Chapter 10 - Kayla
It’s been three days since that incredibly awkward moment in the car with Josiah.
I can’t believe how close I came to kissing him.
Seconds away from it, actually. I was already leaning into the kiss and wondering what else might happen when something in my brain managed to drag me away while my body kicked and screamed in protest.
I hate the fact that I am still so fucking turned on by him. How is it possible? Even after learning who he really is and what he really does for a living, my body betrays me by still wanting him.
And he had the audacity to tell me I belong to him.
He’s a complete lunatic.
I don’t belong to him or anyone.
Walking back to my desk, I lift my chin and force my eyes not to wander over to him. I’ve managed to avoid him all morning, but I can’t do so all day.
And this morning, while I was making coffee, he made a point of standing too close to me in the kitchen, wearing nothing but his sweatpants! The audacity of that man is astounding. I’ve never met anyone more arrogant in my entire life.
Or sexier.
I scoff at my thoughts and push them aside.
Being sexy counts for nothing when you are a controlling, power-hungry—
“Kayla,” he calls me with a deep booming command in his voice.
I bite down on my tongue. I told him not to call me like a dog. But I won’t be baited by his trap.
Entering his office, I stand some distance from his desk. “Is there something you need?” I ask coldly.
Josiah stands up and walks slowly around his desk. He walks right over to me, towering over me. His cologne smothers me in thoughts I should not be entertaining. Heat builds between my legs at the authority he holds, the confidence.
“I’m working late tonight,” he informs me.
“Okay,” I huff, wondering what it has to do with me.
“That is all,” he says, his voice rippling over me.
I press my lips together to stop the sarcastic ‘seriously’ from blurting out of my mouth.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
I spin on my heel and hurry away from him.
I leave work literally the moment the clock hits five. There is no chance I’m staying late alone in this building with him.
On the drive home, I get a call from the security gate at the mansion.
“There is a young woman here who insists she knows you,” he informs me.
“Who?” I ask, confused.
“Izabel?”
“From California!” I hear her shouting in the background. “Your best friend, in case you forgot!”
The guard sighs. “Do you know her?”
I giggle. “Yes, I know her very well.”
“Can we let her in?”
“Yes, and tell her I’m two minutes away,” I say excitedly.
A surprise visit from my best friend is exactly what I hadn't known I needed!
I haven’t even stepped through the door to the mansion when she bowls me over with the biggest hug ever.
“Dude, did you forget I existed? You don’t call, you don’t text,” she complains dramatically.
I laugh and pull her in for another hug. “I missed you so much!” I declare, squeezing her tightly.
“Where are my sweetie pie muffin twins?” she asks, stepping back. “Wow, is this how you go to work now? Are you beating men off with a stick or what, because you look freaking gorgeous.”
“Funny, this is the same stuff I wore in California,” I laugh.
Stella comes down with both girls already bathed and in their pajamas.
“Mama! Lizard!!!” They shout her nickname ten times louder than mine when they realize who it is.
She earned this nickname a few years ago, when the girls started talking.
I would call her Izz or Izzie. But once Kira discovered this amazing creature that looked like a miniature dragon, and at the same time realized how close Izzie was to a lizard… well, that was the end of it.
Both of them bowl into her, and she sits down on the floor to pull them onto her lap and hug them.
“My munchkins!” she exclaims happily. “Man, I missed you guys so much!”
“They're already in their PJs?” I ask Stella.
“We’re having a popcorn and movie night in a tent me made over the bed,” She smiles.
“Oh wow, that sounds amazing,” I say, hugging each of the twins.
“So, does that mean I can steal you for a cocktail?” Izabel says, raising her brows in hope.
“Actually, yes, if Stella is available to stay with the girls?” I ask Stella.
“Of course, go enjoy yourself.”
“I’m going to shoot upstairs to change, then we can go,” I grin, excited for a little time away from everything and to catch up with my best friend.
I come back down fifteen minutes later, wearing a pair of tight jeans and my comfortable sneakers, to find Izzie sitting on the sofa with the girls on her lap, telling them stories about California. Particularly about the ducks we used to visit at the local park.
“Do you think they miss us?” Kelsey asks.
“I miss you!” Izzie says.
Stella comes through after me and calls to the girls, hyping them up, “It’s movie time!”
“Thank you so much for this,” I whisper to her.
“Go and have some fun,” she grins at me.
Izzie and I catch an Uber. It feels less restrictive than having Josiah’s driver take us somewhere.
For a change, I’m making my own choices, and I don’t have to tell him anything about what I’m doing.
Especially not after the fight we had the other day.
I can’t believe that man tried to tell me I belong to him.
So, this is my little jab back at him. Proving a point.
Izzie coming to visit me somehow reminded me of who I am. How hard I fought to be the strong and independent person that I am.
I don’t need Josiah trying to take that away from me again.
“So, how’s life in the beautiful city of Chicago?” Izzie asks, sipping her cocktail through a pink straw.
“It’s challenging,” I say after a moment, trying to find the right word.
“Well, you’re going to have to be a lot more informative than that. Also, why have you been so quiet?” she asks.
I sigh and lean back in my chair, looking around the tropical-themed bar. “I kept wanting to tell you everything that was going on, but it all seemed so crazy I couldn’t find the right way to explain it. Especially not over the phone,” I tell her.
“Well, I’m here now. And I have all the time in the world for you,” she says.
Izzie is my favorite person to talk to when things get tough. She’s patient and understanding, but at the same time she’ll call me out if she thinks I’m being a brat or overreacting. Everyone needs a friend like that.
