Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 121: Chapter 121

Elara was fuming inside. 150 thousand dollars was not even enough to cover the deposit for hiring Yvette for promotion.
Yvette had thought Adrian was just having Elara, his secretary, handle the work. Turned out it was actually Elara's coffee shop.
Yvette was taken aback for a moment, then her expression turned mischievous. She teased, "Is this your girlfriend?"
Adrian smiled. "Not yet. I'm still working on it."
Yvette couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Adrian, I never thought I'd see the day you'd fall in love. I always thought you were totally uninterested in romance."
She suddenly became super enthusiastic, pulling out her phone and opening her WhatsApp. "Come on, let's add each other. I'll have my assistant handle the promotion details with you."
"O-Okay," Elara stammered, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "What about the cost?" She had to ask. If it turned out to be so expensive that it would bankrupt her, she could still back out now.
Yvette looked at Adrian. "Huh? Didn't Adrian tell you? It's free. Consider it a favor for him."
"What? That's not right..." Elara protested.
Seeing Elara's hesitation, Yvette quickly explained, "I've been dealing with a huge problem lately, and Adrian agreed to be my personal lawyer and help me out. So, helping him out with his love life is just returning the favor."
Elara nodded, still a bit skeptical. "Alright." But this meant she owed Adrian yet another massive favor. Elara went over to grab her phone, and added Yvette on WhatsApp. She was still a bit out of it.
Yvette pulled Elara to sit with her on the couch. "What's your full name?"
"Elara Langton," he said.
"Cute name. How old are you?" Yvette asked.
"22," Elara answered.
"Wow, you're so young. Ever thought about joining showbiz?" Yvette asked.
"Huh?" Elara's eyes went wide in surprise.
Adrian cut in, "Yvette, stop trying to rope everyone in. Do you really think my future girlfriend needs to earn money like that?"
Yvette covered her mouth, laughing. "Fair point, but honestly, it's a shame. Faces like yours, totally natural, not a hint of work done, are super rare in showbiz these days."
Elara felt her ears go warm. "Thanks for the compliment."
"Elara, now that Adrian's chasing you, you should keep him on his toes a bit. He's had it easy his whole life. Let him feel the sting of love for once," Yvette said with a grin.
Elara felt a bit awkward but played along. "Yeah, I'll have to think it over."
Yvette shook her head. "It's not about thinking. You should use this chance while he's after you to give him a hard time, especially with that mouth of his. No one's ever managed to shut him up."
Elara wished she could raise both hands in agreement.
Yvette continued, "Once you really get to know him, you'll see he's actually a great guy. He just needs a little patience."
Elara was surprised at how Yvette seemed to know Adrian inside and out. Clearly, their bond was way deeper than just regular classmates.
Adrian, with a cigarette between his fingers, watched Yvette go on and on with her heartfelt advice. "Why are you even more naggy than Paige?"
Yvette shot him a look. "I'm just giving Elara a little mental prep, so you don't finally find a girl and then scare her off with that mouth of yours."
"Alright, if it works out, I'll give you a red envelope," Adrian said.
"Deal. Mr. Hartley, you're so generous," Yvette replied.
Just then, there was a knock at the office door.
"Come in," Adrian called out.
Justin pushed the door open. "Mr. Hartley, the contract's ready. Should I take Ms. Wright to the conference room to go over it?"
Yvette nodded. "Alright, I'll go with Justin to sign the contract. Once that's done, I'm heading out. I've got a few more gigs this afternoon."
Adrian and Elara both nodded, watching as Yvette left the office. After Yvette left, Elara was in a pretty good mood. She never expected such a big star to actually be so easygoing.
Adrian fixed his gaze on her. "You had such a long face just now, and now you're all smiles?"
Elara's smile faded a little. "What are you talking about?"
"When I brought Yvette in, you seemed quite upset."
"You must be seeing things, Mr. Hartley."
"Is that so?" Adrian got up from the couch and walked over to her. "I thought someone here was getting jealous."
"You're just imagining things, Mr. Hartley," Elara replied.
Adrian didn't argue. He simply reached out and pulled her into his arms. He lowered his gaze, studying her intently.
Elara looked away, giving his chest a little shove. "We're at the office. What do you think you're doing?"
His voice was a bit husky. "So it's only off-limits at the office, but at home it's fair game?"
"Quit it, I need to go sort out some paperwork," Elara said.
"Such a model employee. Aren't you tired at all?" Adrian teased.
Elara's temper flared. "You've got a lot of nerve. What do you expect me to do if I'm tired? I still have to show up for work, don't I?"
"Take a nap first," Adrian said.
Elara shot him a look. "Hm?"
"How about I let you nap a bit more this morning?" Adrian suggested.
Elara didn't buy that he was being so nice. She asked cautiously, "Are you serious?"
