CHAPTER 49: 49: CHANGED

Adrian closed the door, the heavy mahogany clicking shut, leaving Alexander alone with the ringing silence and the ghost of Adrian’s tears. The CEO slowly walked back to his chair, staring at the two untouched coffees on his desk. He picked up the one he’d just taken a hurried sip from and set it down hard, the ceramic clattering against the wood.

’I am not gay, and I do not like you... You’re timid, clumsy, and your looks are below average.’ The words, uttered only moments ago with cold precision, echoed in his mind. He’d intended them as a shield, a final, brutal assertion of dominance to squash the dangerous question. Instead, he felt a sharp, unexpected pain where his conviction should have been.

He’d called Adrian’s appearance "beneath average," a blatant, calculated lie. He’d been fixated on those deep grey eyes and the stubborn set of his jaw since they met. And "timid" and "clumsy"? Adrian had just stood toe-to-toe with him, tears and all, and given him an ultimatum.

Alexander rubbed his temples, the words and the image of Adrian’s trembling, accusatory finger burning behind his eyes. He didn’t like that look—the look of disgust and hatred. It felt wrong. Adrian was supposed to be submissive, or at least secretly awed, not heartbroken and defiant.

"Good," he muttered again, trying to reclaim the control he felt slipping away. "He’s finally learning his place." Again, that hollow echo of his words told him he’d just lost his own. He was the one reeling, knocked off balance by a secretary who had just demanded the one thing Alexander couldn’t give: respect for personal boundaries.

Outside the office, Adrian walked straight to his cubicle, moving on pure adrenaline. He ignored the sympathetic, fleeting glance from Athena. He slammed his hand on his desk, drawing a few eyes to himself, but he didn’t care.

He sat down, his shoulders shaking slightly, but he didn’t cry again. He felt an exhausted sense of peace. He’d done it. He’d laid bare his greatest fear—the fear of becoming Alexander’s property—and his boss had confirmed it with chilling cruelty, even as he denied any true attraction. The insult was a necessary sting. It clarified everything.

’He doesn’t want me; he wants obedience.’

The truth was a cold balm. Alexander’s kiss was never about affection; it was about dominance and a wounded ego. Adrian had called his kiss "insignificant," and Alexander had responded by punishing him with a "significant" one, one that was meant to break him.

But it hadn’t broken him. It had freed him.

He was done with confusion. He was an employee, and he owed a debt. That was all.

He powered on his computer, his hands still slightly unsteady. He needed a task, a focus, anything to drown out the memory of Alexander’s cold smile.

As if on cue, a notification flashed on his screen—an email for Alexander’s schedule. He hadn’t been the one to set that reminder, but he could tell that Alexander did it to indirectly tell him about his mother’s visit that afternoon.

MESSAGE:

Mr. Cole,

Please review the attached itinerary and notes for Mrs. Devereux’s visit this afternoon. The CEO requires you to be present and available at all times starting at 14:00.

CRITICAL NOTE: Mrs. Devereux is expecting a brief, professional introduction to you, the CEO’s Executive Secretary. The CEO has specifically instructed that you are to maintain a demeanour of utmost efficiency, respect, and compliance while she is present. She is to have the impression that you are an exemplary, completely dedicated member of his staff.

Be in the CEO’s office ready for a briefing by 13:00.

— A.P. (for Mr. Devereux).

Adrian stared at the words: "utmost efficiency, respect, and compliance."

He could do that. He was a professional. He was also a damn good actor. Alexander wanted an obedient secretary for his mother. He would get one.

A slow, cool smirk touched Adrian’s lips. Alexander wanted a performance.

’Two can play that game, Boss.’

Adrian stood, snatching a printout of the email, with his pen rolling between his fingers, and he walked it back into the CEO’s office without knocking.

Alexander was on the phone, his back to the door, staring out the massive window overlooking the city.

Adrian placed a printout of the email on the desk.

"Sir," Adrian said, his voice level, professional, and entirely devoid of the fury and pain from minutes before. "I have reviewed the protocol for Mrs. Devereux’s visit. I will be ready for the briefing at 13:00. I assure you, you will have no cause for complaint regarding my conduct."

Alexander slowly turned, the phone still pressed to his ear, his gaze sharp. He saw the cold, efficient mask Adrian now wore—the face of a perfect employee. The tears were gone. The defiance was gone. The nervousness was gone, too.

He was gone.

Adrian nodded once, a crisp, secretary-like motion, and then retreated, closing the door softly behind him, leaving Alexander to stare at the spot where the rebellious human had just been replaced by the flawless machine.

"Yes, mother. We will be home, soon," Alexander lowered his phone and sighed.

For the first time, he didn’t feel like working anymore, he couldn’t even concentrate even if he tried. He thought of distraction and his eyes immediately went to his door.

He remembered Adrian telling him about stocking the kitchen last night, what better time to do it than now, when he was completely useless at the office?

He knew he shouldn’t let Adrian walk away freely after speaking to him in that manner, but he also knew that Adrian was right. He was his boss, but not his boyfriend, and he had no right to kiss him.

"God, how did I even ever start kissing my secretary?" He muttered and rubbed his face in exhaustion.

"I need to leave," He said and immediately switched off the computer and walked out of his office.

"Mr. Cole, with me," he said as he walked past Adrian’s cubicle.

Adrian rolled his eyes as Alexander strode past him. He simply turned off the computer, grabbed his bag, and followed Alexander into the elevator.

As they rode down, he busied himself with his phone, not once looking at his boss in front of him. He didn’t need another silent moment between them.

