12. Kian

12

KIAN

L ike a creeper, I stare at the closed ladies' bathroom door, waiting for my moment.

The previous two hours have passed slower than any I've ever known.

I wasn't lying, I had back-to-back meetings that would have been too much for her to keep up with on her first morning.

She might have been trying to put on a brave face earlier, but I could see the turmoil bubbling behind her eyes.

I'd thrown her for a loop by having Rebecca escort her up here and announce that she was to be my assistant and not Martin's.

Fuck Martin.

She's way too good to be hanging out on his floor.

Something unfamiliar stirs in my stomach as I think about her following him around, about the way I know the younger men down on the finance floor would watch her in turn.

Not fucking happening.

Glancing at the clock, I note that there are only five minutes left of the two hours of freedom I gave her.

Smoothing my tie down, I turn my monitor off and push to stand. Pocketing my cell, I throw my jacket over my arm and march from my office, aware that she's still hiding in the bathroom.

She's been in there for so long that there can't be any other explanation. A smirk pulls at my lips as I think about her in there, psyching herself up for facing me again.

Melissa looks up from her desk as I approach with her usual soft smile playing on her lips.

"How is she getting on?" I ask before she gets a chance to say anything.

Melissa nods, her smile widening.

I trust her judgment. Always have. She's steered both King and me in the right direction more than a few times over the years.

"Yeah, she's great. Different," she adds.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, thinking of those who've come before her.

My assistants have come in all shapes and sizes over the years in the hope of finding one that fits.

Young, old, male, female, experienced, fresh out of college.

None of them worked out.

I don't know what it is about Lorelei that makes me think that she might be the one, but Melissa is right—there is something different about her.

"She's…feisty. Something tells me that she's not going to take the kind of shit the others have."

I cock my head to the side. "What are you trying to say, Melissa?"

"Oh, don't give me that innocent puppy-dog look, Kian Callahan. It will never work with me."

I smile innocently.

"Just give her a chance, yeah?"

"I have. I got her here."

"Yeah, about that…"

The sound of a door opening down the hallway cuts off Melissa's question. I'm grateful because other than spinning a line about seeing potential in Lorelei, I don't really have a reason for stealing her from Martin.

It was a hot-headed, rash decision that I'm not sure I could fully explain to anyone. Thankfully, having an office on this floor of the building means that I don't have to explain anything.

Well, that's not entirely true. King likes to grill my ass for anything I do that he doesn't agree with or understand. And I'm pretty sure he's going to have something to say about this when he finds out.

Honestly, I'm amazed he hasn't turned up here yet to confirm that what he's heard is true.

There is no way that Lorelei didn't immediately alert Tate the second she left my office earlier.

Goosebumps erupt across my body as heels clicking against the polished tiles beneath our feet echo around us.

Slipping away from Melissa's desk, I stand beside Lorelei's.

Her new laptop and a few messy sheets of paper are strewn across it haphazardly.

My eyes lock on the only item of hers that sits on top of the papers.

At first, I think it's an innocent pen. But then as her footsteps get closer, I focus on the writing down the side.

I watch porn at work.

Well then…

The second she turns the corner and finds me standing here, her steps falter and a loud gasp fills the air.

"Mr. Callahan," she whispers.

"You're late," I state, knowing full well that it's bullshit.

There's a second of silence while she decides how to react. Then her eyes narrow and a fire erupts within me, because I know which route she's going.

Her chin lifts and she holds my eyes firmly.

"I think you'll find that I still have a full two minutes before you require my services."

"Two minutes before we need to leave."

"Leave?" she balks.

"Yes. We have a meeting to attend. You are accompanying me. But before we go…" Leaning forward, I pluck the pen from her desk, holding it up for her to see. If she's shocked by what's on it, or my actions, then she doesn't show it. "What is this?" I demand.

Her lips twitch with amusement. "Oh, that." She laughs. "I stole it," she says simply, plucking it from my fingers before she reaches for her purse hanging over the back of her chair. "From your desk. Now, are we leaving or what?"

I stand there with my chin dropped as she sashays toward the elevator, ready to head out.

Melissa's quiet laughter behind me fills the air and my temperature soars.

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you shouldn't be giving her any chances. She's got you pegged from day one."

She's still chuckling behind me as I march toward where Lorelei is waiting.

As I get to her, the elevator doors open and she steps inside with her head held high.

Unable to do anything else, I follow her, allowing the doors to close and cage us in.

The sweet scent of her perfume permeates the air, ensuring that my heart continues to race.

"That pen isn't mine," I blurt like a moron.

What I should do is ignore the whole thing.

Clearly, it was a joke. One at my expense. But a joke nonetheless.

"Is that right?" she muses, refusing to look me in the eyes despite the fact I'm glaring into hers. "What is the meeting we're attending first? I would like a little heads up before walking in."

"We're meeting with our lawyer about a future investment. I'm going to need you to take notes."

"Okay," she agrees with a smug smile playing on her lips.

The sight of it irritates me instantly.

She knows she got to me with that pen stunt, and I fucking hate it.

"There weren't any minutes about an investment. Anything else I need to know?" she asks as we begin to descend through the building.

"No."

The second we hit the ground floor and the doors part, I stride out, leaving her to rush to keep up.

"Are we late or something?" she calls after I've greeted the doorman and come to a stop beside my car as Jamie, my driver, pulls the back door open.

"Afternoon, sir," he greets as I climb in.

