Billie Bossa Nova

37.

During their trip to Moonlite Casino, Billie sat as far away as possible from Kai, literally pressing against the door just to maintain a distance. Even in the morning and the day before, she refused to speak to him unless it had to do with work. He was frustrated and mad at her for it, sick of trying to convince her. He missed her. She was right there, but for some reason he missed more than just her presence. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to kiss her.

When they reached the casino, she didn't even wait for Rusty to open the door for her. She flew it open and then banged it shut. Kai had tightly shut his eyes, praying that his Mercedes SUV didn't suffer too much of an impact. His eyes opened again and he fell back on the cream leather seats of his car.

“Looks like someone's having trouble in paradise,” Rusty grinned at him through the rear view mirror.

Kai sent him a scowl. “It pains me that you're gleeful at my expense.”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” laughed Rusty. “It's just that I've been hearing we're not dating and she's just my assistant for weeks now. So, to get confirmation is kind of refreshing.”

“We're not dating.”

Rusty shook his head. “There he goes again.”

“I mean it. We just...I'm trying to see where it could go. So far, I don't think I have the time or energy for it.”

“One argument and he's already giving up on her.” Rusty whistled. “The feelings must not be as strong as it appears.”

“Trust me, that's not the case.” Kai sighed, running a rough hand through his hair. It popped back in place. “I'm just proceeding more cautiously. I love my job, Rusty, I've been waiting to do this from the moment I was born. I can't give it up for anyone.”

“Did she ask you to?” Kai shook his head. Rusty turned to face him from the driver's seat and stopped talking to him through the rear view mirror. “Not that it's any of my business, but if you want to hear my opinion on this, you'd have to tell me what this little tiff was about.”

“Work.”

Rusty replied wryly, “Yes, I gathered that much, kid. A little more than that.”

“She suggested I take a break from work. I refused,” Kai explained briefly.

Rusty nodded, listening intently. Waited a few more seconds to make sure that Kai was finished speaking, then said, “Well, it sounds to me like she's just craving your attention.”

Kai frowned. “Are you sure? To me it sounded more like she was being lazy.”

“Think of it less like she was asking you as an employee and more like a girlfriend. What did she ask and how did she ask it?”

Kai thought back to that night (or morning). As his assistant, what she asked of him was inexcusable. Shamelessly asking her boss to slack off was something that could easily have gotten anyone fired. Although, they have long crossed that line now. It made sense for her to want things of him that not your average employee would. But it was difficult for him to consider that when his mind was on work mode.

“Jesus, Billie,” he breathed the words out as his head fell back against the seat. “Why didn't she just say that?”

Rusty stretched a hand out into the backseat to slap Kai's shoulder. “Because kid, she's a woman. They don't tell you what they want, they show it.” Kai seemed to be perplexed. Like he was struggling to understand. Rusty continued, “Think of it like this: in her mind, it's the same as if you saw her talking to another guy. Spending more time with him than you. To her, your job is her competition for your attention.”