Chapter 28: I'm Not Asking

Friday morning, He sat near the end of the table, arms resting on the glass, watching as the project managers filtered in. Damian was first—charming as ever in a button-down that was one breath away from unprofessional. Susan followed, efficient and bright-eyed, already setting up a color-coded agenda. Anita came last, juggling a stack of folders and her coffee with the kind of competence only a woman who ran entire departments could manage.

Then Kai entered.

She didn’t command the room with volume or presence, not at first. She moved quietly—thoughtfully. Tall and confident. Minimal makeup. Hair down. Casual blouse, tailored pants, flats instead of her usual boots or heels.

There was a moment where James could tell they all clocked it. She didn’t look like someone in recovery anymore.

But then she smiled, warm and easy. “Thank you all for being here. And more than that—thank you for holding things down. I mean it.”

She took a seat. Not at the head. Not trying to lead.

James cleared his throat. “Before we start—just to formalize things. Kai and I talked briefly, but I’d like to offer it properly: if the three of you are open to it, I'd like you to continue in your roles moving forward. Supporting Kai as she transitions back in.”

A beat of silence, followed by quiet nods and a soft “Absolutely” from Susan.

Kai looked genuinely moved. “You’ve all done more than I could’ve asked for. I’ve been out longer than I planned. And… things change fast. So please, walk me through where we’re at. No filter. I need to know what I’ve missed.”

They did. For the next ninety minutes, James barely said a word.

Susan laid out the new production workflows, Quality Assurance checkpoints, a system to flag supplier delays before they became critical. Damian covered social media expansion, sales projections, a new campaign strategy that had nearly doubled engagement. Anita reviewed vendor contracts, franchise onboarding, even flagged early signs of compliance issues in two newer cafés.

Kai didn’t interrupt once. She took notes. Asked sharp, focused questions. Nodded encouragement. And when they finished? She straightened slightly. And did what she does bets, lead..

“Okay,” she said, voice a touch lower now. More focused, eyes rapidly moving across all the notes and date in front of her. “This is all really good. Better than good. Let me just make sure that I'm understanding everything…”

She stood and went to the whiteboard without asking. Picked up a marker and started sketching a timeline—deadlines, key dates, pivot points.

“We’re ahead in sales, which gives us breathing room for the next quarter. But we’re behind in training. That’s a liability. Not immediately—but if we’re scaling, it’ll hurt us in three months. Damian, I want a training flow to pair with your content strategy. Susan, can you integrate that into the QA cycle?”

Susan was already nodding. James watched, quietly impressed. She didn’t bulldoze. She built. Quickly. Precisely. She took what they’d made and began stitching it into something stronger. Anita raised a concern about legal compliance. Kai didn’t flinch.

“I’ll take that back over. Send me the files. You’ve done enough heavy lifting. You deserve a breather.”

They smiled. Relaxed. James leaned back in his chair. This—this—was why she scared people. Not because she yelled. Not because she demanded. But because she saw everything. And once she did, she could make the best moves. He caught himself staring and looked away.

When the meeting came to an end, the others filtered out one by one. Kai lingered, gathering her notes and slipping them into a slim leather folder. James stood by the glass wall, arms crossed, waiting for the right moment.

“Hey,” he said casually. “You’ve got five minutes? Thought we’d knock out the updated contract now that everything’s official.”

She looked up, brows raised—really? that look said.

“Do I need to sign in blood, or just initials this time?” she asked dryly, sliding her phone into her back pocket.

He smirked. “Depends. How badly do you want to keep Susan?”

“Desperately. She’s frighteningly efficient.”

“Then come with me.” He gestured toward his office, then added smoothly, “We’ll make it quick.”

She followed. No protest. But he saw it—the flicker of amusement in her eyes. She knew exactly what this was. When they reached his office, James held the door while Kai moved past him, stepping inside with a slow, deliberate pace that said she already knew this wasn’t just about paperwork.

He followed, closed the door, turned the lock.

She gave him a look over her shoulder, one brow arched with that particular shade of wry that made his chest tighten.

“New security protocol?”

James didn’t answer. Just moved to the desk, picked up the folder, and held it out. She took it, flipping through pages she barely glanced at.

“So are you going to say it or keep pretending i don’t see through this?” she asked softly, not looking up.

“I thought maybe a couple more minutes of drawing it out,” he said, voice low, smooth, the kind that made the air feel heavier. She closed the folder, set it aside, and met his gaze full-on.

