t w e n t y t h r e e
? You're the only one who makes me feel so high
But I won't crash and burn this time ?
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The next morning was oddly normal as we all gathered around the kitchen table to eat breakfast.
"So Quinn's a traitor, huh?" Kass hummed, breaking the ice. She was standing in front of the stove, piling a mountain of eggs on her plate. "I would've never guessed."
Damien snuck his arm around her to grab the plate of bacon, only to let out a hiss after Kass smacked his hand away with a spatula.
"Ladies first," she scolded while pushing him out of the way.
I snickered at the exchange.
"I taught you well," Veronica praised from her seat at the table.
When Kass stopped by to visit me this morning, I was surprised to see that she and Veronica were already well-acquainted.
Why Veronica failed to mention this to me, I have no idea.
But the more I watch them interact, the more I see why they click.
They're literally the same person.
"I hope you aren't giving Kyle a run for his money down at the office, Miss. Veronica," Julianna quipped. She smirked before adding, "You know how sensitive he is."
Veronica placed a dramatic hand over her heart. "Why, of course not! I'm a perfect angel! Isn't that right, Rodriguez?"
"Stop lying and eat your food," Kyle suddenly spoke up from behind me, causing me to jump.
I didn't even hear him enter the room.
Damien rolled his eyes at us. "Circling back to the topic at hand, Quinn is not a traitor, Kass.
Eli and Ethan threatened to hurt his family if he didn't do what they said.
After he changed into his suit the night of the banquet, he snuck into Kyle's office and stole the files.
He was going to tell Lilac when you all were sitting at the table, but he wasn't able to, thanks to Justin's excitable ass. "
"Well, it's not my fault the DJ decided to play my song the second he got ready to tell her," Justin grumbled. "What's your excuse, Mr. Bodyguard? Or can you even call yourself that, seeing how the kid managed to rob my brother right in front of you?"
To no one's surprise, a small argument broke out between them, and while Julianna tried to mediate, Kass and Vee went in the other direction and began to instigate from the sidelines.
"Lilac?"
In the time that I spent listening to our friends, Kyle had been talking to me, and I somehow managed to block out every single word he said.
"I'm sorry, what?" I blinked, staring up at him.
You'd think I'd know by now that looking into his eyes was a trap, but I needed to be able to read his expression. He gazed back at me intently, almost as if he were waiting for me to respond . . .
Shit.
I racked my brain for a universal response to any question and immediately cringed as a random slew of words came flying out of my mouth. "That's great!"
Kyle tilted his head suspiciously before a smile slowly spread across his face.
"Alright, cool." He reached across me to grab a plate. "You'll have to get dressed after breakfast so we can head over there."
Head over where? What the fuck did I just agree to?
After Julianna managed to calm Justin and Damien down, breakfast was filled with mindless chatter as we discussed our plans for this upcoming weekend.
We all went our separate ways after finishing our food since Kass had a meeting at ten o'clock and Veronica had to take her brother to the train station.
Justin, Kyle, and Damien wandered off to have a short meeting about the Quinn situation while Julianna and I stayed behind to tidy up the kitchen.
Once the dishes were clean, I ran upstairs to change.
I swore under my breath when I realized that I still had no idea where we were going.
My pride prevented me from going back downstairs to ask Kyle, so I decided to play it safe and dress up.
It took me forty-five minutes to get ready solely because I couldn't find my favorite pencil skirt, and when I did, I discovered that it didn't even fit me anymore.
"Damn Julianna and her calorie-filled meals," I muttered while turning to look at myself in the mirror.
I know, for a fact, that I've gained at least five pounds in the time that I've been living here.
Putting the skirt aside, I quickly finished getting ready before I flung open my door and took off down the stairs.
"And I thought my sister was bad," Kyle huffed when I finally told him that I was ready.
He gave me a once-over, and I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes lingered on my chest as he watched me adjust the neckline of my dress.
"Yeah, well, perfection takes time. But you wouldn't know anything about that now, would you?"
He clenched his jaw, breezing past me. "Let's go."
I shuddered. Guess I struck a nerve.
A limo was waiting for us outside, and the driver pulled out of the driveway the second we slid into the vehicle.
The drive was silent, save for the sound of Kyle's fingers tapping away on his phone. I bit my lip, swallowing down the urge to scream as a thick cloud of tension settled over our heads.
Feeling suffocated, I began to bounce my leg up and down.
"Would you please stop?" The strain in Kyle's voice was evident. "You have nothing to worry about."
Letting out a puff of air, I tugged my dress down since it had ridden up due to my careless movements.
In need of a distraction, I rummaged through my purse in search of my phone.
When I finally managed to locate it, I was surprised to find my notification screen littered with missed calls from Tyler.
What the hell does he want?
I went to open the voicemail that he left, but my finger missed the play button entirely as we suddenly hit a sharp turn. The force of it caused my body to fly sideways, and out of pure misfortune, the entire half of my upper body landed in Kyle's lap.
"Oh my God," I groaned when the reality of the situation hit me.
In a feeble attempt to hold myself up, my left hand had attached itself to his left knee while my right elbow was resting on top of his right thigh.
"Sorry," I apologized while scrambling to sit up straight. "I will never understand why some of these things don't have seat belts."
Kyle shifted his body so that he was sitting more at an angle, and this position allowed him to stare at me without having to turn his head. "Are you okay?"
I nodded slowly. "I'm fine."
"Sorry, sir," the driver spoke up from the front. "Almost missed my turn."
Kyle shook his head in what looked to be disbelief.
He then reached out to pour himself a glass of bourbon from the minibar sitting next to us.
I frowned at the action.
It was barely eleven o'clock.
"Here," he said, breaking me out of my trance. He offered me a glass filled almost to the brim with some kind of clear liquid. When he saw my hesitation, he clarified, "It's water."
"Thank you," I mumbled, taking the glass from him.
We sipped our drinks in silence, and I made a conscious effort to keep still for both our sakes.
The vehicle came to a stop fifteen minutes later, and I nearly shouted my praise when the driver got out to open our door. Kyle finished off his drink before he stepped out of the limo, waiting on the edge of the sidewalk for me to follow suit.
The sun glared down on us as we walked toward the glass skyscraper, and the nameplate on the front of the building glinted beneath the sun's rays, catching my attention.
I stopped walking. "We're seeing the Durants?"
Kyle paused beside me, his jaw clenching in annoyance. "So you weren't listening."
"I was! I'm just trying to figure out why we're here—" The rest of my sentence died on my lips after Kyle let out a deep chuckle.
"I don't have time for this," he remarked while reaching for the door handle.
"Kyle, wait—" I raised my hand to grab his arm, only to shrink back in surprise when he pulled away before I could touch him.
The fact that he still held the door open for me led me to believe that he wasn't completely upset, but he was, without a doubt, getting there.
He tapped his foot impatiently as he gestured for me to enter the building.
"Come on. I'll explain it to you again in the elevator."
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