Racing Desires

13. Make up

Dean's POV:

I didn't get to see Kiara all through the day, work kept hold of me most of the day, but also Kiara didn't seem to have time. Of course I heard the talks in the hallway and I suppose she did too. Trish seemed to be everywhere where the gossip was, god why the hell do I even pay her to be here?

She better keep her mouth shut, otherwise I will end up firing her. That girl has done enough damage as it is.

Once all the other office lights are off, I decide to finish off my work and stroll over to Kiara's office. After all I still have her clothes in the boot and I wanted to talk to her.

"Hey Kar, you alright?", I ask as I see her face hanging low while stemmed on to her fists. She doesn't respond. "Kar?", I ask once more and her head bobs up, tearing her out of where ever her mind was.

Between her ellbows I see her phone on the table and wonder if it has anything to do with the photos?

"Sorry, I didn't catch you come in, did you say something?"

Normally it wouldn't worry me, as I know she can be like that when she's head over heels into her work. But something's off with her face.

"Kar, what's wrong? Are you worried because of the gossip or my dad?", I cup her face, making her look at me.

"No one believes I deserve this job, no one. Not one single person", tears are welling up in her eyes. I knew she wouldn't like the gossip, but I didn't expect it to take such a huge toll on her. Especially as she wasn't too bad about it this morning.

"Is the gossip so bad? Or are you worried about my dad? Because you don't need to be. He really likes your work. Honestly our talk was really relaxed, he even thinks you're the only one to stand up to me and do excellent work. He said he knew I'd hate but also admire you because of your work. And he's right Kar. No one has ever deserved this job more than you."

"He's not mad with me? Or thinking I'm taking advantage of you?"

"Hell no Kar, he likes you. God he even said something about the balls you have", she chuckles slightly. "The only thing he's worried about is, that I will wreck something, because you're too good to lose you." Fuck I should probably tell her the full truth why he's really worried, but this isn't something Kiara should deal with. It's something only me and my dad can deal with.

"Are you feeling better now? Or is there more?", her eyes dart down to her phone, but she shakes her head.

Has she been looking at all the articles and photos, upsetting her? It's probably hard to ignore with the gossip going on all day.

"Have you eaten at all decently today?"

"Nope and you still aren't in charge to check my eating habits, or to tell me to eat."

Frustrated I feel like growling at her. Why the fuck can't she take more care of herself? Knowing I'll make it worse by yelling at her, I gather all my composure and try a new tactic.

"I've not really found the time to eat either. I know a good Indian restaurant not far from here, fancy joining me?"

Her eyes dart down to her phone once more. "Do you think it's a good idea we go out for dinner together, after all these pics? I mean what if they take more? That would definitely look suspicious."

"How about we take our laptops along, place them on the table and pretend we are working at something together just in case. I mean that would be a good excuse, right?", I flash her a smile, knowing she can't argue against it.

"Fine", she smiles softly and then bites down on her bottom lip.

"I mean how are we supposed to figure out, what this is, if we are only stuck at work all the time, right? Some normal time together is what we need right now. After all I don't want to hide you from the world forever, just because we aren't sure what this is."