Chapter 14: Patience
James
James sat in his office in a downtown high-rise, staring at the papers strewn across his desk. His mind wasn’t on the spreadsheets or the projections for the businesses he had once viewed from the sidelines. Instead, it was filled with one person.
Kai.
Her image, that flash of defiance in her eyes, her stubborn silence, her resistance—it was all he could think about.
The way she’d looked at him in the car, the way she’d called his bluff when he threatened to spank her. He had slipped up. He knew it. It was instinctual, the way his Dom side had slipped into control, but now, as the hours passed, he regretted it. He’d pushed too far too quickly. She was injured and wasn’t ready for that.
He had to go slow. Now that he knew who she was and been so close yet hadn’t touched her yet, the need for her, the desire to have her under his control, was becoming unbearable. Every thought of her sent his mind spinning, the image of her defying him fueling a fire in him that he couldn't quench. But he knew better.
She wasn’t ready for any of it.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck, his mind flashing to her expression after his words. There hadn’t been the shock or horror he’d expected. She hadn’t freaked out, hadn’t pushed him away. She hadn’t even denied that his suggestion wasn’t entirely crazy. It had been a subtle admission there was another side to her, something raw and unspoken. And that was all it was—a fleeting moment.
She didn’t know the full extent of what he knew. She didn’t know that he knew she was Angel—the same sub he’d saved years ago. The same sub he had searched for, relentlessly, since that night. His heart clenched at the thought of her, vulnerable, needing him but not knowing it yet. The weight of his secrets weighed heavy on him.
He needed her to trust him. It wasn’t just about the business anymore. It was personal.
He thought back to dropping her off that morning. Kai had barely said a word as he helped her inside, her usual fire dulled by exhaustion and pain. Sara had opened the door, her eyes wide the moment she saw Kai leaning on him for support. James had pulled her aside before leaving, scribbling his number on the back of a coffee receipt and handing it to her with a simple instruction: “Text me if she gets worse. Or if she starts lying about it.”
Sara’s worried expression had said everything. She hadn’t argued. Just nodded and muttered, “She always lies about it.”
It was a small exchange, but it had stuck with him all day.
His mind flickered to the task at hand. He had agreed to have her meet project managers Wednesday morning, but that meant he had to make sure everything was in order. He’d spent all afternoon and evening on Monday, and the entire day Tuesday, pulling together everything he could on D.A.R.E. and VCafe. Financials. Projections. Growth strategies. It was a lot to digest, but the potential was there. Not to mention all financial commitments had been fulfilled under the terms of his initial investment. Kai had done well.
More than well.
James could see what Richard had seen two years ago—this was no ordinary business. The reach of these two ventures, the national launch, the plans to expand… it was limitless. There was an untapped market here, and he could see it all unfolding. D.A.R.E. was a prime contender for growth, with VCafe acting as the perfect anchor. Richard’s request for his initial investment was the start of something much bigger, and James was more than willing to get his hands dirty now.
He’d been working around the clock. Every second spent on these businesses felt like a step closer to something more than just an investor’s role. He wanted more. He wanted Kai. He wanted to see what she could do with all this potential.
But he couldn’t rush it. Not with the injury she had been hiding. Physical and emotional.
The sound of his phone buzzing broke his train of thought, and he glanced at the screen. A text message from Richard: “Are we ready for the project managers tomorrow?”
James leaned forward, quickly typing back. “Yes. All set. They’ll be here at 9 am.”
He sent the message and immediately returned to his laptop, continuing to pull data. There was more he needed to understand. More to be prepared for.
He could feel the hunger building, the desire to take control of every part of this—Kai, the business, everything. He would make his move when the time was right. The key was getting her to trust him enough to let him in completely.
She would resist. He knew that. But it wasn’t the resistance that bothered him—it was the walls she’d built around herself. The walls he needed to break down. She wasn’t used to relying on anyone. She wasn’t used to letting someone else take care of her, to give her direction.
And that, he thought with a bitter taste on his tongue, was exactly where he needed to be.
His phone buzzed again. Another message. This one was from his assistant. “The project managers are confirmed for Wednesday at 9 am. Everything is on track.”
James couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. Things were moving quickly. But no matter how successful this business venture was turning out to be, one thing was clear: it wouldn’t mean anything if he didn’t have her.
The sound of his phone vibrating again pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced at the message and saw it was from Sara. He had left his number with her when he dropped Kai off Monday morning. He opened it quickly:
“You’re right. She’s stubborn as hell when she’s hurt. Watch her. She needs time to heal. She’s been through a lot.”
The message hit him like a punch to the gut. He had to go slow. He didn’t want to break her. He wanted to build something with her, something solid. She needed time. And that meant waiting—patience—something James wasn’t exactly known for.
But he would wait for her. He already waited 6 years to find her what was another couple months. He would wait, for as long as it took.
He glanced at the clock. 11 pm. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow, but he didn’t mind. He was willing to do whatever it took.
Because in the end, it was all for her.