BRIANNA

The moment I felt Mr. Adrian’s lips on mine, it felt as if I was in heaven. His lips were the softest I’ve ever kissed. Okay, I’ve only kissed one person in my entire life, and he did it forcefully. Plus, his lips were pretty hard. I started reciprocating the kiss as our lips moved in sync. He delved deeper into my mouth, and we explored each other. His lips trailed to my neck, and he sucked a sensitive spot, and that’s when I lost all control. I let out a loud, long moan—one I’m sure could bring down the entire building if the foundation wasn’t strong.

After sucking my neck to his satisfaction, he moved to my ear and bit my earlobe. He returned to my lips and continued kissing me fiercely, his hands threading through my hair, making it even more disheveled. I did the same to him, messing up his already tousled hair.

“You look so beautiful,” he groaned, his hand sliding to my zipper, and I released another moan. He unzipped my dress, and was about to unhook my bra when I came crashing down from cloud nine. I forcefully broke the kiss and pushed him away from me. I didn’t know how hard I pushed, but I heard him wince slightly as his head hit something.

I quickly arranged my clothes and my hair, glaring at him as he watched me collect myself.

“Why the hell did you kiss me?” I demanded angrily.

“I don’t know... I just kissed you because I felt like it,” he shrugged, as though it were no big deal.

“You shouldn’t have done that. You’re my boss, for fuck’s sake!” I yelled, my heart still racing.

“You don’t have any right to be angry. You reciprocated the kiss,” he said nonchalantly, and I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

“Well, none of this would have happened if you hadn’t kissed me in the first place!” I snapped. The elevator fell into an uncomfortable silence, thick with the weight of our argument.

I couldn’t stop replaying the events from just moments ago, and my thighs clenched, betraying me. I hoped he didn’t notice, because that would have been mortifying. I needed to get away from him, far away, until I could forget what had just happened.

I stood up and went for the door, ignoring Mr. Adrian’s confused gaze. Once I reached it, I began banging on the door loudly, hoping someone would hear and come to get us out.

“Hey! What are you doing? Are you planning to burst my eardrums with the way you’re banging?” he yelled over the noise.

“I’m trying to get us out of here! You can stay here if you want,” I replied stubbornly, continuing to pound on the door. He watched me with an expression that suggested he thought I was crazy. After my hands started aching, I paused, catching my breath before resuming.

Then, suddenly, the elevator jolted back to life. My body jerked with the movement, and the elevator reached the first floor quickly. I practically bolted out of it, letting out a relieved sigh as I stepped into the lobby.

I raised my head when I heard footsteps approaching. Three men walked past me, and I immediately recognized two of them as security guards. They went to meet someone behind me. I turned around and saw Mr. Adrian walking out of the elevator. I thought he was going to spend the night in there.

“Ah! Mr. Adrian, we’ve looked all over the building for you, but we couldn’t find you. We realized you were stuck in the elevator. It stopped because of a power failure, but the power’s back on, which is why it started moving again,” one of the guards explained.

“It’s okay, Brandon. I thought I was going to sleep in there,” Mr. Adrian replied.

I walked out of the building, heading to the side of the road to flag down a cab. It was getting late—8:30 p.m. already—and Mom would be worried. I stood there, waiting for a cab that didn’t seem to be coming.

I was about to give up when a beautiful, expensive-looking car pulled up. The window rolled down, and to my annoyance, Mr. Adrian’s face appeared.

“What do you want?” I asked, frowning.

“I was wondering what you were doing here. Need a lift?” he asked, his voice smooth but with an underlying smugness.

“I don’t need a lift. As you can see, I’m waiting for a cab,” I said, crossing my arms stubbornly.

“Well, it doesn’t look like one’s coming anytime soon,” he stated with a smirk.

“I don’t need a lift! Is it a must to give me a lift?! Or are you planning to take me to your house and have your way with me?” I shouted, my voice rising. If anyone heard me, they’d think I was out of my mind.

“Hey, hey, calm down. If you don’t want a ride, fine. I was just offering to help,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. He spoke to the driver, and the car drove off.

I stood there for a few more minutes, watching the street for any sign of a cab. The cold wind picked up, and I realized the sky had darkened, signaling a coming storm. I decided to head to the bus stop. I slapped my forehead in frustration—why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?

Before I could even take a step, a drop of water landed on me, and soon, more followed. The rain had started, and I hadn’t seen it coming. I counted to three mentally and broke into a run toward the bus stop. By the time I arrived, I was drenched from head to toe, shivering uncontrollably. I should have taken Mr. Adrian’s offer for a lift; now it was too late, and there was no way a bus was coming at this hour. I sighed, resigning myself to spending the night under the shelter.

ADRIAN

My mind kept drifting back to the moment I had with Brianna. I didn’t know why I kissed her, but I sure as hell enjoyed every second of it. She fit perfectly in my arms, and I didn’t want to let go. Only God knew where that kiss would have led if she hadn’t pushed me away. I shouldn’t be thinking about this, and I definitely shouldn’t have kissed her in the first place. Maybe I kissed her because I hadn’t been with anyone in a while. I needed to find someone else, so I could stop thinking about my assistant in this way.

I looked out of the window, noticing it was raining heavily. I hadn’t heard it before—too lost in thought and the loud music Brandon was blasting. But now, all I could think about was Brianna. She was probably still out there, waiting for a cab. I tried to ignore it, but I just couldn’t. I might be cocky and proud, but I wasn’t heartless.

“Turn the car around, Brandon,” I said, my voice firm.

“Where are we going, sir?” he asked, surprised.

“Back to where we saw my assistant earlier,” I replied.

We drove back, but she wasn’t there anymore.

“She seems to have found her way home, Mr. Adrian,” Brandon observed.

“I doubt that. Take the opposite road. We might catch her on the way,” I instructed.

We drove for a while, but still, no sign of her. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a figure ahead. It was a woman, sitting under a shade. As we got closer, I realized it was Brianna.

“Stop the car,” I ordered. Brandon obeyed, pulling over. I got out and made my way toward her. She looked terrible, drenched and shivering, but somehow still beautiful.

I took off my jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She looked up at me in shock.

“Don’t say anything,” I ordered before she could speak, “Just keep quiet.”

She rolled her eyes but stayed silent. I scooped her into my arms, ignoring her surprised gasp, and headed for the car.