth Waverton, marry me?¡±


    Elizabeth her mind was buzzing and quite frankly all over the ce. Her thoughts ranged from, so that¡¯s why he was acting strange, to o my god I just got proposed to.


    James watched nervously as she stared at the ring in front of her. Why wasn¡¯t she saying anything? Why were her eyes so big?


    Elizabeth looked up from the ring for one moment when she noticed the look on James his face. ¡°O god, I haven¡¯t said anything yet!¡± She said as  it hit her.


    ¡°I am so sorry! Of course I¡¯ll marry you!¡± She said as she hugged him tightly.


    James didn¡¯t waist any time as he hugged her back. He then released her and put the ring on her finger, and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

 46

    James lifted her of off her feet and soon was holding her bridal style, never breaking the kiss. He smiled as he heard a small yelp andughter.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Elizabeth said breaking the kiss.


    ¡°What?¡± James said slightly annoyed.


    ¡°We should put out the candles.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± James said walking back over to the table, still carrying her.


    ¡°You know you can just put me down right?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± James smirked.


    Elizabeth then blow out the candles and James was about to turn away again.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Elizabeth yelled once more.


    ¡°What is it this time?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we clean this up?¡±


    ¡°Woman you¡¯re killing me¡­¡±


    Elizabeth then chuckled kissing him again.


    ¡°Ah you like that huh?¡± James said smiling as she broke the kiss.


    With that James put her down again. Confused Elizabeth watched him. He smirked right before saying. ¡°You know what? You¡¯re right we should.¡± And with that he cleared the entire table with one swipe of his arm.


    Everything, from the remaining dishes to the candles, crashed down to the floor.


    ¡°James!¡± Elizabeth gasped as she watched it happen.


    ¡°What?¡± He said before lifting he up again and cing her on the table. ¡°I fixed it.¡± He said before continuing what he had wanted to do so badly earlier.


    The following morning the both of them got into workte, and both of them with a smile upon their faces.


    Natalie was sitting behind her desk, waiting for James toe in when suddenly the door opened. James walked in wearing his usual type of suit, but with his hair a little more wild then usual and with a slight stubble on his face.


    ¡°My my, looks like someone had a wild night.¡± Natalie chuckled as James walked over to her.


    Jamesughed at that shaking his head, ¡°What can I say, thedy couldn¡¯t resist me.¡±


    ¡°So I take it it went well?¡±This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°It went great! And you my friend are getting a raise!¡± James said mming his hand on the desk.


    Natalieughed and thanked the slightly over enthusiastic James. She continued to question him about every little detail, until he had to get back to work.


    Elizabeth walked into the buildingter then usual and with a big smile on her face.


    ¡°Well someone looks happy.¡± Paul said as he watched her walk out of the elevator.


    ¡°Someone is happy.¡± Elizabeth replied stopping at his desk.


    ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡±


    ¡°Well-¡± Elizabeth started, but was cut off by a yelp that came from Paul.


    ¡°O My God! He proposed!¡± He all but screamed.


    ¡°How did you?¡± She started again but was cut short once more.


    ¡°Well first of all after all that with the house, I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment. Furthermore you¡¯re inte, your hair is a mess and wellstly you¡¯re wearing a ring with quite arge rock miss thing.¡±


    At that Elizabethughed. ¡°Alright, alright I get it.¡± She looked down at her ring. ¡°You know I must say, I do think it is a bit on therge side.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, when ites to diamonds there is no thing as toorge. Now give  me that hand.¡± Paul said taking her hand and looking at the diamond.


    ¡°Paul it¡¯s about the same width as my finger.¡±


    ¡°Oe on it isn¡¯t that big.¡±


    ¡°But it is pretty close. I mean I wouldn¡¯t have minded having a lot smaller one. Or no diamond at all.¡±


    ¡°That you can do for your wedding ring.¡± Paul said. ¡°O my god! When is the wedding? Have you thought about dresses yet? Have you picked a maid of honor yet?¡±


    ¡°Wow, hold it right there partner. He just asked mest night, you think the first thing we did together was nning?¡±


    ¡°Well either that or practicing for a family.¡± Paul winked.


