Chapter 4

***Dylanne

No. There was no way he was the client I was working with.

“You both know each other?” Rhys asked, his eyes darting between us. He helped pick up my pad and slipped it back into my hands.

I moved back, looking for some kind of balance as I hit the door.

“Sir…” My voice trailed off. “Are you sure this is the client I'm working with? Can't it be someone else?”

“You know I can't do that, Dyl. Kai here needs our help for his company, and he's quite good at what he does. I referred you to him, so you'll both be working closely together.”

No freaking way.

“I can't work with him,” I said immediately.

Kai's face twisted in confusion. “Why?” he asked right after.

“I don't want to.” I looked back at Rhys, who was obviously confused out of his mind. “I can work with anyone else but him.”

“Why? What's wrong with working with me?” Now I could hear the tease in his voice. He had planned this.

He had made us work together in the office because there was no way my boss would make such a mistake.

“You know what? I think I'll leave it this way. Besides, Rhys is like my best friend, and I've seen him work.”

Oh my God, there was no hope for me.

“But—”

Thank God.

“I will check if there's any other spot. In the meantime, you both have to work together. I'm sure you can work perfectly well.”

He didn't wait for my feedback. He picked up his laptop and walked out of the office, leaving me and Kai together.

“What are you doing here? You planned this, didn't you?” I dropped my pad on the desk, rubbing my forehead as I racked my brain for another alternative.

“If you think I stalked you and followed you to my best friend's company… no, I didn't. I didn't know you worked here. Kim didn't tell me.”

“Now you do. I don't want to work with you,” I said plainly.

“Low blow, but you have to, princess.” The words fell from his mouth with a certain rumble. My cheeks warmed.

Focus, Dylanne. Focus.

“What's wrong with working with me anyway? It's not like I suck at it. If it's your job, you have to do it.”

“Don't even get me started.”

I glanced back at him. This time, his hands were out of his pockets, and both legs were crossed over each other on Rhys's table. His eyes glanced over me from top to bottom, and immediately, I felt cautious about what I was wearing.

My hands slipped over each other to check if everything was properly in place. The air suddenly felt stuffy, so I unbuttoned three openings on my shirt.

Working with him might not be so bad. If there was any other opening, like Rhys said, I would take it. Right now, I could act like I was busy with whatever he wanted me to do.

Now I looked at him. “Fine then. We can work together, but please, keep your hands off me.”

I could see the devilish glint in his eye, always accompanied by that charming smile. This time, I caught his gaze on my breasts, like he was stripping me naked with his eyes already. I slowly picked up my tablet and requested his email.

“Sent. Our meeting can be tomorrow, right after my lunchtime. We can discuss anything else you want then.”

“Dyl—”

I didn't wait for anything else as I dashed through the doors and pulled into the office corridors, my weak heart beating quickly.

—------------------------------------------------------

How hard is it to pick clothes for a business meeting? It’s just a business meeting, not a date.

Technically…

“Seemed to me like you're dressing up for a date,” Kim said behind me. Guilt fluttered in my stomach as I held the satin shirt and a really short skirt in both hands.

“If you were going on a date, you would've told me, you know? We could have gone shopping using Kai's card.”

“I'm… well… I'm not really going on a date. I just have a thing.”

My stomach grumbled just from the lie.

“What thing?” she asked, intrigued this time. I hate lying to Kim, but this situation was different. This was about Kai, and she had made me promise I wouldn't do anything with him.

This wouldn't just hurt her; it would break her.

“I kinda have a business meeting with a client, but it's just a casual meeting.”

“Hmm, that's nice.”

She got down from the bed and walked toward the wardrobe. Unlike me, Kim was born into old money, so she doesn't need to work much. However, she helps run part of the family businesses, that way she contributes.

She held my satin dress, her eyes raking the wardrobe for something else, something better. I won't lie, her style is much better than mine.

“I think since it's something casual, you can wear… this!” She stretched her arm and pulled out my burgundy long-sleeved dress that always reached my knees.

“This looks cute, and it's casual.”

“I don't know… doesn't it look like I'm about to seduce someone?”

She burst out into a fit of laughter. “OMG, not really, silly. This just fits you better, and it looks casual, not too professional.” Then she had a thought. “You know what? I'm heading out, so I can drive you wherever?”

“No!”

She narrowed her eyes at me, heavy with nothing but confusion.

“No, uhm… I can take a taxi there or an Uber. I'm going far so I would just delay you.”

“O-kay.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek. “I have to leave, something important came up. If you need help with something, you can just call me, okay?”

“Sure.”

God, I even sounded terrible. How was I going to hide this from her for a long time? If she ever found out Kai and I had even hooked up years ago, that would ruin our friendship.