Chapter 28: Holiday Cheer and Gloom

Kieran sat at the bar, sipping his scotch as he looked out over the people in attendance. It was his company's annual Christmas party. Typically, he would have come, made an appearance for about an hour, and then left. However, as his eyes found Alijah playing hostess, he knew that wouldn't be the case tonight. They had already been here for almost two hours.

Some of his employees had even looked at him strangely when they saw he hadn't left at the hour mark. He had merely ignored them. He knew how out of character it was for him. He didn't need their constant staring to remind him. Though they probably would have been doing that anyway.

When he had shown up at the party, it was with Alijah on his arm. Bringing his assistant anywhere with him wouldn't have been out of the norm. It was the fact that before she pulled away to thank the staff that was working the party that night, he had leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

He had done this for two reasons. The first being that he wanted to stake his claim on her for the men that were eye fucking her. For that, he almost couldn't blame them. She wore a long-sleeve, red lace dress with a split up the right side. The second reason was that he wanted to see if she had been serious a couple of months ago when she said she was done hiding their relationship.

Since then, they had gone out several times, but they hadn't been affectionate at work. These were the people she had been afraid of finding out. So, right there, he had put her on the spot.

After he'd kissed her, Alijah had given him that heart-stopping smile. Over the past few months, she had taken to wearing smudge-proof lipstick. She told him it was her way of making sure he didn't mess up her makeup when they were going out.

Kieran ordered another drink and was waiting for it when he heard his name called. Looking over, he found the manager of the hotel coming his way.

"Good evening, Mr. Cayman."

Kieran nodded. "Carmichael."

"I wanted to check-in and make sure everything was going smoothly."

"It is," Kieran responded, retrieving his drink from the bartender.

"Your wife seems to be enjoying herself, and people seem to be gravitating towards her." Carmichael then stated.

Kieran looked at the man and then followed his eyes to Alijah. She was with a small group of people from his technological department. He didn't know what was said, but it seemed as if they were laughing about something.

"Yes. She has that effect." Kieran responded, not correcting the man. Carmichael had seen them walk into the hotel together and knew that the man had simply assumed.

Carmichael stayed and spoke to Kieran for a few more minutes before leaving. He finished his drink and ordered a White Russian made with milk. As he waited, he surveyed the room, but his eyes stopped as he saw Alijah in the corner speaking to Trevor. This wasn't the first time he had seen them like this. He'd spotted them several times at the office together. Always as if they were having some secret discussion.

Kieran wasn't a jealous man. He firmly believed that if you were in a relationship with someone, there should be no cause for jealousy because your partner should not have given you one. However, he was sure that Trevor would take any opportunity he perceived, even if there wasn't one. Kieran decided to remind the young man that Alijah was taken.

Taking the drink from the bartender, he headed in their direction. He was within ten feet of them when Alijah looked up and saw him approaching. She smiled at him as he stopped in front of them.

"Here you go, baby. I thought you might want a drink,” he told her, handing it to her.

"Thank you."

"Trevor." Kieran then greeted with a nod.

"Mr. Cayman."

It was quiet between the three of them as Kieran looked out over the ballroom for several moments. However, it didn't stay that way as Trevor broke the silence.

"So, about the New Year's party. You are coming. Right, Alijah?" The younger man questioned.

"I don't know, Trevor. I'm not sure how my schedule looks, but I'll let you know if we can make it,” she responded.

Kieran looked at her and raised an eyebrow at her word choice. There was no way he was going to a party hosted by one of his employees. He wasn't meant to be their friend; he was their boss.

"W...yeah, okay," Trevor responded, changing course, but Kieran was sure he was going to question Alijah's word choice as well.

As a song that was finally not Christmas music came on, he watched as a few couples took to the dance floor. Turning his attention again to Alijah, he grabbed her drink from her hand and handed it to Trevor.

"Dance with me,” he stated before taking her hand and pulling her towards the other dancing couples.

As they began to sway, he looked down into the green eyes looking up at him. Alijah's beautiful face housed a smirk. Kieran raised a brow.

"Were you jealous, Kieran?" She questioned him.

Kieran cocked his head slightly. "Did I need to be?"

She let out a small, soft laugh. "You're funny,” she paused for a moment. "Then why did you want to dance? You don't do that, remember?"