    James his mind wasn¡¯t really on his work the entire day. At around eleven O¡¯clock in the morning he had his first meeting of the day, and if it wasn¡¯t for his new assistant he would havepletely forgotten about it.


    ¡°Sir?¡± She tentatively asked sticking her head around the door.


    ¡°Yes?¡± James said looking up from his papers.


    ¡°Mr. Robinson will be here any moment now.¡±


    ¡°Ah thank you.¡± James replied getting up from his chair. ¡°Open up conference room 2.¡±


    James quickly checked his tie in the mirror before leaving the room and going to the conference room.


    At the ending of the meeting the James and Mr. Robinson sat and just talked for a moment. ¡°So Mr. McGregor, tell me, how¡¯s life?¡±


    ¡°Very good, just got engaged actually,¡± James replied chuckling.


    ¡°Did you? Congrattions! I must say that I am surprised, after that job offer and all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what do you mean?¡± James replied, furrowing his brows.


    ¡°Well I heard from Urrick about the offer he made Ms. Waverton. It sure as hell as a good one, wanted her to run the West Coast office. But I take it that she declined.¡±


    James was bafled by this statement. Was this true? And if so why hadn¡¯t she told him? Did she want to take that job?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t she tell you?¡±

 47

    When Elizabeth¡¯s phone buzzed in the drawer of her desk she didn¡¯t notice it doing so. Nor did she know the impact of the message. So it is safe to say that at that point she waspletely unaware of what was about happen.


    At that very moment, she was in a meeting. In fact, she wouldn¡¯t read that text until that afternoon. Some say ignorance is bliss¡­


    James, on the other hand, was quite on edge. Ever since that meeting had ended he had wanted answers. Sure he might be overreacting, but why hadn¡¯t she told him anything about that?


    He sat behind his desk, staring out of the window behind him when there was a knock on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± he said not turning around.


    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s 6, would it be alright if I leave?¡± His assistant asked tentatively.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He said slightly dazed. ¡°I mean yes!¡± He said looking up at her. ¡°Yes you may.¡±


    The girl nodded and was about to leave.


    ¡°Wait!¡± He said suddenly remembering something.


    The young woman stiffened as he said that, she had been working for him for a month now and she had been on edge quite arge amount of that time. Sure being a P. A. is demanding, but being a P. A. for this man was downright terrifying. He had fired quite a few P. A.¡¯s after his old one left. Adding to that, knowing that he once had the ¡®perfect¡¯ assistant, doesn¡¯t really brighten spirits.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    So when he told her to wait she feared the worst.


    ¡°Before you leave, did you write down my appointment with Mr. Johnson?¡± He said.


    The youngdy released a breath she didn¡¯t even know that she was holding. ¡°Yes I did sir. Friday the 8th at 15:00 sharp.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Marion, see you tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow sir.¡± She nodded quietly before leaving the room.


    At around six pm Elizabeth got back to her phone, quickly grabbing it before leaving the building. With bag in one hand and phone in the other, she walked into the parking garage and over her car. She quickly opened her car door and stepped inside the vehicle.


    She was about to put her phone away when she noticed the text by James.


    We need to talk¡­.


    That doesn¡¯t sound to good¡­ She thought to herself as she read it. What would there be wrong? She wondered as she debated calling him for a moment. Deciding that she would see him at home she drove out of the garage and to her appartment.


    Once she reached the lobby she smiled at Wace who greeted her kindly, before saying, ¡°The skies are dark today ma¡¯m, they¡¯re dark as can be. ¡±


    ¡°Wace what are you talking about the sun is shining bright.¡±


    ¡°I know ma¡¯m I know.¡± He said pointing up.


    It then clicked in her head that he was most likely talking about James.


