4. Chris

The feeling of her soft warm lips against mine that taste like tequila and something else thats her. The warmth of her body against mine drives me crazy.

“Chris?” Luke taps me, jolting me out of my thoughts. I look around remembering my surroundings. We are in my office at the club.

Luke frowns, “What are you thinking about? Ive been calling you, but you were too deep in thought to notice.”

I run my hands down my face feeling remorseful. “Im so sorry. What were you saying?”

He shakes his head, a wry smile on his lips. “A couple of sources just informed me that Alight Group has been making moves to acquire these companies. Which means they are gunning for my market share.”

He holds out a file for me to take. Inside it were short descriptions of the companies in question. “Wow,” I let out. “They really mean business.”

“I dont blame them though. I would have done the same thing if I was in their shoes.”

“Exactly,” I nod, scanning through the file. “You need to research everything about this so you can determine your next move. But you have to keep it secret from your shareholders.”

I close the file and look up at him. “I will have Gabriel look into it for you.”

“Thanks, bro. I knew I could count on you.” He hums, still looking deep in thought.

“Are you still worried about this?” I ask. “Thank God we found out early so we can stop this in time.” I try to assure him, but he shakes his head.

“Nah, Im worried about you.”

“Me?” My eyes widened a little in surprise, and I straightened up in my chair. “Im fine.”

He shakes his head. “No, you are not. You have been acting strange for the past four days. In fact, you have been acting strange after that night at the club.”

I shift in my chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “How so? Im perfectly fine.”

He snorts. “You can lie to everyone but not me. You know that. You have been absentminded several times. You didnt even reprimand your personal assistant Mike for failing to remind you about the meeting you have with a client, which is unlike you.”

I raise an eyebrow, smirking. “You wanted me to yell at him?”

“You know what Im talking about. You are a no-nonsense boss and nothing gets past you. But you have not been your normal self for a while now.” He leans forward on the table. “Tell me the truth. Whats going on with you?”

I sigh, knowing theres no one else who can help me with these restless thoughts but Luke. “I kissed her.”

He shifts in his chair, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Who?”

“Gianna. I dont know what I was thinking. It just happened, and now I cant get it out of my head.”

“Wait.” He stands and leans his two hands on the table. “You kissed Gianna?”

I nod.

“Is it the same Gianna I know, or theres another one?” he asks, clearly trying to wrap his head around it.

“The same Gianna,” I confirm.

“My God.” He slaps my desk and starts pacing.

“Why are you overreacting?”

He stops to give me an unbelievable look. “I told you to apologize for being an asshole to her, not kiss her. Dude, you just made things so much worse.”

True, after learning that shes my neighbor and how she walked out on me. Luke reminded me that I was mean to her and that I had to apologize.

He continues pacing. “Im sure she slapped you. Thats why you are like this. It has to be.”

“She kissed me back.”

He halts and whips his head around to look at me as if zapped by an electric shock. “What? Now tell me more. I cant believe this.” He sits back in his chair, looking interested.

I recount the events. “Then she pushed me and ran away. I even offered to take her home, but she declined.”

He nods. “As expected.”

I run my hands through my hair, messing it up. “I dont know what came over me that night. Now I cant get the taste of her lips out of my head.”

“When last did you get laid?” Luke muses.

I frown, not getting his point. “What has that got to do with this?”

He rolls his eyes. “Just answer the question. I know what Im getting at.”

I shrug. “I dont know. Probably three months ago.”

“You need to get laid,” he says. “Thats the only explanation I can give for your impulsive action of kissing your sister’s best friend, who absolutely loathes you.”

“I dont sleep around, and you know that. You cant expect me to just pick a random girl at the club and sleep with her. Those days are behind me.” I busy myself by arranging the files on my desk.

“I know. But what about Jessica? Im sure she would be down for it.”

I glare at him at the mention of my former fling. Jessica and I were kind of friends until we messed up that friendship with a no-strings-attached relationship. Until one night, after our throes of pleasure, she confessed that she was in love with me. I had to end it immediately.

Thinking about it now, I shouldnt have kissed Gianna. I thought I had learned my lesson with Jessica. Never mess with a friend or a family friend. Here I am again.

“Fuck,” I groan, burying my head in my hands.

“I’m guessing thats you realizing the gravity of what you’ve done,” he offers. “Well, its not that bad. Just get her flowers and apologize.”

I look up to give him an incredulous look. “She doesnt want to see me. She made that clear several times that night.”

He laughs before straightening up. “Sorry. Its just so funny. I think she made it clear she didn’t want to see you after avoiding you for years.” He pauses and searches my face for something.

“What?”

He shrugs, “Im still trying to figure out why you kissed her. Where did you guys even meet?”

“It was at the club. My tipsy self thought it would be a good idea to keep her company and probably apologize.”

“Forget apologizing to her. You have just added to your list of offenses in her book. If Nala learns about this, she will have your head.”

The mention of my sister brings a smile to my face. Shes the only one apart from Chris who can knock some sense into me.

“When is she coming to pay you a visit? Ive missed her sassy self.”

“She hasnt given me a date,” I reply. “Knowing Nala, shes going to pop up without a warning.” We laugh, and Im glad the weight in my chest has decreased.

“I have to get going now,” Luke announces, standing up.

“Me too.” I stand up as well, satisfied with my neatly arranged files on the desk, and we walk out together.

The drive home is swift and quiet. I look at Giannas apartment, and luckily for me, shes outside.

But shes not alone. A man is standing in front of her, pinning her against the iron gates.

“Stop the car!”

“What?” my driver questions, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“I said stop the car.”