It was Kieran's turn to smirk. "We're in a room full of people. It's the only way I can have your body pulled tightly against mine without it seeming inappropriate." That earned him an eye roll.

"Since the office is closed for the next two days, I thought we could make a gingerbread house," Alijah spoke, looking up at him.

Kieran groaned. "The condo already looks like a reindeer threw up in it and Santa Clause shit in it. It doesn't need anything else,” he told her, thinking of how it currently looked like it belonged in some cheesy Christmas movie.

Alijah gasped, hitting his chest lightly. "It does not. It looks like it has some holiday cheer. You're just an old Scrooge,” she told him.

Kieran leaned in and kissed her lips before whispering against them, "Ba-humbug."

"You're going to have them staring at us again."

He shrugged. "Let them stare. They may get a show,” he stated, running a finger down her neck.

"You can't fuck me in public, Kieran,” she told him.

He had been prepared for her to tell him that he couldn't feel her up in public. He would have then referred her back to her birthday weekend, where he had fingered her at Mirage. However, being as quick as he always was, he still had a comeback for her.

"Can't is subjective. I can fuck you in public, but I won't. At least not here,” he told her. "But I will eventually." He tacked on casually. For this, he received another eye roll as they continued to dance.

Kieran felt a light weight settle across his waist. A moment later, he felt kisses on his neck and then a peck on his lips — first one and then another. By the third one, he was fully awake, opening his eyes slowly.

"Merry Christmas, baby," Alijah whispered against his lips.

Kieran flipped them over and buried his face in her neck. Trailing kisses along it. He reached a hand between them, snaking it down her body and dipping into her panties.

"Can I have this for Christmas?" He questioned, slipping a finger between her folds.

"Yes, but later. I'm making breakfast. So, go shower so you can eat."

"That's what I'm trying to do now,” he informed her.

"Kieran,” she groaned at him, exasperated.

"Fine." He conceded. He kissed her on the lips before removing his hand from her panties and sitting up. He placed his finger into his mouth as he got off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

"Hurry so the food won't get cold,” she called from behind him.

After turning on the shower, Kieran went about brushing his teeth. When he finished, he stepped into the shower and washed his body. Getting out, he went into his room and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. Kieran figured they wouldn't be doing anything today since Alijah had been in one of his shirts.

Walking into the kitchen, he found her placing food on the bar. He took his usual seat, and when she came around and took hers, they began to eat in comfortable silence. Yesterday, there had been anything but silence. She had talked him into making not one but two gingerbread houses with her, and she had played Christmas music all day. He was happy that it wasn't the case today.

Once they were done eating, they cleaned the kitchen together before he watched her skip over to the tree that housed a few presents. He was starting to see that Christmas was her favorite time of year. Kieran sat on the couch and watched as she grabbed one and brought it to him. He had told her she didn't have to get him anything, but he couldn't be too upset that she hadn't listened. She had told him not to get her anything, but he'd just told her she was cute and did it anyway.

It was a long, slightly wide box. Kieran removed the wrapping paper from it before taking the lid off the box. Inside he found a slate gray Hugo Boss suit. It was nice. He didn't have one in that color and liked it. Sitting the box aside, he leaned over to kiss her.

"Thank you, baby,” he told her he'd be right back before heading to his office.

One of the presents he had gotten her was rather large, and it wouldn't fit under the tree. So, he had hidden it in his office to ensure she didn't stumble upon it. He hadn't bothered to wrap it, just placed a bow on it.

Going back into the living room, he found her sitting in the spot he'd left her in. When her eyes landed on him and then the item he was holding, they widened, and she shot off the couch over to him. She inspected the box at his side before leaping onto him and wrapping her legs around his waist. Placing kisses on his lips in between her chanting "thank you."

Kieran chuckled, propping the easel box against the wall. He had seen her reaction to her birthday gift from her friends and had seen two of her paintings. She was talented. So, he decided to get her a new easel. He had done some research and had concluded that this was one of the better ones. He had his doubts about it at first because it was only four grand, but after extensive research, it was confirmed.

Carrying her back over to the couch, Kieran sat down with her still straddling him. He had two other gifts for her but decided they could wait for now. However, she didn't seem to be in the waiting mood.

