Chapter 10: Chapter 10

He did leave his door open when he was not in the office. Sophia smiled, entering his office with a bag filled with the items that she had gotten to add more color to the office. The space of the room never ceased to amaze her, and the view from the window was spectacular, if only he left the shades up. He had a closet beside his desk which was insanely cool, the sliding door was decorated with a dark leafy pattern. Sophia couldn't resist getting a peak. She pushed the door open, taking stock of the neatly arranged shirts, suits, shoes, and other accessories. He should move into his office, cause I don't see why he has a house anymore. She shrugged the thought off, bringing out a disposable smoothie cup filled with strawberry smoothie_just because she wanted to piss him off, but make him happy at the same time, she arranged his files, dusted the furniture then placed the small flower pot with a cactus on his desk. Why a cactus? Because he was a prickly ba... Sophia stopped herself from insulting him, cringing internally at how much energy it took to pause her words. She placed a note underneath it on how to take care of the poor plant_poor because she was sure he wouldn't even spare it a glance before tossing it into the trashcan. Sophia's gaze slithered towards the huge glass windows that overlooked the city, the sun was rising on the horizon. She walked towards it almost in a daze as she took in its breathtaking beauty of it. Sophia watched the cloud move, the light ray of the sun streaking through, creating a beautiful effect, she closed her eyes savoring the moment. The sound of footsteps echoed making her jump. Sophia looked at her watch, she had come early at quarter to five to be ahead of him, and do what needed to be done, yet he still caught up to her. Sophia looked around frantically in search of an escape, her heart beating rapidly in her chest making her dizzy. Where to hide, where to fucking hide, she chanted in her head, pulling at her hair in the process. Her gaze slipped toward the closet and she rushed towards it, sliding it open.

Sophia rushed inside without thinking, then shut the door, willing her heart to beat at the normal rate. His scent enveloped her, making her inhale deeply, but the footsteps closing in on her had her heart pounding so hard in her chest that she thought she was going to have a heart attack. She took calming breaths, praying that he didn't have anything to do with the closet when he came in.

*******

Lennox entered his office, stopping in his tracks as he took in the subtle difference in his office. The cup on his desk registered, making him swear. He walked towards it, picking it up. His eye caught the scribbled writing. 'toss it and you'll go straight to hell'. It would have been hilarious, but he couldn't find any humor in the situation. She had disobeyed his order once again. Lennox's gaze slipped to the foreign object on his table, a cactus plant, then he saw the note underneath it. Lennox took it up, clutching at the smoothie.

"Do not toss it in the trashcan, water the little guy at least twice a week, and make sure you expose it to sunlight for at least four hours per day. Its name is Lennox Jr, so he'll be your little brother and you can vent to him whenever you feel down. I hope we work together for a very long time".

With love, from your assistant.

Lennox glanced around, eyeing everything he had in his office and noticing that she'd messed with most of his stuff, everything was arranged in an orderly fashion, and he knew because he had deliberately left some of his files spread out on his desk. Lennox stepped outside the office, looking around for Sophia, but he couldn't sense a soul. He could smell a subtle spring-like scent in the air, and he was sure of who they belonged. He walked back into the office, pushed the door close, and took a deep breath as he rested his head against the door. His assistant was damn annoying.

Lennox walked towards his desk and grabbed the plant pot. He strode to the window, placing the cactus where the sunray would hit it. Lennox paused, surprised at his action. He cocked his head, then looked out of the window, the beauty of the sunrise caught him by surprise. Lennox inhaled sharply, filling his lungs with air, before he released it, expelling his anger. He could admit to himself that he loved the plant, they were a favorite of his hence why he couldn't force himself to toss them into the trashcan. He'd mostly kept the window shaded in the early hours of the morning, but now he could see what it was that he had been missing, the calming effect it had on him.

Lennox felt like cool water was rushing over his skin as he watched the sun taking its place in the sky, he unconsciously put the straw to his lips, sipping at the smoothie before he could think better of it. The flavor was rich, coating his tongue as he swallowed. It was delicious, so he took more sips, his anger draining from his shoulder. The assistant was stubborn, persistent, and darn right irritating but he had to admit that he hadn't felt such relaxation in a long while. Lennox inhaled deeply, enjoying the calmness. His phone buzzed startling him. He strode back to his desk, dropping the smoothie as he read through his message. He walked towards the closet, sliding it open halfway. The scent of citrus wafted towards him, making him pause. He pushed the door until his eyes landed on the wide eyes of the culprit, who had her hand pressed against her lips to avoid screaming. She froze like Lennox would think she was one of his suits. Realizing that her tactics were not going to work, she stepped out of the closet with a nervous smile, her head almost dragging against the floor.

Lennox masked his surprise, clearing his throat. "What were you doing in there?". He asked, his expression neutral. She squeezed at the bag she held.

"I was..." she swallowed audibly. "I was searching for my schedule pad" she blurted, before thinking about it through.

Lennox's lips quirked. "In my closet? And what about the smoothie" he picked it up from the table, thrusting it in front of her. "Who arranged my stuff, or that ugly looking plant"

Sophia's eyes darted around, her knuckles whitening at the pressure she applied to them. "Umm... Why that was... That was... I did it.. but, I didn't mean to stay longer here... I was just" she stuttered through her words until Lennox stopped her with a raised hand, having heard enough of her rambling.

"You were just looking for your schedule pad, am I right?". She nodded quickly. "I'm too busy to take care of the plant so that will be your responsibility. If Lennox Jr dies, it will be your fault". He told, deciding to cut her some slack.

Sophia's mouth hung open for a second like she couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. Lennox didn't understand why he was humoring her either.

"What! I mean yes, I'll take care of it, Sir".

He watched her for longer than necessary before he snapped out of his daze.

"You can go to your desk now, your schedule pad is on your table". He pointed at it through the raised shutters that overlooked her desk, Sophia's gaze trailed in the direction, she released a nervous laugh as she saw it lying on her desk.

"Oh right. It skipped my brain, happens all the time" she joked, taking backward steps until she got to the door, she pulled it open stepping out of the office before clicking it shut.

Lennox shook his head, then blinked as he realized In horror that he had been smiling.