Taming Mr. Black

Twenty Four

Naomi's POV

"You okay, honey?" Mom asks, passing a plate of shrimp to me.

"Hmm?" I look up from my phone as I take the plate of shrimp from my mom.

I turn to look at Rachel and Antonio at the table who are already staring at me. Charlie's smiling as he stuffs his mouth with his vegetables.

"What?" I ask, forking some shrimp into my plate.

"You've been staring at your phone, like, forever. Are you okay?" Antonio asks.

I sigh, exiting Killian's message as I drop my phone on the table, with the screen facing down.

"I'm good."

"You don't look good," Antonio says, wiping his kid's mouth off the sauce stain.

“I'm fine. Maybe I'm a little anxious." I say. It's not the truth but half the truth.

Killian has sent me a message since Friday asking me if I've left his company and if I was okay. I haven't had it in me to reply to his texts and it's Sunday. Maybe I should just send him a response, telling him I'm okay since Friday but I just don't know why I couldn't. A part of me keeps telling me I was jealous because of the woman who barged into his office when he was about to kiss me, but I refused to believe or listen to that part of me. It can't be. Why would I be jealous of some hot woman who looked annoyingly classy because she barged in on us? She was obviously not his employee, she was someone else. The surprised look in his eyes told me she was something other than just his worker. Probably his past sex mate and I hate that the thought of Killian with some other woman annoys the shit out of me.

What's wrong with me? What's happening to me? Why do I care about who he hangs out with or who he sleeps with? When the hell did I start getting jealous?

When I was still with George, I don't remember the time I ever got jealous when his parents set him up on dates with different girls that were hotter and richer than me. Then, what the hell is this? Getting irritated and annoyed because some other girl got Killian's attention and they are obviously sleeping with each other.

Oh, God, this is fucking crazy.

And the worst part is that I can't stop thinking about him. Thinking about his proposal about dating me. I spent the last two days thinking about it and it was exhausting.

Do I even want to date him?

Fuck, yeah.

What, no! Maybe.

Maybe I'd like to know him and try to give him a chance, but each time I think about or remember I'm directly working for him now, it just weakens me. As much as I'd love to be with Killian Black or try to get to know him better, the idea that I'm working for him and it might cause some complications for me and even his company, him not excluded, puts my feelings to a halt. And he's different from me. We're two people from two different worlds. He's nothing like me. We're not even close to being alike. He's dangerous and powerful. What does he even want from a girl like me? A girl who once served drinks in his club.

God, help me.

"Anxious about what? Your new job?" Mom asks, reaching for a glass of water to drink.

"You're really crushing on Killian Black, aren't you?" Rachel says, smirking as she looks at me.

"What? Shut up, Rach." I glare playfully at her.

"Yeah. You obviously do." She says, smirking as she giggles.

"Rachel, keep quiet." Mom tells her.

"Whatever. You guys are no fun." She mumbles under her breath.

"You wanna tell us what's up?" Antonio asks.

"It's nothing." I wave him off.

"And are you sure you want to work in his company?" Mom asks.

Is she kidding me?

"Mom. Weren't you the one who wanted me to get a real job?"

"Yeah. But a job that you want. A job that you love."

"I love it at KB Tech. It's a huge opportunity, especially for someone like me."

"Something going on between you and the CEO?" Antonio asks.

I turn to look at him and he's giving me one of his famous looks.

"Nothing is going on." I say bluntly. "And nothing will ever happen between us." I lie to myself.

I know something is definitely going to happen between us. It doesn't have to be today or this coming week, but I have a feeling the minute our lips locked in my apartment, something strong started between us. And I can't even resist him, no matter how hard I've tried.

I feel like he's staked his claim on me. Claiming me as his without me even knowing, and marking me while telling the whole world I'm his. I know the minute we kissed, there was no coming back from how I felt. I can't stay away from him. I know better than to try. 'Cause the more I try to tell myself I need to stay away from him and concentrate on my job, the more he's going to chase me, and the more he makes me want to break my own rules by giving him a chance, despite all the warning bells that at the end of the road, I'm going to get hurt.

