Chapter 7: Testing Her

He was testing her. Of that, Alijah was positive. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. What she wanted to do, yes, she knew that. However, she wasn’t sure how he expected her to respond. So, she had decided to steer clear of him. As much as she tried, the man made it next to impossible. She should have known better, considering he was her boss and she lived with him.

Kieran was always flirting with her. Alijah knew she wasn’t the most experienced when it came to men. She had pretty much ignored most of them while she attended college, but she knew when a man was flirting with her, and her boss was doing just that.

At first, Alijah wanted to believe his actions were innocent, but she knew better. After he’d done what he had in the kitchen the night of their meeting, she knew there was nothing innocent about it.

The man would make some comment, openly flirting with her, but say it just as casual as if he was telling her the weather. He would touch her some simple way.

What pissed Alijah off was that her traitorous body would respond to his comments, compliments, and touches. She wished nothing more than to be a robot of some sort so she could turn her emotions off.

The worst of it was the fact that she knew he was testing her. While Kieran would flirt with her or compliment her, there was never the playful glint in his eyes that most got when flirting. No, he remained just as withdrawn as she had ever seen him.

Unfortunately, she was at her wit’s end. This had been going on for the past two weeks, and she was close to strangling Kieran. Her mind had resorted to violence and convinced her that it was the only way to handle the situation at hand.

Alijah looked at her watch. It was fifteen minutes to seven, and Kieran was in his office working. He’d been in there, to her knowledge, since she woke up. He even passed on breakfast.

She didn’t want to, she knew that he would probably say something to get her blushing and her body responding, but she knocked on his office door before opening it. If she didn’t get him now, they would be late, and she didn’t need him saying it was her fault.

“We need to go,” she stated when he didn’t look up and acknowledge that she had walked in.

“Give me a minute,” he responded.

Alijah sighed. The man was impossible. She didn’t know how she put up with him because all he wanted to do was work, and his mood while working, most of the time, was insufferable. So, Alijah did the only thing she knew would get his attention. She walked over to him and turned off his monitor, swatting his hand away when he went to turn it back on.

“We have to leave now. If I let you keep working, we’ll be late, you’ll blame me, and I’m not about to allow you to do that.”

Kieran sighed, standing to his feet. “I wouldn’t blame you.”

Placing one hand on her hip, Alijah cocked it to the side while simultaneously rolling her eyes.

“Yes, you would.”

“No, I wouldn’t, gorgeous.” With that stated, Kieran passed her and headed out of his office.

Alijah stood there a moment in stunned silence though she didn’t know why. He had been doing things like that consistently. She was brought out of her temporary daze when she heard Kieran’s voice.

“Come on, Alijah, before you make us late.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed before heading out of the door and down the hall. He dared to be standing there with a slightly irritated look on his face. She took a deep breath, and it took all she had to keep her hands at her sides and not reach up and smack him in the back of the head.

Alijah sat taking notes while Kieran and his department heads discussed the upcoming quarter and projects. Whatever was said went into her ears and came out on her tablet, but she didn’t hear it. Admittedly, her body was merely on autopilot. It was more a learned behavior. Having done it over time, her body was equipped to go about the task.

She had been sitting in the meeting for almost an hour; her focus hadn’t been on it once. She was more focused on listening to the deep baritone that sounded from Kieran whenever he spoke. Alijah knew she shouldn’t have been, but she couldn’t help herself. All of his testing had caused her to act in such a way.

The man’s voice was deep and commanding but smooth like silk all at the same time. If she had to give a flavor to his voice, it was milk chocolate—smooth, creamy, yet always in control.

His voice seemed to make most of his employees shiver with fear. It made Alijah shiver, but it wasn’t out of fear.

She was more than happy when the meeting was over. Gathering her things, she stood and made her way out of the conference room. She wasn’t watching where she was going. Instead, she was looking down at her tablet, preparing to send her notes to her boss, when she bumped into a hard chest.