Alexander glanced at Adrian and realised that he was really at ease, almost as if he had forgotten his boss’s existence.

No lip biting, no blushing, no hitching breath, just a compliant secretary following his boss’s rules.

The elevator hissed open and Adrian walked out before Alexander could even take a step, his head buried in his phone.

’How liberating it feels not to have a stupid crush on a stupid man!’ He screamed in his head as he walked over to the car, standing by the passenger door.

Alexander stood at a distance and stared at Adrian smiling at something on his phone. That feeling rushed back to him, the feeling that made him kiss Adrian out of impulse, it was making him want to go over there and snatch Adrian’s phone and demand that he pay attention only to him.

An idea popped into his mind. He had a way of keeping Adrian away from his phone.

"You’ll be my driver for the day, Mr. Cole," Alexander said as he walked over to Adrian, dangling the dar key in front of him.

Adrian paused, lowering his phone from his face. He grew anxious as he looked into Alexander’s serious eyes.

He chuckled nervously, "You want me to drive your car?" He pointed at himself then at the expensive car.

Alexander didn’t answer but only cocked a brow, keeping a steady eye on Adrian. He smirked in his head as he saw the faint blush stain Adrian’s cheek.

’So I still make you blush,’ Alexander narrowed his eyes as he stared at Adrian.

Adrian sighed, "I am not refusing to drive you, sir. But, I am scared I might scratch the car and will be unable to pay for the damages." He said politely, taking a step backwards.

Alexander walked up to Adrian and dropped the key into his palm, "We can always add it to your ridiculous debt, Mr. Cole. Drive." His smirk was imperceptible as he watched Adrian’s hand clench around the key.

He was sure Adrian was going to start his speech about how he couldn’t afford to scratch the car, how he wanted to be free from his debt, and how he wanted his life back.

"Alright. I’ll drive," Adrian said and walked around the car to get in through the driver’s door.

’What?’ Alexander frowned.

He blinked in confusion as he saw Adrian already sitting inside the car and starting it. He didn’t think Adrian would actually do it.

’Is my clumsy, timid secretary really gone? Will I ever see him stutter and blush again?’ Alexander sighed and reluctantly got in beside Adrian.

"Where to, sir?" Adrian questioned, placing his phone on the dashboard mount.

Alexander buckled in and cleared his throat, "The mall." He stated.

Adrian shrugged, "Yes, sir." He replied and very carefully, drove the car out and onto the road.

He kept steady, not looking left in right. His pulse was racing but he had sworn to himself to never let his emotions show in front of Alexander anymore. He was now changed, and nothing can take him back to his he used to be.

Alexander hasn’t taken his eyes away from Adrian since he entered the car, his hands clenching and unclenching as he fought the urge to reach out and trace his hand over Adrian’s delicate and smooth chin.

’Not beneath average at all... way above average...’ He paused, shocked at his own thoughts.

At that moment, Alexander knew that he was in much deeper trouble than he knew. He knew that the more Adrian was by his side, the more that unknown voice in his head would push him until he does something he’d regret, or won’t regret.

Adrian was a very big problem and he was just realising it.

The soft ring of Adrian’s phone shattered the quiet spell in the car, drawing both her attention to the phone on the mount.

For a second, Adrian froze as he saw Ruiyan’s name flashing on the screen. Slowly, he glanced at Alexander and saw him already looking at him with something akin to hurt. Betrayal?

Adrian looked away, mocking himself in his head for imagining the impossible.

He reached up to answer his phone but Alexander’s hand suddenly covered his, gently bringing it down to his lap and holding it there.

"Boss? I need to answer my –"

"You don’t have to do anything, Adrian. Now, you’re with me, working for me, all your attention should be on me. Are we clear, Adrian?" Alexander questioned in that rough, husky voice, and he said Adrian, not Mr. Cole.

Adrian gulped, hearing his name on Alexander’s lips always had him reeling from within, before he could stop himself, he found his lip already between his teeth as he felt Alexander’s thumb slowly dragging over the back of his hand, messing up whatever he wanted to say in his mind.

"I... I... excuse me," Adrjan took his hand away from Alexander and snatched up his phone, slowing the car as he answered Ruiyan’s call.

Alexander frowned, drawing his hand back to himself.

’So then, he chose her?’ He gritted his teeth, angry at himself for feeling like an idiot.

’What is wrong with me?’ Alexander fumed.

"Okay, Ruiyan, I would love to visit your Atelier tomorrow, but I would have to check in with my boss first. Sure, see you later," Adrian said and placed his phone down.

He was quiet as he drove into the large parking space in the mall, then very slowly, he turned to Alexander and said, "Boss, I was wondering –"

"No," Alexander cut him off immediately, facing him with a sudden anger from nowhere.

Adrian blinked, startled by Alexander’s tone. "I didn’t even finish my—"

"I said no," Alexander repeated, sharper this time, his voice slicing through the air like glass.

The tension in the car was instant—thick, electric. Adrian’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "You don’t even know what I was going to say, sir."

Alexander turned his head slowly, eyes blazing. "I don’t need to know. Whatever involves her—Ruiyan, wasn’t it?—The answer is no."

Adrian’s lips parted in disbelief. "Excuse me? Are you serious right now?"

Alexander leaned closer, his words low and deliberate. "I don’t recall giving you permission to make social calls during work hours, much less to... whoever she is to you now."

"I... You..." Adrian paused, inhaled deeply, and left the car, slamming the door way too hard as he did.

"Shit... I’m losing it," Alexander muttered, dragging a hand down his face.