He's completely swept me off my feet. Something I shouldn't have let happen in the first place.

"We know he's hot and can be attractive, but it's unethical to be involved with someone like Killian Black. He's still your boss, whether you worked as a waitress at his club before, and now you work in his company, he's still your boss. I advise whatever thing that's going on between you two, you should end it. He might be the boss and the CEO, but it's still unethical to be involved with him sexually. You know that, Naomi." Antonio says in Spanish, probably so his son won't know what we're talking about.

Charlie doesn't understand Spanish that much, but he's getting there.

I sigh and cross my arms as I stare at my big brother.

"I thought you'd understand better than Mom," I say in English. "And there's nothing going on with me and Killian." I speak Spanish.

"Your brother is just looking out for you, Naomi. Work relationship with your boss doesn't always turn out great. He is hot, and maybe you're attracted to him, just don't let it get in your head when you're in the office. Also, isn't he like George? Privileged, wealthy men from wealthy backgrounds?" Mom says in her motherly tone in Spanish. "It doesn't matter. I just think it's safer for you if you want to be able to work in his company, you just have to be professional when you're around him. You need the job, Naomi. You and I know how much you've always wanted a real job."

Right. My family thinks I'm sleeping with Killian Black or planning to do it. Great. Really great, family.

And I hate that my family is right. If I want to be able to concentrate on my job, I just need to stay away from him and focus on work. I already told him that Friday that I needed space. I just got the job and I just started working for his company, letting my guard down by putting my feelings first won't turn out great for me. A lot of people from HR already think I gave myself to Killian Black before I was able to score a job there.

Pathetic.

"Thanks for your advice." I say In English to my mom, flashing them a fake smile.

I eat lunch in a hurry as I stand up with my plate. Pulling my phone out, there are two messages from two different people. I click Killian's message open first as I read it.

From Killian: You can't keep running away from me, Ms. Alderson. Sooner or later, I'll catch up with you.

And then there's another message from Killian today. I can't even begin to imagine how he got my number.

From Killian: Can you please reply to my texts? You don't know how much you are fucking with my head, Naomi. And also, I wasn't joking about trying this whole dating thing with you. I'm willing to do anything to prove to you I can be the man you want.

Is he asking me out? And why is he making this difficult for the two of us? And who the hell is that Celine lady? I don't wanna know even if I already know the answer.

I exit Killian's message, reminding myself to delete it later as I open Keiran's message.

From Keiran: Hey, you still on for tonight?

Keiran is taking me out for dinner tonight even after I told him he didn't have to. It was his own way of bidding me farewell after I announced to everyone yesterday I've got a job and I was leaving Club K. I made sure to leave the details that I now work in Killian's company. That might have raised a lot of suspicious eyebrows. I didn't want that.

I type a response.

Me: Sure. 7 pm, right?

Antonio walks into the kitchen. He opens the fridge to collect a bottle of water. He closes it and turns to look at me. I look away and slip my phone inside the back pocket of my jeans.

"I'm sorry I was a little harsh on you. I was just looking out for you."

"I know." I give him a small smile when our eyes meet.

"Do you like him?" My brother approaches me.

"You don't have to hide it from me. We're practically best friends, remember?" He smiles.

I roll my eyes and turn away.

"It's not what you think."

"I'm not gonna tell Mom. I'm not Charlie and Rachel." He says and we chuckle.

"Yeah, I do."

Antonio doesn't say anything after my confession. He just nods and watches me.

"Does he?"

"I think he does. I guess that was why he offered me a job. And according to him, he cared about me. He hates seeing me serve drinks to his drunk patrons."

"Wow. He doesn't sound like a complete asshole."

"He's not really that bad. He's nice, he can be caring too."

"Damn, you really do like him." Antonio chuckles.

"He wants us to date." I blurt out.

"No shit."

"Yup. On Friday. He said he was willing to try it with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means he wants us to date. He wants me to give him a chance. I don't know, Ant… I told him that relationships are the last thing on my mind. I just got out of one with George, I am not ready to go back into a new one with another rich, wealthy guy. Worse case, a CEO of some wealthy tech company. And also, I just got a job after two years of job hunting and I need to concentrate on my job."