    ¡°Ah I see, thank you Wace.¡±


    ¡°Allways ma¡¯m.¡±


    Elizabeth breathed in a big gulp of air as she put the key into the door. Softly she turned the key, not wanting to be heard.


    The door opened slowly and Elizabeth stepped in. She put her bag away and walked further into the appartment. All the way over to James who was sitting on the couch legs spread.


    ¡°We need to talk.¡± He repeated to her as she walked over to him.


    Sitting ros from him he said, ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    He asked her leaning forward.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t tell you what?¡± She said crossing her legs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend, Elizabeth you know damn well what I am talking about.¡± He said getting up from the couch.


    ¡°Pretend? Pretend? How old are you? Tell me what bothers you.¡±


    ¡°The job offer why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± James said.


    ¡°Ah now I see.¡± Elizabeth said getting up. ¡°You heard about that and thought that I had took it?¡±


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know, but why didn¡¯t you tell me is what bothered me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you because I needed time to think. I needed time to think what I want.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want to be happy.¡± She said leaning against the edge of her kitchen table.


    ¡°I want you to be that too.¡± James said looking at her. ¡°I¡¯ll won¡¯t stop you if you want to move there. I¡¯ll buy us a nice house there.¡± He started but was cut of by Elizabeth.


    ¡°See that¡¯s not what I want. I don¡¯t think that will make me happy.¡± She said walking over to him. ¡°You see, I don¡¯t care much about money. You know. Because money can¡¯t buy me love.¡± She smiled. ¡°And I think¡­ That I¡¯m happy and that I¡¯ll remain happy right here where I am. That¡¯s why I called Mr. Urrick this morning to decline his offer.¡±


    At that moment she was standing face to face with him. Slowly she wraped her arms around his neck. ¡°I told him that I¡¯m happy to stay right where I am.¡±


    ¡°God I love you¡­¡± James said right before kissing her pasionatelly.

 48

    ¡°Morning!¡± Elizabeth said to Natalie as she walked into the McGregor building.


    ¡°Morning! What are you doing here? Don¡¯t you have a job to be at?¡± Natalie said confused but smiling at her friend.


    ¡°I do, but I took the morning off.¡±


    ¡°You did now did you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I did.¡± Elizabeth smiled.


    ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡± Natalie said smiling as well.


    ¡°Well-¡± Elizabeth started but was cut off by James who walked up behind her and ced an arm around her waist.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to check out a possible wedding location.¡± He said kissing her on the cheek.


    ¡°That,¡± Elizabeth said right before kissing him on the lips.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Natalie eximed. ¡°O my goodness, did you guys pick a date yet? Did you pick a maid of honor yet?¡±


    Elizabeth chuckled. ¡°No, not yet and yes, yes I did. Unless you don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be honored.¡± Natalie smiled. ¡°I do have to check if my boss will give me that day off though.¡± She nced at James.


    ¡°He¡¯d better, else there will be no wedding at all.¡± Elizabeth said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t have that now can we?¡± James said.


    ¡°But we¡¯ve got to go,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°So I¡¯ll see you tonight Natalie?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡±


    ¡°This ce is huge¡­¡± Elizabeth said, looking around the gigantic room.


    ¡°Well we need a huge ce. Else all the people won¡¯t fit.¡± James replied looking around the room aswell.


    ¡°Who are you nning on inviting? The entire state of New York?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± James stated turning around to look at her.


    In response, Elizabeth chuckled and hit him y fully on the chest.


    ¡°So Mr. And future Mrs. McGregor, do you like our venue?¡± The elderly man behind them asked.


    ¡°It is beautiful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s sufficient.¡±


    ¡°James!¡± Elizabeth eximed, hitting him on the chest once more. ¡°Excuse my fiance, he hasn¡¯t taken his pills today.¡±


    The man chuckled and continued. ¡°Very well, I will leave you to alone for a moment.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± James asked as soon as the man left.


