The Personal Assistant.

Chapter 34

James cursed as he smelled something burning. Quickly he went over to the source of the smell and turned off the stove. 

"Shit..." He muttered as he took the lid off off the pot. Why had he suggested cooking himself? I mean except for making breakfast he didn't really know what to do.

At that moment the bell rang, his head turned to see the screen behind him and right there he saw Elizabeth standing. Quickly he dried his hands with a towel and slung it over his shoulder. 

He walked over to the door and opened it. "Come in milady."

"Why thank you." She said taking a step inside. 

"Shall I hang up your coat?" He asked her with a smirk on his face. 

"Normally I would say yes, but right now I would turn that off," She said pointing at the kitchen behind him. He turned around and saw smoke coming out of the oven.

"Shit" He said once more as he nearly ran over to it.

Behind him, he heard Elizabeth laugh as she hung up her coat.

"So how's the chef doing?" She said walking over to the kitchen island. 

"Failing miserably." He said still running around. 

"That's unfortunate," She said frowning. "Need any help?" She said opening her bag. 

"No I think I can manage, thank you very much." He said looking up at her and putting one hand on his side. 

"Alright, alright." She said holding up her hands.

"Thought so." James said smirking and turning around. He was about to continue whatever he was doing when Elizabeth said, "O mister Chef?"

"Yes?" 

"Your towel is on fire." 

"Shit," he said yet again as he tried to extinguish the fire. It, however, didn't work very well as the fire still wasn't out. 

Suddenly he felt water splash on his face. "You really do like doing that, don't ya?" He said as he looked up to see Elizabeth standing there with an empty glass in her hands. 

Her hand went up to her mouth to cover the smile forming on her face and to keep herself from laughing. 

"Go ahead laugh." He said with an amused look on his face. 

Elizabeth started laughing for a moment and put the glass down. "I'm sorry, but you were really getting nowhere with that fire." 

"Yeah yeah, you saved me." He said looking around for a towel. 

"Here you go," She said as she handed him another towel. 

"Thanks," he said as he dried off his face. 

"So cooking might not be my thing." He said looking around the kitchen. 

"I noticed." She said smiling, "How about this, you put on a dry shirt and I'll order take out." She said turning towards her bag. 

"I think that would be a lot safer than to eat what I made..." James replied. 

Elizabeth grabbed her phone from her bag and turned around. "So what would you like-." She stopped mid-sentence as she saw James standing behind her, shirtless, water still dripping down him. For a moment the only thought that went through her head was, my my, he really is a sight for sore eyes. 

"I... Uh..." She started eyes wide, "I'll just order something." 

With an amused look in his eyes, he watched her for a moment, not saying anything. 

"Now you go put a shirt on." She said turning away from him. 

He, however, didn't move. She turned back around again, "O come on, get moving." She said pushing him towards the bedroom. 

"Alright, Alright I'll put a shirt on." He said laughing as he walked out of the room.

It wasn't long after that that he walked into his living room, buttoning the last button on his shirt. "Elizabeth?" He said when he didn't see her. 

"Here." She said from the kitchen. "You really made quite the mess." 

He walked over to her and saw that she was cleaning his kitchen. "You don't need to do that, the maid comes tomorrow." He said his eyebrows furrowed together. 

"Honestly I don't think you can save this pan unless you clean it right away." She said holding up one of his pans. 

"Is that so?" He said leaning on the kitchen counter. 

"Yes, that is so." She said scrubbing the pan, "What were you trying to make anyway?" 

"Spaghetti," He said rolling up his sleeves, "What are you wearing?"

"It is called an apron." She said looking up at him. 

"You brought that thinking you'd need it?"

"Well I was right, wasn't I?" She said smiling. 

"Ouch." He replied shaking his head and helping her clean the pots and pans. 

"Well, I think that that is all." She said looking around the kitchen. 

"I think you're right," James said putting away the last pan. 

Elizabeth untied the ribbon on her back and took off the apron. She then folded it neatly and placed it back in her bag. 

"You know, it hurts, you thinking that I would screw up dinner in advance." He said as he walked over to the kitchen table and motioned for her to sit down.

"I didn't think that you'd screw up dinner. I thought that you'd need some help, and I didn't want to get my dress dirty." She said sitting down across from him. 

"Well, I must say that apron really looked nice on you." 

Before Elizabeth could reply, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." She said getting up. 

"No you're my guest, I'll get it," James said grabbing her arm. "I got this." He said as he walked over to the door. 

Elizabeth sat down as she waited for James to come back. 

"You went with Italian, I like it," he said as he put the food down in front of her.

It was only when Elizabeth looked at the clock that she had noticed how much time had gone by.   First, the two of them had had their dinner and talked for quite a while. The two of them then had a drink in his living room and talked for quite a while. It was around twelve in the evening that she noticed the time. And though she was having a wonderful time here, she knew that she had work in the morning. 

"No I really have to go." She said to James once more as he once more asked her to have one more drink. 

"I've had a great time James, but I've got work tomorrow, and so do you." She said smiling. 

James sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I know." He said.

The two of them now stood near the front door. He took a step closer to her looking deeply into her eyes. Almost automatically she took a step towards him, closing the distance between them. 

One of his hands went down to her waist and the other one up to her face as he kissed her passionately. Her hands went to his neck and into his hair as she lost herself in the kiss. 

When the two of them broke free James muttered, "You should really stay."