"You told him that?"

"Yeah."

Antonio sighs.

"We can't tell you who to date and who to love, Naomi. But sometimes, dating someone doesn't necessarily stop you from your job. The fact that you and George's relationship ended pretty messed up, doesn't mean your other relationship is going to turn out bad. And you're right, you just got this new job, and getting involved with your CEO slash your boss isn't advisable. It's against a lot of work ethics."

"I know that."

"Yeah. And him being the boss doesn't change anything either. There's work ethic for a reason. But, if you think you want him, don't let anything stop you. Don't let excuses come between you and your feelings, Luna." My brother barely addresses me by my middle name, Luna. Well, except he's passing a meaningful message. "You can handle some pressures from work. You've handled worse. So don't let anything or anyone stop you from being happy, not even your bad relationship with George. Killian might be different, even if he's stinking rich. You just gotta do what you want and be with whoever you want to be with it, as long as they are good."

I smile. I guess that's exactly what I was looking for. A good speech like that.

"Thanks, Ant. I really appreciate your kind words. Can I play a little hard to get too? He's not used to rejection, he's just getting used to it."

Antonio laughs. "Of course. Just don't do that a lot. Men hate it, I hate it." He says, chuckling.

"Noted." I chuckle.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I pull it out.

"Is that him?"

"Nah, It's Keiran. My friend. We work together at Club K. We're grabbing dinner by 7. Farewell dinner." I explain to Antonio as I read his message.

"Okay."

I look up at Antonio and slip my phone into my back pocket.

"I gotta go. Bianca and I have laundry to do today."

"Wow. You two are still friends? That's great." Antonio says.

"Of course, we're still friends. We practically live together, remember? Is that your own way of checking on her?"

"Something like that. She's pretty."

"And off limits. Stay away, Ant." I tell my brother. He laughs.

"Whatever, Luna."

"It's been a while since I've heard that name."

"You made us stop calling you that. You said it made you feel like a child." Antonio says.

"And I'm not wrong." I protest.

"Oh, you're."

I smile and hug my brother as I peck his cheek before hurrying out of the kitchen.

"Bye, mama. Thanks for the food." I say to my mom and hug her. I peck her on the cheek, ruffle Charlie's hair, and pinch Rachel's cheeks.

"Stop, I'm too old for that." Rachel giggles.

"No, you're not," I say and pinch her cheek again.

"See you, family." I wave and leave.

***

With Killian's dry cleaning in my hand, I step out of the back of Killian's car and shut the door.

"Thanks, Alvin," I say to Killian's driver before turning towards Killian's house.

"No problem." I hear Alvin say.

I knock on the front door of Killian's house before turning the knob and letting myself in. The house looks the same just like the last time I was here. Quiet, calm, and beautiful. But this time, the air smells really good, like someone's cooking. When did Killian start cooking? It's probably his cook, Sebastian.

I rearrange Killian's dry cleaning on my shoulder and head towards the kitchen. It's Thursday morning and I got this weird message from Killian asking me to pick up his dry cleaning. Like, why would he ask me to pick up his dry cleaning? Wasn't that supposed to be his assistant's job? Why me? What was he trying to do? That wasn't part of my job description and he knows that.

At the end of the day, I agreed. I haven't seen the man since last Friday when Celine barged in on us. I've been avoiding him, not because I didn't want to see him but because I don't know how I was supposed to act around him, especially since he wanted us to date and he wanted me to think about it. And also, the job is really stressful. One of the marketing executives is a pain in my ass. A cold, good-looking, and really tall woman named Amber. Giving me loads of work to do and asking me to work past my lunch hour, like, what the hell?

God, I hate the bitch. I hate to think she treats me like an intern. I've been going through research for the company's new product that will be launched soon while handling Amber's coffee and taking orders from her like she is my boss. Aside from Killian, I work under Raymond Knight, Killian's friend, and he is my boss. I'm supposed to take orders from him, but Raymond always treats me like his equal. He's nice, really nice, and he always tries to help me these past three days whenever I needed help.

