Hot Potato

Lucian stared at her incredulously. She came here so early in the morning to annoy him, right?

"Unhealthy? Do you want me to prove you how healthy I am?" he questioned, bringing his face closer to hers; his warm breath hit her neck.

That alerted the nerves in Valerie. In panic, she took a step back and took in a deep breath, repeating in her head to calm down. It would be disastrous if she got stirred up.

Lucian noticed the frown that formed on her features.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

°°°

As Lucian walked out of the shower, the delicious smell of pancake wafted into his nose. Following that, he noticed that Valerie was setting up the table.

Noticing his presence, she asked, "Syrup?"

"Maple," he responded, "it's somewhere around in the kitchen."

Valerie nodded before entering into the kitchen to search for it. He folded his hands over his chest and watched with interest as Valerie went through the cabinets. After five minutes of looking around, she placed her hands on her waist.

Was she frustrated?

He decided to let her continue her endeavors for at least ten more minutes. That ought to make up at least one fourth of the embarrassment he suffered early in the morning.

This was first time a woman asked about him brushing his teeth when he tried to seduce her, and he was more than sure his breath didn't stink.

Reaching out for the cranberry syrup from top of the refrigerator, he pulled out the chair to sit down and was about to start eating. He had to admit that these smelt heavenly; he wondered where she brought them from.

As he was about to pour the syrup over the pancake, a loud slam resonated, pausing his motion. He tilted his head to look over at the kitchen.

Valerie had her palm against the kitchen counter. She took deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

'No, Valerie, no. You can't lose it.'

After that, she went back to searching, making him wonder whether or not she was a fool. She had clearly looked over the entire place once. There was no maple syrup.

Did she think it would appear if she looked for it twice?

Lucian shook his head and picked up his fork, beginning to eat the pancakes. They tasted as good as they smelled.

Then, in a playful tone, he said, "Ah! Right, I forgot! It had been a year since the syrup was over. Forgot to restock."

This made Valerie halt in her actions.

Was she going to get mad at him? The thought of that tickled his fancy. He hated how she didn't lose her composure no matter what the situation was. It felt as though she didn't have any basic emotions— like a doll, pretty but empty.

That action of anger from her now was that rare show of emotion from her.

Valerie stood up straight. Her eyes that stared at him were blank.

"Five more minutes left for you to finish eating," Valerie voiced out. Her tone held no indication that he made her uselessly search around for more than ten minutes.

Her phone started to ring following that. Taking out her phone, she stepped away prior to receiving the call.

'Did she have breakfast before coming here?' Lucian wondered before shrugging his shoulder and going back to eating.

°°°

"We don't have time for this," Valerie commented as Lucian brought her over to the clothing store.

Removing his sunglasses, he stared at her from top to bottom. Her suit met with disapproval from him.

"Ms. Valerie Davies, you will be acting as my assistant today, not my boss. Do you think your attire is fit for the day?"

Before Valerie could argue on that, a petite woman came to greet Lucian and flashed him a smile. Valerie kept tabs on Lucian, and from that, she knew the relationship they shared. It exceeded the level of friendship.

"Now, what's the urgency that got you to rush me up so early in the morning?" she questioned, folding her hands over her chest.

Indicating towards Valerie, Lucian uttered, "Fix her up for me into something more, uhm, cute."

"Cute?"

The woman raised one of her eyebrows and examined Valerie. The recognition made her eyes widen, and she voiced out in shock: "Isn't she— whoa, seriously!"

"Amelia, I hardly have time for a chitchat."

To say that Amelia was baffled would be an understatement. More than that, she felt intimidated. Media didn't exaggerate when they commented how Valerie's mere presence was nerve-wracking.

She didn't even know how to deal with this hot potato.

A warning from Lucian before would have been appreciated! At least then she could have pretended to be sick.