Arabella stood in the elevator with her arms full of binders and dresses in bags. It had been such a long day and she was looking forward to getting home, even though she still had a ton for work to do. At least she would be in her home. She could wear pajama shorts, drink team and be with Hunter. The thought of Hunter made the butterflies in her stomach go wild again. Hunter had kissed her. She had kissed Hunter. It had been sweet and innocent and more exciting than any kiss she had ever experienced. A smile spread across her lips and the elderly lady in the elevator with her looked at her like she was crazy. Finally, the elevator hit the top floor and Arabella walked into her apartment quietly. She saw Hunter with his face hidden in the couch and Arabella couldn't help herself. Silently, she put her things on and slipped off her high heels. Arabella tip toed over to him. She knew that he was lost in his thoughts, in a totally different world and if he wasn't so lost, he would have heard her. The muscles in his back and shoulders looked tense, like he was stressed about something. Arabella figured that it had something to do with the phone call from the lawyer. Arabella looked at him for a moment. Not for the first time, she was taken aback by how handsome he was. What made it even more appealing was the fact that he had no clue. Arabella paused for a second with a smile on her face then leaped on him so she was straddling his back. Hunter nearly jumped three feet but he relaxed when he saw Arabella. She leaned down, putting her hands on his shoulders and planted a kiss on the nape of his neck. "Hey" she said gently then rolled off of him.
"How was work?" Hunter said, pushing himself into a sitting position and looking over at her. Arabella wanted to ask him about the lawyer thing, but she didn't know if he wanted to talk about it just yet.
"Busy" Arabella sighed and picked up her things "I have so much that I have to do. September is going to be here soon and that's kind of a major deal. So, I am going to be spending the entire night in my bedroom, trying to get half of this work done" she told him and huffed. Hunter nodded and Arabella heard him calling the take out place for some food for them as she walked off to her bedroom. Arabella set her stuff up and went to work. She was working for about 30 minutes when Hunter walked into her room with the take out in his arms. He placed it down on her bedside table and gingerly sat down on the edge of her bed because that was the only place that wasn't covered in papers.
"Is there anything I can do?" Hunter asked, glancing down at the papers. Arabella let out a little huff and shrugged.
"Not really. I have to look over a lot of stuff for the magazine plus I have look over the plans for out Fashion Week show coming up and I still have a billion emails to respond to and I have to look through about 50 resumes for someone to work with Daniel in hair and make up" Arabella said with a sigh and flipped a page in the binder for the magazine, looking at the layout of the newest issue.
Hunter looked up at her like he had just remembered something "Philippa is actually looking for a job" he said nervously, clearly worried about how Arabella would take this. She looked up at him, thinking about it. Honestly, part of her was a little miffed. Maybe it was just jealousy but part of her held resentment towards Philippa. But she also knew how amazing her sisters were when it came to hair and make up.
"Write down her number" Arabella said, passing Hunter a piece of paper and a pen. It wouldn't hurt to think about it, would it? Hunter quickly wrote it down and passed it back to Arabella who tucked it into her purse.
"Well, if you need me, just let me know" Hunter told her and leaned in to kiss her cheek but Arabella was too busy to do anything. She was so stressed out, she didn't really notice that Hunter was trying to kiss her. She heard him sigh a little bit, looking around her room. He then pushed himself off of the bed and walked out of her room, pausing to look back at her for a second. Arabella felt a small twinge of guilt as he walked out but she just didn't have the time to worry about that. Arabella worked well into the night, falling asleep in a little ball surrounded by her papers.
She woke up early the next morning and she hardly stopped to relax or do anything for herself. In 30 minutes she had showered, gotten dressed and ran out the door with all of her things. Hunter had been sleeping when she left but she didn't have time to leave him a note. Her phone was already ringing. Arabella had started work the moment she had gotten to her office. By lunch she already been to 5 meetings. Arabella sat down in her chair in her office and looked at the phone number that Hunter had written down for her. Arabella took a deep breath. Why was she so nervous about calling Philippa? It's not like Philippa was ever mean to Arabella. In fact, she had always been really wonderful to Arabella. Maybe it was because part of Arabella saw Philippa as competition, in a way. She was the first girl that Hunter had fallen for and Arabella knew that Philippa was always going to be a big part of Hunter. With a huff, Arabella quickly called Philippa's number and asked her to come over to her office as soon as she could. Arabella didn't like being mad at people. It made her uncomfortable. She especially didn't like being mad at her siblings. They were sisters, after all. Arabella pressed a number on her phone and it rang twice before Daniel answered.
"Are you busy? Don't care, get your butt in here, please" Arabella said and hung up before Daniel could say anything. Maybe two minutes passed and Daniel was walking into Arabella's office and sitting down across from her at her desk. He looked up at her and ran his fingers through his hair.
"How are you today, my dear?" Daniel asked her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. Arabella didn't like that look from him. It said that he was up to something. Arabella hadn't really seen him much since the award show and she was nervous to hear what he was thinking.
"I'm stressed out but other then that, fine" Arabella told him "I'm bringing in Philippa to help you out with hair and make up so I wanted you to be here when she showed up" she added and shoved a bunch of papers into her desk. Daniel looked at her for a moment then rested his elbows on the desk and looked in her eyes.
"Philippa? Wasn't she just with Hunter?" Daniel asked her. Arabella gave him a look that said 'let it go, Danny' and went back to fixing her desk. Daniel sighed and leaned back in his chair "Speaking of which, how are things with you and that sexy man?" he asked her with a giggle. Arabella stopped organizing her desk and looked up at Daniel with a shrug.
"I don't know, actually. After the show, things got a little..heated. But now I'm super busy with work and he's got stuff going on too and I don't know" Arabella said with a sigh "It's complicated"
"Did you sleep with him?" Daniel asked. Well, he nearly shrieked it and almost fell off of his chair "Tell me everything! Was it amazing?" he asked her with a wide smile, leaning towards her again. Arabella didn't think that he cheeks could get any redder.
"Daniel!" Arabella said in shock and embarrassment at his question "That is a private, personal matter" she said and he shrugged, still waiting for an answer "And no, I did not sleep with him. I don't sleep with the guy on the first date, like some easy people I could mention" she said, smacking Daniel's arm. He giggled then looked up when there was a knock at Arabella's door. Arabella, with pink cheeks, looked at the door "Come in!" she called. Philippa walked in, clearly nervous. Arabella hadn't told her why she wanted to see Philippa, only that she wanted to see her.
"Hi, Arabella" Philippa said with an anxious smile and looked at Daniel "Hi, Daniel"
"Hey, Philippa" Arabella said and she folded a leg under her before looking up at Philippa "Hunter told me that you're looking for a job and I need someone who can start working with Daniel in hair and make up as soon as possible. Do you think that you would be interested?" she asked Philippa and she saw her face light up and most of the anxiety melt away. Now it was more of an excited anxious.
"That..that would be...wow. Thanks Arabella" Philippa said with a wide smile. Arabella grinned at her then looked at Daniel.
"Would you give her the tour? And please, PLEASE don't pull some stupid prank on her" Arabella said to Daniel and raised an eyebrow. She had been living with his pranks ever since he started dating a son of Hermes a few years ago. Daniel sighed dramatically and linked arms with Philippa.
"You are so mean to me" Daniel said to Arabella and turned to walk out, pulling Philippa with him.
"Love you too, Danny" Arabella called after him and when he had closed her door, she let out a sigh and put her head on her desk. She still had so much to do and Daniel's questions made her feel even more guilty about not talking to Hunter much. With a moan, she turned and looked out of the window.