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Khan
“Where is she now?”
“Home, sir. She hasn’t gone out since she got there last night, and the only movement was her roommate leaving for work this morning,” Eric, my head security guy, said in my ear.
“Good. If she leaves, I want to know, and don’t lose her,” I told him, and hung up. Estie narrowed her eyes at me, sitting in the chair beside my bed, on the top floor VIP suite of the hospital I’d helped build just last year. I hadn’t intended to stay there myself so soon, but such was life. I also hadn’t expected my obsession with Eden to spill out and magnify in such a dramatic way, but here we were. Day by day, hour by hour, my need to have Eden by my side, and in my sights, was doubling. The worry over her safety that had sprung to life that night in the museum, where she’d nearly gotten hurt, and I’d almost failed in my promise to her, only fuelled my need to take control of the situation.
“Khan, what are you doing? If she finds out, she won’t thank you for this,” Estie muttered, looking uncomfortable. If I ever had a head of HR that wasn’t uncomfortable with this invasion of privacy, I’d probably be out of business soon.
“The security team for Eden is necessary. The man that attacked her last night slipped away in the commotion.” My tone was absolute. No doubt the man had other things to worry about, than getting revenge on the woman who had scarred his face, but that was a risk I didn’t intend to take. “Also, I need her desk moved into my office today, before she returns to work.”
“Khan, with all due respect, how are you going to justify that?”
“I don’t have to. I’m the boss, and CEO. If I want my assistant in my office, I don’t have to convince anyone,” I said. I was being stubborn, and I knew Eden would have plenty to say, but I didn’t care. I wanted to clash with her. I wanted to push her into admitting that the tension between us was nothing ordinary. Only then would I start to burn down the walls she had around her heart. “Also, according to her background check, her landlord was looking to sell her building a while back. See if he’s still interested,” I said curtly to Estie, who merely shook her head.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she muttered, getting to her feet. I didn’t, really. I hadn’t since Eden had come into my life, and it was the first time in a long time that I wasn’t perfectly in control of every part of my life, and it was driving me crazy. Yet, for her, I could suffer it. For her, I’d make it work no matter what.
“I’m doing what I have to.”
“All of this craziness, for one woman, and one you just met as well,” Estie muttered.
“That woman will be my wife sooner rather than later, if I have my way, so there really is nothing I won’t do to win her.”
“Manipulating her, and manoeuvring things behind the scenes, might not win her over, but just the opposite,” Estie warned.
“That’s a chance I have to take. I know she feels it, too. Regardless, in the end, she’ll know everything, and it’ll be her decision.”
I just had to ensure it’d be the right one.
* * *
The next morning,Eden stood outside my office where her desk used to be for a good five minutes, before knocking on the door. Tensions were high, and I could see in every line of her posture that the stolen kiss the other night was front and present in her mind. Good, that’s where I wanted it. I wanted her to see me as a lover, and not merely a boss. I needed her to see me as a man, and not her employer.
“Good morning,” I said, leaning back in my office chair and ignoring the twinge in my left side. The hospital hadn’t been happy about my early discharge, yet there was nothing that would have kept me there. I missed Eden too much.
“Good morning. I noticed my desk is missing,” she pointed out, coming to the room, but keeping the door open. She looked flighty, like a rabbit about to bolt. I waved her forward, and then gestured to the desk, set up perfectly at the other side of the office, overlooking a magnificent view below. “And now I see it’s here. Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s unnecessary… we shouldn’t be around each other too much,” she said, her eyes darting between me and the desk as if it was a bomb about to go off. I stood, once again ignoring the pain from the wound, and rounded my desk, heading toward her.
“And why is that?”
“You know why,” she said immediately, her eyes going to my lips, my eyes and back to my lips. My girl was all worked up, and I knew exactly how she felt.
“No, I don’t. Explain it to me,” I said quietly, finally getting close enough to touch her. I resisted as much as I could. I had missed the feel of her in my arms, her voice, her scent. Everything about her.
“Mr Aslan.”
“I told you to call me Khan,” I reminded her.
“We’re at work now,” she said. I shrugged.
“Fuck work.”
“Khan. I’ve thought about it, and this isn’t a good idea.”
“I’m not as mobile as usual. Forgive me if I need my assistant a little closer. You can call the ambulance if I keel over.”
“Hilarious,” she snapped, genuine worry blossoming in her eyes. “Are you feeling ok?”
“Better now you’re here,” I said immediately.
“Stop! This isn’t happening. It can’t. The other night was a mistake,” she mumbled.
“Not for me.”
Her eyes darted disbelievingly to mine, narrowing and taking me in. She shook her head faintly.
“I know how this story ends. I’ve seen it a hundred times. We work together.”
“Only for a few more days.”
“And after that, we’ll have no reason to see each other.”
“You wound me. I thought I’d made more of an impression than that.”
“You know you have… look, this isn’t about you, it’s about me. I have enough on my plate than getting over a fling with an unavailable billionaire, ok? Like I said, I know how that story ends.”
“Are you always so pessimistic?”
“When it’s warranted? Yes.”
“So, there’s nothing about you that wants something to happen between us?” I challenged her. Something warm and fiery flared in her eyes, but she shook her head slowly. “No?”
“No.”
I brought my hand to hers and picked it up. Her wrist barely hid her pounding pulse.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
