Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 22

I turned back quickly, to see Damon standing behind me, his eyes hidden by a pair of dark glasses. He was now wearing a white t-shirt, and a pair of khaki shorts, with no shoes. The plain shirt made it easier to see his even build, and muscular torso, but I ignored it in order to glare at him completely indifferently.
Just because he's attractive, doesn't make him any less of a jerk.
Damon looked down at me with a half-smirk on his face, while I fumbled for the correct words.
"Really?" I growled, spitting an over-the-top amount of sarcasm into my words. "I assumed the pinchers were for handshakes." I pursed my lips. Damon just chuckled. Blowing out a dimissive breath, I turned back to the water, and started walking to the left, away from Damon. Apparently, he couldn't take a hint, because he lengthen his stride and caught up to me easily, falling into step beside me.
Mentally cursing his long legs, I shot him a sideways glare, but said nothing and kept my pace.
I tried to ignore Damon for a while, so I could enjoy the beach, but his close presence was enough to make me constantly forget my train of thought.
Because I'm mad at him.
I told myself, pushing away any thoughts that said otherwise, and placed my eyes ahead on the never-ending beach.
"I understand your frustration, at having to share a few weeks of vacation with a stranger, but I don't understand why you're taking that anger out on me." Damon shook the silence, lifting his sunglasses, and glancing over at me as we walked.
"You're not a stranger, you're my boss's brother." I corrected, and he nodded.
"But even still, is that something to get so upset over?" He questioned calmly, prompting me to look over at him.
Pulling my lips into a line, I stopped and crossed my arms, turning to him. "No, it isn't." I clenched my jaw.
"Then why-"
"Because both you and your brother knew I wouldn't agree to this had I known I'd be spending two weeks alone with you." I locked my eyes directly up to Damon's, and he stopped to face me as well. "Not to mention you're an arrogant flirt." I added under my breath.
Damon was quiet for a minute, holding my gaze, before he spoke.
"I only agree with half of that statement." He raised his eyebrows, and I scoffed. "But, I'll agree to disagree with you," he said, crossing his own arms, "because now that we're both here, alone, we might as well make the best of it." He shrugged, and his face gave away no trace of a mirth.
I hesitated before I responded. "Fine." I spun on my heel, and started forward again. Damon didn't miss a beat, and strode along beside me, staring out at the horizon, as if we hadn't just exchanged words.
"What's your middle name?" He asked suddenly, and I frowned.
"Why?"
"No reason." He shrugged, still staring straight ahead. I pursed my lips in thought. I was struggling with whether or not I ought to make conversation with him. I knew how easily he managed to get on people's good side. It was some sort of Lawson trait, and I wasn't about to just let go of my anger towards him and his brother for simple conversation.
"I don't have one." I quipped, and Damon raised his eyebrows again, shifting his gaze down to me.
He opened his mouth to say something, but another voice cut him off.
"Damon?" Both of us turned to see a blonde guy jogging towards us. "Damon Lawson! Where have you been?" The guy grinned as he reached us, clapping Damon on the back.
I paused, watching the interaction curiously.
Damon smirked. "Avoiding you," He answered, and the blonde guy chuckled. Glancing up to Damon, I saw the amusement on his face, and decided that the guy must be one of his friends.
At that moment, the blonde glanced over Damon's shoulder towards me, and smiled again.
"Who's this?" He asked, and Damon turned to face me with a small smile of his own.
"Oana, this is my friend Grant. Grant, Oana." He gestured, and Grant stepped up to shake my hand. Throwing a suggestive look towards Damon, he met my eyes and laughed.
"Nice to meet you, Oana," He grinned, his playful blue eyes dancing, "How long have you two known each other?" He asked politely, stepping back, and I almost choked on my spit.
"She's a friend." Damon cut in quickly, glancing to me, before fixing his eyes on his friend.
Grant raised his eyebrows, and shook his head. "Friend?" He asked, checking his eyes over me once. "Good to know." He winked, but I just crossed my arms.
"How's Shelly?" Damon said suddenly, pointedly looking at Grant, and I pulled my lips into a line. Grant laughed quietly, and held up his hands, taking another step back, before he spoke.
"She just got into town. We're actually throwing a party at my house tomorrow night," he started, waving a hand towards one of the big beach houses up on the sand dunes, "you guys should come."
"We might," Damon nodded, and I raised my eyebrows.
'We' most definitely will not.
I thought with a quiet breath, tuning Grant and Damon out as they chatted on about a few other things.
