His Assistant

Chapter 32

Kiara's outfit ⬆️

Brandon’s POV

New York welcomed us back with its usual rush of activity, the city pulsing with life as if it hadn’t even noticed we were gone. But for me, everything felt different. Korea had changed things between Kiara and me.

Our date had been perfect. Unexpected, even for me. It wasn’t extravagant, just a stroll through the markets, a quiet breakfast in the park, yet it meant more than any fancy dinner could. It was the first time I had seen her let go, even just a little. She had smiled, really smiled. And I had realized that I would do anything to keep that smile on her face.

We spent two more days there, we finalized the business part of the trip with Lee Jung and had a great dinner with Mr Lee and other the shareholders to celebrate our partnership. It was a private business dinner, and we enjoyed the Korean food presented to us. As always, I did most of the talking and drinking, I didn't want Kiara to drink here. She didn't understand their drinking culture and I didn't want to pressure her, so I basically drank for two. I made sure she was served tea and water.

I was tipsy by the end of the dinner, but I didn't let it show, can't destroy the slow building relationship I have with Kiara. I was knocked out when I reached my room, I just went to bed without even having a shower.

Now, back in the office, we had fallen into a rhythm—one that balanced the professionalism of our working relationship with the unspoken shift between us. At work, she remained Miss Knight, my assistant, handling everything with the same efficiency she always had. But outside work… that was another story.

I made sure of that.

Every day, I found an excuse to see her outside of the office. At first, I framed it as casual—grabbing coffee after work, recommending a new restaurant I "needed a second opinion on." But then, it became something more.

She didn’t reject my invitations. That was a good sign.

Tonight, I had something special planned.

"Are you free after work?" I asked as she typed away at her laptop, not even looking up.

She hesitated for a split second, barely noticeable if I hadn’t been watching her closely. Then she glanced at me. "Why?"

"Just a dinner. No work, no schedules to discuss. Just a normal meal." I kept my tone light, though my heart was anything but that, beating faster than a race car.

Her eyes searched mine for a moment before she nodded. "Okay."

That one word made my chest feel so light and soften like a freaking marshmallow, she's definitely changing me, I know my mom would like to see this.

By the time we stepped into the restaurant, a quiet spot with a rooftop view of the city, I could feel her relaxing slightly. That was the thing about Kiara—she was wary, careful with her emotions. But every now and then, she let her guard down, and I lived for those moments.

We talked about everything except work. She told me about her childhood dreams of becoming a lawyer, how she had ended up in business instead. I told her about my mother’s obsession with setting me up on dates, how Skylar always sided with Kiara whenever my family gossiped about me.

"My family really loves you, especially my mom, my dad is always complementing your work ethics and Skylar would prefer to have you as her sister than me as her brother and ", I joked.

She laughed shyly.

"Yh, it's been a while since I hung out with Skylar and your mom is always asking me to go shopping with her, but I always try to escape it. The last time I tried it, we spent the whole day in the mall. But I love her, she's just so sweet and kind, just like my mom", she said with a sad smile, then she drank from her champagne flute.

I knew her parents was a sensitive topic for her, the last time we talked about it was in Colorado. I wanted to know if she was comfortable talking about them, so I asked;

"Can you tell me about them, your parents if you are comfortable with it"

I expected her to flat out reject it, but she nodded and started talking,

"They were the kindest people in the world, they were the best parents in the world and they loved me so much. Dad was always excited for me when I passed my exams and mom would always hug me and say sweet words to me. I miss them so much". She whispered the last part.

I nodded my head listening attentively.

"They sound lovely and I wish I could meet them", I said softly

"Me too", she said.

I appreciated the fact that she trusted me to share her past with me. She was slowly coming out of her shell, talking about them will help her to overcome her grief and I am happy she chose me.

I want her to be just Kiara with me, I want her to be shy, bold, cute, kind and comfortable with me.

And I want to be just Brandon to her, the Brandon of the past that cared about feelings and love.

As we left the restaurant, I reached for her hand without thinking, to lead her down the stairs to the parking lot and for a fleeting moment, she let me. Then, as if realizing what she had done, she pulled away slowly, her fingers slipping from mine.

Then she started acting shy in the car, which was so cute. She ha a habit of looking at her hands when she's nervous. The drive to her apartment was quiet, a peaceful quietness. Then I pulled up in front of her apartment.

"Goodnight, Brandon," she said softly as she unbuckled her belt and got down from the car, the car door opened by me already. And she went inside her apartment building, while I watched her until she was safely inside.

She was getting comfortable calling me by my name.

And it made me feel fuzzy in my chest. I slept with a huge smile on my face.

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Hi my lovelies, new update immediately after finishing my final year 1st semester exam. Let's gooooo. Kindly keep voting and commenting, I love seeing your feedbacks. Thank you all for still staying with His Assistant. Love you all. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️