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°So could you see yourself get married here?¡± He asked cing his arm on the small of her back, cing a kiss on her cheek.


    ¡°To tell you the truth I can hardly imagine myself getting married at all.¡± She says walking away from him. ¡°But I do like this ce.¡±


    ¡°We could also go with a church.¡± James said teasing her.


    ¡°Two atheists getting married in a church¡­¡± She chuckled. ¡°No this ce will be just fine¡­¡±


    Natalie smiled at the little piece of paper that she held in her hand. It was rather simple, white paper with ck letters that read:


    Elizabeth Waverton & James McGregor Jr.


    Would like to invite you to our wedding¡­


    The card was rimmed with a gold line and had all of the information on the inside.All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She smiled to herself as she remembered how it had all happened and how it all started. Never would she ever have predicted this oue when James jr. Came to take over his fathers job. And now she was here, watching as the hair dresser put the finishing touches on her best friends hair.


    She herself was already wearing her light blue bridesmaids dress, and currently she was patiently waiting. She was however surprised when her phone started buzzing. Confused she grabbed the thing from her purse.


    The name on the screen was a name she knew all to well. It was Patrick, one of James his closest friends and actually his best man. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a sec.¡± She said to Elizabeth before leaving the room and picking up the phone.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°How is everything going on that side?¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± She said rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Well James wanted to know¡­¡±


    ¡°I guessed as much. You can tell him that everything is fine alright?¡±


    And with that she hung up the phone and went back inside.


    ¡°Who was that?¡± Elizabeth said smiling as she turned around.


    ¡°Who do you think that it was?¡± Natalie asked smiling at her.


    ¡°What did you tell him?¡±


    ¡°I told him that everything is alright.¡±


    Elizabeth stared at herself in the mirror lost in thought. This all somehow felt so surreal. She smiled as she thought back to many of the fun times that the two of them had had together so far.


    Thinking back to the time that he had met her parents, she let out a small chuckle¡­


    It had been not long ago when he finally met them and to tell you the truth it had been long overdue. Both of her parents were originally from Illinois and she herself had lived there for most of her childhood. Later on, in life, she had moved to New York to pursue a career there.


    Her parents had then stayed in Illinois and she would onlye home for the Holidays and Thanksgiving. Then as time went on she started celebrating them with James Sr. As he had no one to celebrate those days with.


    She would call her parents once in a while, but to tell you the truth, she didn¡¯t call them enough anymore.


    Then one day James had a business trip to Chicago and then the subject of Elizabeth¡¯s parents came up. She never really talked about them much, nor had she told James much about them. So when she found out that he was going on a trip in that direction she took the opportunity to have him meet them.


    ¡°But I know virtually nothing about them¡­¡± James said as they got on the ne.


    ¡°Well this is the perfect opportunity to get to know them.¡± She said walking in after him.


    ¡°But do they know anything about me?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± She said sitting down. ¡°Well except for the magazines or things like that. Though I can¡¯t say for sure if they read that.¡±


    Hours and quite a few milester they stood on the front porch waiting for the door to open. As soon as they had knocked they heard a dog barking and people talking. A few secondster the door opened, revealing Elizabeth¡¯s mother, overjoyed at the sight of seeing her daughter.

 49

    Elizabeth¡¯s mother had always been quite an intimidating woman. She stood at a stunning height of ¡°6¡¯3 and tended to wear at least 4-inch heels. With that, she always wore a pinstriped pants suit perfectly tailored for her. Her hair was short, as it had always been, and she wore a big smile on her face.


    ¡°Elizabeth dear, it¡¯s so good to see you!¡± She said hugging her daughter. ¡°And you brought someone, that¡¯s new.¡± She added eyeing James.


    ¡°Mom be nice,¡± Elizabeth said chuckling. ¡°This is James, my boyfriend. James this is my mother, Eleonor.¡±


    Eleonor took a step back from her daughter and looked at James for a moment with a scrutinizing look. ¡°Alright, nice to meet you, James.¡± She said extending her hand for him to shake.


