By mid-morning, Clara realized Adrian Cole's life moved at a pace that could exhaust anyone.
She sat in the back of a sleek black SUV, phone in hand, as the driver wove through traffic. Beside her, Adrian leaned back with his arms crossed, sunglasses on, his expression unreadable. She read aloud from his schedule, trying to sound calm even as her nerves frayed.
"First, your meeting with the producer at ten. Then the radio interview at eleven-thirty. Lunch with your PR team at one. After that"
"Cut it short," Adrian interrupted, not bothering to look at her. "I already know my schedule. I want to hear what you think is important."
Clara hesitated. She had only been his assistant for a few hours, but she understood he thrived on control. If she said the wrong thing, he'd dismiss her as useless. Still, she took a steadying breath.
"The radio interview," she said firmly. "The producer meeting can shift a little if needed, but the interview is live. No room for mistakes. And you should probably eat before then. You haven't had breakfast."
Adrian's lips twitched. "You've been stalking me? Watching what I eat?"
Clara shot him a sharp look. "You walked out without so much as a cup of coffee. It doesn't take a genius to notice."
He smirked. "You've got eyes, I'll give you that."
Before Clara could reply, the SUV stopped. The driver opened the door, and Adrian slipped out, instantly greeted by flashing cameras and a swarm of reporters. Clara froze for half a second at the chaos before following him closely, clutching her notepad.
The meeting went as expected fast, intense, and dominated by Adrian's ego. He argued over song choices with the producer, dismissing suggestions with a wave of his hand. Clara kept her head down, taking notes, though she couldn't help noticing the producer's clenched jaw and frustrated sighs.
When they finally left, Adrian stormed toward the SUV, irritation radiating off him. Clara hurried after him. "Maybe you could".
"Don't." He cut her off, sliding into the backseat. "I don't need a lecture from you."
Clara's patience wavered. She climbed in after him and set her notepad down. "Fine. Then don't ask why people find it hard to work with you."
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut glass. The driver glanced at them nervously in the rearview mirror.
Adrian finally turned his head, his sunglasses slipping just enough for her to see the storm in his eyes. For a moment, Clara thought he might explode. Instead, he let out a humorless laugh.
"You're bold," he said quietly. "Most people don't dare talk back to me."
"Maybe that's your problem," Clara replied softly. "No one tells you the truth."
For a moment, something flickered in his gaze something tired, almost vulnerable. But just as quickly, it vanished behind his smirk.
"Careful, Clara. Keep that up, and I might start thinking you're more trouble than you're worth."
Clara leaned back, refusing to look away. "Or maybe you'll start realizing I'm exactly what you need."
The tension hung between them, charged and unspoken. The car fell into silence, save for the hum of the city outside.
Later that afternoon, during the radio interview, Clara caught another glimpse of the man behind the celebrity mask.
The host asked Adrian about his rise to fame, about his passion for music, about the sacrifices he had made. Adrian answered with practiced charm, his voice smooth and confident. But when the host casually mentioned family "Do they come to your shows?" Adrian's smile faltered for a fraction of a second.
Clara, watching from the sidelines, saw it. A flash of pain, quickly buried beneath a polished laugh.
"No," Adrian said lightly. "They prefer to stay out of the spotlight. It's better that way."
The interview moved on, but Clara couldn't shake what she had seen. For the first time, Adrian Cole looked less like a superstar and more like a man carrying shadows he didn't want the world to see.
As they left the studio, Adrian walked ahead, as untouchable as ever. But Clara followed with a new thought in her heart:
There were cracks in his armor. And whether he liked it or not, she was beginning to see through them.