Page 37 of Big Bossy Billionaire

13

KILLIAN

I liftedmy hand up to the door and knocked.

A few moments later, I knocked again, louder this time. While I waited, I resisted the urge to bang the door down and instead pushed back against tightening in my chest. I heard footsteps behind the door, and the lock sliding away before the door creaked open. Meghan’s face appeared in the doorway, her hair a messy bun on top of her head and dark circles under her eyes.

She glanced down both sides of the hallway before she looked back at me. “Killian? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see how the project was doing.”

Meghan blinked and ran a hand over her face. “I must not have seen the email about your visit.”

“There was no email.”

Especially when, up until a few hours ago, it wasn’t meant to happen. But Serena had stopped at my apartment, late last night and had paced the entire length of the apartment before playing back Meghan’s message. We’d both stood there, in the middle of my apartment listening to the tremor in Meghan’s voice before we looked at each other. Serena hadn’t said anything when I left her in the living room and went to my room to pack.

And she hadn’t said anything when I made a few phone calls to get the company jet ready. It wasn’t until the driver had loaded up my suitcase that she’d drawn me into a hug, her whole body trembling out of nerves for her friend. Although I hadn’t known what to expect, the last thing I imagined was Serena giving me a hug for swooping in to Meghan’s rescue.

Thankfully, when it came to Meghan’s safety, we were both on the same page. It wasn’t until she’d drawn back that she’d given me a stern look and warning to keep my promise to her. Wordlessly, I nodded, wheeled my suitcase out behind me and hurried down the stairs, taking them two a time.

If anyone had laid a finger on her, I’d make sure they paid.

Dearly.

Standing in the middle of my apartment with Serena felt like a lifetime ago, a bad dream I couldn’t shake.

Standing in front of Meghan felt real and palpable.

Meghan hesitated and pushed the door open the rest of the way, bringing me back to the present with a jolt. “You can come in if you want.”

I pulled my suitcase in behind me and left it by the door. “This is a sweet set-up, Meg.”

Meghan shrugged, and the door fell shut. “I’m not the one who picked out the apartment complex, but I am glad I’m not staying in a hotel.”

I glanced around the apartment, taking in the white walls, the small balcony overlooking the water, and the hallway that branched off into two rooms. When I swung my gaze back to Meghan, she was raking her fingers through her hair. She let her hand fall to her side and stood up straighter. Thankfully, she looked far better than I imagined, and it made some of the knots in my stomach unfurl.

Had I really gotten on a plane and raced out here to check on her?

Jesus.

I had it worse than I thought.

“What are you really doing here, Killian?”

“You’ve only been here for two weeks and two days, Meg. Did you really forget how the chain of command works? I’m the CEO, remember?”

“As if I could forget.”

I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “I hope you’ve got some good coffee here.”

Because after spending four hours trying not to imagine worst case scenarios, I couldn’t believe she was standing a few feet away, with the early morning sun slanting behind her, and giving her a warm, golden glow.

Fucking hell.

I hadn’t realized how much I cared for her until I had the driver race to the apartment complex, breaking a few laws in the process. Now that I was taking a breath for the first time in hours, I realized how exhausted I was. Wordlessly, I stepped into her open-floor kitchen and rummaged through several cupboards. I pushed aside several items of canned food until I found what I was looking for. Then I spun back around and set two mugs down on the counter. Meghan had crossed over to me and was standing on the other side of the marble counter, a strange look on her face. Even with her hair in a messy bun and sleep in her eyes, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

And I was an idiot who hadn’t thought any of this through.

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