Emancipation

fifty eight

James's POV

I observe from my chair as she tugs her hair behind her ear before opening up the file and passing the flashdrive to her colleague who offers her a smile wider than necessary. It amuses me how oblivious she is to people's attention as she writes down something in her diary before her eyes flicker up to meet mine.

She doesn't even hide her surprise because she was oblivious to my presence when I entered the conference room and took a seat. Almost everyone greeted me, but she was in the corner of the room, fidgeting as her eyes roamed over her laptop screen.

I can't hide my amused smirk at her reaction, and in return she offers me a subtle glare, but with each second it stretches into a small smile. Once I raise my eyebrows at her, she finally grins and looks away, clearing her throat.

"Coffee, Mr. Clark?" The guy from the lounge downstairs asks me and I nod, offering him a smile.

"Thanks. Black, right?"

"Of course, sir."

He moves onto give everyone a cup, except Lillian who obviously denies it so I turn to look at Eve. "Can you ask him to get her a hot chocolate?"

"Sure, Mr. Clark." She gives me a knowing sweet smile that often annoys me, like she knows some secret I don't.

My eyes move to Alex entering the room, she takes a seat beside me, looking a little annoyed so I pass her a questioning frown. "Your best friend has a stick up his ass."

"Hold on, he's your husband now." I chuckle, moving to take a sip of the coffee as I try not to let my amusement be clear.

"He's a grumpy ass in the morning, did you know that?" She groans and takes a cup of coffee from the guy before turning to me. "I mean, I knew that but today it was like he's... just more Hale."

A laugh leaves me at her choice of words because I can imagine Hale getting on her nerves without even realising it. "What did he do?"

"Burnt my dress. I told him to iron it, and next I know there's a big burnt hole in it that he apparently claims isn't his mistake." She grumbles and I bite my tongue to hold in my laughter.

"Hale's not very equipped with home appliances." I inform her. "You're married now, so take it up as your first lesson of things, teach him."

She gives me a look, "You just have to flat iron a piece a cloth, what's there to learn?"

"Do you not know how things work in Hale's head? He's basically a child." I smile amusedly and she runs a hand through her hair, nodding.

"I hate that you're right."

"Always am." I shrug cockily and she just shakes her head at me.

My eyes move to Lillian. She's wearing a dark blue formal dress which honestly suits her way too much for it to be a formal outwear. Her eyebrows are furrowed together and I feel the sudden urge to walk up to her and kiss that frown away.

"Wait, Lillian's presenting today, isn't she?" Alex asks, her gaze following mine.

I nod in return, "Yup!"

"Is it weird?"

I simply shake my head. Lillian and I have been in the meetings together before, and she has had several meetings and presentations with her department, but she's been handling the Texas project so well that Elena asked her to take up this entire meeting and facilitate it for the authority figures of the company, aka her husband, Alex and Rosy. It's a big deal to Lillian, and she almost freaked out yesterday like it's her first presentation at school, but then we practiced it over until she calmed down.