Lara had hoped her warning would be enough to keep things...peaceful. She had seen the way her boss had reacted to Kyara the first time, and more importantly, Lara had also seen how Kyara, even after all these years, still had a hard time meeting Mr.Havington’s gaze.
Since Lara was no idiot, it was easy adding one and one together, and with the way Kyara was acting now...
“Did Mr. Havington say anything to you?”
Kyara gulped. Lara, like Shayla, was really, really big on telling the truth, but...
“It’s my boyfriend.”
Lara barely managed not to wince.Why oh why did this girl keep insisting on lying when she was so, so bad at it?
“He’s, um, the very jealous sort, but this weekend, Mr.Havington...”
Lara set her own fork down as Kyara told her all about this weekend’s trip in Vegas.Oh no.This was all her fault. She was normally the one who accompanied their boss in all of his trips, but this weekend, her husband was coming back from the Army to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary, and...
“Don’t worry about it,” Lara said finally. “I’m going to tell Mr. Havington you’ve got a thing going on. I’ll go in your place—”
“No, no, no.” Kyara was aghast. She had finally remembered what this weekend meant for Lara, and why Mr. Havington needed to take her in Lara’s stead. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she might have overreacted. She had this crazy idea that their boss had set the whole thing up when in truth he hadn’t any choice. Lara was unavailable, so of course it was up to her to accompany him!
“Please forget I said anything,” she urged the older woman. “I’m actually okay with this weekend’s trip. In fact, I’m starting to feel a little excited because...because it’s my first time to fly.”
Lara looked at the girl closely. That didn’t sound like a lie, but...
“You honestly haven’t flown anywhere before?”
Kyara couldn’t help but laugh at the dubious look on her colleague’s face. “I wish I was lying about this, but no. I’ve never boarded a plane, not even for a domestic flight. I had a very normal childhood, remember?”
“Oh, you sweet, sweet thing.” Every time Kyara said things like this, Lara always had this urge to hug the girl to her like a stuffed animal. “‘Normal’isn’t the word I’d use to describe your childhood. But at the same time...this is going to be so exciting!”
Lara’s enthusiasm was contagious as she told Kyara all about the perks of traveling with a billionaire boss like Mr. Havington. By the time they dropped their trays at the return station, Kyara was feeling pretty excited herself, and maybe, just maybe...this might not be as bad as she feared?
Mr. Havington had said they were also going to Vegas, and since Cyrus was going to be there, too...
She should be just as excited about spending time with her unofficial boyfriend, right?
“I need to, um, make a quick call,” she told Lara when they were about to step inside the elevator.
“Sure. I’ll let Mr. Havington know if he asks for you.” Lara watched the girl go with mixed feelings. Although Kyara had been sufficiently careful not to let anyone know about the mysterious man she had been dating, the mystery wasn’t as mysterious as the girl assumed. Lara had known for a while who Kyara’s boyfriend was, and even though she had never really tried to confirm this, she had a feeling that so did their boss.
Kyara checked the time on her phone as she took the stairwell. Cyrus liked to spend the last few minutes of their lunch break vaping at the rooftop, and since it was still ten minutes to one, she should still find him there, and hopefully...
He’d be happy that she’d be in Vegas, and she herself would hopefully be just as happy, and then they’d...play cards happily ever after maybe?
Kyara took her heels off and tucked them under one arm as she climbed another flight of stairs. One last floor to go, and then—
“Oh my gosh! I knew it! I knew it!”
Kyara froze on the landing between five and six.
Was that Lloyda from Marketing? The other woman’s voice was quite distinct. It was half-shrill, half-Texan, and—
“How long have you and Cyrus been dating?”
Kyara was sure this time. That could only be Lloyda and no one else, and did the other woman just say—
“About two months now.”
“But those two months have been nonstop...”
