Chapter Eleven
Kian
“Your employees are starting to talk,” Zenith says as a way of greeting me after the door shuts behind him.
Just what I need. Gossip spreading at work, which will soon turn into panic if I don’t control it.
“Who and when?” I demand.
Strolling to my desk, he sits down first. Then points a thumb over his shoulder. “Outside. Your brother’s girl and the woman she was with.”
I bite my tongue from snapping that she’s not my brother’s girl. “My assistant has a name. Use it.”
“My bad.”
“What did you hear?” What could they have possibly discussed in the last five minutes since I came inside? Did Iris mistakenly spill the information I gave her to anyone else?
“People are saying the girls went missing last year instead of resigning. There’s chatter among the female employees, and they’re wondering if you’re taking any action in case it’s true and whether or not they should form a union to demand raising standards for their safety.”
My molars grind.
A union is a recipe for disaster. The person targeting women will flee. We need to move fast in nipping this situation in the bud.
“That’s not the worrisome part,” says Zenith.
“Then what?”
“They want Iris to lead and sue the company. It’s what the woman outside was trying to convince her. It won’t be long before they pressure her.”
“What did Iris say?”
He answers in an impassive tone. “She said she’ll think about it.”
“She won’t sue.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I keep my expression sealed. “She would’ve already done it.”
“If you say so.”
The mistrust in his voice is unmistakable, which angers me. “You still think she’s hiding something.”
“My judgment isn’t clouded.”
“You think mine is?”
“Yes,” he replies, unafraid. “When I say she’s hiding something, it doesn’t automatically mean she’s the bad guy. I mean that she could be keeping key information to herself that could point us toward her attacker.”
“She gains nothing from it,” I counter defensively. “All you need to know is I trust her implicitly. Don’t make me repeat it over and over.”
“I won’t be dishonest if you ask for my opinion, Kian.”
“Who else is your suspect?” I demand instead. Otherwise, we’ll keep going in circles. “Find anything useful?”
“I’ve been going through the footage to see who they interacted with the most. A guy named Mahesh, who was the mentor, came out looking shady. He can be quite a flirt. However, he was on leave the day Iris was attacked the first time.”
“So, it can’t be him.” Frustration laces my voice.
Zenith leans forward. “I think he’s being used as a scapegoat. Someone else could be pulling the strings. Mahesh asks the girls out, they meet outside alone or in a group outing, and the actual kidnapper meets them there.”
“He’s very likely to interact with the girls outside.”
“Exactly.”
“Did you uncover any texts on the company’s communication app?” I probe. “They couldn’t possibly talk to one person.”
“I’ll be checking it next. I’m also keeping a close eye on Mahesh, chatting with him to join his circle of friends. He’s the solid lead we have so far.”
“I agree.”
Tapping the armchair once, he cautions, “You need to quieten the chatter. The louder it becomes, the higher the chance of the person going into hiding.”
I nod. “I need your help with one more thing.”
“Sure.”
“I want a list of all of Rakesh Singhania’s assistants. The reason why they quit and where they are right now. If they’re any who he remained in touch with after they left.”
Instead of questioning me, he simply nods. “By when do you need this?”
“The missing women’s case is your priority. So, whenever you can spare time, share the list.”
Once he leaves, I rotate the chair to stare at the view from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. I have no idea what kind of skeletons I’m bringing out of the closet.
All this time, I was made to believe my biological mother left me with my father because she didn’t want a kid. Never once did it cross my mind that perhaps it could’ve been the opposite.
Every time Rita pampered Nathan, fussing over him like a protective and loving mother, I wondered what I did wrong to never earn the same treatment. Why would she ignore or turn her nose up at seeing me?
When I finally learned the reason, I made sure not to be in the same room as her.
My room was my safe haven.
Even though I gave up halfway through reading my real mother’s diary, I want answers.
However, not from a piece of paper, but directly from the source.
I want to look into her eyes and listen to her explain why she didn’t fight harder for me.
What did Rakesh have on her that made her skip town?
Did a part of her believe I was better off with a neglectful and manipulative father?
And if she wanted me that much, why hasn’t she reached out?
If by some miracle, she wants to be in my life now, do I want that? Can we even have a mother-son relationship?
Will the answers bring me peace or more doom?
***
As soon as Iris and I cross the threshold of our apartment later that evening, a low and pained groan escapes her.
The culprit is those deadly high heels of hers.
Throughout the day, I noticed a little crease between her eyebrows whenever she stayed on her feet too long. When I cornered and asked her what was wrong, she brushed it off, saying it was nothing.
Now I know the damn reason.
“That’s it,” I growl, picking her up bridal style and carrying her down the hallway. “No more heels.”
“What?” she squeaks. “Why?”
