Chapter 12: Dreaded Meeting

Kai

Kai had spent the weekend with a mix of rest and frustration, trying to convince herself that she was ready for Monday morning. But now, as the clock ticked closer to the meeting time, the reality of the situation settled heavily in her chest. She wasn’t ready. She didn’t feel ready. And the idea of facing Richard—along with whatever James was going to throw at her—only made it worse.

“No, I’m driving myself,” Kai argued for the hundredth time as she stood in the living room, hands on her hips.

Sara, sitting on the couch, raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “Not a chance. I’m driving you. You’re not well enough to drive yet, and you’re definitely not going anywhere on your own. End of story.”

Kai’s jaw tightened in defiance. “I’m fine, Sara. Seriously. It’s just a little bit of pain now, nothing I can’t handle. I can make it on my own.”

Sara crossed her arms, her voice unwavering. “I’m not letting you go by yourself, Kai. You can argue with me all you want, but this time, you’re not winning. I’ll just call Preston and let him talk some sense into you.”

That threat hung in the air for a moment. Kai bristled but knew there was no point in pushing further. Not with Sara and certainly not with the mention of Preston.

The drive to the Virgin Active gym was quiet, and Kai spent the entire time stewing in her thoughts, trying to push away the nagging discomfort in her side. She arrived an hour earlier than the scheduled meeting, hoping to get a jump on things. As much as she wanted to avoid being seen as weak, she needed to make sure everything was in order before Richard arrived.

She walked into the gym, the smell of fresh coffee and the buzz of early morning energy greeting her. The Castle Hill team was already at one of the booths, and Kai made her way over, exchanging pleasantries with a few of the staff. She grabbed a coffee and settled into the booth, checking through her emails and mentally preparing herself for the inevitable conversation.

It wasn’t until she glanced up that she noticed Richard walking into the gym with someone behind him.

James.

The instant her eyes locked onto him, confusion shot through her. What was he doing here? She couldn’t deny the jolt of recognition that hit her in the chest—his smug expression, the way he walked with a quiet confidence. She couldn’t help but wonder how he knew Richard.

Richard, with his usual composure, slid into the booth across from her, and before Kai could process the awkwardness of James’s presence, he spoke.

“Kai,” Richard began, his tone a little too casual, “where were you last week? You missed a lot of important things.”

Kai blinked, still caught off guard by the situation. She opened her mouth to respond, but then her gaze flickered to James again. “Why is he here?” she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.

Richard glanced over at James, a moment of hesitation crossing his face. “This,” he gestured to James, “is James Pratt. He has been an investor in many endeavours with me over the last 12 years. He has diversified holdings across manufacturing and distribution industries. He is also one of the initial investors for VCafe and D.A.R.E.  expansion two years ago.”

Kai’s heart skipped a beat. So the guy that showed up at training last night is some business mogul, and the unknown investor that gave Kai the finances to build her businesses, that explains the arrogance. She knew that he had a wealth of knowledge that could benefit the national expansion that she was working towards but quite frankly she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Plus she had paid back the last of the investment she received, just last week and just waiting for legal to confirm receipt of payment which meant, technically, he had not say or reason to be here.

James, with his usual ease, interrupted the moment, casually dropping the bomb. “Kai not being here last week when we first came to speak with you, probably had something to do with her injury.”

Kai’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. She hadn’t said a word about her injury to either of them, and now James was bringing it up like it was nothing. Guess he really did get a look at the bandage Friday night. Richard’s expression faltered for just a moment, clearly blindsided.

“What injury?” Richard demanded, his voice hardening as his eyes locked on Kai. “What’s going on, Kai?”

Kai swallowed hard, her mind racing for an escape. She didn’t want to have this conversation, didn’t want to deal with the questions. “I think you are fired and can get out of my cafe,” She glared at James, who grinned wider at her, before turning to Richard and tried to brush it off. “It’s nothing, really. Just a minor cut. I’m fine.”

Richard wasn’t having it. “I don’t believe you for a second,” he said, leaning forward, pinning her with concerned look that she hadn’t expected. “Show me. Now.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. She could feel the weight of his gaze as he waited for her to explain, and the air between them seemed to thicken. Reluctantly, Kai lifted her shirt just enough to reveal the bandaged side, smaller strips of gauze stuck over her stitches and the area still bruised, though healing.

