Chapter 9: Role Reversal

The rolls had significantly been reversed. Two weeks ago, it was Alijah ignoring Kieran, and now he was ignoring her. She didn’t like it. After he’d all but chastised her like a child four days ago, he hadn’t said much to her unless it was regarding work. It was the same way she had done him previously.

So many times, she found herself wanting to explain what happened. Tell him about how she thought he had been testing her and coming on to her and how Lawrence had come up with that stupid plan. She wanted to, but every time she would open her mouth to say something, he would level her with those hazel eyes. They were just as hard and cold as they had been when she’d first started working for him.

While it hadn’t affected her when she first started working, it now sent chills down her spine. She had forgotten how cold Kieran could indeed be. It terrified her to know that she was the cause of that stare. Her actions, or better yet, what she let someone talk her into doing, were the cause of such chill.

Alijah sighed, trying to focus her attention back on her work. She was supposed to be rescheduling a few meetings and then making travel arrangements. Kieran was going to Paris on business in three weeks and then Rome two weeks later. She had been tasked with letting the company pilot know so he could file the flight plan ahead of time since they were traveling international so there would be no hiccups. She also had to book a hotel for them to stay at.

Usually, Alijah would have been excited about the prospect of visiting Paris and Rome. Even though she would have been working, it would have been an excellent opportunity to view some of the world’s most remarkable buildings and art pieces.

However, with him being in the mood he was towards her, she didn’t even think she wanted to go. It would merely be unpleasant, but as his assistant, she knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Alijah glanced at the clock and saw that her lunch break was rapidly approaching. She shook herself mentally. Focusing back on rescheduling meetings, she finished it in twenty minutes and then began looking for hotels for them to stay in. Granted, Kieran had told her which ones he wanted. She felt it would be better to switch it up.

She knew he stayed in those whenever he visited the city, and the paparazzi were bound to know that. Alijah had learned that her boss was not one for considerable amounts of attention. Therefore, she reasoned as she booked two completely different hotels, he would see the logic in what she had done. If not, he was already pissed with her, so it wouldn’t make much difference.

It was a few minutes after twelve when she got it all done. Rising from her seat, she headed to Kieran’s office and knocked on the door. She heard his voice granting her access and slowly pushed the door open. He glanced up when she entered but turned his attention back to his computer screen.

“I’m going to head to lunch unless you need me to order in and work through-”

“No,” Kieran stated, cutting her off.

Alijah took a deep breath. “Okay, would you like me to order you-”

“No.” He cut her off again.

It took everything Alijah had not to snap back at him. For some reason, she knew that if she had, a war would have broken out at Cayman Industries, and she wasn’t sure she would have won. She was smart enough to know to never go into battle if you didn’t think you could win.

Instead, she turned and headed out of the door, closing it behind her. Going over to her desk, she grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer, dropped her work phone in it before taking out her phone, and headed to lunch.

As soon as she was off the elevator in the lobby, she placed her cellphone to her ear. She listened to it ring before it was picked up after the fourth one.

“Hello.”

“Chayse,” Alijah stated with a relieved sigh as her cousin answered the phone. “Are you busy?”

“No, what’s wrong?” Her cousin questioned from the other end of the line. Alijah could tell that she was shifting the phone.

“I did something stupid,” she responded as she made her way down the sidewalk to a little bistro a few blocks from the office. “I listened to Lawrence and-”

“Yeah, you did something stupid.” Chayse agreed. “Anytime anyone does anything, Lawrence says they’re doing something stupid.”

“Chayse, I’m serious.”

“Sorry. Tell me what happened.”

By the time Alijah finished telling Chayse everything, from when Kieran had come on to her in the company break room to when he had started ignoring her, she was seated at a table in the bistro eating her lunch.

“Well, as much as it pains me to say this, and it does to my core. I think Lawrence was right. I don’t think the man is testing you, Ali. I think he likes you, or he at least wants to fuck you. No, no. I’m pretty sure that he likes you. He was all worked up when he thought something happened to you.”

“Even if that had been the case, he hates me now.” Alijah countered with a sigh.

“He doesn’t hate you. If that elevator has a camera in it, as you’ve said, then I do not doubt that he saw Lawrence kiss you, and he’s jealous.”

“I don’t know, Chayse.”

“Trust me. I know men. Just talk to him. Tell him what he saw with Lawrence was a misunderstanding and apologize for worrying him.”

“I’ve tried. Kieran won’t let me get a word out.”

“Try again, and don’t back down. Now, I have to go. I lied when I told you I wasn’t busy. I have a shoot in twenty minutes, and I need to finish setting up.”

“Okay, thanks for listening. I’ll talk to you later.” With that, they said their goodbyes and hung up.

Alijah sat, finishing the rest of her lunch and thinking about what her cousin said. Chayse was right. She just needed to explain the situation to him. Let him know that she wasn’t with Lawrence and sincerely apologize for worrying him. Though she knew that was easier said than done.

