7. In 'your' business

Lucy smirked from a window upstairs as she watched Loki walked away from the manor with her luggage behind her.

Just then, a black expensive looking car pulled up at the driveway of the manor, right in front of Loki. Seeing this, the smirk on Lucy's face instantly disappeared and her brows creased in curiosity.

Glen had said Loki was a 'nobody' so why was she getting into the owner's seat of an expensive car? Lucy couldn't help feeling perturbed by this sight.

As the car began driving off the property, she was distracted by Glen's call.

"What are you doing there?" He asked as he approached her, bare-chested, a white shirt was in his hand and he seemed like he was getting dressed to go out.

Smiling seductively at him, Lucy stealthily lowered the window blind so he wouldn't see anything. She placed a hand around his neck and locked her mouth against his, kissing him passionately. Glen dropped the shirt he was holding to the ground and lifted her off the floor, balancing her around his waist as he led them to the bed.

___

"Thank you," Loki muttered as Kylo closed the door after he had ensured she was settled in the car.

His eyes watched her intensely from the rear mirror as she dabbed her eyes with a hanky and he smiled.

"I'm so glad you called," he said. He was now seated at the front, beside the driver.

Loki stared from the back seat of the exquisite Rolls Royce Phantom at the young man while her hand fiddled with a bracelet in her jacket pocket.

"I mean, I wasn't expecting you would call so soon but I'm grateful you did. It's a perfect timing." Kylo said again but Loki only managed a nod at him. She wasn't in the mood for any conversation at the moment. She had finally summoned courage to dump Glen at the gallows of her heart for it seemed that was the right place for him. Now she needed to focus on how she would raise her child while fulfilling her duties as her father's daughter.

Glen's betrayal hurt her so much and painted her supposedly rainbow life with a cloud of darkness. She needed an escape from this pain.

"The chairman?" She asked as a means to distract herself from her own thoughts.

Although she wasn't expecting her father to be over the moon because she had suddenly agreed to be his daughter, she had dared to imagine for a split second, that he would come pick her up himself.

"He is waiting for you at the company." Kylo informed.

"I would be stopping by a beauty salon before I see him. I obviously shouldn't meet him like this." Loki said.

"Alright, my lady." Kylo agreed.

Moments later, Loki flipped through the pages of a hairstyle magazine in an expensive salon while Kylo waited at the lounge for her.

Her eyes leveled on a particular style and after a while of staring at it, she nodded at the beautician.

"This one."

"Alright, ma'am. I would make sure to give you the best." The lady enthusiastically said.

Loki managed a ghost of a smile at her and glanced at her reflection on the mirror only for her gaze to level at Kylo. He was sitting comfortably on a couch close by with his long legs crossed while he flipped through a magazine.

She was slightly surprised to see he was there because she had thought he was going to wait for her at the lounge downstairs.

Just then, Kylo raised his gaze and directed those honey-brown eyes at her, causing their gaze to lock. She held his gaze for a while, trying not to wonder or get curious about him before turning away.

Seeing she wasn't looking at him again, Kylo smiled secretly, feeling somewhat satisfied.

An hour later, Loki stared at the result of her hair transition with mixed feelings.

She had transitioned her long, straight auburn hair into a light-red shoulder-length wavy curls. She looked different and she liked it. Her life was different now anyway from what it used to be.

Loki knew she had learnt her lessons and for the sake of herself and her unborn child, she now has to do things differently, making sure never to repeat the mistakes of her past, mistakes such as; believing or falling in love easily, and not seeking out her purpose out of life first.

It was really a hard lesson and of course, she learnt so much to last her a lifetime.

"This way," a blonde sales attendant beckoned to her and Loki nodded slightly, following her to the section for exclusive designer wears usually reserved for premium customers.

They arrived in no time and soon she was staring at different racks of exclusive designer dresses and she needed to make her pick.

A particular dress caught her attention and Loki knew she would look great in it. But just as she reached out a hand to choose it, someone interrupted. And it was none other than Kylo who had just walked up to join them.

"I think you would make all these dresses extremely stunning. I mean, they obviously need you for their shine to be completely out." He said with a small smile as he crossed his hands behind him. "But I also think your elegance, your strength, your allurement and your beauty would align perfectly with this dress. You're a gorgeous woman, my lady." He said and Loki glanced at him speechlessly, taking in his features properly for the first time while she wondered why he seemed to keep crossing boundaries with her.

He was a few inches taller than her. His jet-black hair was in a taper haircut and he was dressed in a black tuxedo. He had a small cut on his right eyebrow, and his eyes... those honey brown orbs were the most seductive pair she's ever seen. And his smile, was the type that could make any woman's knee go weak just at the sight of it.

His looks made him give off the vibe and definition of a walking 'red-flag'.

But Loki wasn't the least bit flattered by this gorgeous man. After all, Glen had been a beauty to behold too.

And she knew she would be stupid to fall for any man again, especially not after what she went through recently.

'This man,' she wondered, 'what's his deal? Why was he so interested in her business?'

Seeing how silent Loki was and not saying anything other than looking at him with an unreadable expression, Kylo was about to say something when her lips moved.

"Thank you," Loki suddenly said, making Kylo somewhat surprised and pleased. He was beaming with smiles when she added, "however, I would appreciate if you would just stick with your professional duty as an employee of Chairman Donovan."

But the smile on Kylo's face didn't disappear because of her words. Instead, within him, he found her more challenging and difficult than he had thought. But he wasn't surprised. It would be strange if he were, given how he already knew everything about her before he had approached her.

He smiled and moved a few steps closer to her, ignoring the curious looks the blonde attendant was giving them. "What if this is also a part of my duty to you and the chairman, Ms. Donovan? Would you still mind?" He dared, a smirk appearing at a corner of his lips.

Loki thought for a second. "If that's the case, then I would appreciate if it's taken off."

"Why?" Kylo asked, finding her even more amusing.

"Well, I don't want you minding my business." Loki retorted, feeling oddly worked up because of his persistence.

"Why?" Kylo asked again, clearly enjoying the fact that he was able to have a conversation with her. He knew he was pushing his luck and she might slip back into her cold self within a second, but he strangely didn't mind.

And just as he thought, Loki wasn't going to answer him again so she turned to the attendant who looked awestricken.

Having heard Kylo referred to Loki as Ms. Donovan, the attendant had been stunned by this.

'Chairman Donovan has a daughter?' She almost couldn't believe her ears and of course, she couldn't wait to spread the news to her colleagues.

"I would take this." Loki said to her, choosing same dress Kylo had picked which was also the one she had in mind previously. She was willing to completely ignore Kylo at the moment.

"Alright, ma'am. Would you like to try it on first?" The young attendant was even more polite this time and Loki simply nodded.

"Sure." She said.

Soon enough, the girl handed the exquisite, fitted silver mermaid dress to her and just as Loki proceeded to walk towards the dressing room, Kylo's words stopped her on her tracks.

"I apologize for disappointing you, my lady. However, I've long been in your business since the first time we met. And I don't plan to stop now. I can't, as it is already too late."

'What does he mean by 'he can't'? And how is it too late?'

Turning on her heels, Loki stared at this man in wonder, feeling utterly speechless and curious as she watched him smiled back at her.

Kylo covered the distance between them and gently nudged her to the dressing room. "Go on, get changed. The chairman is waiting." He smiled at her again just as the door closed after her, hiding her flustered face from his view.