Page 29 of Kai
"I will. Love you, Mom."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
She hung up, parked and just sat there. The bushes needed trimming, she thought idly. He had been gone when she woke up. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes. It had felt likeheaven sleeping next to him, her body pressed up against his. She had to think. The usual chaos was starting, and it was worse than before.
Pushing the door open, she clamped down on her thoughts. It was time to get to work.
He was daydreaming. Perhaps it was lack of sleep, but since leaving her house and stopping at his apartment for a quick shower, he had been unable to get her out of his head.
Sleeping with her, holding her close to him like that had felt so right, he had not wanted to leave.
Now, here he was, in a board meeting and his mind was wandering.
He shifted in his chair, feeling the weight of the room's attention momentarily land on him as someone asked his opinion. Blinking away the memory of her laugh, he focused onthe spreadsheets spread across the glossy table. The numbers blurred for a moment before snapping into clarity.
"Well," he started, commanding his voice to sound steady, "we need to revisit the projections for the third quarter. The supply chain delays are longer than anticipated, and we're going to need to recalibrate expectations."
Heads around the table nodded, pens scratched across notepads, and the conversation moved on. Yet, in the back of his mind, she lingered, a ghost of warmth and a kaleidoscope of tangled emotions. He thought of the way her eyes lit up when she was teasing him, the way she smelled faintly like lavender, and the way she'd slept so peacefully beside him as if she belonged there. He glanced at his watch. He couldn't afford to let this distract him, not today.
Still, as the meeting dragged on, his resolve faltered. He found himself scrolling through his phone under the table, contemplating whether or not to call her. Glancing up, he realized someone had asked him another question. Clearing his throat, he answered with a pretense of confidence, hoping no one had noticed his lapse.
By the time the meeting adjourned, he was the first to leave the room. His assistant tried to hand him a folder filled with reports, but he waved her off, promising to review them later. He needed air, a moment to get his thoughts back in order.
Out on the terrace, the city stretched below him in a restless sprawl of movement and noise. He leaned against the railing, pulling out his phone again. His finger hovered over her name. For a moment, he debated calling her, just to hear her voice, to anchor himself amidst the chaos of the day. But he hesitated. Whatever this was between them, it couldn't be rushed—not when the stakes felt so high.
Instead, he slipped the phone back into his pocket, straightened his tie, and turned back to the office. There was still work to be done, even if his mind was miles away with her.
"Please say something. Anything."
Yvette shook her head. "I'm still trying to process. You had sex here in the store for hours."
"Shh." Putting down the cup of tea she had not taken a sip of, she looked around making sure that her clients were occupied as well as her staff. The little table had been added to the corner of the room for intimate and cozy discussions with clients while they decided what to wear with what.
It was set under a window seat and had a full view of the street. Vehicles whizzed by—the frantic rush silenced by the thick glass enclosure. "I want you to tell me this is a mistake."
"Why? Does it feel like one?"
She moved her shoulders in a jerky shrug. She was worn out and battered. As soon as she stepped inside the store, she had been bombarded with work—with people demanding her attention. And he had not called. Was that a good sign or a bad one? she wondered. And should she care? After last night, she had expected—what exactly? His phone call to say how wonderful the night had been? This was Kai Tanaka. A man of very few words and one she no longer knew.
Maxie inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself as the rush of memories threatened to flood her thoughts. She had always prided herself on being composed, on managing her emotionswith the same precision she used to arrange the store's displays. But now, the chaos in her mind mirrored the hustle of the street outside, every vehicle a reflection of the turmoil she felt.
Kai Tanaka—his name echoed in her head like a refrain she couldn't silence. She knew his silence wasn't meant to be cruel; it was simply who he was. Yet, after last night, her expectations had betrayed her, whispering promises that reality refused to honor. She had allowed herself to hope, and in that hope lay a vulnerability she wasn't ready to confront.
A client approached, interrupting her reverie. She forced a smile, guiding them to a rack of shimmering evening gowns. But even as she spoke about fabric and fit, her mind wandered, tracing the silhouette of his features, the way his presence lingered like a shadow she couldn't shake.
Later, when the store had emptied and the day dipped into dusk, she found herself at the little table by the window again, staring out at the ever-moving street. Perhaps, she thought, it wasn't about waiting for his call. Perhaps it was about deciding what she wanted—what she deserved.
And as that thought settled over her like the first calm after a storm, her phone buzzed. Her heart leapt, betraying her resolve. She glanced at the screen, expecting his name, hoping for it. But it wasn't him. It was only a message, one of many that demanded her attention as the night pressed forward. With a sigh, she slid the phone aside, determined to reclaim herself, one breath at a time.
"How was the sex? Or should I even ask?"
She laughed a little shakily as she leaned forward. "Did I tell you it was a marathon?"
"Bitch." Yvette muttered wryly. "What are you going to do?"
"He hasn't called."
"He spent the night."
