Page 14 of Love, Restricted
“Small world. I know Elias; he’s a cool dude. I wish I would have known about you before.” He let his eyes peruse my body again.
“He’s the closest thing I have to a sibling. He was the one that told me about the job. What happened to your last assistant?”
I noticed Kairo hadn’t let go of my hand. He looked away for a few seconds, then shook his head. He chuckled and pushed his glasses up on his face.
“I don’t like to lie and especially to my friends, and I’d like to think we are building a friendship. I fucked her, and she wanted more, and that wasn’t the type of time I was on. She knew that from the beginning, but she ended up catching feelings.”
Well shit, I wasn’t expecting him to tell me that. It made me feel some type of way because what if we crossed that line and he tossed my ass to the side.
“Oh, okay.”
“You probably think I’m an asshole now.” He looked a little sad when he said that.
“No. I just didn’t think that was what you were going to say.”
“I’m always open and honest when I deal with a person, but unfortunately, people think what they want to think regardless of what was said.”
I knew exactly what he meant because I’d been in situations like that before. I’d felt things were more than I thought theywere, but I didn’t get mad when the dude didn’t feel the same way.
“Trust me, I get it. What are some things you like to do when you aren’t working?”
I just wanted him to keep talking because I enjoyed the sound of his voice. I also noticed the way his pupils dilated when he looked at me.
He told me he didn’t do too much, but he liked to play online chess. He also liked to go for walks and hiking with Shadow. I couldn’t see Cashmere hiking anywhere, but we could walk. I shared my interest with skating and going for walks. We shared our favorite foods. He told me what it was like growing up with younger siblings and the things he and his brother used to get into. I could tell he was very family-oriented, and I liked that. My family was small, but I loved them, and I was family-oriented as well.
Kairo and I stayed at the library for so long that by the time we left, the sun had gone down.
“I didn’t mean to keep you so late,” Kairo said as he walked me to my car.
“It’s not that late. I liked talking to you.”
I unlocked my car door, and Kairo opened it for me. I stood next to it, hesitant to get in because I wanted to stay around him longer, but I knew I needed to go.
“I enjoyed talking to you as well. I have some places in mind for the bash, so maybe we can check them out together.”
“I’d like that.”
I licked my lips as we stared at each other. I wanted him to kiss me so bad, but I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kairo looked like he wanted to say more as his hand rubbed the back of his neck.
I waited for a few seconds, but when he didn’t say anything else, I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waited until I got in my car, then closed the door for me.
He stood to the side while I turned the car on. I waved at him, then pulled off with a smile on my face. The whole way home, I thought about Kairo. That was until my phone rang with an unfamiliar number. The funny feeling I got in my stomach made me not answer it. I didn’t want anything to ruin the good mood I was in.
I could only pray it wasn’t who I thought it was.
Mycah hadme ready to break every rule I put in place about crossing the line with my assistant. The more time I spent with her, the more that line disappeared. I found myself drawn to her. Sometimes I sat at my desk and stared at her when I should have been doing work. She noticed, too, but the way her cheeks rose let me know she wasn’t bothered by it. Regardless, I needed to reel that shit in, but I honestly couldn’t. What I said to her at the library about my dick getting hard was so out of pocket, but I had always been a straightforward kind of guy. Did it get me in trouble? It sure did, but not with Mycah. She brushed it off and changed the subject.
When she asked me about my previous assistant, I hesitated for a second. I had to tell her, though, because I knew howpeople talked, and I didn’t want her to hear it from someone else. She seemed shocked, but not judgmental, and that was a relief. I didn’t know if things would progress between us, but I didn’t want her to look at me like I was an ain’t-shit dude, because that wasn’t the case.
I was on the fence about trying to pursue things with her because not only was I her superior, but she went through something that could have caused negative results on her outlook on love. She seemed to be doing okay, but that was only on the surface. We hadn’t gotten into deep conversations about relationships, so I wasn’t sure if she was even open to one. Her ex could have done serious emotional damage to her, and she might have thought all men were like that.
Mycah telling me about her abuse took me back to a time in my life that I couldn’t forget if I tried. I remembered the day Christie called me in a panic because her boyfriend had threatened her. I told her to get in the closet until I got there, but by the time I arrived, it was too late. I admired Mycah for getting out when she did, because things could have been worse. She seemed to be in good spirits despite it all.
With all the doubts in my head, I still couldn’t stop thinking about her. From the way she moaned when she ate something good, to the way she bit her bottom lip when she was in deep thought. When she wanted to ask a question but was hesitant, she would play with her necklace. There were multiple small things about her that I noticed, but I shouldn’t have. She was hired to do a job, and she had been doing well. We came up with some good ideas for the summer bash, and we had planned on finding a space for it. In the past, we had it in a park near the police station, but I wanted it on a bigger scale. We could have had it at my family’s hotel, but I wanted it outside.
“You think you could take a ride with me to check out this location?” I asked Mycah when I approached her desk.
