Chapter Eleven
"Elli, could you make a couple copies of this for me?" I asked my secretary as I handed the paper over to her. "We need to have everything in order before next week, so we ought to making sure we have the proper documentation for everything."
"Of course, Ms. Hart," she replied with a slight bow. I watched as she slipped out the door, and only then did I allow myself to heave a rather heavy sigh. Work was finally getting to me it seemed which meant I was more stressed than ever. The head honchos apparently weren't convinced we were pulling our share of the workload, and so they'd arranged an 'inspection' of sorts. I knew that it was just their way of squeezing out that much more production out of us for the same pay, but it still didn't make my life any easier.
I lit another cigarette, my third in only the last ten minutes, yet like the ones that came before it, there was no comfort to be found in its sweet smoke. Although I knew I should've been busy emptying out my inbox, the problem was that I didn't know where the hell to begin. I suppose the top of the pile was the most logical solution, but... I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe I was getting lazy, or perhaps I had forgotten how to take care of this kind of shit on my own.
Whatever my problem was... it sure as hell wasn't helping me get anything done.
"Here you are, Ms. Hart," Elli chirped, placing the files on my desk. "Is there anything else you need?" Glancing up at her and those warm, brown eyes of hers, I couldn't help thinking she almost looked like a small puppy who was more than happy to please her master. Such a sweet girl... and yet she was stuck here with me on a Friday.
"Actually..." I began while tapping my pen on the desk. I did have something I wanted to address although I'd already sent a memo out to my worthless employees. Still... "Can you call a meeting?"
--
The conference room was really nothing special which was probably for the best being as we rarely used it. What was the point with only seven of us around here? Besides, given the sage green walls and drab carpeting, no one would honestly want to be in there for very long... if at all. However, I didn't build the damn place, so if the big wigs wanted to piss away their money, I had no reason to complain. As long as they still signed my paycheck, I was perfectly willing to have a useless space or two.
One by one, though, my little drones came marching in at a quarter to ten. To no one's real surprise, Vaughn was the first to arrive, his face stern in either diligent thought or annoyance since I could never really tell which it was. It was difficult not to smile upon seeing him, but because Elli was standing beside me, I wouldn't allow myself to show any signs of fondness for the man. He was a dedicated worker anyway... nothing more.
For that, I merely respected him.
Although I would've never expected as much from him, Denny followed soon after with his head slightly bowed. He had heavy bags under his eyes, but other than that, he was more or less the same slob he'd always been. Bad posture and all... Why we even bothered to keep him around, I wonder never know for certain.
Gray and Claire came in together which wouldn't have been of too much interest except for the fact that he didn't even glance her way. In fact, as her hand gently brushed against his, I noticed his entire face flushed a bright red right up to the roots of his blonde hair, and he turned his shoulder to her, stiffening all the more. She didn't even seem to realize his sudden coldness towards her, though, since she was too busy letting her gaze linger a short ways behind her, and I was staring off in that very direction as well.
"Shall we get this show on the road then?" Kai asked on his way in behind the young woman, making him the last of my lackeys to arrive. As he plopped in his his chair next to Denny, he stretched himself out and propped his feet up on the table, but he didn't even flinch when I shot a glare in his direction. Instead, the bastard actually had the gall to grin at me.
"Now that you're all here, allow me to explain our current situation," I began, narrowing my eyes at the rouge for a brief instant. "It would seem that the Board has decided that they may have to bring in a second branch to handle our company's financial matters," I explained while Elli stood beside me, jotting down notes. I snuck a glance at each of my employees, and I took some pride in knowing I still held whatever minimal attention span they had to offer. "Although I feel it is inevitable that they shall be making a new firm, we should still concern ourselves with doing our damnedest to stay on top of things around here... even ahead of them."
I overhead Gray mutter something rather ugly under his breath, but Claire was quick to silence him with a nudge.
"Yes, that will entail working a few more hours, but that is expected from each and every one of of you, including Elli and myself." I caught Kai and Denny exchange glances, yet although I knew that look carried an entire conversation, I didn't understand a fucking word of it. However, Vaughn remained stoic as ever, only offering a slight nod in understanding.
Knowing him, even considering how little I did know of the man, that meant he'd just cancelled all of his previous engagements for the coming week.
"If no one has any further questions, then you're dismissed," I finished with a curt nod of my own. Without a moment's hesitation, they all slid back their chairs and stood to leave. However, it seemed that Kai had chosen to linger for a while longer, and to my surprise, we were completely alone together since Elli had all but vanished into thin air. "And what is it that you need, Mr. Makani?" I asked through gritted teeth and a forced smile.