Kieran ended his conference call with a sigh. Leaning back in his seat, he began to rub his temples. He’d been excellent at the beginning of the call, but he was suffering from a headache at the moment. This venture was becoming one of his most stressful.

For the past four months, his Vice-President of Operations, Remy Price, had been in Altay, China trying to broker a deal with one of the factories. It was the leading producer of Bluetooth headsets. When he heard they were looking to expand, Kieran did his research and knew that it would be one of the best investments he had ever made. The company’s profit to cost margin was impeccable.

He sat down with his Vice-President and his finance team, and they came up with a sound business pitch.

Kieran knew that the deal’s closure would take at least a few weeks, and he didn’t have time to be gone that long so instead, he sent Remy. The man was more than competent, and he didn’t think it would take this long for the deal to close.

However, unfortunately, it was taking more time than Kieran was beginning to think it was worth. He was ready to pull out of the process. The owner of the company was hell-bent on keeping all manufacturing within Altay.

Kieran didn’t want to do that. The point of expanding, in his opinion, was to put another facility in a place you previously didn’t have one. The United States would be just that place. It would also bring in hundreds of jobs.

There was no way he would go into business with the man only to open another factory in China. It just wasn’t happening. He would wait a few more days to see if things would change. If not, he would call Remy and tell him to pull out.

Rising from his chair, Kieran made his way over to the wall of windows. He looked out over the city. He was stressed and needed to relieve it.

His first thought went to Alijah, but he immediately shook it from his head. He was still pissed with her for worrying him. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that he was pissed with her for being involved with someone and not telling him.

However, that didn’t stop him from wanting to have her mount him and ride him into tomorrow. No matter how much he would have liked that, he knew that it wasn’t something that could happen. He wouldn’t cross into another man’s territory. No matter how much he wanted to.

If this were a business conquest, he wouldn’t care. He would have infiltrated and taken over by now. However, regardless of whether he wanted it to be or not, it wasn’t, and he would respect that.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was almost six o’clock. He knew Alijah had left an hour previous. She hadn’t come to tell him she was leaving, but he’d heard her. Kieran knew he was probably too hard on her, but he couldn’t bring himself to let it go just yet.

Sighing, he made his way back over to his desk and called Timothy. While he was waiting, he packed up what he’d been working on and headed towards the elevator after turning out his light. He made it down just as Timothy pulled up. Not feeling the need for the older man to get out of the car, Kieran opened the door and slid in. He’d decided to head up to the gym when he made it to the condo.

By the time Kieran finished his workout, he was dripping in sweat. He knew he had pushed himself a little too far, and he would be sore tomorrow, but he needed the release. Kieran made his way back into the condo and headed to his room to shower.

When he finished his shower, he dressed in a pair of sweatpants and socks before making his way into the kitchen. He’d thought mildly for a moment about doing some work, but he was honestly too exhausted. Instead, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed to the living room.

Sitting on the couch, he turned on ESPN and decided to watch the game highlights. He sat drinking his beer for the next twenty minutes. He decided he needed another one when it was empty and rose from his seat. Kieran didn’t care to see that the Cubs had beaten the Dodgers.

He had just turned around from retrieving his second beer to find Alijah standing behind him. She stood there in cotton Capri pants and a black tank top. Her feet were bare, and Kieran couldn’t help the fact that he wanted her even in something so simple.

“Can we talk?” She questioned.

“There’s nothing to-”

“I’m sorry, Kieran,” she started, cutting him off. “I should have been more responsible and made sure both of my phones were charged. I should have been more considerate and called you to tell you that I wasn’t coming back that night,” she said, walking towards him. She placed her hand on his chest and looked up at him from under her lashes. “I apologize.”

At the sight, Kieran could feel himself hardening. He wanted nothing more than to lean down and mold his lips with hers. For a moment, his wants got the better of his judgment as he began to lean down. Then Kieran remembered the man that had kissed her in the elevator and took a step back — her hand falling quickly from his chest as if it had burned him.

He had every intention of walking away from her, but she got up on her tiptoes, placing her arms around his neck. Her green eyes bore into his, and Kieran had to take a breath to keep his willpower and control himself. He removed her arms from around his neck with one hand, placed the beer in the other on the bar, and walked past her towards the hall.

“Your boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate what you’re trying to do, Alijah,” he told her through gritted teeth, back still turned.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Those words stopped him in his tracks and his shoulders tensed. She was lying to him. He knew what he’d seen. Yet, she had the audacity to sit there and try to tell him something different.

“I saw you with him,” he bit out. “I saw the two of you kiss.”

“Lawrence isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a friend of mine from college. We aren’t dating.” There was silence before she added, “I’m not his type.”

Kieran turned around, scoffing. “I doubt that.”

“It’s true. We’re nothing more than friends. I promise.”

He studied her for a moment. In his line of work, it was best always to be able to tell when someone was lying. As he stood and looked into Alijah’s eyes, he knew she was telling him the truth. His eyes narrowed as he took predatory steps towards hers, circling out, causing her to mimic his motions before advancing on her.

“What are you doing?” Alijah questioned him as she backed into the door.

