A New World

Elle showered quickly, in a rush to get down to the lobby to meet Christopher. Once she was out of the bathroom she came to a full stop in front of her closet with a frown. What should she wear? She was only an assistant so something comfortable to move around in would be better, but even as an assistant she should still look presentable by his side right?

In the end Elle settled on an emerald dress with a high collar and long sleeves. It was a comfortable cotton dress but also just professional enough that she was confident she wouldn't stand out too much.

By the time she did her hair and applied a bit of light makeup Christopher was already waiting in the lobby.

"I hope you weren't waiting long." Elle said apologetically as she approached him.

"Not at all. I just got here myself. A drive will be waiting outside, I'll brief you on my schedule in the car."

"Alright."

As Elle listened to Christopher explain each activity he had today she quickly understood why he couldn't manage without an assistant today. He would be starting off with a brief photoshoot for an advertisement he was taking part of, followed by a meeting at his company. After that was an interview, a few more meetings, then finally a party for some big-shot director in the industry.

He was booked solid from morning till night, with only a few small and insignificant breaks in between.

"Will you really be able to manage all this?" Elle asked nervously.

"It's a busy day, but days like this are rare enough that I can manage having them here and there. I just need you to help me keep an eye on the time mostly. If you think we're getting late for something let me know immediately. You can answer all my calls while I'm working as well."

It honestly seemed easy enough. Elle was sure he was taking on more than he usually might in order to give her a break as well. She was the one who accepted the job without any hesitation so she would make sure to at least do the very few tasks he gave her well.

They arrived on set for the photoshoot not long after.

It was very different to what Elle had experienced when she had attended a photo shoot as MK's model. Only now did she realize how easy things had been for her since she was there only because of Adam. For her it was simply a hobby; something new to try for fun. For Christopher it was his work.

As soon as they arrived Chris was busy greeting the staff members and speaking to the director who gave him a quick run down of the concept for the day. Then Christopher was rushing off again to get his hair and makeup done.

Even in the changing rooms Elle could see that she had been receiving special attention when she did her shoot. She had gotten ready in silence and with people catering to her carefully. Now people were constantly in and out of the room as they rushed to get everything and everyone ready.

Elle brought Christopher a coffee as he waited for his turn to have his hair styled.

"You're working hard." She said sympathetically.

"This much is nothing." Christopher replied with a light laugh. "I'm sure you've had busier days then this working at such a large company."

"My life does get busy from time to time but at least in my work I get to sit at a desk all day. It must be more tiring running around outside all day."

"That is true. At least the weather is favourable today."

The shoot would be taking place outdoors and at three different locations in total. Elle had learned that it was a shoot for a popular jewellery brand, one she happened to like a lot.

After a few more minutes everyone was ready and the shoot began. Christopher was partnered with a female model for the shoot. It was an intimate scene and Elle watched with awe as two perfect strangers suddenly became lovers before her eyes. The two acted as familiar with each other as a couple of three years would be.

After a while the director called for a break. Elle took a bottle of water over to Christopher. The sun had been rising higher and higher as the day went on and the temperature was rising with it.

"Let me bring you a towel." Elle said, noticing that he had begun to sweat lightly.

"That's fine, I feel bad. You're not an assistant, you don't have to do things like that."

"It's sweet of you to say so, but I'm fine. If I'm going to be your assistant for the day I want to do it well. At least let me do this much."

So Christopher accepted her generosity and let her help him throughout the shoot. As the time went by Elle's feelings of awe turned to gratitude. All she had ever known was her own office work. This was a new world to her.

When she had worked for MK she had received all the glory and all the benefits of the work without any of the hardships that she watched everyone else struggle with now. Elle knew it was only because she was being sheltered by Adam.

While enveloped in such a feeling of gratitude Elle went into a quite corner where no one would notice her and pulled out her phone.

'I love you, you know.' She wrote out and sent to Adam.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of town Adam was gathered with a few managers for a site inspection. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out to see.

"Are you okay sir?" One of his managers asked as he glanced over at his boss. "You look a little red. Is it the heat?"

"I'm fine." Adam quickly recovered but he couldn't control the faint blush that settled on his face.

'What is it? Did something happen?' Adam texted back.

Elle laughed to herself. 'Nothing happened. I just realized I was being protected in ways I didn't even know about. I suddenly realized how loved I am by you.'

David laughed to himself as he watched Adam stare at his phone and turn even more red. He could imagine what sort of exchange was going on. After all, he knew only one person who could illicit such a response from his stone cold boss. 'What's the point of knowing such juicy gossip if I have no one to share it with?' he thought to himself. But he still defended Adam, even though he was dying to share the news with someone.

"It must be the heat. Why don't we take a break for now." David told all the other questioning eyes.