Previously: Emily invites Hilary to a dinner for her company. By surprise, Kai is already there. After agreeing to one last night of fake secret dating, they're heading back to their table for dinner but on the way, a picture is taken of them together.

To be blunt, I don't know what's going on. I'm just here for the ride

Blind spots appeared after the flash and I have to blink to try and clear them away.

"Go back to the table," Kai whispers in my ear before leaving my side. The man with the camera is dashing outside and Kai follows, cell phone pressed against his ear. His stride is confident and authoritative and people part as he comes through. Slowly, their eyes drift back over to me.

I look around too, pretending I'm looking for the girl he was with. It couldn't be me, little ol' Hilary, plain as a cloudless day. Nope, not me.

Trying to discretely get back to my table – which is impossible since dinner has started and everyone is seated. I have to stretch my dress down over my thighs when I sit. Finally, though, I manage to get situated, putting the clutch down on the table and the cloth napkin in my lap, I look at the food in front of me. Real food, at last.

Emily's boss leans over. "Where's Kai?"

"Um, he forgot something in his car?"

She arches a thin blonde brow, blue eyes looking pointedly at Emily.

Emily leans over. "Please don't tell me you guys were doing anything in a closet. These are my work associates, Hilary!"

"What? No. Nothing like that." I poke at my dish with my fork. It looks like chicken, smothered in some cream sauce.

You'd think for a corporation as big as this, they could shout out for better catering.

"Then where is he?"

"Like I said, he forgot something in his car,"

"Then why didn't he have Rick bring it in?" She hisses in my ear.

Who's Rick?

I stand again, throwing my napkin down and grabbing the clutch. "Let me go check on him,"

I get a lot of looks as I backtrack out of the room. It seems getting up and down is frowned upon in this crowd. Well, boo-hoo. They'll have to see me shuffle in this tiny dress one more time. Keep your eyes on your plate, grandpa.

The only people outside are the valet crew. They straighten as soon as they see me and I wish I could tell them that I'm not one of the people like those on the inside who'd be bothered by them taking a break when the parking lot is empty, but there's no time.

"Did you see a man come past here? Tall, gray hair. He was on the phone?"

One of the guys points in a direction away from the parking lot, to the side of the building. My stomach flips as I get closer and peek around the corner to see Kai and his white-haired muscle-man bodyguard. He's got the cameraman by the collar, holding him against the side of the building.

Kai has the camera, going through the footage. "Are you A.J. or Brad?"

The man doesn't say anything and his bodyguard jostles him a little. "Answer."

"Brad,"

"Hmm. You have a lot of interesting pictures here, Brad."

"Just delete what you want and let me go. I won't even tell anyone about your dalliance with the prostitute. This time."

"Prostitute?"

All three turn at my outcry. I should've kept my mouth shut but since I'm already found out, I leave the corner and head straight for this guy.

Wagging a finger in his face when I get close enough, I start in on him, "Get it right, I am no prostitute! I am a qualified businesswoman who has every right to be here on my own terms."

Brad looks down at me. "Not in that dress,"

I raise my hand to slap him because he has no right to comment on my dress, but before I can make contact, Kai grabs my wrist and hauls me away.

"You better be happy he's holding me back!"

Kai hands the camera back to the bodyguard with a nod. "Send him off and meet me back at the car,"

To me, he says, "You prove yourself to be crazier every time I see you," He's walked me a short distance away and whirls me around to face him.

"You heard what he called me,"

"What did you expect? Respect, from the paparazzi?"

"It's not my fault Emily forced me! I don't usually wear things like this,"

"You keep saying that you don't usually do things like this or that, but somehow I always find you in these kinds of situations,"

He's not wrong. I sputter, trying to come up with something to retort with.

"Right," he says when I say nothing of substance. "I thought I told you to go back to the table,"

I blow out a harsh sigh. "Judy and Emily implied that we'd done something in a closet and was mad at me for leaving or you something. Like you need a babysitter."

He laughs but not out of humor. He's annoyed. "Of course,"

We stand together in silence. I assume neither of us is overjoyed with the way the night is going.

"Should we go back inside?" I ask after a moment, "Or will it look weird if we go back in now?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

I'm thrown by his question. Does he think because I'm lying about him that I like being lied to? "Of course,"

"I really can't stand the thought of going back in there and having a crappy dinner while listening to the plight of whatever disadvantaged youth Judy is backing now. I've written my check and now I want to go home."

"Wow," I say, "that's the cruelest thing I've ever heard. Do you really not care about the plight of the disadvantaged youth?"

"And how much did you donate?"

"Cruel and rude. You should know better than to ask a woman that kind of thing."

His lips hold back a laugh and I silently cheer that I am getting better at seeing the micromovements. And that I can make him laugh. I think it's probably a difficult thing to do. "I can't leave without you," he says. "No one would believe I would leave my girlfriend here. Especially wearing that."

"Nobody would know except for those at our table,"

"I thought Emily was the one you were worried about."

He's right. Again. Emily would definitely see him leaving as evidence that something isn't right.

"Do you need a ride back?"

I nod. The night chill is starting to bite at my exposed arms and legs, and I just want a decision to be made. "I took the train in,"

"Okay, come with me."

I follow him as he walks into the parking lot, texting on his phone. We arrive at the black car I've seen him get in so many times. How many dreams have I had of getting into it myself? He opens the door for me to slide in first.

It feels surreal.

"Oh!" I say, looking back the way we came. "Emily." I can't believe I was about to leave my cousin here without saying anything to her.

"I've let Max know the situation, he'll tell the table."

"The situation?"

He nods, looking tired. "That a photographer took a picture of us and we're still not public yet, so we're leaving to salvage our cover."