"Nothing more than a minute of your time," he assured me as he came towards me with slow, deliberate steps. Although he wore a gentle smile, the way my heartbeat began to pick up speed... I knew there wasn't a damn bit of kindness behind it. Like his ironed suits and buffed shoes, it was nothing but a disguise. Even his distinct cologne was meant to give a false sense of security as far as I was concerned. How many women had he deceived in such a way, I wondered... before he happened to sink his teeth into me? Did he treat them all the same, or was there something about me that made me more vulnerable than others?
"You're still scared of me?" he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "I told you that I'm not the same man I used to be," he sighed as he came ever closer. Soon enough... he'd slithered right in front of me, just like the fucking snake he really was, but it was just him, me, and the wall with no other alternatives.
"Leave me the hell alone," I growled as I straightened my back and looked him right in the eye with nothing less than absolute defiance. "I'll admit that you're easier to stomach-" He snickered wickedly then, resting his hand on the wall behind me, but I chose to ignore his unsurprisingly crude sense of humor. "But you won't ever touch me again, or so help me God, I'll have your ass thrown in jail. After all...
Maybe it's time you tried being someone's bitch for once."
He balked slightly, his dark eyes widening as he did so, but soon enough that cat-like grin of his returned although now it seemed even more predatory than before. "Oh... come on now, Gracie," he purred, slipping a finger under the front of my camisole, "that's not very-"
"Didn't you hear her?" a gruff voice snarled. "The little lady told you not to touch her." My gaze immediately fell just behind Kai to find Vaughn's dark figure looming over us, his violet eyes iced over with disgust. However, while the other man's tanned face paled, I heard myself breathe a sign of relief to have been found just in the nick of time. "I'm not exactly sure what you were planning on doing, Makani," he continued, "but it's not gonna be happening any time soon." He paused once more, closing his eyes slowly before opening them again with the same unnerving level of control. "Now get."
Almost as if he was a wounded dog, Kai reluctantly slunk off with his tail tucked between his legs, and only then did I allow myself to fall against the wall in defeat. It was like I couldn't breathe with that unforgivable leach hovering over me all the time. I supposed it was partially my fault, though... being that I let him get away with putting the moves on me during more than one occasion.
Vaughn, on the other hand, merely kept his unwavering gaze fixated on the now vacant doorway. It was only after I coughed slightly that he even bothered to look at me again, and even then, it was like he didn't see me at all. I wondered if he'd ever seen anyone, though, since he seemed to live on another plane entirely. Some people were simply loners, but I honestly felt like he really was above the rest of us.
Then again... maybe it was just because I felt so damn low.
"I suppose this is when I'm supposed to thank you," I chuckled nervously, smoothing out my skirt. He raised an eyebrow for a brief instant, but as expected, the expression was gone in the blink of an eye which made me wonder if it'd ever been there at all. How anyone could maintain such a level of calm and self reliance... I would never know.
"I just came to get my pen," he replied as he slipped a ballpoint into the front pocket of his black shirt. "That's all." However, both of us knew full well that wasn't the case because no one had even brought anything with them...
"Okay then," I agreed with a knowing grin. "Then I guess I don't owe you anything." When I stepped around him, I was confident that I saw that ghost of a smile I'd only heard about in rumors, and I decided right at that moment that I liked it very much. After all, he wore it oh so well... However, I was still surprised when I actually heard him chuckle to himself, a low rumbling from deep within his chest that reminded me of thunder in the distance.
"Guess not."
--
"So your black knight came to your rescue, huh?" Elli asked cheerfully as she locked the door behind us. I felt my face warm when she said it, but I still couldn't hide my bashful smile. She simply giggled in reply to my unnatural expression, and I merely rolled my eyes concerning her giddy behavior. Good lord... she was such a... girl. "You must've been frightened, though," she added solemnly, her eyes becoming downcast. "I know I would be..."
"Not really," I scoffed while pressing the unlock button on my key ring. The lights of my car flashed, and I smiled with smug satisfaction when I pressed the auto start. Technology could be a beautiful, though more often than not unnecessary, thing. "Kai has gotten better, after all."
"How so?" she pressed rather doubtfully. Not that I couldn't understand her distrust towards the man, of course, since his current attitude was still god awful by anyone's standards outside his own.
"Just let me take you home, and I'll explain it to you on the way there," I offered as I slipped into the driver's seat. While she came to sit beside me, I added, "I don't like you riding the bus so late at night anyway." Could anyone possibly blame me for feeling protective of her, though? Elli was the eternal darling of all those 1940's and 50's glamour magazines, without the vacuum cleaner, and I'd be damned if I let drunk ass, sleaze bag lay a hand on my secretary. The very thought made my skin crawl in the worst possible way...
