She Entered Like a Breath of Fresh Air

Adam did not enjoy having to endure three days without Elle. His days were busy, with his schedule packed from morning to night in order to get the most out of his trip. His schedule never seemed to align with Elle. They communicated exclusively through text messages, with each person responding to the other only after hours had passed. Even with every waking second of the day spent working Adam still managed to find time to miss Elle.

On the first day it took him an hour to finally fall asleep. The room was too quite without Elle's soft breathing and the bed was too cold without her warm body in his arms.

On the second day Adam plopped onto the hotel bed, still in his suit, close to midnight. He covered his eyes with his arm and let out a tired sigh. After a minute his phone began to ring from across the room.

"Can you see who that is?" He asked aloud before suddenly remembering Elle wasn't there.

"Since when did I become so hopeless?" He murmured to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips.

On the third day Adam rushed through every meeting, every task, and finally instructed David to prepare to leave an hour earlier then planned that afternoon.

That night MK would be hosting a party for the staff involved in the production of Elle's novel. All the staff. There would be no media and no fanfare. It was only a small internal gathering but it was no less important to Elle. That made it no less important to him.

"Did you miss her that much?" David asked once he was alone in the car with Adam, on their way back to the city. "So much that you worked that hard to go see her even one hour earlier?"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that." Adam said, discerning the humour in David's voice.

"Yes sir." David replied with a laugh hidden in his eyes.

Adam went back to his office first to drop off his things and change into a new suit. After freshening up David took him to the banquet hall where the dinner was being hosted.

As soon as he entered the vast hall his eyes began scanning the crowds for Elle but it seemed she wasn't there yet.

'She's probably late from fussing over her hair too long.' Adam thought to himself with a smirk.

While he waited he made his rounds around the room, greeting all the important partners. He couldn't help but think that a party was more exhausting then work itself, even after spending the past three days the way he did.

After ensuring he spoke to anyone and everyone of even mild importance Adam went and found an empty corner of the room. He leaned against the wall and let his eyes close, resting where no one would notice him.

He heard the soft sound of heels walking over the carpet towards him. Even without opening his eyes he could tell who it was, recognizing her presence as she approached him.

"Good evening Adam." Amelia greeted him politely, joining him by leaning against the wall beside him.

"Em." Adam greeted her by her old nickname, not bothering to open his eyes as she settled beside him.

"I heard from your family that you were away on a business trip. You must be very exhausted if you're resorting to resting in the shadows like this." She said sympathetically.

"I'm not that tired." Adam said, opening his eyes once more and standing up a little straighter.

"No, please rest. I'll keep watch and make sure no one sees for you."

Adam gauged her for a moment. He thought of saying no but his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own.

"Fine." He finally said. "Only for a minute."

"Sure." Amelia said softly.

Adam returned to his position against the wall and shut his eyes once more.

"By the way, I don't think I properly congratulated you on securing this role." Adam said after a minute.

"I'm the one who should thank you for offering it to me."

"There's no need to thank me. You know I don't do business based off personal connections. I chose you for your talent. You only have yourself to thank."

Adam could feel Amelia shake her head beside him. "That's exactly why I need to thank you. To know that you show no bias and still offered me this role...it's the highest praise I've ever received." She said with a light laugh.

Adam opened his eyes to glance at her again. He had been careful to keep a line between them. To not show even the slightest sign of affection to be misinterpreted. But at the end of the day she was still one of his oldest friends.

He could recall how hard she studied in university. She would sit slumped over her textbooks even during breaks and show up to school with dark circles under her eyes during exam weeks.

He remembered how much she fought with her parents when she decided to leave business and pursue acting instead. He remember how happy she was when she landed her first leading role. How much pride she had when she finally got the chance to act in a Hollywood film.

"You've done well." Adam said.

"I'll do well this time too." Amelia said, boastfully.

"Yes, yes." He said, resuming his position.

"By the way, I've introduced myself to the director and producer but I haven't seen the writer yet? Will they be coming tonight."

"I haven't seen them yet either but they should be here soon."

"You've already met them right? What are they like?"

"Hmm. They're very kind and genuine. They've worked hard and experienced a lot. It's made them into a very reliable person." Adam said. Talking about Elle had brought a smile to his lips.

Amelia studied his expression for a moment. "You sound like you respect the writer a great deal."

"I do. They're a respectable person."

"Then I'll work hard to make a good first impression."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Adam said, doing his best to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me!" Amelia insisted but Adam said nothing. He was perfectly happy to keep it his own personal joke.

It was a few minutes later that Elle finally walked in. Even across the room he noticed her immediately.

She was wearing a short ice-blue satin dress, with her dark hair swept to one side where it flowed down in curls. She walked in with confidence but her eyes betrayed her and darted nervously across the room. Adam chuckled. She was too cute for her own good.

She also seemed to have worked magic on him. The tiredness in Adam's eyes vanished at the sight of her. Only a minute ago he could barely keep his eyes open but now he couldn't take them off her. Not even for a second.