5

MYKEL

Damn it. She’s a pain in the ass. Or I am.

She was so headstrong, and nothing seemed could break her. I knew she was attracted to me, and she was doing a bang-up job fighting it and staying professional as fuck. 

I was fucked in the head. What was I thinking? I’d never been attracted to anyone before that I was willing to jeopardize the trust of a hardworking woman. I admired her tenacity, though, and it pissed me off at the same time.

What couldn’t a few days of work wait? Then I would ask her out, and she had no reason to say no when our working relationship was over. The billion-dollar question was, would she accept it?

“I’m surprised you have time to drink.” Dash Chandler joined me in the VIP lounge at Night Stalker Club. He had been my best friend since college. We invested in one of our friends, Crypto and NFT Games, and we were both risk-takers regarding investments.

“For you? Yeah.”

“Cut the shit,” Dash called out for his drink. Thanks to one of my friends, Pyke, the staff knew us. I also invested in his business. He was the club owner—a reformed playboy and now, happily married. 

Sometimes, I thought of my future ten or fifteen years from now, but I didn’t see myself happily married to someone.

“Mykel, what’s on your mind?” He arched an inquisitive brow before his frown line deepened.

“Nothing. I’m free tonight, so I thought, why not have a drink with you.”

“We’ve been best friends for ten years. I know you through and through. So just cut the shit, and tell me what’s wrong. It’s not about the dip in the Crypto, is it?”

I shook my head and let go of a shaky breath. “Nope.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but who’s the lucky woman?”

I narrowed my eyes, not liking the sound of it. “No one.”

He laughed heartily, grabbing his drink from the barkeep. “Thanks, man.”

I cursed under my breath. 

“You haven’t slept with her, but you like her a lot, and let me guess, she likes you, too, but she does not like your rep. How am I doing so far?”

The uneasiness roiling in my stomach turned to dread when I realized Dash was right. Did she search for my name online? I hope not.

Oh, fuck me! I did not apologize.

“That look alone, you just realized something.”

I glared at Dash, frozen. His coffee-brown eyes were judgmental. 

I snorted and gulped my drink. “I will get her in my bed, and she will fall hard in love with me in days.”

“If you like her this much, I’m not liking the sound of your brain reeling, Mykel.” He shook his head. “Remember Pyke? What happened to their sappy love story? He made a bet with Xandry. It didn’t end pretty well.” 

“You don’t have to agree with me. But they ended up together. And we don’t have to live happily ever after. I will just take her to bed. End of the story.”

“I’m your best friend. You don’t date, and relationship is not in your vocabulary. When she falls in love with you, what will you do afterward?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh, boy.” He shook his head again. “You’re gonna regret this.”

I texted Elise after I left the club.

***

I was swamped with work the entire morning. Adley probably received the flowers, but I did not receive anything from her regarding my apology. 

I knew she and Blaze were working tirelessly for the office. Tomorrow their work will be done, and there was no reason not to ask her out.

I was exhausted, so I left the office early. As soon as I set foot in my penthouse, I threw myself on the couch. I was also starving, but I needed a power nap. I had a lot of things in my mind, but I couldn’t put them into action when my body was deadbeat.

I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes when I heard a familiar voice from a distance. 

“I’m still waiting for the last package. It would be here in a minute. Don’t wait for me. Have dinner. Love you. Bye.”

Fuck. Adley was still here.

I rose to my feet, cut through the hallway, and headed straight to the office. I halted to stop to see her scribbling on the notes in front of the box. She hadn’t noticed my presence until I cleared my throat, which startled her.

She looked shocked to see me. Those big eyes were gorgeous, and she had these bushy brows making her face more stunning.

“Sorry. I don’t mean to startle you.”

“You’re home early.” She quickly shut her eyes closed, realizing that it sounded homey. When she opened them, she smiled politely. “It came out wrong.”

“It came out perfectly fine to me.” Maybe it sounded exactly like it.

“Elise told me that you usually came home late. And thanks for letting us in without supervision.”

“I trust you. Can I help you with that?”

“Nope. I’m almost done. I’ll be leaving in a few. And you could use a good shower and a nap.”

I raised my arm to smell myself.

“That’s not what I meant. You look exhausted. I don’t know making billions is arduous.” She shut her notes closed.

“You have no idea. You’re pretty hands-on yourself.” I leaned against the doorjamb.

“I just love to work to perfection. I don’t like to hear complaints from the clients. Bad reviews are not good for business.”

“Precisely. Can I get you something to drink?”

This time, she smiled genuinely. “If it isn’t too much, that would be great, thanks.”

“Follow me.”

“I’m still waiting for the last box to arrive.”

“I heard you talking with someone over the phone.” I looked over my shoulder, and she was following me. “If it takes a while, I could make us sandwiches.”

“I’m good, but you could use one, though.”

I smiled as we reached my kitchen. “I’m that look exhausted, huh?”

“I think it won’t kill your business to get a good sleep once in a while. What’s a billion-dollar if you neglect your health.” I agreed with her. Sometimes, I missed the whole point of being filthy rich.

“It’s fifteen billion, actually, but who’s counting.”

She didn’t look surprised, and neither did I.

I poured her a glass of red wine and offered it to her. I grabbed some ingredients for the sandwich from the fridge and started working on it.

“Where you from?”

“I grew up from here. I actually finished college at NYU.” Why wasn’t I so surprised that she didn’t know anything about me yet? But it was Adley Kross who seemed not to give a damn about my life. “You?” 

“Born and raised here by my grandpa. My parents died in a plane crash when I was eight.”

I stood frozen, and at the same time, it felt like a knife stabbed and twisted in my chest. “I’m so sorry.” I should have known better.

“That was a long time ago.”

“Are you and your grandpa closed?” I didn’t miss noticing the change in her posture. It might be a sensitive topic, or she was trying to hide who she really was. “Forget that I asked. Sorry.”

“We are.”

“I wish I was. My grandpa died hating my father. My father is a douchebag. My parents divorced, and later, my father knocked up his assistant. So, he and I are not closed. My mother is compassionate and old-schooled sometimes, and I love her with all my heart. She never wants to do anything with my money. The only thing she took was the house I gave her because she liked the lake view.” I chuckled as I remembered how she cupped my face with her teary eyes and told me how proud she was.

I placed a slice of sandwich on the plate. 

“Thanks.”

I was starving. I took a huge bite of my sandwich, and so did she. “How long have you known Blaze?”

“Since college. He’s the closest to a brother that I never had.”

“You’re living together?”

“Yeah, since we started K&B.”

“He seems a good guy.”

“He is.”

“And you told him about our elevator encounter.”

Her face turned red as she grabbed the wine glass. She emptied and rose from the stool. “Thanks for the wine and sandwich. They were lovely.”

She turned to her feet and left me hanging. 

If this was how she wanted to play, then I could be the cat and she could be my mouse.

Then I’m in.