Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(10)
“Sorry, I just got your text. Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes. Definitely.”
He looked over my shoulder to see Aiden standing in my office; I grabbed Kellan’s arm, urging him in the opposite direction. We headed towards the elevator, not bothering to say goodbye to Raina or Bailey. I just wanted out before anything happened with Aiden.
“Is everything okay?” Kellan asked, once we were in the elevator.
“Yes. I guess,” I replied, sighing.
“Let’s talk about it over lunch,” he offered. We can’t have the most beautiful girl in the world stressing now can we?”
I looked up and smiled at him. He really was a great guy and at that moment, he was exactly what I needed.
We’d decided on lunch at the Grotto, my favorite lunch escape. We were seated at a booth near the window, my usual. I casually perused the menu as Kellan offered highlights of his hedge fund meeting. Regretfully, I only caught part of it; my body was sitting in the booth near the window but my mind was in the top floor of the RPH building … with Aiden Raine.
CHAPTER THREE
“Okay, you’ve barely acknowledged anything I’ve said. What’s up with you today?” Kellan asked.
“I’m sorry Kellan. I have a lot going on at work,” I replied. I felt such a huge amount of guilt for being less than honest, but in my defense it wasn’t a complete lie.
“From what I’ve gathered, that’s the norm for you, so what’s so different now?” he asked.
“I’m trying to adjust to all of the changes.” I could honestly say that much. I couldn’t very well tell him that I was having to adjust to the fact that the guy who I’d been f*cking that I thought was my intern was actually my multi-billionaire boss who blackmailed me into accepting a position as CEO and even now was still making attempts to get in my panties. And worst and most embarrassing of all, how could I tell him that I was still weak for a man who had deceived me every time he’d touched me? I felt like a fool. It was going to be difficult to deal with the changes alright. That was certainly one way of wording it. I’d taken on a huge responsibility as CEO and to add to that, I’d have to fight my natural instincts each time I was anywhere near Aiden. Dueling dispositions: I wanted to tell him to f*ck himself and on the other hand, I still wanted him to f*ck me. As disillusioned as I was with Aiden, his brilliance and passion wasn’t something I could easily forget.
“Are you regretting your decision?” Kellan asked.
What decision? I never had one. Not really. “I’m not sure; I’m in the process of accepting some of the unexpected aspects of it though,” I said.
“Learning curve?” he asked.
“Exactly,” I replied.
“In that case, I don’t think you have much to worry about. Relax and enjoy your accomplishment. Everything else will take care of itself.”
If it were only that simple, I wouldn’t be worried about going back to my office. I didn’t want to have another run-in with Aiden.
My phone pinged. I looked to see that it was a text from Aiden. Are you f*cking kidding me?
*FYI the company we discussed earlier will be absorbed into RPH by the end of the next quarter. Your placement there will make it that much easier. You should consider it. If you discover that you’re absolutely against it, we’ll go with plan B … although it’s somewhat of a challenge, I’m always up for those.*
“Excuse me for just a second Kellan, this is work-related.”
“No problem,” he replied.
I responded to Aiden’s text.
*There’s nothing to consider. I’m not doing it. Besides I would hate to deprive you of the opportunity to endeavor in yet another challenge. We both know how much you enjoy those.*
I resumed my conversation with Kellan, as much as I could anyway. I was distracted. I needed to know how long Aiden would be in Boston. I doubted it would be more than a few days. If that were the case, I could arrange to work from home the remainder of the week. Just great, I thought, now I’m considering hiding from him. That’s what that man had reduced me to.
Kellan had just asked me a question and I totally didn’t know how to respond.
My phone pinged again. I sighed as I checked it.
*It dawned on me that your lunch meeting is with that guy from St. Barts? What are you doing Aria?*
He had the unmitigated gall to question me, even after everything he’d done!
*Focus on your latest challenge and leave me be. Please don’t text me again!!*
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?” I asked, looking up at Kellan.
“I asked if you’d heard anything from April … about Blaine.”
“Yes, I have. Lots actually. I think it’s safe to say that she’s quite smitten,” I replied, thinking fondly of my friend. I was so happy for her. She, unlike me, had always been open to relationships; however, she had a tendency to finagle her way out of them when the guy wasn’t as perfect as she had initially thought. That typically took about a month. I wondered what she would have done with someone like Aiden. She hadn’t come across anyone like him. He was a game changer; he’d transformed me and pretty much revamped all of my Fuck Rules and I was one tough bitch so I knew someone like April, who is less inclined to have up as many walls and as many rules as I have, wouldn’t stand a chance with Aiden. She’d be putty in his hands. I had thought on many occasions that I was much the same when it came to him. He was the artist and I was the canvas and he painted the picture to fit his wants.