Chapter 58 You're my boss!
Kaden yanks his jacket off with a groan of frustration, muttering under his breath as he wrings some of the water out of the sleeve.. "Just perfect," he barks, turning to me with water dripping from his chin. "How am I supposed to get home like this?"
I take a slow step toward him, my own damp clothes feeling like a second, colder skin. It's prickling my senses in the worst way, but I choose to ignore it. "Do you honestly think I orchestrated that just to keep you here? You think I’m that much of a puppet master?"
He gives me a look that could strip paint. "Can you really blame me? After all the shit you’ve already pulled?"
I don't stop until I’m back in his space, close enough to see the way the cold has made his skin prickle. He stills. Doesn’t retreat, but something in him tightens like he’s bracing. "This is how you looked," I say, my voice dropping into a low, private frequency. "That first night at Orphic. Soaked through, eyes like you were secretly daring me, looking like you were testing how far you could push before I pushed back."
He looks at me then, like he’s on the verge of melting into the gravity of the moment. His resistance fraying despite the white-knuckled grip he’s trying to keep on his pride. His expression shifts, not quite soft. But there’s that look again....that split-second slip where it feels like he might lean into it instead of fighting it. He exhales, running a hand over his face before dropping it. "What am I doing here, Bastian?" He asks, quieter now. "Really? What is this?"
"You're spending time with me," I answer simply.
He shakes his head, a bitter laugh escaping him. "Why?" He presses, "Since when do you care about 'spending time' together?" He gestures around at the darkening vineyard, his wet jacket still gripped in one hand. "Are you hoping I’ll finally let my guard down? That if you get me far enough away from the city, I'll just let you fuck me out here in the open?"
My brows shoot up. A jolt of heat, sharper than the cold water, hits my gut. "It wasn't on the itinerary," I murmur, my eyes tracing the line of his throat, "but please tell me more. You seem to have thought it through"
He runs a hand through his damp hair, the strands messy and dark, before planting both hands on his waist. He huffs, then starts to turn away, a half-pivot that stalls midway, leaving him staring out at the valley with his back partially to me. Llike he’s trying to create distance without actually leaving. Like he doesn’t trust himself to fully face me right now.
I watch the tension in his shoulders. The way his breathing hasn’t quite settled. This isn’t just about me. His posture is all wrong...he isn't defiant anymore, he’s on edge.
I step close the last of the distance. "What is it?" I ask quietly. "What’s actually on your mind, Kaden?"
He turns back, defensive. "Nothing! I'm fine."
"Something’s bothering you," I cut him off, my voice firm. "And don't use me dragging you out here as an excuse."
I reach out, the tip of my finger tracing the damp neckline of his shirt, hovering just above the skin. I can feel him shivering. "Are you uncomfortable... being here with me?"
He looks up at me, his breathing shallow and hard. His hazel eyes are darting, searching my face as if looking for a trap he missed. Or like he’s trying to find something solid in a situation that refuses to give it to him. The silence stretches, long and agonizing, until the dam finally breaks.
"I'm lying to my friends," he finally whispers, the words tumbling out with raw honesty.
"Josie and I... we’ve been best friends for ten years. We don’t have secrets. We don't do this. And now I’m lying to her face because of you, and I fucking hate how it makes me feel."
I pull back slightly, genuinely taken aback. "Because of me?"
"Because of 'this'!" He gestures wildly between us. "This... thing. Whatever it is. It’s not what I do. I don't mess around with people like this! Especially not people like you."
"People like me?"
"You're my boss!" he yells, the frustration finally peaking. "And I have no idea what we're doing or where the lines are. I already had enough on my plate, my life is complicated enough without you throwing a match into the middle of it. This doesn't help. It just makes everything harder."
He lets out a long breath, looking like he’s finally lanced a wound that’s been festering for weeks. "I’m constantly on edge at work," he adds, his voice cracking with the weight of it. "Every time I walk through those doors, I’m wondering who’s whispering, who saw us, who knows. And I'm sure you don't care, why would you? You’ve got nothing to lose. But I do. I’m not about to wreck my reputation chasing some temporary thrill."
I hold his gaze, the words echoing in the quiet space between us like a challenge. "Is that what I am to you, Kaden? A thrill?"
"Don't!" he warns, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Don’t twist this into something else. Not when you’ve been cornering me every chance you get, making it perfectly clear that you always get exactly what you want."
I nod once, absorbing the blow. "I'm listening," I say. "And I hear you. But I don't have friends, Kaden. Not like that. So I can’t pretend to understand your dilemma about being truthful to people who expect it from you." The wet grass is slick under my shoes, I consciously avoid glancing down because I know they're muddy and it'll only distract me further. "You're right, I have been cornering you. And I’ll keep doing it. Because yes, I do always get what I want, and I’m very confident this won't be any different."
His face pales with fury, his lips parting to launch another defense, but I move before he can find the words. I tilt my head slightly and gently cup his cheek, my thumb grazing the bridge of his nose.
His mouth shuts instantly. His eyes flicker down to my hand, his breathing hitching as the sudden, soft contact shatters the rhythm of his anger.
"It can’t be helped if people at work suspect something," I say, my thumb tracing the curve of his cheekbone. "But I can promise you that no one's going to dare speak a word of it. Not if they value their position."
"And that’s supposed to make me feel better?" he whispers, dissatisfaction in every word, but he doesn't pull away.