Marriage Merger

Chapter 23

Ximena got in Adriano's office and shut the door behind her. Her eyes surveyed the room; it had a grey and navy-blue color scheme. There was a large window behind his mahogany desk, and a book shelf beside it. In front of it were three office chairs and the occasional plant around the perimeter. It was quaint to say the least, totally sober much like its owner.

Adriano sat at his desk donning a charcoal suit with a lavender shirt and the first three buttons popped, his jade orbs drinking her in. She felt the magnetic pull from across the room. He was regarding her with such an intense look that it made her feel like she would combust on the spot. It was her outfit he was regarding; a rather tight-fitting red jumpsuit which left little to the imagination whilst showing a bit of cleavage with white Louis Vuitton’s and a white YSL bag. Her hair was its usual mass of curls encamped around her strawberry shaped face, which had no make-up at all.

She stepped forward with calculated steps. "I'm so sorry to just happen on you like this Adriano, but I really didn't know where else to go," she heaved a sigh took a seat at one of the chairs.

"No need to apologize for anything cara," he breathed huskily in his velvety voice.

Her eyes took a quick glance at the hordes of papers before him. "Seems like I've come at a bad time. I could leave if you want-"

"No, stay," he cut her off as he continued to look at her through his dark lashes. "So, why are you here?"

"I've had enough of all of this," she said exasperated as she threw her hands up in frustration. "My mum and sister plus the snobbish party planner they hired are driving me loco. I'm woken up way too early to listen to them exchanging extravagant ideas about what my birthday celebration should be like. As always, my opinion is not even solicited. I hate this," she complained with a pout.

Adriano struggled to fight back a smile. She sounded like spoiled little child throwing a tantrum and he somehow found it adorable. "Have you tried to put an input?" he asked and she sank back in her seat with a blush tinting the tips of her ears.

"No, but that's only because they seem to not need it. It's not like I'm good at any of these things anyways. They love this rich life we have but I feel like it just so frivolous. The menu, the location, what the invitations look like, who’s invited, music, dress code- it's all noise to me. Sometimes I just wish I was ordinary," she said but whispered the last sentence.

Normal families wouldn't be having such blown out events. With her family that was usually the case. Nothing that they all did was simple; it was always over the top. From birthdays, to anniversaries and even some meals felt pompous! Why couldn't she just have a small party, with close relatives and friends not some red-carpet gala?

"You didn't need to hear all that," she spat quickly, once she saw the look, he was giving her. It looked like a mix between pity and understanding.

Nobody more than Adriano wanted to do away with the expensive lifestyle he was practically born into. He too wanted more than anything to be just like everyone else, and to not feel like he was balancing the world on his shoulders. He certainly did not want to be Humberto Dos Santos's son. Not at all.

"I understand where you're coming from but we just have to live with it. The good and the bad. Mostly the bad," he said sarcastically and she laughed. Every time she talked to him she felt better. How on earth could he do that, make almost all her worries go away like that.

Once she'd recovered from her laughter, she took her bag and retrieved a small white box along with couple of cards. She placed them on the desk. "This is for intruding," she said shyly and then slid it over to him. "And these are a couple of invitations, in case you want to invite your friends."

Adriano took the box and saw the logo from Dunkin' Donuts. He smirked as he opened it and found two chocolate doughnuts in there covered in rainbow sprinkles. The invitations he just took and then put them in his top drawer.

"Thank you for these," he motioned to the sugary treats. "I think I'll have these later."

She pointed at him warningly. "No, you will have those right now. Don't make me come over there and feed them to you," she scowled menacingly. His eyes darkened.

"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" he retorted, his voice audibly deeper. Ximena froze in her seat. She didn't know what to do but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own. They stood and then slowly, made their way over to where he sat. He turned in his swivel chair so that he was facing her, the ghost of a smirk playing at his lovely lips.

Ximena opened the box, took a doughnut and then shuffled closer to him. Now they were mere inches apart and she held the doughnut to hip mouth, just like on Sunday. The only difference this time was the way his hand snaked around her waist and she landed on his lap with a soft thud. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "This is a better way of doing it don't you think?" he inquired, his hot breath tickling her ear. She gulped softly, the doughnut in one hand and the other pressed on his hard chest. He leaned back, a wicked yet attractive smirk on his face.

Her whole body felt hot. At that proximity she could she the specs of blue in his green eyes. His face looked like sculpted perfection. She saw the way his scorching eyes flickered to her lips for some time and then back to her eyes. His face moved forward, his lips now brushing against hers but before he could do anything the door opened.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see that," came a voice which caused both of them to instantly retract from each other. Adriano closed his eyes, irritated by the interruption.

"What do you want Carlton?" he hissed, and Ximena squirmed at his biting tone.

Carlton smirked, particularly eyeing Ximena which made her begin to wriggle free of Adriano's hold but he would not budge. In fact, his grip on her waist tightened.

"Your father would like to see you concerning the Argentina crisis, what solutions you've come up with," he replied coolly, his eyes changing into an arctic shade of brown. "I'll just leave you two to finish off whatever it is you were doing. Be in his office in five," he added haughtily before exiting. Ximena could have sworn she saw him shoot her a wink on his way out.

Adriano sighed, momentarily loosening his grip on Ximena which she took advantage of to get off his lap. She cleared her throat nervously as a blush profusely canvased her face and put the doughnut back in the box. She made her way back over behind his desk and picked up her purse. "I t-think it's-uh...best if I left," she stuttered and gave herself a mental kick for it. She could have just imagined what would have happened if Humberto's personal secretary had not opened that door...

"Let me walk you out," he said his voice level and his face giving away no emotion. He stood and then proceeded to open the door so that Ximena could step out first. They walked to the elevator side by side, neither bothering to talk or look at each other. When they got to the elevator, Adriano pressed the button labelled 'L' for lobby. Just as it opened and Ximena was about to step in, he caught her by the arm and leaned to whisper in her ear,

"Next time there will be no interruptions," he promised, his voice dark and alluring. When she gave him a quick glance, his eyes went down to her lips once again and he gave her a devilish smile. He let her go and she hurried to get into the elevator. He gave her playful wink as the doors shut.

Her heart hammered at his words. What had he meant by that?

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Hi guys. Anither chapter up for my fav people! I hope you enjoyed the little bit of romance towards the end there. Next couple of chapters are the engagement party with lots of DRAMA.

Stay tuned!

~Deetronite