Chapter five

Chapter 005

Adrian's POV

I was in the middle of a board meeting when my phone buzzed.

Kelly: Don’t be late! . I’ll pay for the meal; don’t worry.

I reread the message.

I shut the folder. "We’re done."

I looked up to see twelve executives staring at me.

Jonah, my assistant, leaned forward. "Sir, we still need to discuss the Sterling acquisition."

"We’ll do that tomorrow."

"Sir, your wife…"

I looked up.

He cleared his throat. "Enjoy your dinner, sir."

I stood, fastened my jacket, and headed out. I’d built this company from the ground up over the past ten years, and I'd never missed a meeting.

But I’d never been asked out to dinner by a woman who wanted to pay.

As I walked into the car park.

I saw a small red car three spots away. The engine was just turning over and the woman looked up, blinking.

Kelly.

I turned my face away and climbed into the car. "Drive."

My driver sped off.

I watched her drive away through my tinted windows.

Too close.

"Sir, you should tell her," Jonah said from the front.

"Not yet."

"She works for you."

"I know."

And that was the issue. I hadn’t intended to give her a promotion. I just wanted to know who she was. The morning after our wedding I told Jonah to get her file. By lunchtime, I had read through all her reviews, reports, and projects she had taken on over the past six years.

She had earned that promotion three times over.

I just signed the paper.

It had nothing to do with her sleeping against my chest.

"Get me some clothes. Something plain."

Jonah blinked. "Plain sir?"

"Normal clothes."

He stared. "Sir, I’m not sure you have anything like that."

"Buy some."

The bar was very noisy, warm, and busy.

I found her at a corner table. She was looking through her phone with a small smile on her lips. She was wearing a simple white blouse, black trousers, and her hair was tied back.

She looked up and saw me.

Her whole face lit up.

"You came!"

"I invited you."

"I know but I was worried you’d be busy. Come sit with me." She patted the seat next to her.

I sat down.

"Order whatever you like," she said, sliding a menu across. "Seriously, order anything."

I skimmed through the menu. "Is there a limit?"Absolutely not. Today, I am rich."

I almost smiled. "I thought you were rich yesterday."

"Yesterday I was a branch manager. Today however, I’m a Managing Director." She leaned forward, her eyes twinkling. "I’m making ten times more than what I was earning. Ten times more, Adrian!"

"Congratulations."

"Congrats!" She said enthusiastically.

I smiled. "Congratulations."

She giggled and clapped.

Something fluttered in my chest.

Our waiter arrived and straightened up when he saw me.

"Mr. Haw…"

I coughed loudly.

He froze.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked turning.

"I’m fine. Just something caught in my throat."

He nodded. "I’ll get your drinks."

He sped off, almost knocking into a tray.

"That was weird. Does he know you?" she asked.

"I come here sometimes."

"Oh. That’s nice." She shrugged. "It’s probably the kind of place a normal guy would come."

I didn’t correct her.

The food arrived and she insisted on filling my plate. She talked nonstop about her new office, how the executives had smiled too much and how weird it was to be called Ma’am by people who previously ignored her in the elevator.

I listened.

I realised I’d been listening for over an hour and hadn’t checked my phone once.

"How are you?" she asked randomly.

"How am I?"

"You never tell me anything. What do you do?"

My fork hovered.

I’d been expecting this question. I’d practised in the car.

"I work in… management."Management?"

"Mainly admin."

"Oh." Her eyes softened. "Don’t worry. It’s just a job. Are you earning enough to…"

"I am."

"If you’re struggling I can help?"

"I’m not."

"You could come live with me. My apartment is big enough and you wouldn’t have to pay rent."

I almost choked on my water.

She patted my back. "Easy, easy."

Live with her.

It would be so easy to say yes. But it would be a disaster within a week. I’d have to explain why my clothes were more expensive than her car.

"We should take our time," I said carefully. "We’ve only just got married."

"Fake married," she corrected.

My chest tightened slightly. "Right."

"But we could be friends." She tilted her head. "Legal friends."

"Friends."

She smiled. "Thank you for coming that night. I know I made things complicated but I really don’t regret asking you."

I looked at her hand over mine.

Small and warm.

I forgot how to talk for a second.

"I don’t regret saying yes."

Her cheeks flushed and she pulled her hand away. "Okay! Dessert!"

She argued with me the whole time. Trying to convince me to try the lava cake. I told her I don’t eat sugar.

But she won.

I reached for the bill.

She smacked my hand. "No! 

"Kelly."

"Adrian."

"I can pay."

"I know but I want to." Her voice softened. "Please let me. I never get to pamper someone who isn’t trying to take advantage of me."

Ouch.

I let go.

She paid, smiling like she’d won a war. I tried to think of the last time someone had paid for me.

I couldn’t.

The night air was chilly outside and she wrapped her arms around herself. I wanted to drape my jacket over her shoulders.

"I'll drive you home,"Do you have a car?"

My driver was parked across the road, blending into the shadows. I had texted him to stay hidden.

"It’s a friend’s."

She looked at me thoughtfully. "You have a lot of friends with cars."

"I have a lot of friends."

"Hmm." She raised an eyebrow. "I thought I saw you in the car park today."

My heart pounded.

"No. I was at the office."

"Which one?"

"The other one."

She stared.

She giggled. "I must be going mad. I’m getting too excited."

I took a slow breath.

Before she could ask anything else, my phone buzzed.

I looked at the screen.

Jonah: Sir. The wedding video has gone online. It has thousands of views. Your face is in a few videos.

I slowly looked up.

She was still smiling at me, completely oblivious. Her phone was in her hand and she was hovering her thumb over the screen.

Her phone lit up.

I can't help but wonder which message came into her phone.

Hope it's not the wedding videos too and I hope there are no comments from anyone who recognized who I truly was.

The feeling of restlessness settled within me.