Chapter 9
I’d gotten two more unknown calls since that first one, but I refused to answer them.
If it were important, the person should have left a voicemail.
Since they didn’t, I assumed it was the wrong number, or it was Brian.
I didn’t want it to be him, but something in my gut told me it was.
Maybe if I never answered, he would give up.
That was wishful thinking, and since I wasn’t sure it was even him, I pushed it to the back of my mind.
My job was going well, and I enjoyed seeing Kairo every day.
Even when he had to go to meetings, he still found time to stop at my desk and talk to me about the most random things.
Just the other day, he told me how cows had best friends and that they get stressed out whenever they were separated.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with that information, but I started looking forward to it in the mornings.
I was at my desk working on paperwork when Donna walked over.
“Hey, Mycah. How are things going?” she asked.
I glanced out the corner of my eye and saw Kairo watching intently. He probably wondered what she wanted.
“Things are going well. I like it here,” I told her with a smile.
Donna was nice, but sometimes she looked at me with a disapproving look, but I wasn’t sure why.
“That’s good. Let me know if you need anything or ever have any questions.”
I plastered on a smile. “I sure will.”
She didn’t say anything else; she just gave me one of those fake closed-mouthed smiles and went about her business. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but it wasn’t anything for me to worry about. I had to focus on organizing Kairo’s calendar.
When I looked in Kairo’s direction, he still had his eyes on me. I smiled and got back to work.
There was a lot of paperwork that had to be filed, so after I finished up his calendar, I focused on that. I wondered what the girl before me did, because it shouldn’t have been this bad.
Probably in Kairo’s office sucking his dick.
The thought of Kairo’s dick made heat flood my body. I could only imagine what it looked and felt like. I was horny, and the vibrator I used hadn’t been doing the trick lately.
I was so distracted by thoughts of Kairo’s dick that I messed around and made a mistake.
“Shit.” I rubbed my hand over my face because I didn’t know what to do. I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to me, but no one was. Well, except Kairo. I bit my nail as I tried to figure out how to fix my fuck up.
I panicked when Kairo got out of his chair and walked in my direction.
“What’s wrong?” he asked when he approached my desk.
My heart thudded against my rib cage as I inhaled the scent of his soap. I should have been nervous because I’d seen him rip a person a new asshole for messing up.
“Um, I made a mistake, and I don’t know how to fix it.” I chewed the corner of my lip and rubbed the back of my neck.
He walked around my desk and stood over with his hand on top of it. I felt like I couldn’t breathe with him standing so close.
“What mistake did you make?”
The sound of his voice traveled through my body and made goosebumps form. I had a blazer on, so he didn’t notice. I took a deep breath and showed him my mistake.
He turned his head to the side and looked at me. We were close enough that I could have kissed him if I wanted to and if we were in a different place.
“It’s okay. Mistakes happen. I’m sure we could figure out how to fix it,” he said calmly then smiled.
“But what if we can’t?” I questioned because I didn’t think the error could be fixed.
“But what if we can? Don’t worry yourself about it, doll baby.”
He spoke in a hushed tone, so no one heard him call me a pet name, but I did, loud and clear. I spotted Donna peeking in our direction, but I knew she wouldn’t approach me while Kairo was right here. My guess was she was skeptical because of the last assistant.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
Kairo pressed a few buttons on my computer, and suddenly, the issue had been fixed.
“See. Nothing to worry about.” He winked, then stood to his full height.
I looked up at him as my heart raced with him being so close to me.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” He stepped back and put his hands into his pockets. “I need to go to the park to solidify the date, and I wanted you to ride with me. Maybe we can drop your car off then grab dinner afterward.”
Dinner? Dinner. He wanted to have dinner with me. Calm down, Mycah, it’s just dinner. The man didn’t ask for a date.
I guess I was in my spiraling thoughts for too long because Kairo called my name.
“Mycah.” I looked up. “Is that okay with you?”
“Ye-yeah. That’s fine.”
Taking my car home would be perfect because I could let Cashmere out for a minute before we left, as long as Kairo didn’t mind.
“Cool. We can leave in about twenty minutes. I can follow you to your house, then we can go. I’m sure you probably want to take Cashmere out.”
He made the suggestion before I could mention it, and it made my heart swoon. He was a dog parent, too, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Yes. It should only take a couple of minutes,” I told him.
“That’s fine. My sister is going to take Shadow out for me. Let me go finish up a couple of things before we leave.”
“No problem.”
Kairo went back to his office, and I worked on a few more things until it was time to go.
It didn’t take long to let Cashmere out, then for Kairo to solidify the date for the evening. When we left there, we ended up at a local restaurant. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the smell of the food made my stomach growl.
“I know this probably wasn’t what you had in mind when I mentioned dinner, but the food here is so good,” Kairo said once we were seated.
The tables looked old, and the lighting was kind of dull, but it felt like comfort. The menu was laminated, and it was only one page, front and back.
“I didn’t have anything in mind, to be honest.”
A heavy-breasted woman approached the table and smiled when she looked at Kairo. She had grease stains on her shirt, with a pen in her hair. When she got close, she smelled like grease and cocoa butter.
“Hey, Chief.”
“How are you today, Mabel?”
“I’m blessed and highly favored.” She turned toward me and smiled. “I ain’t never seen you around here before.”
I smiled at her and said, “I just moved here recently.”
“Oh, well, welcome. Is Chief treating you well?” She glanced at Kairo, then back at me.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I didn’t know if she thought Kairo and I were more than we were, but either way, he had been treating me well.
“Good. Let me know if he doesn’t,” she said as she smiled at me, then at Kairo.
She reminded me of one of them southern grandmothers. She looked like she gave the best hugs.
“She’s in good hands, Mabel.” Kairo winked at me.