Getting off of his lap, she headed back over to the tree and handed him another box. This one was small. Taking it from her, he took the wrapping off of it. He knew exactly what it was before he opened the box. However, he was stunned by the designer.

"Alijah,” he stated in a stern tone.

"You don't like it?" She questioned, worrying her bottom lip.

It wasn't that he didn't like it, because he did. It was the fact that he knew she spent far too much money on it. He didn't mind spending an obscene amount of money on her because he knew she would appreciate it. He didn't want her doing the same, even though he also appreciated the gift.

"If you don't like it. We can take it back and get you a different one,” she informed him, trying to take the Rolex from his hand.

"No, baby. It's perfect. I love it. It's just...I wish you hadn't spent so much money."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm positive I'm the only personal assistant in Colorado that makes six figures. I don't spend it on anything but canvasses and personal items. I wanted to get you something nice,” she told him. Again, he kissed her.

When he got up, he went to the tree to get her other two presents. He gave her the bigger one and watched her open it. It was a display for all of her paints and would hold up to one hundred different ones. He then gave her the smaller box. When she opened it, Kieran watched her eyes widen and listened to her gasp before she pulled the two-carat diamond necklace from the box.

"This is beautiful, Kieran,” she told him.

"I wanted to get you something as beautiful as you. I couldn't find anything. So, I settled for this,” he told her, causing her to smile.

"How much did you pay for this?"

"I'm not telling you, and even if I did, I'm not taking it back either way." However, he had only spent about twenty-two thousand on it.

She glared at him playfully before leaning in and kissing him. He immediately deepened the kiss and pulled her onto his lap. His hand went under the shirt that she was wearing, and he cupped one of her breasts as she began to grind on him slowly. He was about to remove her shirt when he heard beeping. It was coming from the screen by his front door. Someone was requesting access to his floor. Furrowing his brow, he sat Alijah on the couch and got up.

"What is it?" he questioned after pulling up the camera and seeing a young man standing there.

"I have a delivery for you."

Kieran raised a brow. "On Christmas Day."

The young man nodded. "My boss is a dick."

Kieran snorted. "Sit it down and get out of the elevator. I'll sign for it and send the slip back to you."

While Kieran knew there were indeed some courier services that worked on the holidays, he wasn't going to take any chances. Especially with Alijah here with him.

After getting the package and sending the signed slip back down, he went back into the condo. Alijah was coming out of the kitchen, and he noticed that the wrapping paper had been cleaned up. She looked at the box covered in wrapping paper in his hand.

"Who's it from?"

"It doesn't say,” he responded as he headed back over to the couch with her behind him.

Sitting down, he unwrapped it before opening the box. Inside he found a videotape. It was an old one. The label was peeling off, and the writing was starting to fade. It was writing that seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it at the moment. He picked it up from the box, and there was a card under it that read, Watch Me.

Alijah took the tape from his hands, and he watched as she walked over to the DVD/Blu-ray/VHS combo. It was the only reason he had one. He turned the television on with the remote and put it on the right channel as she placed it in.

It took a moment, and he thought it wouldn't play, but then a face he hadn't seen in over a decade popped onto the screen. It was his mother, Kira, seated in a chair. He then heard a voice he hadn't heard in the same amount of time as a masked figure stepped into view. It was his father, Maverick.

*"Is it on?" Maverick questioned as he looked at the person behind the video camera. The camera bobbed slightly as they nodded. "Hello, old man Atworth. By now, you've probably noticed that your daughter is missing. However, I'm sure you've only informed your private security and not the police. After all, how bad would it look if Bronson Atworth couldn't keep his daughter safe."

The camera panned over to Kira, seated in a chair, arms tied behind it and a gag in her mouth. She was crying, and it was clear that she was frightened. It was only for a moment before it went back to Maverick.

"So, here's what's going to happen. You will bring one hundred thousand dollars to the address left with this tape on Friday at noon. Come alone. Your daughter's life depends on it. Once we're at a safe distance, we'll tell you where you can pick up your beloved daughter. Don't do anything stupid, Atworth. Her very life depends on it."

The camera panned to Kira again, and the gag was taken out of her mouth.