“Okay, I guess, uh, there’s no subtle way of saying any of this…” I laugh nervously. “Remember I told you I left Chicago before because a guy broke my heart?”
She nods. “Yes, Josiah. The man whom I will help you bury. If you just blink twice, I’ll make a plan…” she says teasingly as she raises her brows, waiting for me to blink. I laugh and shake my head.
“Josiah is my boss. He’s the one I live within the mansion.”
Her mouth drops open in shock. “You—are—kidding?” she blurts out, accentuating each word.
“Unfortunately, not,” I sigh, picking up my drink.
“But the girls…I mean, he’s their…do they know?” She can’t believe it.
“No. I haven’t told them. I know I should, but I can’t seem to find the right time. I don’t want to…I don’t want to lose them. It’s been just us for so long,” I say quietly, realizing another level to my reluctance.
“You’ll never lose those girls. They adore you more than anything else on this planet.
You are their entire world, Kayla.” She reaches out to touch my arm.
“But at the same time, no one should force you to tell them something you aren’t ready to.
Don’t let anyone do that to you. The Kayla I know would kick someone’s ass for trying to push her around,” Izzie grins.
“Ugh, it feels so good just to talk about all of it. I can’t exactly talk to Josiah, and the only other people I really see are his family.”
“You know I’m always here for you,” she says, slipping out of her chair and giving me a one-armed hug. “Dammit, I missed you!”
She sits down again. There is a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
“I know that look. You’re excited about something. What is it?” I ask, laughing at her.
“Soooo….” She draws out the word lavishly. “I was talking to my brother, and I think I’m moving to Chicago!”
“Are you serious?!” I ask her, flooded with excitement.
“I am! You know he pays for everything. After I failed at holding down a job that one time a few years ago,” she laughs, “I gave up trying to be an independent girl, and I accepted him funding my rather wonderfully expensive lifestyle.
Except I've been going crazy with boredom in California since you left. I miss the girls. My brother said I can do anything I want, and I can go anywhere I want, and all I really want is to be the slightly out-of-her-mind crazy aunt to those two gorgeous twin babies.”
She shrugs, giving me a sheepish smile. “I miss you guys seriously badly,” she adds.
“I would love to have you living close by. Won’t your brother miss you, though?” I ask.
“Pfft,” she scoffs. “He has a whole life of his own. And he can visit me any time. I want to be near you guys.”
My phone rings, and I search around for it in my purse. I’m worried it might be the twins needing me. But it isn’t. It’s Josiah.
“Josiah? Is everything okay?” I ask, still thinking it might be about the twins.
“Where are you?” he snaps.
“I’m out. Why are you calling me?”
“You didn’t even tell your bodyguards where you were going. You left without your driver. You just disappeared!” he scolds me.
“Stop being so dramatic! And since when do I have to report to you on every movement I make?” I argue.
“Where are the twins?” he demands.
“Safe with Stella. Is something going on that I should know about, or are you just trying to pull rank like you did earlier this week?” I blurt out, agitated that he’s interrupted a lovely evening out with my best friend.
“Nothing is going on other than the fact that you cannot just leave without letting me know where you are. Send me your location, I’m coming to get you,” he snaps.
I laugh into the phone. “No, actually. You most certainly aren’t going to come and fetch me. I will find my own way home when Izabel and I are finished enjoying our night out.”
“What time?” he snarls.
“That isn’t your concern. But it will be late. Don’t wait up.”
I hang up the call, boldly punching my point into place as I slip my phone back into my purse.
“He sounds like a handful,” Izzie muses.
“A very sexy handful,” I groan. “I wish I weren’t so attracted to him physically. It’s a challenge to live in the same house with someone while trying to avoid them and while your body is sending off floods of hormones telling you that you want them,” I complain.
Izabel bursts out laughing.
“Just jump his bones and get it over with. It’ll probably ease some of the tension,” she teases me.
“Not a chance in hell.”
We laugh and have another drink, enjoying the evening. I let go of my worries and finally relax for the first time in ages.
Finally, later than I expected, I call it a night and tell her I need to get back home.
“We can share an Uber. I’m staying at a hotel close to your place,” she says, standing up and slipping her arm through mine as we walk to the door to leave the bar.
Outside, she pulls her phone out and starts searching through her apps to call an Uber.
A black SUV pulls up in front of us.
Instinctively, I take a step back, pulling her with me. My stomach knots as my intuition begins to flare.
Izabel looks up, confused about why I’m practically dragging her back to the bar.
“What…?” she stammers.
But everything is suddenly happening very fast.
Men pour out of the SUV, surrounding us. They tear us apart, and I let out a yelp of horror as Izabel is dragged away from me towards the van. I try to scream, but a hand clamps over my mouth.
Izabel is kicking and fighting hard. I do the same.
Gunshots are fired from the left, and the men who are trying to kidnap us are suddenly scattering.
“Who the fuck is that?” one of them shouts.
“Get down!”
More bullets fly through the air. One man gets hit in the shoulder, another in the leg. I scream as soon as the man holding me lets me go.
Suddenly, Josiah is behind me, pulling me away from the chaos.
“It’s me, Kayla, it’s me,” he says.
“Izabel!”
“We have her, she’s safe,” he tells me, pulling me away and towards a different car. He throws me inside while his guards cover us and hold the kidnappers back.
My heart is racing.
My skin is burning with shock and fear.
I can barely speak, and Izabel looks just as horrified as I am.