    ¡°Likewise Ma¡¯am,¡± James said taking her hand and shaking it.


    ¡°Strong handshake I like that,¡± Eleonor said stepping further into the house. ¡°Come in¡±


    Eleonor had been awyer for the bigger part of her life. She had started out as a divorce attorney but found the seething women too much of a hassle to work with and decided that criminalw was more up her alley.


    This is why she doesn¡¯t scare easy and walks confidently into any situation. Her husband, on the other hand, was slightly different. He was a veterinarian and spent most of his days tending sick cats and dogs etc. Though very different from his wife, her father was just as hard working.


    ¡°Your father isn¡¯t home,¡± Eleanor said leading them into the kitchen. ¡°He¡¯s got appointments till 5. Can I get you guys something to drink?¡± She said motioning for them to sit down.


    For an hour the three of them sat and talked, James getting to know Eleonor and Eleonor judging James. (In a motherly way).


    Then around five, the front door opened. ¡°Ah, that should be Irving.¡± Eleonor said standing up.


    ¡°Honey I¡¯m home!¡± Irving yelled kicking his shoes of and hanging his coat.


    ¡°Tea or Coffee?¡± She yelled back.


    ¡°Tea!¡±


    He then walked into the kitchen and was surprised by the sight of both his daughter and an unknown man sitting in his kitchen. ¡°Look who dropped by,¡± Eleonor said smiling.


    ¡°Elizabeth!¡± He said smiling hugging his daughter.


    ¡°Dad!¡± She nearly yelled hugging him back.


    ¡°And who is this?¡± He said letting go of his daughter and looking at James.From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°This is James,¡± Elizabeth, whilst her father shook James his hand.


    ¡°Ah, and what are your intentions with my daughter?¡± Irving said holding onto James his hand. For a moment, James looked startled, right before Irving said, ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just kidding. So how¡¯s everyone doing?¡±


    James and Elizabeth ended up staying over for dinner and leftte that evening. ¡°So that wasn¡¯t that bad now was it?¡± Elizabeth said smiling at James as they sat in the back of the cab.


    ¡°No¡­¡± James sighed. ¡°I have to admit it wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°I kind of had a good time.¡±


    That day, however, seemed so long ago now¡­ Elizabeth felt as if time had flown by since she had met James. Well, met James again.


    To think that it had all started with the death of her former boss saddened her. But she knew that he would have been happy knowing that both she and James would be happy together.


    For a moment her eyes teared up thinking about all of it. Quickly she dried it, trying not to destroy the work the hair and makeupdy had put in.


    ¡°Is the bride ready?¡± Natalie said standing behind her.


    ¡°I think I am.¡± She said standing up.


    ¡°Good, everyone is waiting¡­¡±


    There James stood, wearing his newest and best suit, waiting for the woman of his dreams to walk down the aisle.  He was nervous. More nervous then he had ever felt in his life. Looking down at his hand he noticed that it was trembling ever so slightly.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Patrick, his best man, whispered to him.


    ¡°Nervous, but other then that fine.¡± James said trying to keep his hand still.


    ¡°I can imagine. But it will be alright.¡±


    Then suddenly the music started ying, and James looked up.


    There she was¡­


    For that moment he felt like they were the only two people in the world. Her lips curled up in a smile as her eyes met his, taking his breath awaypletely. Slowly she strode towards him, as her father gave her away.


    Now there she was, standing beside him. ¡°You look stunning¡­¡± He said, even though he hadn¡¯t even fully noticed what her dress looked like, for all he had eyes for was her face.


    ¡°Thank you, you¡¯re not to bad yourself.¡± She whispered back.


    The minister then started talking, but neither of them really noticed as they only had eyes for each other.


    ¡°Mr. McGregor?¡± He said snapping James out of it.


    James looked up, as he heard peopleugh, ¡°Good to know you¡¯re still with us.¡± The minister chuckled.


