My Bad Boy's Secret: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (177 page)

KENDRA (Cont.)

All the way home in the fancy black car I could not stop thinking about Jaysun touching me in the helicopter. It was perhaps the most erotic experience in my life. That’s saying a lot considering all that I had experienced with Jaysun thus far. But this was unlike anything else. First of all, being in a luxury helicopter high above the landscape was exhilarating and made your heart pump. Then to add to that a gorgeous man sitting next to him with his delicious scent all around me, and then his fingers delicately touching me until I came right there in my seat. A part of me wanted him to take me even though the pilots were so close in the front seats. But the best part was falling asleep on his chest.

I have never felt so warm and safe before. It was so relaxing that I fell right to sleep. I was almost embarrassed that he had that power over me. I did wonder what he was going to say when we were sitting there waiting for the helicopter to pick me up. There was something about the way he looked at me that was different. I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t think he was going to say what he ended up saying. I saw the switch in his face. He went from a look of longing to a look of lust. It was quick, but I caught it. Who knew what else this man was hiding. I had to remove myself from his presence because I was giving into his magical pull on me, and I was getting off track of what was important. For one, I needed to figure out who Jaysun Rubic really was, and two I needed to figure out who I was. This job was just a gig until I figured out what to do with myself. I shouldn’t let the heat of passion with a man let me forget that. It was wrong. As soon as I got home I took a hot shower to wash the smell of him off of me. I needed some alone time. I needed some time to be me.

I fell asleep fast and slept hard. My dreams however, were unusual. I saw it again in my sleep. It was the massive beast. Its eye looked right at me as it swam by me. It was that moment of tranquility that I had felt under water was now with me in my sleep again. It felt mystical and awe inspiring. When I woke up the next morning the dreams flooded back to me. I needed to know more about these creatures.

With coffee in hand, I sat down at my laptop and researched and found everything I could read about whales, especially the humpbacks that we saw. I read all day and before I knew it, night had fallen. I ordered greasy Chinese take-out and continued by watching documentaries on whales completely engulfed in the knowledge. This is how I spent the entire weekend. It wasn’t until I laid down to bed and new that I had to go to Plaerus the next morning did I think about Jaysun again. It was unbelievable! I had hardly checked my phone all weekend in search of a text or call from him. My mind was occupied with the science and nature of these creatures. It was very freeing.

The next morning I went to work feeling nervous, not just because I would see Jaysun, but because I was purposely going to seek out Janet. I needed to know what she knew. But, how? I couldn’t flat out ask her why Jaysun had a passport with her last name on it, or if they truly were married. This would not be easy. I did my usual client service duties that morning of coffee and kitchen duties. I quickly found out that Janet worked on the nineteenth floor. I was hardly on that floor because it wasn’t the top executives on that floor, it was the tech junkies that worked there. That floor was where all the engineering and planning happened. I had only been there once. I found an excuse to walk the floor. I was taking an interest in the company, if anyone asked. However, no one really did. They didn’t even notice me, until… “Are you lost? I think everyone here can fetch their own coffee. They’re not spoiled brats like on the other floors.” I turned to see Janet standing behind me with a clipboard in her hand. “No, I just had some free time and I wanted to see what went on in this company. Just taking an interest,” I said, looking around. It really was amusing.

“Oh, because you think this will all be yours one day?” she said narrowing her eyes at me. I gasped at her response. Then I said, “Don’t you already have that privilege?” Her eyes widened and she dropped the clipboard. “What did he tell you?” she whispered in a stern tone, stepping toward me as she looked around to make sure no one was watching us. Her reaction shocked me. “You did say you were his wife, remember?” I said arching my eyebrow.

Her face went from stern to soft as she laughed. “Oh, that. Just a bit of fun. So, he hasn’t told you anything. Good. Not surprising. It just means you’re not special like all the rest of his toys. Have a good day,” she said as she walked off laughing. I was steaming! I was so furious. What did all of that mean? And why was she laughing at me? I stormed off to the elevator to hide my red face. I sought out Janet to get some information and all it did was to make me angrier and more suspicious of Jaysun. Yet now in the solitude of the elevator, I had time to think over her words. She thought that I knew something and that startled her so much that she dropped the clipboard, but what did she think I knew. Once I mentioned that she had said she was his wife before she dismissed it. So that made me think she was not his wife, and Jaysun had told the truth about that. So what then? What did she think that I knew? It was something big. And to her the fact that I did not know put me on some sort of level of being Jaysun’s toy. Her words were intended to hurt me, and even though I knew why she said them, they still stung me. I was so engulfed with my anger and emotions that I did not watch where I was stepping when I got out of the elevator. I ran straight into a hard chest. “Whoa, slow down there,” Jaysun said as I bounced off of him. “Kendra, what is it?” he asked as he got a good look at my face. I must have looked distressed. “Nothing, I am just, late for, setting up is all. Excuse me,” I said, squeezing past him and down the hall. I was surprised that he didn’t chase after me like he would before. Usually he would chase me and then seduce me with his dirty words, but not this time. That was different, and strange. I continued the rest of the day focusing hard on my work. I was focused; it was the only way not to think of what Janet had said over and over. A part of me wished that I had that passport with me as proof that something was going on, but too late for that.

“Well, where have you been? They’ve been waiting!” Mrs. Stryker yelled at me from the doorway.

“What?” I said, confused by her tone.

“The lunch meeting today? The employees have filed into the conference room expecting a lunch, and I get a call that there’s none.”

I gasped. Holy shit! This was a major fuck up. “I…well…” was all I could say.

