The next morning Elle got out of bed and straight into the shower. Just as she was finishing she heard her phone ping, she reached over to get it from the counter. It was a message from Adam."I"m outside your house, I"ll drop you off this morning."
Elle felt her heart drop. She jumped out of the shower and rushed to get dressed and gather her things. About fifteen minutes later she was practically running out of the house and into his car.
Adam looked at her in surprise as she quickly clambered into the car, her clothes were unkempt and her hair was tousled.
Elle turned to look at Adam and saw the smirk on his face.
"What?" She asked, trying her best to hide her panting.
"Were you still asleep?" Adam asked, Elle could hear the humour in his voice.
"No." She said matter-of-factly.
"Really? You seem like you got ready in a rush."
"Well I didn"t." Elle said pointedly.
"Is that why your shirt is on backward?" Adam asked as he started the car.
Elle looked down, and sure enough her sweater was on backwards.
"It"s a casual dress day at work." She said, refusing to admit that she had been in a rush.
"Is that so?" Adam said with a laugh. "You could have told me you were running late; I would have waited. Next time I"ll text you sooner, I didn"t consider that you might be sleeping in." Adam said considerately.
Two questions immediately came to Elle"s mind. First, did he consider waking up at seven in the morning sleeping in? and secondly, he had said "next time". Would there be a next time?
But Elle didn"t have the nerve to ask either.
"The tea is yours by the way." Adam said, gesturing to a cup in one of the holders of the car. "I wasn"t sure, but you seem to prefer tea to coffee."
In an instant all his teasing was forgiven as Elle took the hot cup in her hands.
"I do like tea." She a.s.sured him. "Thank you."
"It"s nothing."
"I"m fine you know." Elle said somberly. "You don"t have to worry about me."
Adam looked at her, her eyes were crystal clear, just like they had been when he first met her. She really did seem to be in good spirits.
"I"m not worried about you." Adam lied. "I just thought you might have left your car at work yesterday since I drove you home. It wouldn"t be polite to let you take a cab to work."
"Is that so?" Elle smiled. She knew he was lying, anyone would worry if someone had cried in front of them, but she also knew he was lying for her sake. He didn"t want her to feel awkward so he acted like nothing had happened.
Soon after Adam pulled up in front of Tae and Elle started to get out of the car, but she hesitated with one hand on the door.
"Hey do you want to go out for lunch?" She asked quickly. Adam looked at her inquisitively.
"I want to treat you to something." Elle said awkwardly. "If you"re too busy that"s fine. I just thought lunch would be better then dinner. Because of the rumours."
Adam watched with a smile on his face as Elle became fl.u.s.tered. "Lunch sounds nice. I"ll come pick you up at noon?"
"Okay."
That morning Elle used her newfound happiness to power through her work. She looked up at the clock every fifteen minutes, waiting impatiently for lunch to arrive.
At exactly noon Elle received Adam"s text that he was waiting downstairs. As Elle made her way outside she b.u.mped into Abby.
"I was just on my way to see you." Abby said cheerfully. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for lunch."
"Ah." Elle"s smile dropped a little, feeling guilty for the lie she was about to tell. "Sorry Abby, I have a lunch meeting today. Maybe next time."
"Oh. Okay sure." Abby said, trying to hide her disappointment.
"Sorry." Elle said before rushing off.
Neither girl"s noticed that, just a few steps away, Jacob had overheard the entire conversation.
Elle enjoyed a nice meal with Adam. When the bill came he reached for his wallet, habitually, but Elle stopped him.
"It"s my treat today." She insisted.
She seemed so happy that Adam couldn"t refuse her, so he watched her as she pulled out her credit card with a gentle smile on her face. Afterwards he dropped her back off at Tae before returning to his own office.
David was puzzled as he noticed Adam return in a good mood. It was such a rare occurrence, yet it happened three or four times in the past two months. But David had no idea that Adam had seen Elle. He just a.s.sumed it was the holiday season that had his boss in a good mood.