Richard’s eyes widened slightly as he inspected the injury. “Kai, this isn’t just a little cut. This looks serious.”

James, sitting behind Richard, added with unsettling calmness, “I noticed it last Friday at the dojo. She was barely able to move, and I could see the pain she was in. That’s when I realized how bad it really was.”

Richard’s brow furrowed in disbelief. “At the dojo? What were you doing there?”

Kai’s jaw tightened, and she avoided looking at James. “Why are you meddling? You don’t need to be here.” The last thing she wanted was for him to be the one to tell the story. “It’s nothing to worry about, Richard. It happened during training. I’ll be fine.”

“No,” Richard said, his voice firm. “You won’t be fine. I haven’t even seen the extent of this injury, but you clearly haven’t been taking care of it.” He turned to James, his gaze sharp. “She’s been training like this?”

James nodded. “She didn’t do any actual training on Friday, only instructed and her movements were stiff and winced with every move. The injury’s not minor, Richard. It’s major.”

Richard let out a frustrated sigh. “Kai, you should have told me. We could have made arrangements so you can rest, not work. Or trained.”

Kai wanted to argue, to defend herself, but something in Richard’s tone left her speechless. She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. She’d been pushing herself too hard, and now it was catching up with her.

“You’re going to take time off, Kai,” Richard said, his voice brokering no argument. “A month, at the very least. You’re not going back to work until you’ve healed properly. You need to rest and recover.”

Kai’s breath hitched. “A month? I can’t take a month off. The business—”

“You will,” Richard interrupted, his tone final. “You need to heal. They’ll manage without you for a while. ”

James nodded in agreement. “You’ll only make things worse if you don’t rest. And I'm guessing you are someone who will fight this. So we’re forcing you to take this time off.”

Kai opened her mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come. She felt defeated, cornered. This wasn’t how she wanted things to go. She wanted control, wanted to prove that she could handle everything, but she saw the truth. She wasn’t invincible, and neither was her body. Kai ran her hands through her hair, sighing deeply as she stared at the clutter of paperwork in front of her. The list of things that needed to be done for the national launch of D.A.R.E. was growing by the minute, not to mention the constant stream of changes she was overseeing at the cafes. There were new menu items, updated branding, and the inevitable training that came with it all.

“And how am i supposed to go on leave?” she muttered to herself, frustration creeping into her voice. “I can’t just drop everything because i need to organize things, let alone train my team to take over everything while I’m out. There’s no way they’re going to manage without me.”

James watched her, arms crossed, his posture one of quiet authority. “You’ll have to trust them to handle it, Kai. You’ve built a solid team.”

“How would you know?” She glared him, she fired him, yet he was constantly butting in where he wasn’t wanted.

“Because i spent the last 2 weeks reviewing finances, infrastructure and for someone who has only been operating for two years, you have built an impressive and strong team. I do it for all my investments.”

“No longer one of your investments,” She looks to Richards and even to her it sounds like she is whining, “They can’t handle the bigger picture on their own, not yet. There are too many moving pieces right now.” She rubbed her forehead, the pressure of everything wearing on her. “I need a few days to bring them up to speed on the specifics. So much needs to be done before I even think about taking a break.”

James was silent for a moment before speaking, his voice low but firm. “I’ll bring in three senior project managers from my payroll to help. They’ll handle the logistical side of things while your team focuses on the day-to-day operations. You won’t have to worry about the heavy lifting.”

Kai’s eyes snapped to his, her irritation flaring. “No, you can’t just—”

“Don’t argue,” he cut in, his tone a perfect blend of calm and command. “You’re in no condition to be running around overseeing everything. Let us help. You need to rest.”

She opened her mouth to object again but stopped, the weight of her injury suddenly feeling heavier. Damn it. She knew he was right, but she hated the idea of relinquishing control, even if it was only for a little while.

James saw her reluctance and pressed on, “Wednesday morning. You’ll meet the project managers. Explain everything they need to know before your time off. After that, you take the damn break.”

Kai glared at him but knew he wouldn’t budge. “Fine,” she muttered. “No one is going to pick everything up easily.”

“I don’t need you to not make it easy,” James shot back with a smirk. “Everything will be fine. And you’ll thank me later.”

The conversation ended, leaving Kai feeling more reluctant than ever to give up control, but she knew she had no choice. Not today.