Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chase
Sitting at my desk, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Kinsley grew up.
Her mother was a horrible and piss poor excuse for a woman and parent, not too far off from my own mother.
I owed Kinsley the money for the box of condoms, and to be honest, I wanted to see her.
So, I walked down to my father’s office, knowing damn well I was about to receive his wrath.
“Hello, beautiful.” I smiled as I pulled some cash from my wallet.
“Hello.” She batted her beautiful blue beauties at me.
“Here’s the money for the box of condoms.”
“Thank you.” She took it from me with a smile.
Suddenly, my father’s door opened.
“Chase, please step your bruised face into my office.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked in and took a seat.
“Care to explain what happened?”
“Some idiot punched me, so I punched him back.”
“What did you do? Have sex with his girl?”
“No.” My brows furrowed. “It was just a misunderstanding. He was a total douche.”
“Was Kinsley involved?” he asked.
“No. Why would you ask me that?” My brows furrowed.
He turned his laptop around, which displayed a video of the events of last night.
“See. There’s my temp standing next to you at a club. Now I’m going to ask you one last time, what happened?”
“I didn’t know Kinsley was at the club. I was there with Alex and Steven for a guys’ night out, and she was there with Lexi.
I saw her dancing on the dance floor with some douchebag, and he had his hands all over her ass.
It was totally inappropriate, so I intervened and pulled her aside.
I explained to her that he could be a rapist, murderer, or kidnapper and that if anything happened to her, you’d blame me because I was there.
Then the douche walked over to us, and I politely told him to go away, and that’s when he punched me, as you can see in the video. ”
“Okay then. That’s good enough for me. I believe you did the right thing by getting her away from that guy.”
“Seriously, Dad? You’re not mad?” I asked in shock.
“No. You possibly saved her from making a mistake, and I probably would have done the same thing. I’m surprised you cared enough since the two of you don’t seem to get along.”
“Well, she works for the company, and I suppose she’s not that bad.”
“I swear to God, Chase. If you slept with her...” He pointed at me.
“I didn’t.” I put my hands up. “I drove her home, and that’s it,” I lied. “Are we finished here? I have work to do.”
“Yes. We’re finished. Stay out of trouble, and I mean it.” He scowled.
I walked out of his office and stopped at Kinsley’s desk.
“I didn’t hear any yelling.” She smirked.
“That’s because he was cool with my saving you from the douche-looking guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know that he was a douchebag.”
“He had his hands all over your ass when you were dancing. That makes him a douchebag. And another thing. I can’t believe you let him do that.” I cocked my head.
“Like you said, I was letting my party girl out.” Her brow raised. “You act like you’re jealous. Are you jealous, Mr. Calloway?”
“Fuck no. Why would I be jealous?”
“Because some stranger had his hands all over my ass, and I wouldn’t let you.”
“For the record, darling. My hands were all over your ass and other delicious body parts. Have you forgotten already? And you better be very careful with your answer.”
“I haven’t forgotten, but that was after the fact.” She smirked.
“You can relax and know that I was in no way jealous. I’m not the jealous type.”
The phone rang, and she placed her hand on the receiver.
“I’ll talk to you later,” she spoke.
As I walked to my office, I seriously thought about her jealous accusation. Fine. I’d admit that I was a little jealous when I saw the douche-looking guy all over her. But it was only because I hadn’t had her first. That was what I chose to believe, even though another part of me disagreed.
Kinsley
Things were slow at the office. Mr. Calloway left for the afternoon, and I was all caught up on my work.
“It’s lunchtime!” Lexi smiled as she approached my desk. “How about some Thai food?”
“Sounds good.” I grinned.
I grabbed my purse, and the two of us headed to the Thai place around the corner.
“Thanks for helping Chase out last night with the ice. I asked him if he put ice on it as soon as he got home, and he said you made him when he drove you home.”
“No problem. I didn’t trust him to do it himself. You know how stubborn guys are.”
“For sure.” She smiled. “How are the two of you getting along?”
“We’re getting along. Has he told you anything?”
“About what?” Lexi narrowed her eye.
“About last night.”
“All he said was that you helped him with the ice. Why? Did something else happen between the two of you?”
I sat there, biting down on my bottom lip, debating whether or not to tell her.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “It just happened. It was in the heat of the moment.”
“Okay. That’s understandable, but you told me you’d never sleep with him.”
“I know.” I rolled my eyes.
“So how are you feeling about it or him now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I just got out of a year-long relationship and don’t trust men, especially Chase.
I saw a different side of him last night, and I’ll admit it was nice, but I can’t let myself feel anything, and I won’t.
Plus, I came here to find and reinvent myself, and the last thing I need is to get wrapped up in some guy.
I was never known as Kinsley Davis. People always referred to me as that poor girl whose mother was an alcoholic.
Or that poor girl whose father overdosed on drugs.
Or Henry’s girlfriend. That’s how I grew up, as ‘that poor girl.’ I want people to see me for who I am, and that’s Kinsley Davis.
I can’t be me until I find me and detach from the ‘that poor girl’ label. ”
“I’m so sorry, Kinsley.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine. “And I totally agree with you. You need to find and love yourself first.” A small smile crossed her lips.
My phone rang just as we finished lunch.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Kinsley, it’s Carl. Your car is ready. You can pick it up anytime.”
“Thanks, Carl. I appreciate it. I’ll be by after work to get it.”
“Great. See you then.”
I walked Lexi to her desk and popped my head into Chase’s office to see if he was there.
“Hey.” I smiled as I saw him sitting at his desk.
“Hello, beautiful. What brings you by?” He grinned.
“My car is ready. Do you think you can drop me off after work so I can pick it up?”
“Sure. Just swing by here before you leave.”
“Thanks, Chase.”
“No problem. I’ll see you later.”