"Daddy, please! Just do what they say. I don't want to die here!"*

With that, the camera cut off, and the video stopped. Kieran was filled with several different emotions. He was confused, hurt, and overall angry. Kieran wanted nothing more than to get answers from his parents, but that was impossible. At the same time, he wanted to track his mother's sperm donor down and strangle the old man. He had been having a lovely Christmas with Alijah, and the old man had ruined it.

Standing up abruptly, Kieran made his way to his bedroom, trying to put the pieces together. His father had kidnapped his mother, but they had ended up together. Was his mother part of the blackmail plot? She had seemed genuinely scared, and Kieran had never thought she was the best actress growing up. Something had happened; he just didn't know what.

Alijah sat in silence with Kieran and watched the video. She was confused about why someone would send him this on Christmas and its relevance. However, when the camera panned to the woman again. This time staying on her a bit longer, she knew why. That was his mother. She had seen the few pictures he had around of her and his father. But why would someone want him to see this? What was the point?

At that moment, Kieran stood suddenly and walked from the living room. Her breath hitched slightly as something came to her, and she hoped it wasn't true. The man in the mask...was it Kieran's dad?

Shaking her head, Alijah stood to go after him, knocking the box the tape had come in down. Looking down, she saw that the note from inside had fallen out and there was something written on the back. She picked it up. Now, you know all about your father, dear cousin. If you care to discuss it, call me. There was a number at the bottom. So, she was right. It was his dad.

Alijah studied the note. She knew from Kieran that his mother was an only child, so maybe his grandfather was their uncle. She could only guess it was a child of one of Bronson's siblings. She only hesitated a moment before deciding to take the note to Kieran.

When she walked into the bedroom, she found him pacing. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes screamed murder.

"Baby,” she called softly.

His attention snapped to her, and Alijah had to stop herself from taking a step back. She hated when his eyes took on that hard look because it meant he was genuinely pissed off, and she never liked being on the receiving end of it, even when she wasn't the one to cause it.

Reaching out, he grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her to him. In an instant, Alijah felt his lips on hers. His kiss was harsh, and he held complete dominance, and all she could do was follow his lead. His hand snaked into her panties, and Alijah moaned as he slid one of his fingers between her folds.

Then, before she could truly comprehend what was happening, he had ripped her panties and thrown her on the bed. She bounced slightly, but he covered her instantly with his head in her neck. She could feel the mushroomed head of his dick at her entrance, but she wasn't sure if she was wet enough for him to penetrate.

"Kier-" She was cut off by him slamming his dick balls deep into her. "Ahhh!" She screamed out.

Kieran pulled his face from her neck and looked at her. Alijah could see the exact moment he was broken from his anger.

"Shit." He cursed, slowly pulling from her. "I'm sorry, baby." He apologized as Alijah watched him drop to his knees between her legs.

She felt him spread her lips gently as he inspected to see if he'd torn her. She didn't think he had, but she knew he wouldn't just take her word for it.

"Damn it.” She heard him mumble.

She watched as he got up and headed into the bathroom. She could hear the water in the tub begin to run. A few minutes later, she smelled Cherry Blossom. He came back in and took her shirt off of her. Carrying her into the bathroom, he gently placed her in the tub. She felt a slight sting, like when you got a paper cut and concluded that he must have torn her a little. He leaned in and kissed her. His lips gently moved against her.

"I'm going to go to the gym and work out some of this anger,” he stated against her lips.

Alijah gave him a peck. "Work it out on me,” she responded.

Kieran shook his head. "I'll hurt you, and then I'll hate myself more than I do now for tearing you." He kissed her forehead. "Relax. I'll be back in a little while."

With that, Alijah watched him walk from the bathroom. She slid down further into the water and did what he asked, and relaxed. The hot water soothed her, and the smell of Cherry Blossom relaxed her. She had showered before she started breakfast that morning, so she didn't technically need another bath but figured she would take one either way.

She stayed in the water until it turned to lurk warm. She pulled the stopper and grabbed a fluffy black towel wrapping it around her body when it did. She dried off and went back into the bedroom. Going into one of Kieran's drawers, she grabbed one of his t-shirts before throwing the towel into the hamper.

Alijah was heading towards the door to put up their presents when she saw the note she had come to show him. She must have dropped it when he'd pulled her in for a kiss. Picking it up, she looked at it momentarily before going to the nightstand and grabbing her phone. She didn't hesitate to call the number. Kieran would be mad when he found out, but at the moment, she was more concerned with the person who had just answered the phone.

