s e v e n
'Cause too many people think they made me
Well if they really made me, then replace me ?
**
Even though I really didn't want to, I sat down in the chair across from him.
"I'm listening."
Kyle ran a hand through his hair as he eyed me closely. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have less than two months to pay back what you owe before the bank comes in and puts your house on the market."
My mouth went slack at his admission. "How did you—"
He cut me off by pulling a manila envelope out of his desk drawer and slapping it down on the tabletop in front of us. I reached over to empty the contents of the envelope, and my eyes widened at the papers that came tumbling out of it.
"These look like my bank statements," I sputtered.
"That's because they are your bank statements," he retorted while leaning back in his chair.
My eyes narrowed in his direction.
"How the hell did you get these?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I know a guy."
I swallowed down the urge to swear at him.
"What do you want?"
Kyle slowly leaned forward so that his elbows could rest on top of his desk, and my eyes flickered down to the Apple Watch that was wrapped around his wrist as it suddenly lit up.
"I want to make a deal," he said simply.
A humorless laugh escaped my lips.
He couldn't be serious.
"I'm sorry, but last I checked, I'm not one of your clients."
"God, you're stubborn," he muttered, shaking his head. "Anyone else would be thanking me a thousand times over for even considering them for this opportunity."
"Yeah, well, I'm not everyone else," I shot.
"Clearly," he fired back.
My glare intensified. "If that's all, I'll be on my way now."
I made a move to stand up from my seat, only to stop part of the way through after his next proposition caused me to stagger in place.
"I'll pay off any debts that you owe if you come and work for me," he declared. "That's the deal."
I gently lowered myself back into my chair as I mulled over his proposal in my mind.
Half of me was intrigued by his offer, while the other half was skeptical of his advances.
It would be incredibly stupid of me to pass up an opportunity like this, but it would also be crazy of me to overlook the bribe that he was clearly trying to reel me in with.
He already lost me once.
I could tell that he wasn't looking to do it again.
So, with clenched fists, I said, "I'm not some charity case."
"I never said you were," he replied. "I'm merely offering to help you out with the hope that you'll help me out in return. It's a fair trade, really."
The thought that's been nagging at me for the past two and a half minutes came flowing out of my mouth as soon as he finished speaking.
"Why me?" I asked. "I mean, surely you can find someone else who's more qualified for the job."
He snorted at my response. "Any self-aware human being knows how to wipe down a countertop."
I opened my mouth to provide him with a witty comeback, but I found myself drawing a blank after I realized that he was 100% correct.
Give a person some Comet and a toilet brush and I'm sure they can figure out what to do with it.
"If I agree to this," I said slowly, "I don't want you paying off all my debts."
Kyle's smirk faltered.
"May I ask why?"
"I don't want you holding anything over my head that could potentially prevent me from escaping your confinement. If I want to quit, I want to be able to do so without fear of you cutting me off. If I pay off my debts myself then that problem no longer exists."
"That's an interesting strategy, Miss. Reynolds. I never would've th—"
"That's another thing," I cut in before he could finish the rest of his statement. "If I say yes, I no longer want you to address me by my last name. I was given a first for a reason."
Kyle nodded his head, indicating that he understood. "If that's what you want."
He allowed a moment of silence to pass before he finally asked, "So, do we have a deal?"
My fingers twitched against my thigh as I thought through my decision one last time.
There was little room for me to fight him on this.
Veronica already thinks that I secured the position, and the last thing I wanted to do was let her down again. Plus, Kyle was telling the truth when he said that I only have two months left to pay off my mother's debts.
After drawing in a deep breath, I finally mustered up the courage to look him in the eyes and say, "Yes, we have a deal."
Kyle was quick to stand up from his chair and extend his hand out for me to shake.
I, too, stood up, and I would've reached out to take his hand had his next words not caused me to freeze in place.
"Great, you'll start tomorrow at nine AM sharp."
My face contorted into a look of shock.
"Tomorrow?!" I blinked at him. "Are you serio—"
The door to Kyle's office suddenly flew open, and the interruption caused the rest of my sentence to die on my lips.
"Honey, you left something back in the conference room."
I turned my head to see Renée standing in the doorway, holding a black tie.
I quickly retracted my hand as it didn't take long for me to put two and two together.
"Oh, hell no," I swore before I could stop myself.
My outburst caused Renée to squint at me, and her expression resembled that of a person trying to figure out where they know you from.
I rolled my eyes at the time that it took for the realization to hit her.
"What are you doing here?" she sneered once it finally clicked in her mind.
My reply was equally as icy.
"Oh, don't worry," I reassured her. "I was just leaving."
"The hell you are," Kyle told me as I rushed to gather my things. "This conversation isn't over yet."
I grabbed my wristlet and keys from my chair before I rushed over to the door.
"Yeah, well, this is me ending it," I called out over my shoulder. "And don't worry, I won't tell anybody about your illicit affair even though it's extremely cliché, and I'm sure everyone knows about it already."
I breezed past Renée while internally gagging at the thought of her and Kyle getting it on in the workplace.
My thoughts became a jumbled mess as I made my way to the elevator, and it didn't help that my phone began to ring with an incoming call from Tyler.
"What?" I huffed into the speaker after I pressed the 'down' button.
The sound of heavy footsteps forced me to look to my left, and I cursed under my breath when Kyle emerged from his office and began to make his way down the hall towards me.
Tyler's voice sounded in my ear, but his words failed to register in my mind as Kyle and I held each other's gazes for what felt like forever.
Renée, who was now trailing beside Kyle like a lost puppy, continued to remain oblivious to the fact that he wasn't paying her any attention as she chatted away in his ear.
I bit my lip as Kyle's eyes remained trained on my face even though Renée was trying to get him to look at her.
The elevator finally dinged, and the noise tore me away from our intense stare-off.
"Lilac, are you even listening to me?" Tyler yelled in my ear.
I stepped into the elevator just seconds before Kyle reached me, and I immediately extended my finger out to press the 'doors closed' button. For the second time today, my heart nearly fell out of my chest, only this time it was when Kyle made a move to step into the elevator with me.
It was at this moment that Renée caught on to what he was trying to do, and reached out to yank him back by his forearm just as the doors began to slide shut.
I breathed out a sigh of relief before I turned my attention back to Tyler as he was now shouting the word, "Hello?" in my ear over and over again.
I slumped back against the elevator wall before I finally graced him with my response.
"I'm listening."