Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 76: Chapter 76

After a hot moment, Adrian leaned gently against Elara's shoulder, his warm breath making her weak.
"Ouch. Adrian, what's your deal? Why do you have to bite me every single time? Do you have some weird kink or something?" she glared at him.
Adrian chuckled softly, "That makes three I owe you."
Adrian got off her, casually slipping into his robe before tossing her a teasing remark, "Better claim your compensation soon, or I might lose count."
Elara shot Adrian a playful look. "Oh, don't trouble yourself, Mr. Hartley. I'll just keep saving them up. I have a good memory."
Adrian looked at her curiously. "Weren't you the kind of girl who could find fun even in a hotel stay? Why are you playing it so cool now?"
Adrian leaned in, hunger in his eyes. "So, which one's the real you, huh?"
Elara shot him a playful look. "Well, Mr. Hartley, care to guess? Which version do you prefer?"
'Which one do I like? Well, the answer's pretty obvious,' he thought.
But when the words left his lips, they came out differently. "Me? I'm not into women who can't control themselves. That's just a bit too wild for me."
Elara willingly played the submissive role, coaxing him, "Alright, I'll quit that kind of fun from now on. I'll be all yours, Mr. Hartley. Whatever you prefer."
Adrian knew Elara was just sweet-talking him again. He nipped at her earlobe, playful yet tinged with punishment. "Starting with your sweet lies again?"
Elara pouted and protested playfully, "I'm not."
Adrian headed off to the shower. Meanwhile, Elara washed her hands and went to make him some brunch.
Adrian had a bit too much to drink at dinner last night, so Elara came over early to make him some soup to settle his stomach. But the moment she stepped in, he pulled her straight onto the couch to have sex.
After more than an hour of that, she swore her wrists were about to give out. Her hands were shaking so badly while cracking the eggs that she could barely keep hold of the bowl.
Elara thought to herself, 'Bastard, even 150 thousand dollars a month still isn't worth all this hassle.'
Half an hour later, Elara had brunch and coffee ready on the table when Adrian emerged from the bedroom.
Adrian lounged on the sofa, casually replying to a few text messages on his phone. "Fly to Marisiton with me tomorrow."
Elara was a bit taken aback. 'Do I, as a personal assistant, have to tag along on business trips too?' she wondered.
"Fine," Elara agreed professionally, though there was a hint of resignation in her tone.
Adrian frowned. "Are you sure you can go?"
Elara blinked in confusion. "Huh? Why not? I'm your personal assistant. Of course, I can. How many days is it? I'll need to ask Frank for leave."
Adrian replied, "A week."
Without a second thought, Elara texted Frank, telling her she'd be working overtime and couldn't make it to class for a while.
"Alex's engagement party is in two days. Are you sure you want to come to Marisiton with me?" Adrian asked.
Elara nodded. "Yeah, perfect. I don't have to go to the engagement party after all. I've never been to Marisiton before. Is it fun?"
"Marisiton isn't exactly some exotic place. How come you've never been there?" Adrian was stunned for a moment.
"My mom never let me go there," Elara replied.
Elara found herself sitting across from Adrian at the dining table. For the first time, they were having a real conversation over a meal.
Adrian teased, "Was your mom worried you'd get lost or something?"
Elara shook her head. "When my mom was younger, she worked at a big company in Marisiton. She always said people there were really shrewd and kind of snobbish, so she never wanted me to go."
"Your mom's from Veritasiton, but she worked in Marisiton? What did she do there?" he asked.
"Finance. My mom was quite the powerhouse when she was younger. They say that whenever anyone in the industry heard she was leading a project, they knew they didn't stand a chance," Elara explained.
Adrian asked, "Which company?"
"That's your friend's group, the Kalmien Group. She was the marketing manager there at the time," said Elara.
Adrian paused briefly, then resumed eating his eggs.
Elara tidied up Adrian's bedroom, bagging his dirty laundry, replacing the trash liner, and brewing him a fresh cup of coffee. The entire morning passed in a whirl of efficient activity.
