TWENTY-TWO

On reaching her apartment, Jaxon had taken her hand and planted a delicate kiss on the back of it as he bid her goodnight. And as she lay in bed that night, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic still. The feeling remained till she fell asleep, and she was surprised that it remained even till the next morning.

Her phone had been her very first priority when she woke up, and as expected, there was a text from Jaxon, but there was also a text from Alexander; faced with the two, she clicked on Alexander's almost immediately.

Alexander:
'Carl said he didn't drop you off yesterday. Was there a problem?'.

Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach at once and whatever ecstasy she had been floating in dissipated at once. She jerked upright to reread the message and ensure that she had read it correctly.

Carl had told him he hadn't dropped her off? Why had he even asked in the first place? She knew Carl wouldn't have told him unless he had asked.

She blew out an almost exasperated breath as she brushed her hair from her face irritatedly. But then a thought occured to her; what if Carl had only told him that he hadn't dropped her off? He probably hadn't mention why, and that was why Alexander was texting to inquire.

Relief washed over at once.

Relief....

It occurred to her that she had actually been tensed from thinking Alexander was upset with her. She had only just woken up but he already had her unsettled. She shook her head as she set her phone aside and climbed out of bed.

She headed to the bathroom to take a bath; it was time to start the day. But then, yet another thought came to mind; what if Jaxon told Alexander about yesterday? They were friends after all and it was what guys did. What if it was all a joke to him?

She pushed the thought aside immediately. What did she care if it was a joke to him, it wasn't like it was anything serious, it wasn't like she had taken it seriously. It was no business of hers if he told Alexander or anyone about it, after all, it was just dinner.

Yes, but why was she thinking so much about it? Why was she slightly offended at the thought that it could have all been a joke to him?

She was definitely overthinking things now and she knew it. She needed to get to work immediately so she could focus her energy on something positive.

~~

At exactly 8:59am, Yalda set her things down on her desk before making her way to Alexander’s office. Like always, she opened the door and stepped in quietly, her gaze went straight to his desk to find him but he wasn’t there.

“Yalda”.

Her gaze flickered to the other side of the office at once and she found him standing by the bookshelf with some books in his hand. Her breath faltered at how handsome he looked in his dark blue dress shirt and black pants; the dark colors complemented his complexion like always. And the fact that his sleeves were once again rolled up had her heart faltering too. She closed the door behind her and made her way over to his side.

“Morning”. She greeted as she took the books from him like the ever competent secretary.

“Good morning Yalda, did you sleep well?”. He asked her.

She nodded.

“I did. Did you?”. She asked him though she knew he had been with Maya Blackwood.

He also nodded.

“Did you get my text?”. He asked her.

That…

She lowered her gaze to the books she was holding briefly before returning it to his. She nodded once more.

“I did”. She replied. “There was no problem”.

She left it at that; she didn’t offer an explanation, there was no need to.

He nodded simply and his gaze returned to the shelf. It seemed he hadn’t also thought much of it, she felt even more relieved. A moment of silence settled between them as he continued to pick out book after book, and she was at ease just standing by his side and keeping him company though he probably didn’t need her company.

“Jaxon and I went to college together”. He suddenly spoke.

Her eyes widened slightly. Why was he suddenly bringing that up? Did he know about their outing yesterday?

“He mentioned that…”. She replied quietly.

He nodded. He still wasn’t looking at her.

“I’d like to think I know him well enough to ask you to stay away from him”. He said.

Her eyes widened once more.

“What?”. She blurted out.

His gaze flickered to hers briefly.

“Stay away from him, Yalda”. He said.

What? She shook her head before she could stop herself.

“Why?”. She asked him.

He turned to face her fully.

“Because I know you; you’re naïve and gullible”. He replied.

It felt like she had been hit; like she had been slapped hardly across the face. She chuckled humorlessly.

“I’m naïve?”. She asked him in disbelief.

He nodded.

“Yes, very much so”. He replied. “And you can easily fall guys like Jaxon”.

She shook her head. She couldn’t believe he had just called her naïve, she couldn’t believe they were having this talk right now.

“No”. She said. She couldn’t take this. “I’m not naïve. And you don’t have the right to stand here and lecture me about a guy you’re no different from”.

His lips curved in a one-sided smile which did nothing to brighten the darkness in his eyes.

“I’d think you’d know better than to trust guys like me”. He said as he took the books from her and began walking to his desk.

She felt her throat clench and her lungs bloat as she fumed. She stalked after him angrily.

“You know we went out for dinner last night. Is this what this is about?”. She asked him. “You don’t want me going out with your friend from college?”.

He had no business with what she did or who she hung out with, and he had absolutely no business lecturing her on whom she could go out with.

He set the books down on the desk before turning around to face her.

“Yes, I don’t want you going out with him. Not just him, I don’t want you going out with anyone else”. He replied.

She began shaking her head immediately but he spoke first.

“You belong to me, Yalda”. He reminded her.

Her throat clenched even more and she felt tears sting her eyes.

“But it’s okay for you to fuck Maya Blackwood and any other woman you want?”. She asked him before she could stop herself. His double standards were killing her.

It was his turn to chuckle humorlessly.

“Yes. Yes, I can fuck whomever I want”. He replied. “It’s no business of yours. I don’t pay you to ask questions”.

She felt like hitting him, she felt like doing a lot of things to him. She wished she could gather up all the ache he caused her and dump it all on him so he could feel exactly what she felt every day.

“I don’t want your money anymore”. She said before she could stop herself. Her voice was low and almost hoarse from the emotions burning within. “I don’t want it”.

Something flickered in his eyes, and his smirk faded slowly.

“You don’t want my money anymore?”. He asked her and she nodded immediately. “You’d risk going against our contract for someone you know nothing about?”.

She may know just little about Jaxon but she knew that she at ease with him, she knew he made her laugh genuinely. She nodded once more, she was upset and she wasn’t thinking straight.

He glared down at her for a moment, all the while, her heart pounded heavily against her chest as she tried her best to calm herself. He blew out a breath before nodding once.

“You think he’d that great, right? He’s everything I’m not. By all means, go to him, have the time of your life”. He said. “I’ll watch from the sideline”.

The calmness with which he spoke didn’t sit well with her but she didn’t care.

“Stay out of my business”. She bit out before turning around in an attempt to leave.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back so she spun around to face him. She glared at him sharply as his hand encircled her waist and brought her tantalizingly close to his chest, his lips was a breath from hers.

“I’d like breakfast, Ms. Harris”. He said to her.

She struggled to free herself from him but he didn’t let go, and he only needed to hold her for a few more seconds before she caved into his touch. He dragged her closer so her lush bosom was pressed against his hard chest, and that was all it took for her to melt against him.

“You’ll have my breakfast ready, won’t you, Yalda?”. He said against her lips. “I’m so hungry”.

A shuddering breath left her but she nodded nonetheless. She hated how easily he could get her like this, she hated how easy she seemed, but there was nothing she could do about it. His lips brushed against hers in a tantalizing kiss and her eyes fluttered close.

“You’ll give me what I want, right?”. He asked her.

She nodded once more. He knew she’d always give him whatever he wanted.

“Good”. He said. His lips brushed against hers once more before he backed away from her. “I’d like a coffee and a donut”.

It took a moment for what he said to sink in, and her eyes widened as he released her and backed away from her as though he had never been there.

“Go on, I’m famished”. He said as he walked to his seat and settled down.

She felt almost choked as she spun around on her heels and stalked out angrily.