4

ADLEY

Fate hates me. 

I was looking forward to this project when Blaze told me who our client was. And honestly, I was picturing an old bald billionaire in my head, not this jerk who made fun of my non-existence sexual life.

Despite our not-so-great second encounter, I couldn’t say no to clients because of our little dispute. I was taught to be better than that. And he would be our biggest client so far—a billionaire. 

I knew what it would do to our business—boosting the company’s image in return.

“What really happened last night? Did Mr. Creed sexually assault you?” Blaze still looked perplexed. 

A girl could hope to be touched by those big hands, but that was not the point. “Nothing happened. He did not do something like that.”

“But you’re not gonna tell me, are you?” I knew what was in his head. His eyes may be focused on the road, but his mind was running a mile.

Blaze was driven by his goal as I was. It was just the two of us when we started this business. We kept in mind that client was client no matter their social status. We loved what we did, and my bruised ego would not be the hitch of getting a big client like Mykel Creed.

“It’s just my fragile ego. That’s all.” Whatever issue I had with Mykel, we had to set it aside until this project was over. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to work for his office?”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice of you to ask. But he’s not the most difficult client we’ve had. Remember the brat from the upper east side?”

Blaze scoffed. “How could I?”

“And on Mr. Creed’s side, he’s targeting me because he thinks I’m overreacting and sensitive. But don’t worry, I got this.”

“Good, because I want your mind one hundred percent on this project.” Blaze knew me pretty well, considering we’d been best friends since college. “And no hidden agenda.”

“Tempting. I just told him that I might.” I laughed.

Blaze narrowed at me before he parked the car in front of our office. 

“It was just a joke,” I added.

“Make sure you won’t put it on the motion.” He gave me a look one more time before he hopped out of the car.

For most of the day in the office, I focused on sketching ideas on the iPad since Mykel would not be available until Tuesday. Before we left his impressive penthouse, he made sure to be part of the brainstorming and decision-making despite giving me the trust of the design.

***

On Tuesday, I walked into the Creed Tower. My team had sent him a copy of the design I made yesterday. Instead, he emailed my personal email with three words; Tuesday, 10:00, Office. Like seriously?

 “I have an appointment with Mr. Creed at ten. It’s Adley Kross with K.”

“Give me a minute.” The petite receptionist barely looked at me as she checked the monitor screen. “Sorry, Miss Kross, you’re not in his schedule.”

My brows met together. “Can you double-check it, please?”

She then lifted her gaze. She was no younger than me, and I knew how hard to get a job at a billion-dollar company like this. Good thing she did it again. 

“I’m so sorry, Miss Kross.” She looked apologetic. “But you’re not on his appointment. I can reschedule you for an appointment if you want. Just give me your company name.”

“That won’t be necessary. Thanks.” My jaw clenched as I turned and dialed Elise.

She picked up right away. “Hey, Miss Kross. How can I help you?”

“Thanks for picking up. Your boss, Mr. Creed, sent me an email saying Tuesday, ten a.m, office. And I am here at the reception right now.”

“Oh, boy.” She sighed over the phone as if she knew her boss too well.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m so sorry for this. The office he mentioned is his penthouse office. He just left five minutes ago. Let me call Sax and help you out.”

“Thanks.” I hung up the phone.

Not so long, Sax, or the bald man in a suit, came to me with a broad smile. “Can I help you with that, ma’am?”

“I’m good, thanks.” I was carrying my handbag and my tote. It was a little bit heavy, but I could do this for work’s sake. 

We walked into the parking lot. When he asked to drive me to the penthouse, I didn’t resist. 

Mykel’s private elevator looked cozy and smelled musk. Everything about this man screamed the dollar sign. 

We entered the same door, and he led me to the office we were working on. 

“Thank you, Sax.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.” 

I knocked as soon as Sax left. A deep voice behind the door, which I recognized was Mykel’s, said to come in.

I pushed the door open, and I stood frozen instantly. I tried hard to hide my shock to see him sitting on the blanket on the floor with a basket, some plates, two glasses, and a bottle of red wine. He only wore a simple dark blue shirt and slim straight jeans, yet he looked sexy, making me droll.

Have mercy.

My mind told me to turn and walk away, but Blaze’s angry face sprung into my head.

I looked away and drew in a deep breath.

“Don’t get that idea in your head. I’m hungry. I barely slept from the flight last night. Then I woke up late and thought I would work from home instead. Come in.”

“Next time, if you will send me an email, be specific. Your email signature is way longer than the body. Text me instead.” I released a weighted breath as I walked in.

