Page 254 of By His Rule

“Morning,” I say, attempting and failing to sound as enthusiastic.

She eyes me suspiciously. “Weekend that good, huh?”

“You’ve no idea,” I mutter before taking a sip of my cappuccino with a double shot of hope.

“He’s not in,” Melissa says, changing the subject suddenly.

“Huh?”

Her eyes drop to the second coffee in my hand. “Kian. He’s not here.”

“Oh. Is he due in or…”

“I’ve no idea. He didn’t say anything to you?”

I shake my head, not liking the feeling that bubbles up inside me.

He usually keeps me fully informed about his whereabouts.

“Could be a nice quiet morning then.” I want to say that I’m relieved, but mostly I’m confused. Kian doesn’t just not turn up to work.

The second I place his coffee on my desk, I pull my cell from my purse, expecting to find a message or an email from him.

But there’s nothing. It’s been the same since I closed the door on him last night.

I almost message him asking where he is. My thumb hovers over my screen, but just before I begin typing, I remember that he’s an adult and has absolutely no reason to check in with me. I’m just his assistant.

Once my computer loads, I open his diary and find the entire week has been cleared out, all meetings gone.

What is he playing at?

Forcing my feelings down, I open my laptop and get to work.

Him not being here is a blessing in disguise. Thanks to our trip last week, I’ve got a mountain of emails to get through and jobs to complete.

I should be grateful.

I also shouldn’t be looking up every time I hear a noise that could be Kian arriving at the office.

It didn’t matter how many times I looked up—it was never him.

King and Michael both came and went. Neither of them asked about Kian’s whereabouts. A couple of others I didn’t know arrived for meetings before leaving again without so much as glancing my way.

I didn’t leave for lunch. Instead, I asked Melissa to grab me something when she popped out in favor of continuing with work. Or at least, I told myself it was so I could make the most of catching up. Deep down, I was lingering in case Kian showed his face.

It had been radio silence all day. Not a single message, email or phone call. No demands—not one. It was weird. Too weird.

I stay late, again because I want to work…and by the time I leave the Callahan Enterprises building, the sun is already setting behind the tall buildings.

I stop on the way home to grab myself some dinner, and after showering and pulling on some comfortable clothes, I once again open my laptop and continue working. I don’t have anything else to do.

It never used to be like this. No matter what, I was always able to come home to my best friend. No matter how bad my day had been, she was always there to distract me and make me smile.

I thought I appreciated it while she was here, but now she’s gone, I realize that I didn’t.

I miss her. I miss her so fucking much.

Emotion bubbles up again, and I fight to batter it back down.

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