His smoldering gaze was too much for me to handle, so I looked down at the coffee I was making for him. After few minutes of silence, he pulled away from me and leaned on the kitchen counter beside me, his face was facing me. I released the breath that I was holding in with relief.
His presence was too intimidating today. Because you almost got caught, my inner voice told me and it was absolutely true.
"So… tell me, Adeline, Don't you think it is hard to stay with your brother and that too in a crumpled apartment like this? Where do you sleep? It seems like there is only one bed here." He asked me casually, tucking his hands in his pockets. His eyes never strayed away from my face, as if he was mesmerized by me. And it looked like he didn't want to miss out on my expressions.
"If you don't mind, when will you leave?" I asked him with a frown. He raised his eyebrows at me with a smirk.
"Why? Already affected by my presence." He asked me with a twitch of a smile on his lips.
"I am not!" I protested and gave him his coffee. He chuckled at my expression, it seemed like he was chuckling and smiling a lot today. But when I was, Mr. Sandros, he emanated dominance and arrogance.
"I will leave once your brother arrived here," he told me with a lopsided grin. I gave him his coffee with wide eyes.
How was I supposed to arrive when I was already with you?
I was extremely aggravated at this point.
"How strange, how do you know that I like black coffee? I didn't even tell you what I want," he asked me as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Err…I don't, I just guessed."
"How strange," he murmured.
"Excuse me," I told him and grabbed my tote bag which was lying on the kitchen counter. I wanted to get off this place. From the way, he was reacting to my answer, I wonder whether he had already discovered the truth. And I couldn't even act properly because of his coerce aura.
I reached out to my closet to grab a suit. It was time for Mr. Sandros' entry.
"What are you doing?" he questioned me. He was leaning on my couch.
"I am going to pick up my things because I am staying the night with my girls," I told him and hid my suit inside my pajamas set and dropped it into my bag.
"You are leaving already?"
"Yup, have to go, bye. I hope you don't rob my apartment…I mean my brother's apartment." I corrected myself, as I moved around my studio apartment to grab some necessary things.
"Just stay here until your brother arrives." His suggestion made me pause in my tracks. I slowly turned in his direction and looked at him. He looked cool as a cucumber and his eyes never left my figure.
"Nah! I am good.' I suddenly replied to him and resumed my work of packing things.
I could hear the clicking of his shoes on my wooden floor, following me. I was really infuriated by his behavior, I stomped on the floor and turned around quickly to give him a piece of my mind, but as usual, I lost my balance due to the force and stumbled.
"Woah! Easy there," he wrapped his arms around my waist and saved me from my epic fall. I was extremely mortified, my face flushed with embarrassment.
"You are just as clumsy as your brother," he told me with a smirk. I could feel his thumb softly rubbing at the curve of my waist which was covered by my shirt. My heart rate was rising like global warming.
His face looked flawless and very handsome in a dark way. If Arsenio was an angel, then, Jedrick was the fallen angel. I focused on reality and his statement fueled my already sour mood.
"I am not!" I defended myself and pushed him away from me. He chuckled at me as if my actions were entertaining him.
"Sure," he teased me and his eyes were sparkling with delight. I know, I was being a brat and showing my frustration on him, but what surprises me was, he was being patient with me, which I had never noticed in him before.
"It is not even afternoon yet, but you're leaving already, I will call your brother and after he arrives here, you can leave, how does that sound?" He asked me, as he took out his phone to dial me.
"NO!" I shrieked and grabbed his hands in mine. His hands were so warm in mine, and it was so big and rough, yet his skin was so smooth.
My eyes widened as if, I was caught off guard in front of a car. My mobile was with me and I didn't put my phone in a DND mood. He would easily find out that I was disguised as his beloved secretary.
He looked at my small hands which were clutching onto him like my life depends on it, his thumb made soothing circles on the back of my palm and I pulled my hands away from him with embarrassment.
"I mean he is on a date, I don't want you to disturb him and besides Sunday is a day off, right?" I reasoned out and didn't give him time to respond to me.
"I have to go. I have some other work, bye Mr. Jedrick." I fast-walked out of my apartment as if my ass was caught on fire.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" he asked me with a strident voice. My hand was on my doorknob.
Uh! Oh!
"Through my brother," with that, I escaped my apartment, without hearing his response. I fast-walked to my car, scared that he would trail behind me.
I drove to a nearby mall and changed into my suit in the lady's room, but I didn't fix my wig. The old lady beside me gave me a weird look as if asking me 'why I was in a three-piece suit'. I shrugged her off and exited the place, carefully examining it.
I fixed my wig inside my car and drove back to my apartment. I was anxious to face Jedrick. I fiddled with my fingers and took some deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
I looked at my face in the mirror and Mr. Sandros stared back at me with an apprehensive look. My car was now parked in the parking lot of my apartment.
Here goes nothing, I exited my car and entered my apartment building, every step I took closer to my apartment was heavy and it made me tremble with trepidation. I stood in front of my apartment, contemplating whether to open my door or not.
"Mr. Sandros, I know you are here, enter," came his booming voice. I was startled with wide eyes. The door clicked open and there stood the devil in all his glory.
"How do you know that I am here?" I asked him with a baffled look. He raised his eyebrows at me as if asking me 'did you forget anything?'
"Sir," I added on second thought. He looked satisfied and opened the door wider for me to enter. I entered my apartment in a daze, looking at his face. But his gaze was not focused on me.
"I saw your car coming here through your balcony," he pointed out. I made an 'O' with my mouth and nodded my head at him in understanding.
"Mr. Sandros," he suddenly called me without sparing me a glance.
"Yes, sir."
"You never told me that you have a sister," his question caught me off guard.
"…." I was speechless and gave him a look of incredibility. Of everything in this world, he had to bring out my non-existent sister.
"And that too a beautiful sister," He muttered under his breath but I heard him.
"What?!" I screeched with disbelief, did he really say that, I wondered with wide eyes.
"Nothing," he waved me off with a bored expression, not giving me much attention to my outburst. I scrutinized my gaze at his face and gave him the stink eye.
He was lying, I heard him call me beautiful. Did he really mean it? Did he really find me beautiful? Did that mean, he still didn't find my real identity?
"You never asked me about her," I grumbled.
"Hmm…Fair enough," he gave me a thoughtful look and looked down upon my face, examining me. I felt like a bug under the microscope,
I looked down at my feet, uncomfortably. I noticed that instead of shoes, I was wearing my flip-flop, I cringed at the sight. I could feel his burning gaze on me which made me, visibly squirm on my spot.
"How was your date?" he asked me, casually and walked near the balustrade of my balcony.