“They’re hurting you.”
“No.”
“I heard you wince a second ago.”
“That was a tired sigh or something,” she lies, all innocence. “My feet are fine.”
“I know the difference, Rainbow. You’re not fooling me.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“I think I’ll issue a new dress code. No high heels. Only flats.”
“Do you wish to piss off every female employee in your company?”
“I’m sure they’d be relieved.”
“I will continue to wear them,” she fires back, then she bats her eyelashes, humming, “You wouldn’t go back to being mean to me, will you, love?”
Such a brat. “Fine. I’m just going to hide them instead.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” She gapes like what I’m saying is downright criminal.
I dump her on the bed, making her small frame bounce and her sexy bangs ruffle. Settling beside her, I lay her legs on my lap while she leans up on her elbows. She watches me drift my hand down her calf and lock it around her ankle.
“Kian, tell me you’re not serious.”
I unbuckle the slim strap and slide the sandal off.
A relieved moan trickles out of her mouth, which she immediately tries to conceal by biting her lip.
I give her a pointed look.
“I’m just exhausted from work.”
“Stubborn little girl,” I scold, removing her other sandal.
“If we were having sex, I would so withhold it.”
Seizing her ankle, I lay her flat on her back and climb on top.
Her stunned squeal gets swallowed up when I smash my mouth against hers, thrusting my tongue inside.
My hand around her throat, I kiss her hard and deep.
My favorite flavor of strawberries erupts in my mouth as I lick every crevice of her mouth.
Her tongue lashes against mine with a hungry whimper. Her fingers claw at my shoulders, my tie, trying to pull me closer.
Nipping her bottom lip, I pull back. As she pants underneath me, I smirk. “Baby, you can’t even resist kissing me when you’re mad, you could never keep me from having your delicious pussy.”
In a sexy move I never saw coming, she shoves me onto my back and straddles my stomach. Leaning forward until her lips are an inch away from mine and with her soft breath teasing me, she sasses, “You’re forgetting something.”
“Yeah?” I cup her round ass, squeezing it roughly. “What?”
“I love a challenge.”
“And I love to punish you.” Flipping her over, I thrust my cock against her heated core until her pupils dilate. “If you ever keep me from fucking you, you better be ready for my belt when you finally let me.”
Shifting down her trembling frame, I kiss her throat and suck her hard nipple through the flimsy top before moving off her. Placing her legs on my lap, I slowly massage her feet. Pleasure heats her ruby cheeks as I rub along the arch.
“I love your heels, Rainbow,” I admit, struck by her gorgeousness as I stare at her spread out on my bed. “But I hate seeing you in pain more, little or not. You can wear flats every now and then.”
“They don’t go with my formal outfits.”
“How about a compromise?”
“I’ll bite.” Curious, she goes, “Shoot.”
My lips twitch. I move to her other feet, massaging the soft skin. God knows I’ve waited to take care of her like this since she moved into my place. “You keep a pair of shoes or flats in my office. You wear them for a few hours whenever your feet start to hurt. Do it for me.”
“Okay,” she relents. “Only for you, though.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes close, enjoying my hands. When they open again, a frail expression dulls her sky-blue eyes. “I don’t just wear them because they make me feel pretty, you know.”
“Why else?”
“I’ve always been insecure about my height.
I’m the shortest in every room and I hate it.
Being a woman in any profession is hard enough; it’s even worse when the first impression people have is how short and petite I am.
They don’t take me as seriously. My career as a journalist hinges on it.
My heels are my armor. They make me feel confident. ”
My chest constricts as she shares her vulnerability. She looks so fragile, peering back at me so unguarded. I sense she hasn’t confided this to anyone. The fact that she trusts to reveal it to me warms my slowly melting heart and deepens my fixation on her.
In the next breath, she undoes me completely.
“I’m always intimidated around tall people. Yet I’ve never felt that way around you.” Gracing me with a demure smile, she says, “Protected. Treasured. Beautiful. Sexy. That’s how I feel when I’m around you. You make me love my flaws, Kian.”
Circling her waist, I bring her onto my lap and tuck her hair behind her ears. “You’re flawless, Iris. Every inch of you. Inside and out. Do you hear me?”
“You think stalking someone is flawless?” She scoffs with a self-deprecating laugh. “Any other man would’ve pushed me away for it. Heck, they probably would’ve filed a restraining order.”
“He would’ve been an idiot.”
“Stalking isn’t normal.”
“I don’t want normal.”
“It’s too late for you to back out anyway,” she teases. “I’m not letting you go.”
“Good girl.” My forehead touching hers, I ask, “Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“If I’m foolish enough not to notice you in the next lifetime, stalk me there too. Find me and make me yours.”
Her eyes close as she rasps, “I promise, love.”