Xander had barely settled behind his desk when Adrian strolled in unannounced, a paper cup in each hand and a knowing smirk plastered on his face.
"You've been avoiding me," Adrian said, placing one of the cups in front of him.
Xander didn't look up from the document in front of him. "I've been working."
"You know," he began, eyes glinting with mischief, "I thought she was going to be trouble."
Xander didn't look up from the file he was reviewing. "Who?"
"Your assistant," Adrian clarified, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Two nights ago, she was at the club. Then poof, she's your assistant? Real suspicious."
Xander gave him a warning glance, but Adrian waved a dismissive hand.
"I'm just saying. At first, I thought she was planted or something. But she's not what I expected. She's… polite. Professional. And somehow…" He shrugged. "Everyone likes her."
Xander shifted slightly but said nothing.
Adrian leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "Even Cassian and the secretaries like her. You realize how rare that is, right? Especially with Cassian? The man has trust issues. I swear he's got a sixth sense for liars."
Still, Xander remained quiet.
"And you," Adrian added with a smirk, "you've got a thing for her."
That made Xander finally look up. "I don't."
Adrian's grin widened. "Then you won't mind if I ask her out?"
"No." The answer came so fast, so firm, it stopped Adrian mid-sip.
"No?" Adrian echoed, surprised. "Why is that so?"
Xander exhaled slowly, setting his pen down with practiced calm. "You know how it ends every time you date someone from the company. They get emotionally attached. You break up. They get hurt. They quit. I'm not dealing with that again."
Adrian tilted his head. "That's your excuse now?"
"It's not an excuse. It's policy. You can't date my employees."
Adrian looked at him, really looked at him, and smirked. "You never cared about that before. This isn't about protecting her. You just don't want me anywhere near her."
Xander didn't reply. Silence stretched long enough for Adrian to chuckle.
"She's different, huh? Looks like my joke turned out true."
"No it's not." Xander said sharply.
"Right," Adrian drawled. "So that's why you glared at me like I'd insulted your bloodline when I said I was thinking of asking her out?"
"She works for me," Xander said curtly.
Adrian's brow arched. "Since when did that ever stop me? You've never cared before when I dated employees."
Xander's jaw tightened. "It never ended well. I'm not letting that happen to her."
Adrian scoffed, clearly unconvinced. "Please. That's the best lie you could come up with?"
Xander didn't respond, and that silence was more telling than anything else.
"You didn't care before," Adrian pointed out. "So what's different now?"
"She's different," Xander muttered, almost to himself.
Adrian grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "Aha. Knew it."
Xander threw him a sharp look. "Don't."
"Don't what?" Adrian's grin widened. "Don't call you out for falling for your own assistant?"
"I'm not falling for anyone," he snapped, though it came too fast, too defensive.
Adrian gave a slow, amused nod. "Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night, man."
Before Xander could retaliate, a soft knock came on the door.
It creaked open slightly, and Erin peeked in. "You said to bring the updated vendor list."
Xander immediately straightened, his expression smoothing into unreadable calm. "Come in."
She stepped inside, professional as ever, handing over a neat folder. "I reorganized it for clarity."
"Of course you did," Adrian muttered under his breath, still watching her like she was the most interesting puzzle he'd seen in months.
Erin glanced his way, offering a polite smile. "Hello again."
Adrian's grin returned in full force. "Hello, Assistant of the Month."
Xander shot him a warning look, but Erin just chuckled softly, as if unfazed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should," Adrian said. "But, just to be clear… if you ever decide you're tired of working under Mr. Grumpy here, I'm always hiring—"
"She's not going anywhere," Xander cut in sharply.
Both Adrian and Erin blinked at him.
The moment hung awkwardly before Xander added, more calmly, "She has a lot of work to finish. That's all."
Erin's lips twitched in amusement, but she turned gracefully and exited without another word.
Once the door shut, Adrian leaned back again, arms folded behind his head.
"She hasn't flirted with you once, has she?"
Xander glanced sideways. "What?"
"She's polite. Capable. Professional. Beautiful. And she hasn't flirted with you once. That's gotta be throwing you off."
Xander didn't respond, but Adrian could see the truth in his silence.
"Face it," Adrian said with a shrug. "You're used to women fawning over you. But she's not playing that game. That's why you're interested."
"I'm not—"
"—Interested. Yeah, yeah. Heard you the first time." Adrian stood and made his way to the door. "Just letting you know—you've got it bad."
Xander closed the file he was pretending to read. "She's temporary."
Adrian blinked and turned back. "Temporary?"
Xander leaned back in his chair. "Just trying to get on my good side. Same pattern—be the perfect assistant, impress me, get a promotion, flirt a little, hope to catch my interest."
"But she hasn't flirted with you."
"What?," Xander said, eyes narrowing. "I mean it's only her first day."
Adrian burst out laughing.
"You're unbelievable, man. You get mad when they flirt, and now you're mad when they don't?"
Xander gave him a look, but Adrian just kept grinning.
"Maybe she's just not into you," Adrian teased.
"She's not here to be into me," Xander muttered.
Adrian was clearly enjoying himself. "Well, if you're so sure it's all an act, maybe I'll test the waters. Just a coffee."
Xander glared. "Try anything and you can kiss our corporation good bye.."
Adrian paused, hand on the doorknob, grinning from ear to ear. "So protective already?"
"Get out."
Chuckling, Adrian left the office, his laughter echoing down the hall.
Xander leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He really hated how Adrian got under his skin. Hated more how accurate he could be.
But he wasn't wrong about Erin being different.
And that unsettled him more than he liked to admit.