"This is Charles."

"Charles," Alijah repeated. "Would you happen to be related to Bronson Atworth?" She then questioned. She needed to make sure this was the right person.

"Yes. He's my uncle. Why? Is he alright? Did something happen?"

"No. I'm assuming he's fine. I've called for another reason.” She only paused for half a second. "You sent a videotape to Kieran Cayman today." There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Alijah had to look at hers to make sure he hadn't hung up.

"Who is this?" He asked after a moment.

"Who I am is of no concern. Did you, or did you not send a tape to Kieran?"

"If I did?"

Alijah nodded to herself. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he needed to know that his father isn't the saint he makes him out to be. For years my uncle has been trying to have a relationship with that stubborn boy. It hurts him that his only grandchild hates him without even knowing what truly happened. My uncle is an old man, and though he's in peak health right now, he may not always stay that way. He wasn't going to tell the boy the real reason he didn't like the man. So, I did it for him. That arrogant little bastard needed to be knocked off his high horse."

"How. Dare. You." Alijah stated through clenched teeth.

It wasn't that she didn't see that the man was trying to help his uncle's relationship with Kieran or move it in the right direction, because she did. She had tried to do the same thing while pushing dinner on him, knowing that it wasn't her place to interfere. She would have never done something like this. Charles had gone about it the wrong way, and it was far worse than what she had done.

"This was not the time for you to do that. Of all days, you chose Christmas. A day where happiness is supposed to rule. You took that from him today. And for what reason?"

Charles didn't answer, and there was silence for a while. She heard the front door open and knew that Kieran was back from the gym.

"I have to go,” she stated into the phone before ending the call and placing the phone back on the bedside table.

A moment later, Kieran walked in. He was covered in sweat and headed straight to the shower, and Alijah slid the note under her pillow. Getting up, she headed into the living room to finish putting things away before starting their Christmas dinner. She didn't plan on cooking anything too fancy, so she hadn't started the night before as her mother often did at home. She was making Cornish Hens with potatoes, asparagus, mac-n-cheese, and a salad.

As she cooked, she rearranged her plans. She was going to take the gifts she'd bought for Lawrence, Gale, Layla, and Gemma and deliver them. However, she didn't want to leave Kieran, so she decided to do it tomorrow. She had already mailed all of the other presents she had bought.

Going about the task at hand, Alijah tried to figure out the best time to tell Kieran about the note and that she had called Charles.

"Kieran," Alijah called later that night as they lay in the bed together.

"Yeah, baby?"

"About the videotape-"

"I don't want to talk about it,” he stated, cutting her off. "If that old man wasn't dead to me before, he is now."

Alijah sighed, getting off of his chest; she turned and retrieved the note from under her pillow before handing it to him. She watched as he read it, and his jaw began to tick. She didn't want to make him any more upset, but she wasn't about to keep the fact that she called the number from him either.

"I also called the number."

Kieran sat up and looked at her while she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. Alijah watched as he reached up and gently pulled it from between her teeth.

"So was it Charles or Alexander. I'm going to go with Charles. Alexander is too much of a pussy." Alijah gave him a shocked look. "I'm well aware of my cousins. I just don't speak to them."

"It was Charles. He-"

"I don't care what he said." He cut her off, tossing the note onto the side table. He lay back down, pulling her back onto his chest.

"Your gran…Bronson didn't want you-"

"We're not talking about this."

She nodded against his chest. "Okay." It was silent for a moment until he called her name.

"Alijah."

"Yeah?" She questioned. She sat up on her elbow to look at him when he didn't say anything. His eyes met hers.

"I lo..." He cut himself off and paused. "I lost control earlier, and I hurt you in my anger. I'm sorry. I should have apologized before now.

Alijah cocked her head at him and studied him for a moment. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he seemed off. Like he was holding back something. She chalked it up to the fact that he was still pretty upset and was trying to hold it in and stop her from seeing it.

"It's okay. I forgive you.” She kissed his lips before laying back on his chest.

She felt him move, and the lamp was turned off a moment later. He wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly, and Alijah wondered if he knew what he had done to her. Even with all of his rough exterior, the way he had made her fall.