"You're much too kind, Ms. Hart," she thanked me, moving back the seat and crossing her legs ever so neatly. I almost chuckled to see how polite she insisted on being, even during off hours, and I had to wonder if she always behaved like this. Didn't she ever just want to cut loose once in a while?
"Come on now, Elli," I laughed quietly. "You don't always have to be so formal with me..." She simply raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, and I shook my head in amusement. "Just call me 'Grace,'" I explained to which she nodded in understanding.
"Very well," she agreed as she folded her hands delicately in her lap. I just rolled my eyes with a smile tugging at my lips. "So... please tell me Ms... Grace, what do you mean by he's 'gotten better?'" she continued. "Because if I may say so, he's absolutely disgusting in every possible sense of the word."
At that point, I couldn't help but throw my head back and laugh. It was as close as I'd ever heard the young woman come to cussing, but it was still pretty damn funny to hear her talk like that. Even her face seemed to reflect an utter, yet restrained, distaste for the man, and it was all I could do to concentrate on shifting my car into reverse. However, I laughed even harder when the poor girl gave a shriek once I punched it out onto the quiet street. You know... I don't think I've ever heard someone cry out "Merciful heavens!" in my car before, either.
"Let's just say I've known Kai for quite some time..." I began while we continued to cruise at a leisurely sixty miles per hour down the endless maze of side streets. I must admit that I was really proud of Elli, though, since she only gasped on the off chance I went the wrong direction on a one way. "Even before I even made it in the front door of this business."
Once we made it onto the freeway, the little woman slouched back into her seat with a sigh of relief. Poor thing might not make it... I thought with a smile. "Where did you happen to meet Mr. Makani then?"
"It was on my last Spring Break in college," I explained, thinking back on the photo I still had stashed away in the bottom drawer of my desk. the image was as familiar to me as the back of my hand and, unfortunately, so were all the feelings I had back then, but of course, I always told myself that such feelings didn't exist in the first place. After all, it was just a spur of the moment thing. Just another one night stand...
"He was working as a cook in some local joint in Miami, but when I first met him... I was so shit-faced I can't even tell you how I ran across him." My companion might've frowned, but I only laughed at my own youthful follies as I rolled down the window and lit up a cigarette. "I was apparently speaking in Spanish," I mused.
"Why would you be doing that?" she asked with a peculiar look on her face. "I know you took four years of it, but I still don't understand how-"
"Because I usually end up speaking Spanish when I'm drunk," I chuckled while my hair flew about my face. "Luckily for me... Kai knew enough of it to find out where I was staying with a friend of mine, and he took me back himself." Elli only stared at me in disbelief. "I know he comes across a a real ass, but he does have a heart at times," I assured her with a gentle pat on her leg. Then I thought bitterly, When he's not chasing pussy, of course.
At that point, I wasn't really sure if I should go on since... well... I honestly didn't want my companion to know much else. It wasn't as if he took advantage of me per se... but he certainly didn't waste any time getting to know every detail of my personal life. From how many guys I'd been with up until that point to what I liked and didn't like done to me, he went down the whole damn list on our way back to my hotel. What's worse was that I didn't have the sense to shut my fucking mouth, and it ran on and on until he left me in the care of my bewildered friend.
Speaking of which...
"You remember how I told you about that appointment I had with the manager of the new branch?" I asked to which Elli nodded in agreement. "That was actually my old college buddy... I really should introduce you sometime."
"Now, Grace," she chided me gently, "this is not the time to be changing the subject." Before I could offer her a reply, I realized that we were going to miss our exit, and I made a hard turn to the right, darting out in front of a semi in the process. She might've screamed in sheer terror, but I just rammed the gas pedal to the floor with all the force I could handle. Just by less than inch, we made it through unharmed, and I promptly flipped off the driver when he blew his horn.
"Go blow it out your ass!" I snapped at him as I glared into my rearview mirror. However, Elli remained absolutely silent, plastered to her seat while she clutched at both the oh-shit handle and her arm rest. Her small mouth had fallen open like a fish, yet in the way that only she could manage with those wide, fright filled eyes and goofy expression, she still looked as cute as ever.
"Like I was saying," I continued on with a wave of my hand. "The next morning I was fucked up something awful. Headache, nausea, sensitivity to just about everything... the whole shebang. But then I realized there was this good-looking piece of ass lying in my bed." Taking a moment to glance over towards my companion, I could tell she didn't approve of this part of the story at all, but being as she was the one who was so insistent upon knowing such things, I decided I might as well give her what she wanted. "So, of course, I was thinking, 'What the hell? Who the fuck is this guy?'
"The thing is that he was still wearing his clothes from the night before and so was I. Turns out that the only reason he was there at all was since my friend had been worried about me. Kai was just asked to keep an eye on me because my buddy wasn't exactly sure what could be done."