“I know she is. I already know what you want, Chief. What about you, young lady?”
She pulled out a tattered notepad from her apron pocket and the pen from her hair.
“I’ll take the fried fish platter with fries, with a sweet tea, please.”
“That’s a good choice. What’s your name, by the way, since this one didn’t introduce us?” The way she cut her eyes at Kairo made me giggle.
“You’re right. My apologies.” He went on to introduce us and informed her that I was his new assistant.
After she chastised him, she told us our food shouldn’t take too long.
When we were alone, Kairo leaned forward with his elbows on the table.
“You thought that was funny, huh?”
My giggles turned into full-blown laughter when Kairo’s eyebrows furrowed.
“It was. I guess she doesn’t treat you any differently just because you are the chief.”
“She doesn’t at all. She was friends with my grandmother, so she makes sure I’m on my job.
She treats my siblings the same way. Actually, she pretty much treats everyone the same.
This place has been in this same exact spot for over sixty years.
It’s a staple in the Valley,” he informed me as he looked around.
“I can tell how special it is to you just by the way your eyes sparkled when you looked around.”
“It is.” He leaned a little closer. “Have I told you how good you look in red?”
Instead of wearing a skirt, I wore a red pantsuit with a black shirt underneath and black heels. The heels I had on were one of my favorite pairs because they were so comfortable.
Kairo’s eyes swept over my face, down to my neck, to my breasts, then back to my eyes.
The size of his pupils had increased as he licked his lips.
For a moment, I was in a trance until Mabel brought over our drinks.
She must have noticed something because she quickly put the drinks down without saying a word.
She walked away just as fast as she came over.
“No,” I whispered as I pushed my hair behind my ear.
“You do. Every single time you wear it, I notice. I mean, I notice everything you wear, but the red on you really sticks out.”
My spine tingled as he gazed at me. The line between boss and employee faded away with every encounter Kairo and I had.
“Thank you.” I blushed and put my head down.
“You’re welcome.” He leaned back but kept his eyes on me. He continued to look at me even as he drank his tea.
I picked up my cup and took a long sip because Kairo’s intense gaze made my throat dry. He pushed his glasses up and smiled.
Mabel slowly approached the table with our food, and the smell made my mouth water. Two pieces of perfectly fried fish sat on top of golden-brown fries. I couldn’t wait to dig in. Kairo ordered country fried chicken with French fries instead of mashed potatoes.
We prayed over our food, then I put ketchup on the side of the plate. As soon as I cut a piece of fish, dipped it in ketchup, then put it in my mouth, I moaned.
Kairo’s eyes shot over to me as his fork paused in midair.
“Mycah. I think you like torturing me.”
“How?” I asked with my hand over my mouth.
“Because I already told you what happened the last time I heard you moan.”
Warmth filled my cheeks because I for sure did remember him telling me that my moaning made his dick hard. I thought maybe it was a one-time thing.
“Sorry.”
“Nah, don’t be.” He winked, then continued eating.
We quietly stole glances at each other as we ate. Mabel came by and checked on us, but other than that, nothing else was said. The food was so good I didn’t want to talk anyway. Ms. Mabel would see me more often in the future.
Once we were done and Kairo settled the bill, Ms. Mabel gave us both to-go plates, and we left.
“That was so good. Thank you for inviting me because I didn’t know what I was going to eat for dinner,” I told Kairo as we rode back to my house. I was so full I had to rub my stomach and put my head back on the seat.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for coming.”
My eyes were closed, but I wanted to hear Kairo’s voice, so I struck up a conversation.
“What’s your favorite way to spend a free day?” I asked, then opened my eyes.
Kairo glanced my way, then back at the road.
“Probably spending time with my family. In a relationship, it would be spending time with my partner. What about you?”
“Before I moved, I would have said the same or spending time with my best friend. She and I used to go skating all of the time. We hadn’t in a while though. Now, it would probably be walking my dog or binge-watching Living Single.”
“I can see that. My sister made me watch all five seasons damn near, back-to-back. Why haven’t you skated?”
I noticed how his entire face lit up whenever he mentioned his siblings, especially his sister. I could tell they meant a lot to him.
“Oh, I like her, and I really don’t know. I guess work kind of got in the way.”
“My sister would like you too. Maybe you can find some time to skate again.”
“Maybe.”
I assumed I would meet his siblings at the summer bash. Other than that, I didn’t see how else I would meet her unless she came to the station.
We talked more until we arrived at my apartment building. I thought Kairo would just let me out and go on his way, but that wasn’t what happened.
He ended up walking me to my door.
The hallway was empty except for the two of us.
Kairo stood really close to me. I almost jumped when he reached up and cupped the side of my face.
The air shifted when he leaned in close and kissed me lightly on the lips.
I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his soft lips.
He didn’t do too much. There was no tongue, and his hand never left the side of my face, but it was enough for me to dream about it later.
Kairo pulled back after a few seconds, but he was still right in my face.
“Would you be open to going on a date with me?”
Our faces were so close I could feel his breath every single time he exhaled.
“Yes, I would be.”
To me, it was harmless to go on one date. If we went and enjoyed it, we could do it again. If we didn’t, there would be no hard feelings. I would continue to do my job like I had been.
Kairo kissed me again and smiled with his lips against mine.
“Good. I know you need to get inside and check on your baby, so I’ll let you go.” Another kiss. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
This time, he removed his hand from my face.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Kairo.” I pulled my keys out of my bag and opened the door.
I gave Kairo one last look and stepped inside of my apartment. My heart felt like it was going to explode as I took my shoes off.
As soon as I got comfortable, I called Chanel and told her all about Kairo, and of course, she was happy for me. We talked for a while and even went through some outfit options, even though I didn’t know when or where he was taking me.
I went to bed excited about going to work and the date with Kairo.