“Go ahead,” she said. “Say what you’ve been dying to.”

James walked around the desk toward her slowly—not with the confidence of a CEO or a dominant, but with the weight of a man carrying everything he couldn’t say until now.

“I know you’ve been thinking,” he said. “About me. About what this means. Ever since you found out who I was.”

Kai tilted her head slightly, unreadable.

“I was angry,” she admitted. “Not just because you didn’t tell me... but because I didn’t see it. I should’ve seen it.”

He stepped closer.

“I didn’t hide from you, Kai. I waited. Because the second you knew me as Duke, I knew you’d look at me differently. I needed you to choose me for who I already was in your life. Not because of Midnight. Or Angel. Or the fantasy of us in my head.”

“And now?” she asked, voice tight.

“Now I want you to have all of it. You’ve got this fire—this vision—and I want to help build it. Not take it. Not steer it. Just help make it real. And if that means I stand behind you while you change the damn world, then that's exactly where I’ll be.”

Kai turned slightly as if making a move to the door, James took the final step into her, reaching out to hold her arm that held the contracts. “Wait,” he said suddenly.

She stopped mid-step. Looked up at him. James exhaled.

“You were debating something earlier this week. In your head and you made some sort of decisions. I can see it in your face.”

She didn’t deny it. Just tilted her chin, watching.

“I was wondering if you were backing off,” she said finally, “because I've been slowly coming back to who i am and you don’t want this version of me. The one who isn’t broken. Who doesn’t need help. The version that’s harder to get close to.”

His jaw flexed. Sliding his palms around to the back of her shoulders holding her firmly against him. Close enough for her breath to hitch.

“I want all of it,” he said. “Every scar. Every set back. Every unfinished sentence. Anything and everything you will give me. I was honest when i said i had no idea you were Angel when I agreed to be the angel investor 2 years ago,” A mischievous smile spreading on his lips, the joke not lost on him, “I didn’t invest in your business this time to win you over either. I invest because I believe in what you're building. But I’d want you even if the whole thing burned to the ground.”

Her gaze searched his—stormy and bright.

“I’m going to drive you nuts and not in a good way,” she said quietly.

“I know.” And then—he kissed her. It wasn’t sweet. It was to devour her.

One hand gripped the back of her neck. The other slid to her hip, fingers curling tight just above the fabric of her waistband, pulling her even closer against him if that was possible. She gasped softly, but didn’t pull away—she leaned in, lips parting like she’d been waiting too.

James kissed like a man staking ground—not rough, but deliberate, controlled, with a hunger barely held in check. His mouth moved over hers with precision, tongue sliding along the seam of her lips before claiming more, deeper, until she moaned low from the back of her throat and her fingers fisted in his shirt.

After a moment he began walking her back until the edge of his desk stopped their retreat. Without breaking the kiss, he reached down, lifting her effortlessly and setting her on the surface of the desk. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened. His hands moved to her face, gripping her jaw tightly, almost forcing himself to break away from her.

His breath was ragged, his pulse pounding in his ears as he pulled back just enough to speak, his voice rough with the weight of his desire.

“You’re not good, you’re trouble,” he said, his gaze heavy, smoldering.

Kai’s lips curled into a small, knowing smile, her eyes bright with a flicker of mischief. “No, I’m always good.”

A smirk tugged at his mouth as he leaned in closer, “Define good.” His fingers pressing into the back of her neck and pushing her chin up with his thumbs; his voice lowering to a whisper. “Maybe, you’ll just have to be my good girl. Only if you listen.”

Her breath hitched at the words, her heart racing as her body responded to him. She lit up at his approval, the desire between them growing, but James felt it too—the pull, the heat, the need. He fought it, fought himself to step back, his hands loosening their grip on her face, forcing himself to put some space between them. But the struggle was almost unbearable. He wanted more, needed more, but he couldn’t let himself cross that line.

He swallowed trailing his fingers down her throat and across her shoulder, his voice rougher now. “Not here... Not like this.” As if to prove his point, a knock came from the door to which he chuckled and stepped back further, “Come to dinner with me tonight.”

“Is that your way of asking me on a date,” Kai giggled moving to get down off his desk but he was instantly up against her again, hand wrapped under her jaw, making her look up sharply at him.

“I’m not asking,” with his iron laced growl, then James pulled back away completely moving to answer the door, leaving Kai to scramble momentarily to make sure her clothes were straight. Moment over but its effects lingering, desire swirling in the air between them.