The doorbell rang and a wide smile rose on my face. I rushed through the corridor and opened the door. “Come in, Ashley.”“Are you sure it's OK for me to be here?” she asked, nervously nibbling on her lip.I nodded. “Killian won't be back until tomorrow, and I'm seriously tired of being in this huge apartment alone.”“All right then.” She giggled and stepped inside. Her mouth opened as she scanned the spacious hall, illuminated by the fiery glow of the setting sun. “This is amazing,” she breathed out before shifting her gaze to me. “Can I live here? I can cook,” she offered.I snorted. “You can't cook.”She frowned. “I can learn.”“Better not,” I murmured, leading her upstairs to my bedroom.Her eyes traced every inch of the penthouse as we climbed the stairs and passed the long corridor. “This place is amazing... I knew that Killian had to live in luxury, but this… Wow…”I chuckled and winked at her. “Yep. I had a similar reaction.”Her awe only increased as she entered my bedroom. I
The drama ended with a few slaps, Briana's tears, and an intervention from the guards who had to separate Jane and Gwen. Unfortunately, not everything went as I hoped it would. Dylan scurried away at the first moment of distraction. Briana also ran off somewhere, trying to save the shreds of her dignity. The two lovers were escorted out of the building, and they were the ones who received the strongest blow. No one had seen Dylan for the rest of the day…“So, are you going to tell me how you did it?” Ashley had been drilling a hole in my stomach since we returned to our office. She knew I would never get into details in front of the rest of the team, so she waited until I took a break and she dragged me to the roof. “Please tell me what you did. I need to know.”I shook my head. “Nope. Otherwise, you might be called my accomplice.”She gave me a meaningful look. "I am already your accomplice. I encouraged you. I even suggested killing Dylan.”I chuckled. “You're unbelievable.”“Please
KILLIANRaw fury still heated my blood as Josie and I sat in a private section of my friend's Italian restaurant. She tried to smile each time I glanced at her, but the pale shade of her skin and her tensed muscles betrayed how mortified she was.I had been gone for three days, and those three fucking days were enough to drown the whole company in chaos. Of course, Josie was in the damn center of that storm, and she had been dealing with all of it alone.I should have remained composed. I never had any problems with it. I should have gathered all the facts and calculated my response. But from the moment I learned about what had happened, acting coldly and staying composed became impossible to achieve. I couldn't recall the last time I felt this kind of rage. It was all because of her. Why? I had no fucking idea why. I couldn't detect any logic in my current urges. Yes, Josie was valuable to me, but she was supposed to be the pawn in my game. Being a pawn didn't give her the right to s
JOSIEThe rest of our dinner passed in awkward silence, with me playing the awkward part and Killian being unbearably silent. I tried to focus on my ravioli, ignoring Killian's heated stare. I gave up on eating halfway and decided to drink instead. Was this his new form of torture? If it was, he deserved to be applauded for his unique cunningness.We exchanged a few, rather meaningless, words on the way back to the penthouse, but just like in the restaurant, the words were not important; it was everything else around us that mattered.I could hardly breathe as we entered the elevator car and headed to the top floor. Killian's eyes kept tracing my face, my clothes, my silhouette... Heart pounded in my chest, and my hands began to sweat. I tried to think about anything other than him standing so close to me. I refused to acknowledge how perfectly his suit embraced his broad shoulders or how the fabric of his shirt clung to his well-formed pectoral muscles. I forced myself to ignore his
Killian disappeared for a minute and then returned with a first-aid kit. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed my injured foot on his lap. Heat flooded my cheeks. My nightgown was still wet, my foot was bleeding, and I still couldn't figure out how I ended up in this situation.“There's a piece of glass stuck inside the cut. I will have to take it out,” he said calmly.My breath caught. “Maybe I should do it.” I tried to move my foot from his lap, but he grabbed my ankle, keeping it in place.“I promise it won't hurt. Relax.” He chuckled.Was he serious?! I was sitting on his bed wearing a damp nightgown that exposed more skin than covered. He was still missing a shirt, and the waistband of his sweatpants hung below his back dimples. Relaxing was the last thing I could do!I swallowed, watching him grab tweezers in his hand. “Do you even know what you're doing?”Amusement danced on his lips. “Believe it or not, I treated much worse cuts before. Don't look if it bothers you.”I held
Surprisingly, I was able to get some sleep. Killian's kiss must have burned some circuits in my brain, and my system generously decided to shut down. Certainly, as soon as I regained my awareness in the morning—or rather, merely a few hours later—restlessness was up and ready to swallow me whole.I knew that our morning was bound to be the very definition of awkwardness. We couldn't pretend that nothing had happened. Some boundaries had been crossed, and I had yet to figure out how to cope with this new situation. I also might have had some explaining to do. The problem was that I had no idea what arguments I should use.There were no feelings between Killian and me. We certainly were on the road to something, but that path was rather straight and had a large sign “fuck buddy” at the end of it. For now, I could see no roundabouts or crossroads to turn elsewhere.I envied Killian his unrestrained honesty. He was confident. He knew what he wanted, and he was not afraid to reach for it. M
I froze, processing the brunette's words. She couldn't be telling the truth. Why would Killian need a fake girlfriend if he had a real one? Drawing a deep breath, I faced her. “If you had been his girlfriend, you would have known that Killian's not here.”“If he's not here, then why are you here?” she hissed. “And why the hell should I believe you?”My annoyance grew, and I was seriously tired of her arrogance. “Look… I don't know you, but if you want to meet Killian, maybe you should call him first instead of trying to sneak into his penthouse like some stalker.”She lurched forward, pushing me away from the door. “I'm not letting you in there!”I stumbled back, but quickly regained my balance. “Are you crazy?!” I yelled.The elevator door opened, and a man stepped out of the car. Just perfect. More unwanted guests. The man was tall and well-built. His hair was a mass of wavy auburn strands. He was wrapped in a deep violet three-piece suit that screamed expensive. I had no idea who h
I inhaled slowly, analyzing Tony's words. I had never met Adeline and Maxwell Blair, but I heard about them. Killian's father had been known for his uncompromising approach to business. I heard he was ruthless and sometimes cruel, mercilessly taking over smaller companies to build his empire.As for Killian's mother, I hadn't even known her name until I signed the contract with Killian and did a little research on the Blair family. Later, I found a few magazine photos taken at luxurious galas where she stood proudly beside her husband. Adeline was a glamorous woman, an ageless beauty, with her lips always forming a faint, mysterious smile.“Is Maxwell Blair as terrifying as they say?” I asked.Tony chuckled. “Yes… and no. Killian's father loathes stupidity and loves smart people, but above all, he despises those who lack ambition and are lazy. Guess he'll appreciate your choice to work at Blair Digital even though you could have simply been Killian's girlfriend and used his money.”I