Clara was about to take a step but stopped when she recalled how he had yelled at her in the morning accusing her of invading his privacy.
Brushing off her curious thoughts, she turned her attention back to Leo's cooking. It was better for her to not have irked him. Her previous stupidity made her run a marathon and now her legs were in no state to run anymore.
Standing there she watched the old man prepare the side dishes and her eyes caught the sight of one of her favorite dishes.
'Radish pickle' she thought and a smile appeared on her lips that caught Leo's attention.
"That young master's favorite side dish. He likes to eat it every time he has a meal" Leo stated bringing her focus to the man. "Huh"
Clara looked at Leo in surprise. She recalled the time, they went to eat lunch and she buttered him to taste the pickle for once but he would reject it saying it tasted salty.
Never once he agreed to taste it then how come it became his favorite side dish? She couldn't help but ponder.
Once the dinner was prepared Leo arranged it on the dining table. Clara helped the man as she felt it odd to stand there still without doing anything.
She kept glancing at the stairs, waiting for Adrian to show up but even after forty minutes passed she could see even his shadow descending downstairs.
"Is he fine" she mumbled suddenly getting restless. She knew she was in no place to worry for him but being his assistant she had to look after him.
"Uncle Leo, why is it taking so long for the boss to come down," she asked after a lot of hesitation and turned to look at Leo who shrugged his shoulder having no clue.
"I don't what's taking him so long. He must be here by now" Leo who was now getting worried for his young master placed the plates on the dining table and walked past her," I will have a check on him" he said as he walked away.
Clara who could sense the anxiousness in his voice couldn't help but get concerned and she too followed him but stopped midway when they heard heavy footsteps ascending downwards.
Adrian walked with all his glory unaware of the two pairs of eyes staring shockingly at him. He took his time to freshen up and once he was done she came downstairs.
Giving them a dull look, Adrian walked past the two who stood there like a dumbstruck fool.
"Are you both going to stand there" his deep voice broke their trance and they quickly returned to where he stood.
Clara stood behind Leo and heard the man speak," Young master the dinner is ready"
Adrian averted his gaze towards Leo giving him a light nod and then his attention went towards Clara who seemed to be avoiding him.
"Miss Mathew... I want you to join me for dinner" he said and walked towards the dining table.
Clara snapped her head up and was about to oblige but her words died when he didn't wait for her reply and headed straight towards the huge table.
Taking the seat, Adrian, flung open the napkin resting it on his lap, waiting for Clara to come and join him. But when he didn't see her coming he drifted his eyes to her and found her standing in the same spot.
"Miss Mathew" he called her name a little louder this time and motioned her to join him.
Clara on the other was hesitant to have dinner with her boss as she felt it was wrong when she was on her duty.
"I don't think I can join you boss" Her words made Adrian raise his brow.
"Why so?" he quickly inquired.
"I am here to work" she stated.
Clara was already feeling embarrassed after Adrian had lunch with her and Austin in the office canteen. She could tell that this one incident could lead to much gossip but she chose to ignore it.
She was already getting death glares from his female fan following and him having food from her plate must have added fuel to the already irk rumors.
Adrian bobbed his head agreeing to her words, resting his hand on the table and joining his palm, giving her words little thoughts," How about you take it as compensation for sharing your part of the food with me during lunch"
Clara's eyes grew big as she astonishingly stared at him," Compensation" she mumbled under her breath.
"Yes, didn't you share your food with me earlier? Take this dinner as compensation for it" Adrian could tell she was trying to draw a line between them but he wasn't going to let that happen.
If she wanted to act dumb, then he would make her remember the times she spent with him, until she acknowledged them.
"So now, let's not waste our time debating because I'm hungry" he declared before she came up with something and motioned Leo to serve the food.
Clara pursed her lips into a thin line. Though she was contemplating, his words made sense. Why not take it as compensation and not as a forbidden thing, she thought and without pondering too much she pulled a chair for herself before taking the seat.
Adrian nodded mentally and soon Leo served them food and they began to eat. The entire dining table was silent as both Clara and Adrian maintained silence.
Clara wanted to finish the food so, he could complete her next duty, which was to watch Adrian go to bed. Though she found the condition lame still, she couldn't object to it.
She kept reminding herself that she was being paid for the work and that ignoring it would only land her in trouble.
Adrian on the other hand was a little skeptical to see her eat so fast as if she was in a hurry.
"You can slow down Clara," he muttered low but it was enough for her to pause.
Calling her by her last name sounded so ironic because he had never once associated her except with her real name Clara, his bright star. The one that gave hope to his dull life but then, it was all a dream.
Her eyes fluttered at his remark. This was the second time, he had called her by her name and she felt like a cool breeze passing through her monotonous life.
"Huh," she looked at him and heard him clear his throat.
"I said you can slow down Miss Matthew. The food isn't running away" he rephrased his words and quickly moved his eyes from her.
Clara shut her mouth realizing how indecent she looked as she kept stuffing her mouth like she had been starving for months.
Bobbing her head, she slower her actions and took a bit from her food when Adrian passed her the pickle plate," Here have some"
His words again took Clara by surprise but this time she hid them well before she passed the plate back to him," I don't like them" and this time it was Adrian who was surprised.
"Weren't these your favorites?" he asked with a frown appearing on his forehead.
"It was but not anymore," she said with a plain tone and raised her eyes to meet his calm one.