"Hello," I call out as I stand outside the kitchen door.

There's a man there, washing dishes and cooking at the same time. He turns to look at me, with a polite smile on his face.

"Hi."

"Hey. I'm Naomi and I'm here to give my boss his dry cleaning. Is he in? Mr. Black."

"Yeah. He's upstairs. You should check his room."

"Sure. Thank you." I smile at Killian's cook and walk away.

I climb the spiral staircase upstairs. I walk past the guest bedrooms and towards Killian's. I stop in front of his bedroom door and knock. There's no reply, so I knock again. Still nothing. The door is already open when I push it. I step inside, glancing around the luxurious and familiar bedroom of Killian Black. I think back to the time I was here. How I woke up in his bed wearing nothing but his dress shirt and my panties. And then I think about the incident in his kitchen, how I almost let him have his way with me because he talked dirty to me. There's so much to Killian Black that I'm yet to uncover.

The bathroom door opens at once and Killian steps into his bedroom, with nothing but a towel. He's surprised to see me and I'm shocked to see him. Half naked. I look like a child who got caught by her mother for stealing meat from the pot. That's exactly what I look like.

What the hell did I just walk in on? An almost naked Killian Black, obviously. And hell, did he look super hot?

Our eyes are locked and I'm trying my hardest time not to bring my gaze down his defined body. He stands still next to his closed bathroom door with his hands around the top of his towel, probably trying to tie it properly around his waist since he wasn't expecting I'd be in his bedroom.

My eyes betray me and I drag my gaze from his beautiful gray eyes to his torso, taking my time to stare at his bare stomach with water dripping down his torso. I bring my gaze down, past the ripples of his torso as I follow the water that glides down his body as it disappears inside his towel.

Holy shit!

How's he that hot? How can he be that hot? What am I still doing here standing in the middle of his bedroom with slightly parted lips and shock written all over my face? Why can't I move my feet? Why am I staring at him with that look on my face?

"Naomi." He addresses me.

I clear my throat, snapping myself from whatever thing that just happened. I can't believe I just died for a second for just staring at this man in nothing but a towel. Fuck, he is sexy.

I've run my fingers over his body when we kissed in my apartment and I least expected he'd look this hot. God, this is too much for my eyes to take in and my brain to handle.

"Mr. Black." I greet him, trying my best to focus, while I try not to look at him or his naked torso that's still dripping with water.

His hair is damp, and his lips are swollen and a little redder than usual. Who knew someone can look this hot with nothing but a towel on?

Killian smirks as he approaches me.

Uh oh.

I bite my lip, with my heart already beating fast while I clutched onto his dry cleaning in my hand.

"Hey." He says and stops in front of me, with his bright gray eyes staring at my face.

"I'm sorry I had to see you like this." I voice out. "I knocked, but there was no reply so I let myself in. I'm really sorry." I apologize.

"There's no need for that. At least you liked what you saw." He teases me.

"I didn't say that." I blush.

Killian smirks. He brings his hand around me, with his eyes locked with mine. I don't miss the heat radiating off his body or the butterflies in the pit of my stomach.

Why the hell is he still standing in front of me without a shirt on? With nothing but his towel on? My fingers itch me to reach out and just run my fingertips on the surface of his stomach. I want to feel the hard muscles against my palm.

"Can you put some clothes on?" I ask him at the same time he takes his dry cleaning from my hand.

Oh. I thought he wanted to touch me when he brought his hand around me.

Damn.

"You had it." He tells me, raising his dry cleaning up for me to see as he turns around towards his bathroom.

"I'll wait downstairs."

"You don't have to be shy because I'm with a towel, Naomi." He says as he opens his bathroom door. "You had me in your hand in your apartment, remember?" He turns around to give me a coy smirk and a wink before closing his bathroom door.

Had me? Had what – shit! How can I forget what happened between us in my apartment that day? That wasn't me. I was wild and horny, and really touchy. I can't believe I'd even touched him down there.

God, I need meds.