"I never go back on my word," Adrian replied.
Elara pushed him away, but he pulled her right back. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"To the lounge. Didn't you say I could nap this morning?" Elara said, a little suspicious.
"In my lounge," Adrian replied.
Elara shook her head. "That wouldn't look good."
"Marching straight into the lounge for a nap is what really looks bad. Everyone's just starting their day, and you're already sleeping. People will be gossiping about you all over the office," Adrian said.
Elara wasn't thrilled about sleeping in Adrian's lounge. "Then I won't sleep, I'll just go organize some files. Hey, what are you doing?"
Suddenly, her feet left the ground, and next, Adrian had set her down on the big bed in his lounge. He flipped the covers back, pulled them over her, then lay down beside her and nudged her to lie down as well.
With one strong arm, he pulled her into his embrace. "Sleep now."
Elara asked, "Wait, if you were just going to nap at the office, why even bother coming in today?"
"We'd already set up a meeting with Yvette for today. She's a big star, and her schedule's not easy to change," Adrian replied. "Now that everything's settled, we can sleep."
Elara felt the heat from his body against her back. He was practically burning up, and the chilly bed instantly became warm and cozy. She wasn't really used to sharing a bed with him and fidgeted slightly.
"Baby, I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I'm so tired, just let me hold you for a bit," Adrian murmured.
Elara wasn't having it. "You're the one who didn't sleep, running off to pick up some girl, and now you're whining to me about it?"
His breath was almost scorching against the back of her neck. "It was a last-minute thing. The car that was supposed to pick her up got blocked by fans in the parking lot, so she had no choice but to ask me for help."
"Oh, so a superstar can't even get a car at the last minute?" Elara shot back.
Adrian's deep, husky laugh rumbled from behind her. "Still insisting you're not jealous?"
"I'm just curious," Elara shot back.
Adrian explained patiently, "Her whole team's over abroad, and she flew back last minute with just her assistant. She came to my firm today because her agent screwed her over and needed me to help her out."
"Oh," Elara replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You two sure seem pretty tight."
"Yeah, not bad at all," Adrian replied. "Elara, you done grilling me? Can we sleep now or what?"
Elara pouted. "Oh."
Adrian nuzzled his nose against her neck and went quiet. After a while, Elara heard his steady breathing in her ear. She stayed perfectly still, but for some reason, sleep just wouldn't come. Her eyes kept darting around, clearly restless and overthinking.
"If you keep this up and don't sleep, I might just have to do something to you," Adrian warned in a low voice.
Elara said, "I'm just not sleepy. Maybe you should just sleep without me."
"Is it really that you can't sleep, or is there something weighing on your mind?" Adrian asked.
"Me? What could I possibly have on my mind?" Elara shot back.
"You're not still hung up on me and Yvette, are you? Thinking there's something going on between us?" Adrian pressed.
Elara felt a bit caught out and stayed silent.
Adrian turned her around so they were face to face. Elara noticed the redness in the corners of his eyes. "Yvette has someone she likes, but it's not me," Adrian said.
Elara perked up. "Oh? So who does she like?"
"Victor," Adrian replied.
"What?" Elara blurted out. So it turned out she was actually Ruby's rival in love.
"She didn't even ask me to pick her up at first. She called Victor, but Victor..." Adrian said.
"So what about Victor?" Elara asked.
"He was at your bestie's place first thing in the morning," Adrian replied.
Elara fell silent.
"Now, can you finally sleep?" Adrian asked.
Elara still felt a bit uneasy. "So, since she likes Victor, are you disappointed?"
Adrian thought the way she was being so earnest was actually kind of cute. "Disappointed about what?"
"Oh, come on. You know exactly what I mean," Elara retorted.
Adrian's eyelids drooped slightly, his eyes looking a bit darker from exhaustion. "Elara, there are only two people in this world I've ever been disappointed in, my mom and you." After he said that, a long, heavy silence filled the room.
Elara didn't ask any more. In a soft voice, she said, "Adrian, thank you. Go to sleep." She was grateful that he asked Yvette to help promote her coffee shop.
"Just remember how good I've been to you. There'll be even more, way more than Alex ever gave you," Adrian whispered right in her ear.
His words tickled her heart, like a feather brushing right over it. When his burning lips found hers, Elara forgot all about resisting. Wrapped up in his arms, all that heat made her drowsy in no time.
She didn't even know when she finally drifted off. She ended up waking up because it was just too warm. Elara was surprised by how hot Adrian felt beside her.
She gave him a little push. "Adrian, you're burning up." She kept pushing, but he didn't react. "Adrian?" she called his name.
Elara started to feel something was wrong, so she reached out and touched his forehead. 'Crap, he's got a fever,' Elara thought.