Pillow Talk (Collection)

Kitten: Chapter Sixteen

Roman was a liar. The address he'd sent Kit had been accompanied with a promise that it would only be a minute's drive. In reality, Kit sat in the back of his taxi for twenty-five minutes, impatiently tapping and tapping his foot against the backseat. This was the thing that bothered Kit the most about the man. He never cared whether Kit was doing something at home. He never bothered checking to see if he had plans outside of work before he requested Kit's company. Instead, he just expected that he had nothing on his agenda besides doting on Roman hand and foot. At this point, it was getting ridiculous.

Kit had half a mind to put in his two-week notice and be done with the situation.

Before he could entertain this idea any more than he already had, the taxi pulled up to the curb outside of Roman's house. Kit paid and climbed out, looking down at the gorgeous building before him. He wasn't all that huge on architecture, but he could appreciate something like this. It was modern – clearly built in this century – and a combination of dark wood and stone. Windows covered the building. He'd bet money the place was even more beautiful in the morning, where sunlight could stream in and illuminate the entire house.

Kit headed down the steps near the curb and followed the stone path up to the front door. He adjusted the papers in the crook of his arm as he walked, careful not to drop any as he passed the small birdhouse. The last thing he needed was Roman telling him to go back to the office and print out all the papers he'd gotten dirty or wet.

Kit raised his arm to knock on the front door, pausing when he noticed that it was slightly ajar. Was he walking into a crime scene? A horror movie? Slowly, he pushed the front door open, and entered. He closed the door behind him, then locked it.

"Hello?" he called out. He waited until he heard a movement in another room further inside the house. He straightened up his back and continued forward. For a moment, he was worried he might find something terrible inside. What if he found a dead body? What if Roman was a secret hitman, and he'd walked in on an interrogation? Kit scolded himself. People like that didn't exist outside of video games and action flicks.

To his relief, he found Roman sitting in an arm chair in the living room, still dressed in his work clothes. He'd unbuttoned the top buttons on his shirt and loosened his tie. In his hand, he swished around a glass of something brown.

"Here," Kit said unceremoniously. He stalked towards the man and tossed the papers in his lap. Roman kept his gaze on the lit fireplace, wordless. Kit scowled. "This is where you say 'thanks for not ignoring me like any other person would have.'"

Roman peeled his eyes away from the fire and looked Kit over slowly. "Thank you, Kit."

He was stunned. He hadn't actually expected Roman to thank him. "Yeah, you're welcome. If we're done, I need to get home. I had plans tonight. I mean, I don't expect you to care since I'm pretty much just your mule at this point, but..."

"Are you done?"

That dismissiveness was really starting to grate on Kit's nerves. "I'm not done, no. I want you to apologize for this past week. I want you to say you're sorry for being a fucking dick to me. And I want you to apologize for being nice to me over the weekend, only to turn around and spit in my face when we got back to work." He stared Roman down, shaking his head a bit in hopes that would garner a response.

Roman took a long drink from his glass and set it down on the end table. He pushed himself up from the chair. Kit couldn't tell whether he was trying to intimidate him or what, but to prove that he was serious about expecting an apology, he stepped forward and set his jaw.

"Say you're sorry."

"I didn't mean to—"

Kit pushed the man's chest, causing him to step back just an inch. "Say it. Don't talk your way out of this, don't give me some bullshit spiel you'd give one of your clients, don't do any of that. Look me in my face and apologize for treating me like shit."