Adrian lounged on the sofa, cigarette in hand, watching as Elara carried out the kitchen trash, put on her coat, and slung her bag over her shoulder—clearly about to leave.
Adrian said casually, "Take out the trash and come back. I've got more work for you."
Elara thought, 'Huh? What now?' Before she could even ask, Adrian had already turned and headed into his study.
Elara had no choice but to set her bag aside and head downstairs, trash in hand.
Upon returning, Elara headed straight for Adrian's study. The study door was ajar. Standing at the threshold, Elara asked, "Mr. Hartley, what else do you need me to do?"
Adrian was dressed down in a loose gray sweater and matching lounge pants, a far cry from his usual business attire that kept people at arm's length.
Adrian set down the documents and crooked a finger at her. "Come here."
Elara walked over to Adrian. Adrian tilted his chin toward a book on the table. "You know how to write a book report?"
Elara blinked in surprise. "Huh?" She thought, 'A book report? Isn't that something we only did in our school days?'
"Write me a book report on this today," he said.
"Oh, okay," Elara said, picking up the book and getting ready to leave.
Adrian glanced up and demanded, "Where are you going?"
"Huh? I'm going back to read. This book's so thick. I should hurry back and start on it," she said.
Adrian adjusted his blue-light glasses. "No need to waste time going back and forth. Just read it here."
"But I thought you couldn't stand having people over at your place?" Elara said.
Adrian lowered his head, pretending to focus on the documents, deftly dodging her question. "While you're at it, make me another coffee. This one's gone cold."
Elara found it utterly baffling, but she still went to brew the coffee obediently.
'While I'm at it, I might as well make one for myself too.' Elara thought, 'Might as well treat myself on the boss's dime.'
Adrian's study was spacious. Elara deliberately chose the sofa farthest from him and soon lost herself in her book. It was a book about juvenile delinquency.
The protagonist, born into a dysfunctional family, developed a severely distorted worldview. Lacking emotional empathy, he committed domestic violence against his girlfriend, among other issues.
Honestly, Elara found the book quite heavy all morning. She practically frowned her way through the entire second half.
Since she had to finish the whole book, Elara didn't have time to make lunch, so she asked Ruby to bring over a simple meal from the café. Unusually for him, Adrian didn't nitpick about it.
That evening, Elara sat at Adrian's desk, recalling the book's plot as she wrote her book report. Frowning and chewing on her pen, she looked every bit like a diligent high school student hard at work on her homework.
From across the desk, Adrian watched Elara, unable to suppress a smile at how earnestly and stubbornly she was concentrating.
Adrian chuckled and teased, "Why do you look like a kid struggling with homework? Is it really that tough?"
Elara nodded and said, "Honestly, this is even tougher than my homework back in grade school. It's just that the subject matter in this book is way too heavy."
Plus, Adrian insisted she analyze it from a psychological perspective.
However, many of the root causes of juvenile delinquency could be explained psychologically. Solving these social problems wasn't just about education. More importantly, the primary responsibility lay with the family upbringing.
Elara didn't finish writing until 10 p.m. She stretched her back and thought, 'Finally, school's out. Wait, no. I mean work's over.'
Elara handed the finished book report to Adrian. He glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You actually took this pretty seriously, huh?"
'Right? Got to take the boss's assignments seriously—wouldn't want my paycheck docked,' Elara thought.
Elara looked at Adrian and asked, "How's this? Mind if I call it a day?"
"Not bad at all," Adrian said, genuinely impressed.
"Alright then, I'm off for the day. So, tomorrow morning, should I meet you at the airport or come pick you up here? What time do we—hey." Before Elara could even finish her question, Adrian suddenly swept her off her feet.
Elara tensed up and shot Adrian a glare. "Adrian. Not again, what are you up to now?"
Adrian swept Elara up into his arms and, in just a few strides, carried her from the study to the bedroom. Before she could react, he deposited her onto the king-size bed, the lights still off.
A shadow loomed over Elara, and she gulped nervously. "Adrian, seriously? Again? Didn't we just make love this morning?" Her hands felt so weak.
Adrian said, "Guess I owe you four now."
Elara's weak protest was muffled as he pulled her close again.