There's no way on earth, that I'm going to a party with my boss's brother- actually, there's no way I'm going to a party peroid.
I corrected, remembering the bad memories I had from my last night out with friends. Even though I still wasn't old enough to drink, it was almost expected that there would be beer or alcohol of some sort at this beach party, and I knew what that meant.
"See you soon." Grant waved us off, as I turned and started walking back towards the house. Damon said goodbye, before turning to catch up with me. He was beside me in a matter of moments, and when he turned and opened his mouth to say something, I shook my head.
"I am not going to a beach party with you." I said sharply.
Damon smirked, "I was going to ask you to answer my question." He chuckled, and I frowned.
Oh. My middle name.
"I already did."
He shook his head slightly.
"You're a terrible liar, remember?"
Pursing my lips, I forced a smile to my lips and faced him.
"But you got the hint."
*
Damon didn't say much else on the way back to the house, and when we got home, he asked if I was hungry for dinner. I said I could make something for myself, but he ignored me and proceeded to order pizza.
When the doorbell rang, I came out of my room, and headed towards the stairs, hearing Damon out on the porch on the phone.
Glancing down to the driveway before I started down the steps, I let out a breath when I saw the pizza delivery sign above the car, and I grabbed my wallet off the table in the living room. Pulling the door open, I was greeted by a half-dressed girl, holding a box of pizza. Her face turned sour when she saw me, and she pursed her lips.
"Who are you?" She whined, her voice sounding more like a cat's claw on a chalk board, than a woman. I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows at her, not appreciating her tone.
"Who are you?" I retorted, and she looked me over once, letting out a scowl. While she looked me over, I did the same. She had straight, long blonde hair, and a thin figure, with plump lips and big, not-so-innocent looking hazel eyes. No doubt she was beautiful, if you could get past the ounces of make-up she was wearing.
"I'm here to deliver a pizza to Damon Lawson, not you." She smiled, and I moved back.
"Help yourself. He's on the deck." I crossed my arms, watching her step daintily over the doorway, and wind her way up the steps, shaking her hips as she went. Shaking my head, I followed her-- but not too closely, and paused at the top of the steps, when she plastered on a sweet smile, and walked towards the open glass doors. She was obviously not a pizza delivery girl, because, she wasn't wearing the uniform, and I could still see the delivery man out in his car. For whatever reason, she was delivering our pizza, and I had one good guess why.
Women literally fall at his feet.
I thought with disgust, watching Damon smile at the girl politely, and hang up the phone to hold a short conversation with her.
How he kept his focus on her as she coyly batted her eyelids, and smacked her lips, was beyond me.
Leaving Damon and the girl on the porch, I headed back to my room and lay down on my bed to text my Mom. She was driving back with Tony today, and I was keeping her company as she drove. Tony wasn't a conversationalist, to say the absolute least.
I was in my room a few minutes, before I heard Damon and the girl come inside, and the faint sound of her heels clicking down the steps echoed down into the hall, as she bid him goodbye.
"Pizza's here." Damon came down the hall, stopping at my door, and leaning against the doorway. I didn't look up from my phone.
"I noticed."
When Damon stayed in my doorway, I glanced up at him, before I waved sarcastically at the room around me.
"Either leave, or come in, but don't just stand there and stare at me." I muttered, switching my attention back to my phone, before clicking it off and sighing.
Looking up to where Damon still stood at my door, I sat up and fixed my hair. "Do you need something?" I asked him, using my no-nonsense business tone, but he just shook his head.
"I'm just waiting for you to come and eat." A smile played at the corner of his lips as he said this, and I refrained from rolling my eyes.
"How polite." I murmured, setting my phone down, and sliding off my bed.
Passing Damon, I moved into the kitchen and helped myself to a piece of pizza, as I took a seat at the dining room table. Damon followed suit, and after we were both munching quietly on our pizza, he cleared his throat, catching my attention.
"Tell me something about yourself," He prompted.
Letting out a breath, I finished my pizza and clasped my hands in front of me on the table. I knew he was just trying to get me to talk to him, so I answered with the most random thing I could think of.
"I enjoy sweatpants." I looked Damon in the eye, keeping my face straight.
A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. "Really?" He sounded way too interested.
"Tell me something about yourself." I lifted my chin, not wanting to tell him anything else about myself.
Damon's lips twitched. "I want to know your middle name." He met my eyes and cocked an eyebrow.
Cheater.
"No." Standing up, I put my plate into the dishwasher, before I headed to my room. A few minutes after I had a shower and got into bed, I heard Damon going into his room beside mine, as I fell asleep.