Alijah took a step back, and she probably would have fallen had it not been for two hands grasping her forearms, reaching out to steady her. Looking up, she was met with deep brown eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, it was my fault. I should have been paying attention.” Alijah stated as she took in the man’s facial features.

He was handsome. His deep brown eyes set against his mocha skin nicely, a slightly darker contrast than hers. He stood at least five-ten with short curls on top of his head.

“No, I shouldn’t have been standing in the doorway,” he responded with a small smile. “I’m Trevor, by the way. I work in marketing.”

“Alijah, I’m Mr. Cayman’s assistant.” Trevor nodded slowly, and Alijah shifted her weight. “Well, I better get going. I have a few calls to make.”

Trevor moved aside and allowed her to pass. “It was nice meeting you, Alijah.”

“You as well,” she stated as she headed back towards her desk.

Once at her desk, Alijah sent her notes to Kieran after making sure they were organized. She then went about replying to some emails. She was happy that it was Friday and she would have the next two days off. Her boss may have been an extreme workaholic, but he didn’t make her work on the weekends when he did unless there was an event, and she was happy about that.

This weekend she had plans. She hadn’t hung out with Lawrence since moving out of his apartment. They talked several times a week, but it was almost impossible to get together with both of their schedules. However, he was off for the first weekend in a long time, and Alijah thought it was best to catch up with her friend.

She was in desperate need of someone to talk to about what was going on with her boss. She needed an opinion on how to handle it. If anyone gave it to her straight, it would be Lawrence. He’d always been blunt about everything, and if you associated with him, you merely had to take it — no chasers as was the case with their small group. She could use his honesty for the current issue she was having.

Kieran sat at his desk, going over the reports from the different departments. He was pleased so far with everything he saw, except for the marketing department’s concept for a product he’d purchased the rights to six months ago.

It was a unique product. It was a self-aware carpet and floor tool. Not only did it vacuum up messes on the carpet, wood, and tile flooring. It also mopped the hard floors as well as shampooed the carpet. It then went behind itself and dried the floor afterward to reduce the chance of slipping.

He’d purchased it from the creator, who had some troubles with the power core. He made the man more than a fair offer and gave him ten percent of revenue garnered, paid quarterly for the rest of his life. He was well set.

Kieran had gotten his team on the power core issue, and they had it figured out within three months. Over the next three months, they tested the prototype. Putting it to whatever test they could think of. Now he was ready to start marketing it so they could get it in stores and on the shelves.

His finance department had come up with a reasonable budget that would give the product the push it needed without spending more than it may garner in the first six months of selling it. He had figured the product would be relatively easy to market. However, he’d left the strategical matters and the overall concept to his marketing department. They had fallen short.

The concept, in his opinion, was not enough to catch the attention of anyone — not even a child. He was going to make them do it again, and they would be on a strict deadline. The product was going out on the first of September and needed advertising to take place at least a month prior. With it being almost the end of June, that gave them a month to get their shit together, or heads were going to roll. He would clean out the whole department if he had to and hire an entirely new team if he had to push the shelving day back.

Speaking of the marketing team, Kieran’s thoughts went back to right after the meeting when he’d seen Trevor talking to Alijah. For lack of a better word, the young man was promiscuous. Kieran had seen him flirt with several female employees and did not doubt that he’d slept with several of them.

He didn’t have a massive “no fraternization” policy. He more so didn’t want it to interfere with anyone’s work or cause any tension. If it affected someone’s job performance, then it cost him money. Therefore, both parties would have to go.

In this aspect, when it came to Alijah, it would be best for Trevor to keep his distance. Kieran was still determined to have her. He was easing her into it. It was much like a business acquisition, and he didn’t get where he was without knowing how to go about things.

At thirty-five, Kieran had been running his company successfully with no profit losses for the past eleven years. He started it right out of college with the life insurance money he’d gotten from his parent’s death. It was a struggle, and every day had been hard, but Kieran had three great friends that helped him get off the ground. In return, when they had decided to go into business for themselves, he was more than happy to help them.