“Do you see this here?” she pointed at the wall schedule where it did, in fact, say ‘Lunch Meeting in Conference Room B.’ “This has it in plain black and white for you to follow. It’s not that hard it is just food. Do you know why we have client services? It is so that the workflow of the day is not interrupted when meetings need to be held,” she said angrily.

“That’s my fault, Mrs. Stryker. I forgot to tell Kendra that you needed to be informed of my surprise,” Jaysun said as he peeked in the doorway.

“Oh, Mr. Rubic, good day sir,” Mrs. Stryker said in response adjusting her tone.

“You see Kendra did not forget about the lunch meeting, I asked her not to order lunch because I was going to surprise the meeting by taking them across the street to the steakhouse for lunch.

I am so very sorry to have caused any trouble,” he said sweetly. I couldn’t believe it. He was rescuing me, again, this time at work. He was making up a lie on the spot to cover my ass. It was an expensive lie that would now require him to feed everyone in the meeting expensive meals across the street, not that he couldn’t afford it.

“Oh, I see. I am sorry Kendra. I wasn’t aware of the surprise, please keep me informed next time,” she said as she fixed her blazer and walked out. I looked at Jaysun. He gave me a wink and then walked down the hall. The clapping and cheers I heard a few seconds later let me know that he had delivered the news to the group. I started to laugh at it all. He really was full of surprises and my heart softened that he had saved me again. Forgetting a big lunch meeting was grounds for termination. He had saved me from humiliation and from getting fired. Now he would have to give up an hour or two of free time and pay that lunch bill to go on in this deception. I felt silly and happy. I peeked out and watched them all step into the elevators including Jaysun. Once he was out of sight, I grabbed a few items to restock his office. While I was in there I wrote quickly on a post its pads the words, ‘thank you.’ But how would he know it was from me? What else could I put that would be obvious that it was me? Then it hit me, just as it had hit us before. I drew an outline of a whale next to the words. I tidied up and restocked his bar and coffee bar and was on my way.

After work, I walked a few blocks to the natural history museum to further research my newfound interest in whales. I walked the wing of sea creatures and was astounded to see the full skeleton of an enormous whale hanging from the ceiling. “Oh my god!” I yelled out without thinking.

“Yes, it is impressive, isn’t it?” I turned to see a cute guy about my age, with blonde shaggy hair and blue eyes standing next to me looking up at the skeleton.

“Oh, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” I said to him.

“Oh, no please, no worries, such impressive creatures demand that type of response,” he said. “It’s why I study them.”

I smiled a big smile. “You study whales?” I asked.

“Marine mammals yes, whales are in that group, but I don’t specialize in them. Are you interested in studying them?” he asked.

I paused and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was! I really was! For the first time in my life, I had found something that interest me so much, that researching and reading about them did not feel like work at all. “You know, I think I do. I want to study them, work with them. It’s a new thing in the last few days, but I think whales, that’s what I want to do with my life.”

“That’s cool, I can tell you more about how to get involved and which classes to take if you want to know. But just curious, what brought on this sudden interest?” he asked.

“Well, maybe we can sit down for some tea? It’s long a crazy story in which I was face to face with a humpback,” I said.

“Holy crap! That’s insane. Yeah, come on the café is this way. I’m Blake by the way. I’m Kendra.” We walked off toward the café in the museum. I had no idea that I was being watched.

JAYSUN (Cont.)

Nothing had changed since we returned from my island. I thought that by giving her some space that she would come back to me, but she didn’t. She was still avoiding me every chance she got in the building. Work was challenging and had been stressful since we returned, so I didn’t have a chance to seek her out as much as I would want to. Or to playfully make her serve me dinner in my office like I had in the past.

No, we were gearing up for a major product launch and Janet was taking up the majority of my time, but in all fairness, it was a billion dollar company I was supposed to be running here, not falling in love with the employees. Then I had that encounter with her at the elevator. What I thought would be a flirtatious exchange was mostly her running off from me like I had the plague. I didn’t get what was going on with her. I understood if she never wanted to see me again because of the boat incident, but she needed to tell me that.

I deserved that much after this entire emotional ride we had been through. Instead, she was acting very strange. She was hiding something. That was it! I felt a sense of relief. I should know better than anyone how to spot someone that was hiding something, after all, I was hiding the biggest secret of all, and it did make me act strange in certain situations. But what was she hiding? I did not see her all weekend after we got back, nor did I contact her. I thought it was best to give her space after the crazy, traumatic experience she had been through. I wanted to know what was she hiding and why hide it from me. I sought her out. I had a meeting to go to but I had a few minutes to spare and she would probably be attending the meeting anyway.

I walked toward the kitchen and heard the unmistakable voice of Mrs. Stryker yelling at someone. Then I realized she was yelling at Kendra for forgetting to order lunch for the meeting. Shit, that was a big mistake. She would be fired. Clearly, something was occupying her mind to make her forget such a big job responsibility. That only made me more curious, but for now, I should save her from Mrs. Stryker’s wrath. But, how? Oh, I got it! So I said, “That’s my fault, Mrs. Stryker. I forgot to tell Kendra that you needed to be informed of my surprise.” I peeked in the doorway. I had a plan. It would work. I told Mrs. Stryker, I was taking the meeting to the restaurant across the street, and it worked like a charm. The gratitude that crossed Kendra’s face was worth it. I wished I could stay around to enjoy how she would be thanking me. While we walked to the restaurant I made a quick call to my private detective. I needed to know what she was hiding, and I would do whatever it took to find out. When I finally returned to the office in the early evening she was already gone. I found a note on my desk. It read ‘thank you’ with a drawing of a whale. It had to be her. I wanted to give in and go to her apartment like I had done before in the past. I had to do it. Enough was enough. I was about to walk out the door when I got a call. “This is Rubic.”