"But that doesn't really explain why he treats you the way he does now," Elli said at last.
"Well, I couldn't just kick him out after he went out of his way like that for me," I replied. "We hit it off once I bought him a few drinks at the bar to make up for it, and from there... all I can say is it was one hell of a ride," I drifted off wistfully as I recalled that week of unbridled bliss. Chowing down on deep-fried shrimp or conch nuggets and chatting with him while he worked at the restaurant, drinking piƱa coladas before five o'clock, and listening to Jimmy Buffett and Bob Marley into the early morning hours.
Not to mention him taking me to the nude beaches during the day and skinny dipping at night which, I must admit, was pretty damn fun. Maybe that was because, for the first time in my life, I felt completely free of anything and everything my family and society had ever decided was 'the best' for me.
The steamy moments of heated passion weren't all that bad, either, since he was already well experienced in such matters. Especially with all the information he'd gathered from me during the first night babysitting me. Funny how he seemed to have that planned out...
If I'd known I might see him again, in a suit and tie instead of a faded pair of torn jeans, though, I wouldn't have been so careless.
Seeing him as one of my future employees had never crossed my mind, either, and I suppose that in itself wasn't all too surprising. However, what really shocked me was my reaction upon realizing it was the same Kai I'd met all those years ago when he came into my office for his interview. Even then, he'd been so smug... that shit-eating grin of his plastered on his face, and how could I forget that spark in his brown eyes upon recognizing me at first glance? Luckily for me, his credentials were good and his work, though ethically questionable most of the time, brought profitable results, or I sure as hell would've been found out for hiring him in a moment of nostalgia alone.
From there, though, I'd also somehow found myself in his bed on more than one occasion without even knowing how he duped me into it in the first place... He'd often use that fact against me to benefit himself in some way, too, which usually resulted in him getting extra vacation time. He was a cunning trickster if nothing else.
"Ms. Hart?" Upon hearing the soft, reassuring voice of my companion, I blinked to find myself back in my car with Elli still sitting beside me. Although it took me a moment to regain my bearings, I realized that we were already in the 'burbs, and without me even being consciously aware of it, we were fast approaching her quiet, little street. "Before we get to my house, might I offer a suggestion concerning Mr. Makani?"
"Of course," I sighed being as I was rather desperate for advice of how to deal with the man. I was clearly at my wits' end, but even more so... I just wanted someone else to take the burden of making a decision about what to do with him. I sure as hell was incapable of it by the looks of things since I couldn't even fire the bastard.
"Have you ever considered sending him to a sensitivity training course?" Elli asked while we pulled alongside the charming little house with the white picket fence she called home. When she said it, the car lurched to an abrupt halt, and I stared at her in utter disbelief. She had done it again, it seemed...
"Elli, you're an absolute genius!" I cried out, hugging the young woman around the neck. "That's just what we'll do!" After all, even if bastard didn't learn a damn thing about real women, at least I was guaranteed his complete humiliation. "What's worse than an egotistical ass like him having to sit through a required therapy session?" I chuckled as I lit another cigarette, the small cancer stick bouncing between my lips.
While I continued to laugh, I could see my secretary shaking her head sorrowfully, no doubt thinking that I'd missed the point of sending him to such an event entirely, but I knew she honestly hoped to rehabilitate the man. Still, I couldn't help the having the image of the poor bastard's face when I told him what his 'punishment' would be for trying to make a smooth move on me. This would be far better than Vaughn's cold and icy stare, too, since word would spread through the office rather quickly to seal his fate.
"And one last thing," Elli began as she stepped out of my car and bent down to look through the opening. "Do you remember that dinner I offered you about a month or two ago? The invitation is always open to you," she assured me with a kind smile. I also smiled gratefully up at her when she said it, but soon enough she was trotting up her driveway, into her cozy little home, and out of sight.
It was at that moment I felt a pang of regret because I realized how cruel and heartless I must've seemed just then, laughing at Kai's impending misfortune. Especially when I thought back on that last remaining photograph of he and I from that spring so long ago...
That was all I had left from those days, and in it, Kai was carrying me bridal style as he stepped onto the yacht he'd borrowed from a wealthy friend of his. The sun had shown off of his bronzed skin, yet it all but fried my pale and tender flesh after having spent the entire winter up north with clouds overhead and a blanket of snow underneath. I still smirked to recall how he'd convinced me not to bother with wearing the top half of my bikini top for the entire trip to sea. I also remembered I'd sworn never to do it again because my chest was burned for the remainder of the week.
However, what I haunted me the most was the fact that I hadn't told Elli everything I knew of the man. It was the only heartfelt truth I had to his identity which was something I treasured even more than that photo. The thing I knew was quite beautiful in its simplicity as well.
More than anything... Kai hated to be alone.
