The Assistant by Vallen Green Page B

few times when she came into his room to find him already dressed for work.
     
    Some days, he had even purposely refused to leave his bed despite having woken up before her arrival. Keeping to a tight schedule and system made her predictable, and he felt a childish enjoyment in seeing her so worked up when he slept in or moved too slow for her liking. Having her jump into his bed to force him out was a bonus.
     
    Blake wasn’t going to lie, he found her beautiful and his thoughts often went astray when she wore short skirts that showed off her shapely legs. He was also quite certain that Abigail was attracted to him too, even if just a bit, noticing how her cheeks would flush when he was caught in a state of undress. He had taken advantage of that realization by wearing only boxers to sleep despite his preference of a shirt and loose shorts.
     
    Today was one of those days that he decided he wanted to have fun with her, just lying in wait until she arrived.
     
    He had an early meeting scheduled for a project considered to be his biggest yet, even blocking off the entire day just in case things ran long. And he knew that she would be going crazy if Blake was even a minute behind schedule. But what Abigail didn’t know was that he had ended up having dinner with his new client the night before, both agreeing to cancel the day’s meeting after ironing out the deal.
     
    So now he lay in bed, his eyes fixed on his bedside clock as he counted down to her arrival. As soon as it hit 7AM, he heard the familiar jingle of keys and his front door opening soon after. Right on time, he thought, flipping over to his stomach and closing his eyes to feign sleep.
     
    Abigail entered the apartment, shaking her head at the lack of noise. A quiet place only meant that Blake was still asleep. Trust that the one day he needed to be up early is the day he goes back to his antics, she thought begrudgingly.
     
    Marching straight to his bedroom, she was already prepared to give him a piece of her mind, even planning on throwing a bucket of cold water on him if he even tried to ignore her. She harshly pushed the door open, not giving a care at the loud bang it made when it collided against the wall.
     
    Blake snapped his head up at the sound, turning his gaze towards the door. Through half-lidded eyes, he found her with her hands on her waist, a heel-clad foot tapping against his carpeted floor impatiently. He groaned before dropping his head back on his pillow, smothering his smile in the soft down.
     
    “You have got to be kidding me,” she grumbled. “Blake!”
     
    “Go away,” he said, his voice muffled by his pillow.
     
    “Did you forget what today is?” she asked, her voice cracking in disbelief.
     
    “Tuesday?”
     
    “Very funny,” she deadpanned. “For the sake of your career, get up.”
     
    “Give me a break, alright?” he said, rolling over with his back to her. “I had a long night.”
     
    “That’s not my problem,” she pointed out. “You knew how important today is. You should have known better than to go gallivanting all over the city.”
     
    The only response she received was silence. She dropped her arms from her waist and clenched her fists at her sides, trying to hold back a scream of frustration at the idea that he had fallen back to sleep.
     
    Abigail kicked off her shoes so she could have better footing when she tried to pull him out of bed. Blake’s smile widened when he heard the soft thuds against the floor, knowing that she had gotten rid of her shoes and was probably getting rid of her jacket as he lay there waiting.
     
    He felt the cold of the air conditioning hit his feet, finding her at the foot of the bed through the slits of his eyes with his blanket clutched in her fists. She pulled at the soft material only for him to tighten his grip on it, almost making her fall over when it didn’t budge.
     
    “You are unbelievable,” she complained, marching to the side of the bed and