Page 57 of Heavy Is The Crown

Sasha eyed Kenyatta longer than necessary before looking back at Krys. “So, this the guy?”

Krys rolled her eyes. “This is the new…lead.”

Sasha gave a knowing slanted smile, “Uh-huh.”

Kenyatta just chuckled. “Nice to meet you too.”

By the time they got to the trucking side of the business, Kenyatta could feel the shift in energy. People weren’t looking at him like some new hire. They were looking at him like…

Like they weren’t sure where he stood. Like they weren’t sure if they had to answer to him or not. And he could tell Krys knew exactly what she was doing. It was intentional.

The last stop was the dispatch office, where two employees, Manny and Reese, were going back and forth about a truck route.

Krys cleared her throat. “Y’all, this is Kenyatta. He’ll be handling things for me.”

Manny glanced up. “Like…what kind of things?”

Krys smiled. “Just know if something needs to be handled, he’ll be handling it.”

He still wasn’t sure if she was doing this on purpose or if she just didn’t think twice about how it sounded. Kenyatta just bit back a smirk and shook his head.

**********

When they made it back in Krys’ office, she sat down, clicking away at her laptop again like she hadn’t just set the entire office up for speculation. The air was thick with unspoken energy.

Kenyatta stood across from her like he belonged there, not like a man who just got hired, but like a man who was getting comfortable in a new seat of power.

Krys felt it, too.

She had made a strategic move in the way she introduced him, but she hadn’t expected the effect it would have on the entire office.

Or on her.

The weight of her own choices settled in as she scrolled through her emails.

This man, the same one who threw off her balance at couple’s night, the same one who was far too good at getting under her skin, was now inside her empire.Her world. And he had already shifted something. She hated that. Or at least, she told herself she did.

Kenyatta folded his arms, finally addressing the elephant in the room. “You gon’ tell me why they all looking at me like I’m more than a maintenance man?”

Krys finally glanced at him, expression unreadable. “Because you are more than just a maintenance worker, and…because I introduced you.”

“And?”

She went back to typing. “This job isn’t about just fixing stuff. You’re dealing with vendors, tenants, sometimes even sitting in on meetings when I need updates. You’re representing me when I’m not there. And I don’t put just anybody in my space.”

Kenyatta raised a brow. “Oh yeah? That mean I must’ve made a good impression with your people. Is that why I’ve been promoted?”

Krys smirked, “You made a scene. My family still talking about you.”

Kenyatta grinned, stepping a little closer. “You ain’t deny it, though…That I made a good impression.”

Krys shook her head, “You really think you cute, huh?”

“Nah, Bae. I know I am.”

Kenyatta studied her for a moment. He knew what this really was. Krys was protective of her image. She didn’t want anyone thinking she had hired just anybody. So, she had introduced him in a way that demanded respect.

Whether she meant to or not, she had given him a certain weight in the office. And now he was going to run with it.

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