Chapter 96 Chapter 96
I closed it; reading anything about him would be good. Shortly after Mark left, Anna came over. “Tessa, we’re in dire need of you. Can you run a full crawl for one of our regional sites, RhylandGlobal.de, and find the 404 error?” She asked sweetly, too sweetly.
“Of course,” I said with the same sweet smile. Mark came up to the cubicle.
“Ahh, Tessa, this is your badge and your login credentials. Please make sure these are only known by you.” he said, handing me the envelope.
“Thank you, I will.” I took the badge and envelope. Anna was still standing there.
“So are you going to start?” she asked.
“As soon as you leave,” I replied. She walked away without another word.
I checked the login info, memorized it, and then ripped the paper to bits. I saw her looking at me, but I didn't really care.
By twelve I had already found twenty 404 errors. What the hell was this man doing?. I was grabbing my bag to head out to lunch when my phone vibrated. I checked it was from him.
KAI: \[Come join me for lunch. Upstairs
“Hey are you heading out? You can join us at the Deli,” Nick said.
“Umm, actually I’m joining some friends; maybe tomorrow.”
“Sure” he said, i wainted until they all left then heeded out and got into the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor. As the elevator was closing, I saw Anna looking at me.
When the elevator doors opened, he was standing there. He took my hand and led me straight to his office.
“I ordered lunch. Is pasta that good?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He led me over to the couch and we ate in silence. He tried grabbing me, but I ran. Hell no was I going to let him touch me in his office. I knew he had ideas.
When i got back to the department. The first person I ran into was Anna. As I took my seat, she came over with two other girls.
“Tessa, I saw that you went up to the 30th floor; that is Mr. Ryland’s personal floor.” She said.
“Yes,” I replied, not really saying much.
“Do you know Mr. Rhyland?” she asked and I smiled at her.
“No, I went up to meet his assistant. Is there a problem?”
“No. You should be careful, or people will spread rumors,” she said, walking back to her office. I just shook my head. There was always one in an office, always. When I walked out at five, I was drained. When I stepped into the garage, I saw him. I was about to walk over to him when i saw Anna and a few others and turned around, I texted him to pick me up one block over.
When he picked me up, we headed in a different direction than to the tower. We went to his parents' place. The minute we walked in, Alina was on me. She went on nonstop about wedding preparations, and my head was hurting.
All week, that was the routine, then dinner with his parents to discuss wedding preparations. Anna was always looking at me.
It was the second week in, and I was walking out of Rhyland Global when Anna and a few others caught up to me. “Tessa, it’s Friday. We haven't had your welcome party yet; we’re not taking any excuses, we’re going,” Anna said, hooking her arms through mine and leading me away.
They dragged me to a bar downtown and started buying shots after shots. Mark joined us, Nick, Selena, Jay, and Leanne. They kept buying drink after drink.
“So Tessa, are you married?” Nick asked.
“Yes i am.”
“Ohh, that’s nice,” Selena said.
“So where does your husband work?” Anna asked.
“Oh, he works from home,” I said with a smile.
I pulled my phone out and texted him to let him know where I was. They kept asking questions after questions and kept buying drinks after drinks. I tried to leave at nine, but they wouldn't let me. I sneaked away to the restroom and called him. He answered on the first ring.
“Beauty, it’s almost eleven,” he said.
“Help me, they won’t let me leave.”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you,” he said.
I ended the call and sent him my location. I headed back out and found them waiting for me. Nick handed me a beer, and we continued drinking. It was maybe twenty minutes after my call with Zaiel that I felt him before I saw him. When I looked down the bar, I spotted him. Black t-shirt and jeans, he was wearing a cap.
“I’ll pay for this round; my husband is here, and I need to leave.” I said, putting the money on the bar and walking towards him.
“Hey, introduce him to us.” I heard Anna say she was behind me.
When i got to him he smiled, then dropped his head. “Is this your husband?” Anna asked from behind me.
“Yes.” i said.
“Hi, I’m Anna, Tessa’s manager. We decided to bring her out to get to know her a bit more.” she said, stretching her hands out and smiling. She was trying to see what he looked like, but he kept his head down.
“Nice to meet you; we have an early day tomorrow. Say goodnight, beauty.” He said he didn't take her hand.
“Bye, Anna.” I grabbed his arm and dragged him out. The second i got into the car he pulled the cap off nd looked at me. “Who was he, and why was he staring at you like that?” he asked.
“Who? And like what?”
“That fucker in the blue shirt,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Nick and he know I’m married.”
He was quiet after that; when we got back to Athena Tower, we went to his apartment instead of mine.
When we walked into the apartment, he locked the door and leaned against it, his arms crossed, eyes dark, and jaw tight. I knew what was coming, I dropped my bag on the table and slipped my pimps off, my feet was aching and my head buzzing from alcohol.
“You want to tell me why he was eyeing you like he wants to peel you out of your clothes?” he asked.
“You’re being dramatic,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m serious,” he said.
“I know Kai, but he’s harmless” I walked past him into the living room.
He pushed off the door and walked over to me. He stopped a few inches away from me. Even when he was annoyed and jealous, he was still him. Still, the man my body responded to without permission.
“I don’t like other men looking at you,” he said quietly.
“I know, and I can’t stop that, Zaiel.”
I saw it in his eyes, the flicker of guilt before it hardened into something else.
“This is what you wanted, beauty,” he said. “Privacy you decide when we make it public.”
“People saw the wedding ring you are wearing,” I replied.