His three friends were his family after his parent’s passed away. He had no one. They had both been only children. His father had grown up in the foster system, never knowing his parents. His mother’s father had disowned her for marrying his father. The old man was still alive, to Kieran’s knowledge. He was probably too damn stubborn to die, but he had nothing to do with him. Not from the way he treated his mother.

Sighing, Kieran shook the memories away and rose from his seat. Making his way to the window, he looked out over downtown Denver. He loved his city. It always seemed so peaceful and serene. He had never been one for the hustle and bustle of huge cities. This one fit his needs just right.

While Denver was large, it was private. Therefore, there weren’t many people trying to take his pictures at every turn like there were in other cities. He enjoyed that fact, and though he liked to travel for work and pleasure, he didn’t like being hounded if he allowed himself that luxury. He would have to get over the discomfort considering he had many out-of-town business meetings scheduled over the next few months.

Making his way back to his desk, he began to mark up the marketing campaign sent over. He was sure that there would be more red than anything else on the screen by the time he finished.

Kieran didn’t need to glance at his clock when his door opened, and Alijah walked in to know that it was after five o’clock and she was informing him that she was leaving. He also knew she would try to get him to leave work early as well. Sometimes, he gave in to her. This would not be one of those times.

“Quitting time,” she announced as she stopped in front of his desk.

“I still have work to do,” he stated simply, typing away on his keyboard.

He listened to her sigh, and he didn’t need to look at her to know that she was rolling her eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched as he fought a grin. Kieran all but expected her to give him lip like she usually did. However, he was surprised when she conceded with no fight at all.

“Fine, you stay and work. I’m leaving.”

“Timothy is waiting for you downstairs,” Kieran informed her. He paused in his actions long enough to look up into her green eyes. “I’ll see you later tonight, baby.”

With that, he turned his attention back to his previous task, but he didn’t miss the hitch in her chest as she seemed to stop breathing for a moment.

Alijah didn’t mumble a reply to him. She merely turned and walked out of the door. With her back to him, Kieran looked up and admired the sway of her ass as she left. He smirked to himself, enjoying the effect he seemed to be having on her.

He had been teasing her for over two weeks, and he had thought she would have broken by now. Come begging for him to pleasure her body in numerous ways. However, that hadn’t happened. He had to give it to her. She had willpower—much more than he possessed.

Kieran was growing closer to simply bending her over his desk and taking her from behind. The thought had crossed his mind several times, but when he gave it to her, it would be more than an office quickie. He was going to fuck her to the extent she forgot her own name.

He worked a bit longer before finally deciding that it was time for him to leave the office. The sun had set, and the city’s lights twinkled below — another reason he loved the view. He could see out, but no one could see inside due to the outside tint on the window.

Making his way out of the office, he closed the door behind him on his way to the elevator. He’d called for Timothy twenty minutes before and knew he was waiting on him.

Sliding into the car, Kieran sat back in the seat as he loosened his tie. He had plans to go to, what was supposed to be a weekly basketball game with his three closest friends. Admittedly, he hadn’t been going lately, and they were all giving him hell.

So, instead of working all day tomorrow, he planned to play a few games and maybe get a few drinks. Then, he would go back to the condo and work.

He pulled up a short while later and headed to the top floor. It was close to nine, and the lights were out in the living room. The light over the bar was on, and he walked over, finding dinner left out for him. His little assistant had thought enough to make him a plate. He decided to eat it before heading to his room.

As he passed by Alijah’s door, he noticed the light coming from underneath. He hadn’t suspected she was sleeping, but she had been locking herself in her room for the past few nights. Kieran hadn’t felt inclined to ask what she was doing. What she did with her free time was her business. Though, he planned to be the only thing she did starting very soon.

Going into his room, he began to strip. He would take a shower and then start researching other potential business endeavors. Money could be made, and he had every intention of making it.