    ¡°Sorry I was just lost in her eyes.¡± James replied, making everyone, including Elizabethugh.


    ¡°Alright, do we have the rings?¡± The minister said, as Timothy stepped forward handing them to them.


    ¡°Now, repeat after me, I, James, take you, Elizabeth, for mywfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.¡±


    ¡°I, James, take you, Elizabeth, for mywfuly wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part,¡± James said as he put the ring on her finger.


    ¡°I, Elizabeth, take you,  James,  as mywfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.¡± The minister then said, which Elizabeth repeated, putting the ring on James his finger.


    ¡°You may now kiss the bride.¡±

 50

    Some timeter¡­


    ¡°Mrs. McGregor, there¡¯s a Mr. McGregor here to see you,¡± Paul said, popping his head around the corner with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Is he now?¡± Elizabeth said looking up from her desk.


    ¡°Why yes, he is.¡± She heard James say as he walked into her office.


    ¡°My my, are you here to pick me up?¡± She said standing up from her desk.


    ¡°Why yes, yes I am.¡± He said as wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed her.


    ¡°O god, I love you¡±


    ¡°I love you too. Now let¡¯s get going to our new house.¡± He said lifting her of off her feet, taking her by surprise.


    ¡°Why?¡± She yelped.


    ¡°Why what?¡±


    ¡°Why did you pick me up.¡±All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the groom usually carry the wife over the threshold?¡± He said smiling down at her.


    ¡°Yes, and you did that after we came home from the wedding and when we went on our honeymoon, and yesterday, not quite sure why you did that.¡± She replied.


    ¡°But this is our first house together.¡± He said starting to walk over to the elevator.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Elizabeth said, ¡°I need my purse.¡±


    He turned back still carrying her. She quickly grabbed her purse and he turned back around again.


    ¡°Wait!¡± She said again. ¡°Sorry I need to log out.¡±


    He sighed and turned back again, and she quickly logged out on herputer. ¡°You know you¡¯re making this less and less romantic.¡± He said as they finally left for the elevator.


    Sometimeter they arrived at the mansion, finally fully finished¡­ Elizabeth was about to exit the car when James yelled, wait! As he ran around the car to her side and opened it. ¡°Mdy.¡± He said with a bow.


    ¡°Why thank you.¡± She said smiling.


    He extended his elbow and she hooked her arm in his. Together they then walked to the front door. From his pocked James got two keys and handed one to Elizabeth. He then unlocked the door with his and opened it.


    Elizabeth was about to take a step in when he swept her off of her feet and carried her in. ¡°Wee home, Mrs. McGregor.¡±


    ¡°Wee home, Mr. McGregor.¡±


    Elizabeth was walking through the house, wandering, taking everything in. Though the general part of the house was designed by her, arge part of the interior wasn¡¯t. Sure most of it was her, but James wanted to do somethings himself.


    Of course, Oscar and Natalie had helped him with that, but the project was eventually taken out of Elizabeth¡¯s hand as he wanted to surprise her.


    So now she walked through the house taking everything in. When she walked across the room they had had a fight about before¡­


    The door was slightly ajar and curiosity got the best of her. Softly she pushed it open. She didn¡¯t know what to expect, but what she saw surprised her¡­


    The entire room was empty. It had white walls and a wooden floor. There were three windows and two doors both of which she didn¡¯t know where they led to.


    He heels clicked on the wooden floor as she walked over to one of the doors. She opened it and noticed that behind it there was a small bathroom. She was about to turn back around when James stood behind her.


    ¡°God, you scared me.¡± She said putting a hand over her heart.


    ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t mean to,¡± James said. ¡°But I wanted this room to be a surprise.¡±


    ¡°You left it empty.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°So we could build whatever we want to build here.¡± He said as they walked back into the empty room. ¡°It could be a study, a guest room, or-¡±


    But he was cut off by Elizabeth, ¡°A baby room¡­¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want.¡± He said, right before she kissed him passionatly.


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!