I frown. "I didn't want you to have to lie to your friends,"

This makes him laugh. "It wouldn't be the first time and certainly won't be the last. Do you want a ride or not?"

That gets me to move and I duck into the backseat. My clumsy attempts to keep my dress from riding up are probably pretty embarrassing, but I can't think about that while I'm sitting next to Kai.

Upfront is the muscle man and the driver. I can now see the shock of wheat blond hair, not as bright as Kai's friend at dinner, but incredibly thick. This close, I can also tell how broad he is, maybe even bigger than muscle man number one.

"So which one of you is Rick?" I ask, my eyes darting between the two of them.

Kai turns to look at me, his attention diverting from his phone.

"Or am I going to have to call you muscle man one and muscle man two?"

"Kai?" Muscle man one asks.

"I assume you're muscle man one, but I could be wrong," he answers.

"No, you're right."

"I'm Spencer," the driver answers, his pale watery eyes meeting mine in the mirror. "That's Rick,"

"Thank you, muscle man two,"

We pull on the highway to get back into the city. It's already past 9:00 p.m. which means I won't make it home until almost midnight. Which is actually right on time for me.

I lean my head back against the headrest. The car is warm, the seat is comfortable, and the dashboard is dimmed. Even the streetlights aren't that bright because of the tinting on the window. I settle in for the long drive, already being lulled into relaxation.

"How long are you going to let this go on?" Rick mutters from the front. I can't tell if he's whispering because he thinks I'm asleep or if his voice is naturally that low when he's not being a bully.

"You have to admit, it has been entertaining,"

"Happy to provide," I answer, keeping my eyes close.

I hear a laugh from the front seat, a deep rumble.

"See," Kai says, "entertainment."

"You say entertainment, I say more trouble than it's worth." Rick huffing again.

I couldn't say anything in response to that. Because he could very well be right; I might be more trouble for Kai than I'm worth. I mean just look at everything that has happened.

He got hassled by Emily in the lobby of his office building before we'd even officially met. I tried to sneak onto his floor, past all his employees. I then crawled out a window, forcing him to crawl out for my protection. And then I show up at his friend's dinner party, where I get our picture taken, almost ruining his reputation.

That's a lot of trouble from one girl over two weeks. Especially a girl you have no real responsibility toward.

It makes me wonder about who Kai Hiwatari really is. What could his motive possibly be to keep allowing this? It can't just be because he's being nice or for entertainment.

The ride is mostly silent from then and I only open my eyes again when I feel the car slow down. We're getting off the highway in an area of town that isn't too far from where I live. I want to ask how he knows, but then again, he found my desk at work and he's a Hiwatari – what can't he find out about someone?

But we don't immediately go to my apartment. Instead, we pull up to a drive-through. Spencer and Rick place their orders first and then both look back at me, Spencer through the rearview mirror and Rick over his shoulder.

"What do you want?" Kai prompts me.

I wave my hand. "I'm fine. It's okay."

"Just order something," Rick grumbles, turning back around, "or we're gonna be here all night,"

I order one of the combo meals, a burger of some sort, and fries. I've never been to this particular place before, despite it being so close. Its burgers alone are eight dollars and that's just too much for me to justify.

Kai orders last. When we get to the front, Rick hands Spencer a black card, and then the food is passed in and dived between us. Kai doesn't wait, opening his large burger and taking a bite from it. Somehow, he looks both regal and wild when eating, holding the burger in one hand while scrolling with the other. Rick also has his open, and his bite is even larger than Kai's.

Spencer is driving with one hand. His bite indent? Huge.

Fortunately, we're close to my apartment which saves me from having to eat in front of these guys. I'm not some uncontrolled, messy eater or anything, and I can definitely put away my fair share. It just...I don't want that to be their impression of me just yet. At least I should have some utensils the first time Kai sees me eat. That would be proper.

Not that it would ever happen. We're done after this, I remind myself.

Spencer pulls up in front of my building and I don't even want to ask when my address was given to him. Let that be one of the many mysteries of the evening.

I thank Kai for the food and for the ride, and I thank Spencer for driving, which he acknowledges with a kind grunt. At least I think it's kind. Rick doesn't bother to turn to me as I'm getting out, and given our history, I'm not surprised. Still, I thank him for taking care of the cameraman.

I know all those things were done under Kai's command, but it still benefited me, so it's the least I could do. It's not like I can tip them.

This does get Rick's attention. His beady eyes look at me from the front seat, his expression unreadable. Well, he looks angry, but then he always looks angry to me. I shut the door and walk around the car. On the other side, Kai has gotten out.

"The door's right there," I say pointing up the narrow stairs to my second-floor one bedroom. "You didn't have to get out."

"Consider it my last duty as your fake boyfriend. I think we've covered all the steps now. Meet the family, pictures, dinner, doorstep?"

"Check, check, and check," Thankfully it's dark out and the streets are empty so that no one can see me blush under this man's too powerful gaze. "Thanks, again. And don't worry. I'll call Emily tomorrow and tell her that the whole picture thing scared us and we're taking a break or something. You're still off the hook."

He nods once and then doesn't say anything more. It takes me a moment to realize that he's not going to and I say goodnight. He waits until I've got my door open and I'm stepping inside before he gets back in his car.

I lean against the closed door, feeling more tired than I usually do though I'm home no later and I rested during the ride back. The bag of food feels heavy in my hands; the weight of yet another kind thing he's gone out of his way to do for me.

After this, I really should do something to make it up to him.

Hey everyone! I'm trying something new by adding the 'previous' at the beginning of each chapter, or at least on the chapters after a cliffhanger. Let me know if you like it or not, or if it doesn't change your experience at all.

Thanks so much for sticking around. I really appreciate it. Have a great week, I'll see you next time - Konix