“What I’ve wanted to do since the first time you walked into my office,” Kieran replied with a husky tone.

He closed the distance between them, trapping her luscious body against his and the door. He left nowhere for her to go, and that was his intent. He’d been fighting his desire for this woman long enough, and he wasn’t going to do it anymore. He was going to fulfill his every need and hers. Her body was calling to him, begging him to touch her, and he was going to do just that.

Picking her up, her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. He pressed his hardened dick between the apex of her thighs and allowed her to feel his need for her, his desire.

Without a word, he captured her lips with his and dominated the kiss. He was hungry for her and was damn sure going to get his fill of her even if it took all night.

With her still in his arms, lips again moving together, Kieran turned and began to head down the hallway. When he came to her bedroom, he walked inside before they stumbled onto the bed. He laid her down, and his body followed hers only a second later.

Her legs disengaged from around his waist, but Kieran barely noticed as his lips moved with hers. They were so soft. His fantasies and imagination did not do them justice, had not prepared him for the actual thing. They were addicting, and all he wanted to do was drink from them, but he knew he needed to let her breathe.

Reluctantly removing his lips from hers, he began to trail them along her jawline to her neck, giving her time to take in much-needed air. Kieran nibbled on Alijah’s neck, drawing small moans from her as he snaked his hand down over her side to her hip. He moved it to her lower abdomen and had every intention of continuing his explorations when he heard the small chime reverberate through the condo — the sound that someone had accessed the elevator for his floor.

Stopping his movements, he rose from the bed, reaching out and pulling Alijah up. With one of her hands in his, he led the way down the hall into his office. He sat her in his chair.

“What’s going on?” Alijah questioned. He could see she was confused by his sudden change in mood.

“Someone is on their way up to the condo,” he stated, keying in the code to the small safe underneath his desk.

“Okay…” Alijah trailed off as he opened the safe and pulled a .9mm from it. “Kieran,” she stated, puzzled. Her green eyes were big as she stared at the gun in his hand.

“Someone is on their way to the condo, but the only two people with an access card for the elevator are you and I.” Kieran further elaborated. He realized it was taking her longer to come out of her sexual haze. She stood from the chair as he watched realization dawn on her. “Where are you going?” He then questioned.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, baby. Stay here. Lock the door behind me. If I’m not back in five minutes, call the police,” he stated before placing a soft kiss on her lips and heading out the door. He waited to hear the lock click into place before making his way down the hall.

He hated now that he hadn’t gotten cameras placed outside of his front door or that there wasn’t a peephole in the door. However, he never thought he’d need either of those when he controlled who could and couldn’t have access to his floor. He was wrong.

He took a deep breath and took the safety off the gun but kept his finger away from the trigger. Aligning it instead to the side of the weapon. He pulled the door open and frowned.

“Really, Kieran? You’re going to shoot me?” Cruz questioned on the other side of the door.

Kieran quickly lowered his gun and put the safety back on. “What are you doing here? And how did you access my floor?”

“Seriously? It isn’t that hard when you create the security software.” Cruz informed him. “Besides, my assistant was supposed to call you and tell you I was coming over to inspect it and make sure it was in perfect working order,” he finished pushing past Kieran into the condo.

Kieran placed the gun on the table as he closed the door. Turning to see Cruz sitting on his couch. “No one called me.”

Cruz scoffed. “Figures. I’m firing her ass tomorrow.”

“Is that all you wanted, Cruz?”

“No, I also wanted to remind you of Nik’s opening tomorrow. I know how you are, and I figured a face-to-face reminder was best.”

Kieran nodded. In all honesty, he had forgotten about Nik opening his new lounge, but regardless of what he had scheduled for tomorrow, if anything, he would make time to support his friend.

While he had Cruz there, Kieran decided to talk to him about getting cameras placed outside the door. This incident had opened his eyes to the possibility that someone could hack his elevator, though Cruz swore it to be impossible. Claiming he was the best at what he did and could not be hacked.

“Seriously, Kieran?”

Alijah’s voice made Kieran halt his conversation and turn to look at her. Those green eyes held that spark, and he knew she was about to go to war with him. So, he beat her to it.

“Why did you come out?”

“I was coming to make sure you were alright, and I heard you talking to him,” she stated, gesturing to Cruz.

“I could have been out here, tied to a chair, preparing to be tortured. What would you have done then?” He questioned. She glared at him, and Kieran had to admit she was damn sexy when she was mad.

“Screw you, Kieran.” With that, he watched as she turned and headed back down the hall. None too pleased with him.

He turned his attention back to his friend to see him giving him a questioning look. Kieran raised his own eyebrow in question. Cruz simply shook his head, telling Kieran he would see him tomorrow night before heading out of the door.

Kieran locked the door behind him and grabbed the gun off the side table. He made his way into his office and placed it back into the safe, closing it. He then backtracked to Alijah’s room. He tried the door handle and found it locked but wasn’t surprised. He was, however, irritated.

Sighing, he made his way down the hall. Resigning himself to the fact that it would be another cold shower for him tonight.