Chapter 4

Kieran couldn’t concentrate. His eyes drifted from his laptop to Lucas, who sat across from him at the conference table. Lucas was the picture of focus, his reading glasses perched on his nose, his face set in a stoic mask. It was Friday, and they’d been working together for over an hour in near silence.

When they’d entered the room, Kieran had asked about the day’s agenda. Lucas had curtly replied that he’d already emailed the tasks. That was the extent of their conversation. After five days of this cold, detached routine, Kieran had reached his limit.

“Okay, you know what? I’ve let this go all week, but I’m done,” Kieran said, his voice firm. “Why have you been acting like you can’t stand being in the same room as me?”

Lucas looked up from his screen, caught off guard. “Excuse me?” His brows furrowed in confusion.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Kieran pressed. “You’ve been icy and dismissive since Monday. And it’s clearly about me because you’re fine with everyone else.”

“Mr. Kieran, I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that way,” Lucas said, his tone formal. “I assure you—”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Kieran cut in, exasperated. “I know you’re my boss, but you’ve always called me Reece. And yeah, this is our first time working one-on-one, but I’ve seen you with others. This isn’t how you act. So, what’s my crime?”

“You haven’t done anything,” Lucas said, his voice tightening. “I’ve been focused on work. I’m sorry if I don’t have time to chat. I’m your boss, not your friend.”

Kieran blinked, stunned. In all his time at Lucas’s company, he’d never seen the man lose his cool, not even slightly. But Kieran wasn’t one to back down, not even to his boss.

“You know, I really respected you until now,” Kieran shot back. “I thought you were honest, but that’s clearly a front. Just tell me what the hell the problem is.”

“You want to know the problem?” Lucas let out a dry, humorless laugh, yanking off his glasses and setting them on the table. “I have an issue with lying, cheating scumbags.”

“What?” Kieran stared, completely lost.

“You heard me.”

“I did, but… what does that have to do with me? How am I a lying, cheating scumbag?”

“Friday night. You with that guy. Ring any bells?” Lucas raised a brow.

Kieran blinked, still confused. “Yeah, I hooked up with someone. It was outside work, and I didn’t cheat on anyone. What are you even talking about?”

“You didn’t cheat?” Lucas’s tone was sharp. “What about your boyfriend?”

“My what?” Kieran’s jaw dropped. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Lucas’s face paled, his confidence faltering. “What about… the blond guy who drops you off at work? The one who called you on Monday?”

“That’s my best friend,” Kieran said flatly. “My very happily married best friend who just got back from his honeymoon.”

“Oh.” Lucas’s voice was barely audible.

“Yeah. Oh.”

“Damn it,” Lucas muttered, rubbing his temples with his thumb and middle finger. “I can’t even—I’m sorry. I made assumptions, and… even if you were cheating, it’s none of my business. Your personal life is your own.”

“Can I just—”

“And I never should’ve let my personal feelings affect our work,” Lucas continued, his voice heavy with regret. “That was completely unprofessional. I crossed so many lines, Reece. I hope you—”

“Why did you, though?” Kieran interrupted.

Lucas tilted his head slightly. “Why did I what?”

“You’re always so professional—almost too formal, honestly. Why did this get to you so much?”

Kieran had to suppress a laugh. The whole week of tension boiled down to Lucas thinking Kieran was cheating on a nonexistent boyfriend. He wasn’t angry, just amused—and very curious about why Lucas cared so much about his supposed infidelity.

Lucas sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I shouldn’t be saying this at work, especially as your boss, but we’re past that point. I’ve had… bad experiences with unfaithful partners. Multiple times. It’s a sensitive issue for me. I hope you can forgive my behavior this week. It won’t happen again.”

“Forgiven and forgotten,” Kieran said with a small smile.

He felt a twinge of disappointment. Part of him had hoped Lucas’s reaction stemmed from mutual attraction, not a painful history of being cheated on. Still, he was relieved the issue was out in the open. They could finally work together properly.

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Lucas said, nodding.

“Now, can you send me the survey data we collected?” Kieran asked, steering them back to work.

In the next few hours, Kieran got more done than he had all week. With Lucas actually communicating, they were a solid team. The presentation was coming together, and Kieran was confident they’d be ready in a week.

Lucas ordered dinner, and they took a break, eating Chinese takeout and chatting—actually chatting—about things beyond surveys and PowerPoint slides.

“This might be the best kung pao chicken I’ve ever had,” Kieran said, savoring a bite.

“Told you,” Lucas said with a chuckle. “This place is incredible. I order from them at least twice a week.”

“Really? I figured you for a health nut—salads for every meal, protein shakes on the side,” Kieran teased.

“I try to cook healthy when I have time, but lately, it’s all takeout,” Lucas admitted.

“I can’t cook to save my life,” Kieran said. “I went through a phase after binging six seasons of MasterChef, thinking I was destined to be a chef. Fifty minutes in the kitchen, and everyone was just glad I didn’t burn the house down.”

“You never tried again?” Lucas asked, amused.

“My friend Roan loves to cook, so I help him out sometimes, but it’s just chopping veggies, nothing fancy,” Kieran said. “I tried making pasta once for some friends and botched it so badly, Roan said I was a disgrace to all Italians.”

“I didn’t know you were Italian,” Lucas said, surprised.

“My dad is,” Kieran clarified.

Lucas hesitated, then spoke up. “You know, there’s this great Italian restaurant I love. I still feel terrible about how I acted this week, and I’d like to make it up to you. Would you let me take you there for an apology dinner tomorrow?”

Kieran grinned. “I’m not saying no to free food.”

“The salmon shirt or this one?” Kieran asked, holding up two shirts for the two men in front of him to inspect.

“Aren’t they the same color?” Roan asked, squinting.

“Are you blind?” Kieran said, mock-offended.

“I don’t see a difference,” Roan said, glancing at his husband, Kai. “Do you?”

“Huh?” Kai looked up from his phone. “Oh, go with the salmon one. It matches your coat better.”

“Your coat’s black…” Roan pointed out.

“Why do I even ask you for fashion advice?” Kieran sighed, eyeing Roan.

“You’ve never actually asked us for fashion advice,” Kai said with a smirk. “But I guess you want to look extra hot for your date tonight.”

“It’s not a date,” Kieran said, comparing the shirts. “You’re right, Kai. Salmon’s better. It’s just an apology dinner.”

“I still can’t believe he thought you were dating me,” Kai said, laughing.

“Not just dating me, but cheating on me,” Roan said, gesturing to himself. “As if anyone would cheat on this.”

“Let me just call my side hoes,” Kai teased. Roan narrowed his eyes, and Kai blew him a kiss in return.

“You two are disgusting, and I’m running late,” Kieran said.

“Can you leave so I can change?”

Kieran had spent the day hanging out with Roan and Kai, and now he was getting ready for his dinner with Lucas at a fancy Italian restaurant he knew well.

“Why does he boss us around in our own house?” Kai muttered as he and Roan left the room.

“I heard that!” Kieran called after them.