Adrian Moore closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath before releasing it. “Listen, that’s a form of courtesy for when I’ll introduce you to some of my business partners, nothing else.” Liz thought about it for a moment and then, nodded. “Okay, fine.” He exhaled, not realizing that he’d been holding his breath. “Are we good with the contract or is there anything you’d like to add in it?” “You need to ask for my permission first before touching me.” Liz declared, raising her chin. “And if you touch me without my permission, I can slap you on the face… whether or not we’re in front of people, I don’t care.” She added. “If you agree then, okay otherwise –” “I agree,” Adrian interrupted, accepting her condition. “I’ll ask James to add this and then, I’ll give you a copy of the contract.” “Okay.” “Last night, my grandma saw us together in the hotel lobby, blabbering drunkenly.” He watched as Liz’s eyes widened in surprise. “James told her that you’re my girlfriend and tha
Adrian Moore noticed a little smear of peanut butter at the side of her mouth. Nodding, he pointed at his cheek, “You’ve made a little mess.” And then, pointed at her face from across the room. “Oh,” Liz got herself a napkin and pressed it against her lips. Smiling cheekily, she asked, “Is it okay now?” Adrian shook his head. “It’s right there,” he pointed at his right cheek. Since they were sitting facing each other, Liz thought he meant her left cheek so she dabbed her left cheek to clean it up but then, Adrian shook his head once again, so, she pulled the napkin away from her face. Confused, Liz stopped munching with her hand hanging mid-air when Adrian got up and closed the short distance between them. She watched him lean down until his face would be almost leveled with hers and held her wrist. Forcing the food in her mouth down her throat, she locked gazes with him. He guided her hand towards her right cheek. Liz felt awkward with him being so close to her face when there w
Instead of backing away and holding his hands up, palms out to surrender, a grin tugged at Adrian's lips. “I won’t go shopping with you for so-called high class dresses. I’m fine with my clothes.” She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her mouth closed, not daring to deny it. Her quivering lips and out-thrust chin looked more adorable than determined. Adorable… like everything else about Liz Walters. She was gorgeous, funny, smart… and oh, so damn stubborn. He couldn’t resist teasing her a bit more. “With the clothes you’ve got on, my mom would never accept you as my wife.” Fire snapped in her eyes. “I don’t need her to accept me as your wife. I’m only here to be your fake wife, not someone’s fake daughter-in-law!” “But –” “No buts!” “Listen to me. We’ll have to pretend to be a real couple in front of them, especially in front of my mom. For that you’ll have to look like the perfect woman she’d want to see by my side and you should start with your first impression.” “What’
Liz Walters frowned in confusion. “My money, what money…? I’ve got nothing. Don’t you know?” She asked him through gritted teeth. “And don’t call me sweetheart,” she whispered angrily. “I have a name.” “Chill, woman!” He held her shoulders and lowered his face to her level, forcing her to meet his eyes. “I’ll deduct it from your salary.” “My salary…? How much will all of this cost?” She pursed her lips in disapprovement, glancing at the counter filled with clothes with fearful eyes before meeting his eyes back again. “Not much,” Adrian said slowly as though thinking about his choice of words. “Come on, she’s packing the clothes. We can get going now.” Shaking her head tiredly, she followed behind him. Leaning against the counter and looking at her joining him, he asked the lady, “Did you get the tops?” “Yes, Mr. Moore.” The lady replied politely as she packed the remaining clothes. It was a lot but she was fast. “This dress… didn’t I tell you to get the two of them,” he exclaime
Jocelyn’s face went pale. She looked at Adrian before looking back at Liz. The latter was satisfied seeing her loss of confidence. Poor woman! She totally wasn’t expecting that, Liz thought. She forced a sweet smile on her face as she squeezed her fingers around Adrian’s making him grit his teeth together. He bit back a cry of pain. Jocelyn glared at their conjoined fingers. If her eyes were laser beams, their hands would have been burnt to ashes within seconds. “Does Mrs. Moore know about this…?” She dared question Adrian as though she was superior to him and he was obliged to answer her. “About her…?” She sneered, looking down at Liz with one side of her lips curled up. “She’ll know soon… that is if someone doesn’t already go spill the beans before I tell her.” Adrian’s tone of voice changed to a condescending one. Liz sucked in her lower lip to hide the grin tugging at her lips. “Huh,” Jocelyn rolled her eyes at him. “Do you think I’m a telltale?” “Are you not?” He asked chal
Liz Walters left them outside, heading straight to her room to call it a night but then, Adrian hollered out to her, sounding very close to her bedroom door. “What?” She huffed but still went to open the door for him. Instead of seeing Adrian‘s face, a huge mountain of piled up bags greeted her. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter anything, it moved – the mountain of bags – moved. She was forced to step to the side, letting him walk in. How the hell was he carrying all those stuffs altogether? “No –” she cried out. Not on the bed! She wanted to say but the words died down in her throat when she saw all of it tumbling down on her bed. No! She pouted. Where will she sleep? She was exhausted and to think that she would have to sort out those clothes before sleeping made her just want to cry. “Not the bed,” her mouth turned down. “The sooner you arrange those clothes in your closet and throw out whatever needs to be thrown away, the better it’ll be for the both o
Adrian Moore gave her an once-over and then, slowly shook his head from side to side. “Not really.” “What do we do then?” Liz looked at the front door and then, looked back at Adrian. “Why don’t you hide in my bedroom?” He suggested, already pushing her down the hallway, opposite to where her room was. He didn’t even wait for her response. Liz had no other choice but to run inside his bedroom, looking for a good hiding spot. Once she’d disappeared out of sight, Adrian rushed to open the front door. Like he’d predicted, it was indeed his grandma. “Grandma,” he smiled at the old woman whose smile faded away. She appeared frustrated and slightly pissed. “Did you just get up? Why weren’t you opening the door for me? What are you hiding like that? Is there anything you don’t want me to see? Or someone…” She drawled out, meeting Adrian’s gaze. Adrian’s heart dropped to his stomach. “Hiding…? Why would I hide anything from you?” “I don’t know. You tell me,” Mrs. Moore tilted her chin a
It’s been a week since Adrian’s grandma had paid them a surprise visit. Liz had nothing to do except help Ben, short for Bennett Dubois, Adrian’s butler, clean and cook while Adrian went to work every morning. She really enjoys Ben’s company. The forty-year old man was very friendly, kind and funny and, was sometimes sarcastic. Unlike the people she’d known for being simply sarcastic because they weren’t amused, she took his hint of sarcasm as a sign that he was in a good mood since he would only do so to entertain her. She was focused on cleaning her bedroom when someone knocked at the front door. Ben wasn’t at the house. He had gone down town to buy some groceries. So, Liz immediately thought that he’d come back but she was wrong. It was Adrian’s mom… his step-mom. She’d recognized her from the pictures Adrian had shown her the other day. She couldn’t help but gulp when she remembered the conversation she had with Adrian back at the restaurant. This woman wasn’t his real mom.