Stepping out of Adrian's cabin, Clara heaved a sigh of relief. Leaning against the door she brought her palm to her chest and closed her eyes trying to ease herself.
She could feel her heart pound against her palm, sensing how nervous she was a while ago. She wasn't that bold to fight against her boss but the way he kept mocking her made her take the brave move.
His deadpan eyes and provoking smirk were enough to stir her anger and she had no regret in being vocal about her thoughts.
She wasn't going to let anyone walk on her, degrading her self-respect just because they held high authority.
Once she felt her anxiousness disappear, she finally opened her eyes only to see everyone staring at her like she was the seventh wonder on the earth as if she had won the biggest battle of coming out alive from the lion's den.
"Ahem!" clearing her throat, Clara sneaked away covering her face from the side, trying to hide her embarrassment. She knew everyone over here would think of her as being courageous enough to face their devil boss but deep in her heart, she knew Adrian wasn't going to let this situation slip away from his mind.
"AHEM... AHEM..." This time the sound was quite heavy and everyone's attention darted from Clara to the owner of the voice.
Austin stood there with a gloomy expression on his face staring at the employees who kept gossiping rather than doing their jobs.
"Are you all tired of your job" his deadpan voice broke their spell and they quickly rushed back taking their seats and resuming their work.
Convince of the outcome, Austin headed to his cabin but didn't forget to pass a sharp glare at the employees before he walked away.
****
[Inside the cabin]
Adrian sat on his chair absentmindedly thinking about the smile he just received from Clara before she walked out of his cabin.
He felt his heart skip a beat and he didn't want to admit but he had missed that smile for a very long time. In these four years, god knows how many times he had dreamed of her but never once had she smiled back at him.
She would stare at him with remorse-filled eyes as if they were accusing him and he had no clue about it. He would jolt up from his sleep when she would suddenly start tearing up and would vanish in the fog never returning.
Never for once, he would fall asleep again because her face would keep haunting him, stopping him from closing his eyes.
The tears she shed would make his heartache and to stop himself from feeling that immense pain he would end up drinking the entire night until he passed out.
It was the only way to ease the throbbing pain in his heart and to stand back without getting affected by her anymore.
Closing his eyes he tried to brush off the feeling telling himself that it was just a façade she was putting up to hide her true appearance. He wasn't a fool to get whipped for her innocent act and let her take advantage of his kindness.
As time passed by Adrian started to get annoyed as the feeling he was trying to suppress back kept surging up. Why was he getting so affected by her, he couldn't help.
Slamming his hand on the table, Adrian stood up and walked into the smoking room connected to his cabin before informing Austin that no one should disturb him.
****
"Boss doesn't want anyone to disturb him at this moment" Austin spoke after ending the call.
"But he hasn't eaten anything since morning" she informed.
"It's normal for him to skip meals. I doubt how he manages to look presentable without having any nutrition in his system" Austin didn't mind being vocal about his thoughts in front of Clara.
He was already impressed with the way she tackled the situation and stood firm on her feet without getting intimidated by Adrian.
Not only he was able to stand his boss's anger but this fragile-looking girl not only fought him back but also made him realize his mistake.
And the most iconic moment was when Adrian smiled looking at her. It was the very first time when Austin witnessed such a heart-touching scene that almost choked him in surprise.
Clara blinked her eyes listening to Austin's words and fell into a deep silence.
'How does he manage to survive all this time if he keeps skipping his meals' Clara thought but then something clicked in her mind and she snapped at Austin.
"What if he is drinking?" Clara had read about Adrian being addicted to alcohol and used them as a substitute to ease his mind.
"Eh... no no he wouldn't do that in broad daylight. He only drinks alcohol when he doesn't fall asleep at night" Austin opened up like a blooming flower to Clara and kept telling her about Adrian's lifestyle.
Clara frowned watching Austin so calmly talking about Adrian. Didn't they care about his health?
Being his previous assistant Austin would've stopped his boss from getting drowned in alcohol as it isn't going to benefit his health anyway. But the way he seemed casual Clara understood one thing and that was no one was able to go against their boss. And Austin wasn't any exceptional.
She wanted to ask more but she stopped herself from crossing the line. She had promised herself she wouldn't get involved with Adrian again and would just do her job and right now it was her duty to get her boss fed.
"But how..." Clara mumbled, to herself catching Austin's attention.
'What is she mumbling to herself' he thought to himself but soon brushed it off and said," Miss Clara aren't you having your lunch?" his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked at him in confusion.
"Huh! Oh, yes, yes sir" Clara blabbered when she registered his words.
"Sir?" Who is Sir here" Austin looked around and then back at Clara who just blinked her eyes in confusion.
Understanding her clueless expression, Austin heaved out a sigh and said," Miss Clara, you don't have to call me formally when we aren't working"
Austin wasn't like those people who bragged about his title. Yes, he was Adrian's assistant, and everyone around here referred to him as Sir. But when he wasn't working, he preferred everyone associate him by his name.
In that way, they didn't feel superior about his post and he would be able to connect with them keeping his rank aside.
"So Miss Clara, whenever we aren't working you can call me by my name. That is Austin" he smiled in a friendly way.
Clara slowly began to relax. She didn't get the chance to interact with Austin as he was the only one who kept tagging with Tristan. But now when he spoke, she didn't find him intimidating.
He looked like a friendly person with whom she could be herself.
"Okay, Sir-.. oops I mean Austin. But there is one condition" Clara's words made him crease his brow.
"You should also call me by my name" The frown on his forehead cleared and he stretched out a smile, nodding his head and they both stepped out of the cabin.
Being the boss's subordinates, they had access to the private elevator.
On their way to the canteen, Austin enlightened Clara about various departments as they rode down every floor from the lift. He kept the conversation light but informative. Now that she was going to work here, he wanted her to get familiar with her workplace.
Reaching the first floor of the building, Austin and Clara stepped out of the elevator and walked to the canteen space.
The moment they stepped their foot inside the vast canteen everyone's eyes fell on the girl next to Austin.
Clara was startled for a moment when she suddenly found everyone staring at her, but she kept walking behind, tailing Austin, ignoring the whispers she heard on her way to the food counter.
"What's so good about her? She isn't even beautiful to get an assistant job" one of the employees gossiped...
"Look at her clothes. Is she going to a market" another one said.
"Did she seduce the boss to get the job"
Several whispers started to reach their ears but soon everything went dead silent when Austin shot a glare at them.
Clara who had been ignoring the shitty words was stunned to see Austin silencing them with just a single glance. She didn't know the man to be this scary when he wasn't smiling and it kinda surprised her.