Jamie has been my driver for about a year, but no matter how many times I tell him to call me Kian, he refuses. A part of me loves it. Another part…not so much.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Jamie, Mr. Callahan's driver," he says politely behind me.

"Hi Jamie," Lorelei says softly. "Please, call me Lori. I'm Mr Callahan's new assistant."

"How wonderful to meet you. I'm sure you'll love working for Callahan Enterprises."

"Oh, Mr. Callahan will make sure of that," she all but sneers as she joins me in the back of the car a beat before Jamie closes us in.

Forced to suck in yet another breath laced with her scent, I turn to look out the window as she gets comfortable beside me.

With an efficiency I'm used to from Jamie, he swiftly pulls into the passing traffic in the direction of our lawyer's office.

Ignoring my assistant, I pull my cell from my pocket and open a message I know is waiting for me.

Makenzie: I'm bored.

I shake my head, picturing my kid sister staring out of the window instead of paying attention at school.

Kian: You should be in class.

Makenzie: I am. It's history. I'm over it.

Kian: If you listen, you might actually learn something.

Makenzie: You're meant to be the fun one. Come and get me, let's go and do something crazy.

Kian: I'm at work.

Makenzie: As yes, the big important CFO of Callahan Enterprises. Don't tell me, you're in a boring meeting too.

Kian: Nope. I'm too busy trying to make my new assistant cry.

Makenzie: I never want you to be my boss. You're mean.

Kian: Pay attention, Makenzie. I'll test you later.

Makenzie: You don't even know the topic.

Kian: Maybe not but you can bet that I'll find out before you get home.

Lorelei might not be looking at me, or paying me any kind of attention, but I know she's just as hyper aware of me as I am her. The skin down the right-hand side of my body is burning red hot despite the fact there's more than a handful of inches between us.

"So," she says, finally breaking the silence between us. "There really is nothing that I need to know about this meeting that will help me assist you?"

I don't say anything. Instead, I continue to keep my eyes trained outside of the car as I take slow, calm breaths.

If this is going to work, I'm going to need to let her in.

I'm going to need to trust her.

But…do I even want this to work? Or did I just want to fuck with her head?

"We're meeting Kingston, our father, and our lawyer to discuss a possible investment. We're still in the beginning stages of the process. No decisions have been made. We're just information gathering to see if this would be a good move for Callahan Enterprises to make."

"What is it?"

"There is a chain of British hotels that are weeks away from bankruptcy. King is interested because?—"

"Of Tate," she finishes for me.

"Because it could be a good investment," I correct. "Business deals are made with the head, Lorelei, not the heart."

"You mean you have one?"

My teeth grind at her quick comeback.

"We're talking about Kingston here if I'm not mistaken. Not me."

"Right," she muses as her rapt attention burns the side of my face.

I want to turn farther away from her, stop her from seeing more than I want her to, but I hold firm and keep my head high.

Let her look all she wants—my mask is better than her inquisitiveness.

"We don't have a lot of assets in the British market. It's somewhere we've talked about branching out to in the future, so this is just a part of that. If the numbers don't add up, it won't happen," I explain simply.

The truth is, Lorelei is right. From what I've already seen, the numbers are a fucking mess and there is a very good reason why this chain is going under.

Of course, bad management and structure have a massive part to play in that, but it will be a huge challenge and need a sizeable investment to turn it around.

But it isn't the potential profit that is appealing to Kingston.

It's the fact his wife loves being in England. And if this works out, then…

Before I know what I'm doing, my hand has lifted from my lap and I'm dragging my palm down my face.

It's always been me and King. Or should I say, King and me?

I've followed him everywhere. Sometimes by choice, I guess, but mostly because it's been expected of me. The only real difference between us growing up was our majors at college.

King did business, I did finance. But then, while we might have somewhat "chosen" our directions, I think we both knew deep down that we'd been groomed into the decisions we made. Our father knew what our lives were going to look like long before we were born, and unlike Kieran, we just…went along with it.

I never really questioned it. It felt right.

But now, watching Kieran living out his dream every weekend, I can't help but wonder if there was ever anything else out there for me.

Or was I always destined to end up here, always living in the shadow of my big brother while watching my little one live the life that no one ever thought he'd achieve?

A heavy sigh threatens, but I keep it locked away.

The car slows to a stop and only a second later, Jamie has the door open and I'm climbing out.

Should I wait and allow Lorelei to go first? Probably.

Do I? Hell no.

Her heated glare burns into my back as I smooth my jacket down and stride toward the front doors.

With a nod at the doorman, I march inside and toward the lift.

I don't need to look back to know she's following; I can feel her.

Nothing is said as we move toward the floor we want, and the second we step out, I find both my big brother and father waiting for us.

"You're late," Dad barks.

I raise a brow at him, unamused that he dares to reprimand me when he barely bothers to turn up to work week after week.

I've already lost King's attention, which has been on Lorelei since the second she appeared behind me, although he doesn't look shocked by her appearance, confirming what I already knew. But Dad takes a little longer to clock her, and when he does, his entire face lights up.

"And who do we have here?" he asks, letting his eyes run up and down the length of her.

Disgust swirls in my stomach and my fists clench at my sides.

Dad might be married—again—right now, but I'm pretty sure he'll always be a womanizer who is always looking for an upgrade. I could tell him right here that Lorelei isn't that.

"Lorelei, I heard a rumor you might be here. What a surprise," Kingston says with an amused smirk. "Dad, you remember Tatum's best friend from the wedding, right?"