“Glad to hear there’s a next time. And noted, I will text you.” I ignored the amusement in his voice.

“You can just ask your assistant to email me if you are too busy to do it yourself.”

“I can always spare my time for you, but I don’t wanna give you the impression of a malicious idea like what happened in the elevator,” he stated.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” I replied as I placed my things on the floor.

“Join me.”

“I’m good, thanks. I had breakfast.”

“Wine? It’s rude to decline a wine, Adley. I promise this is completely work-related.”

I tried hard not to roll my eyes. I sighed. “Fine, it’s because you are my client.”

I joined him in the blanket. Like seriously, we were a few steps to his kitchen. He could eat there, or maybe he didn’t want a stranger to be in his kitchen. Some people were very protective of their sanctuary. Maybe there were lots of memories that happened in there. Who knew.

When I lifted my gaze, he was staring at me. His focus was directly on my eyes. 

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nevermind.”

“I’m sure you’re a busy person. Have you taken a look at the design I forwarded?”

“Yeah. Impressive. You have a great talent for graphic design. Have you tried painting?” He looked at my hand wrapped around the wine glass. 

I swirled the dark red liquid before I lifted it into my nose. When I took a sip, I knew it was a 1995 Cabernet. This guy knew his poison.

A smile spread across his lips. Those lips were so full, and they had kissed a lot of women. My stomach began twisting up in knots as if reminding me he was a client. But the least to say, he was undeniably attractive. It even annoyed me.

“Why are you smiling?” I asked as I waved away the thoughts in my head.

“You guessed it right.”

“Guess what right?”

“The wine.”

“I’m not a connoisseur.”

“Whatever, Adley. You did not answer my question.”

“No, and I don’t paint.” I sipped again. I stopped after I went to college. My kind of family had no time for art. As rebellious as I was, I still chose another path and stayed away from the family business. 

I looked at Mykel, really looked at him to see if he knew something about me. All I could see was a playful side of him.

“What?”

“Anything I should revise, change colors, furniture. And the executive desk, I gave you choices.” I pulled out my copy from my tote. 

“If you were to be in this office, is there anything you want to change personally?”

“I’d choose the dark glass top desk.” I showed it to him.

He barely looked at it before he agreed, “Then, it is.”

“Decor? Curtains, shelves, sofa set—or you could use your connection to order in a French luxury brand, or do you prefer Italian leather? Just remind me the exact measurement.”

“Do your magic. Elise told me that you’re good at what you do.”

“Thanks. It means a lot. Why us, though? And it looks like the rest of your penthouse is fully furnished but this one.”

“I’m a hardworking person, but I always believed that I won’t bring work home. I usually worked with my laptop on the kitchen island and was okay with that for almost a year. I kept telling myself that I won’t need a home office, but maybe, in this case, it just told me that it was about time to get one.”

“Lucky me, I guess. I mean our company,” I corrected right away.

“Lucky me, too.”

Silent stretched between us. For the first time, I ran out of things to say. So I scrambled to my feet. Mykel did the same, dusting off his jeans. When I picked up my tote, he called my name.

“About the other night—”

“Forgotten.”

“Then why do I feel that there’s a huge barrier between us. Like you built your walls so high when you’re with me.”

“This is me when I am at work.”

“Making your client not trust you, or just me that you don’t trust?”

“The last time I checked, our clients were satisfied with the outcome.”

“So it’s just me then.” His words sent a pang of strange guilt into my chest. “Maybe because we started on a wrong foot.”

“Like I said, forgotten. It was just a wrong approach and wrong response.”

“So, are we good?” He extended his hand.

“Yeah.” I turned around and walked to the door.

Before I could grab the brass handle, he had already pressed his hand against the door. “We’re not, Adley.”

His words jolted me out of my trance. Considering how tall he was, he was overshadowing me, and with his perfume tickling my nose, I could sense him everywhere.

He’d crossed my little space.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I had to end this. I did my best to gather my wits before I turned to face him. I met his gaze, and he was staring back at me with an intensity that my chest felt as if it had been set on fire.

“I’m good. If you’re not, that’s your problem. I work just fine with the project, and since I get what I want to finish what I started, we don’t have to see each other again. If you have a problem with how I handle this, you can just cancel the contract.”

He looked pissed, and that made the two of us. No matter how hard I tried to be polite and professional, I was losing my patience. I handled difficult clients before because it was part of an occupational hazard. This time was different, and he would not just let it go.

“I don’t believe we’re good, Adley. You hate me.”

“I don’t have to like you to work with you. In a few days, we’re done.”

“Fine. Suit yourself.”