I was a little bit stuck with this chapter, so I hope it sounds alright :-)

Chapter Eight

The thumping beat pulsating from my earphones calls for every fibre in my body to dance. I shake my hips from side to side as I slide down the hallway on my socks. I could easily get used to this - a sweet paycheck for dancing in the beautiful apartment.

Holding my phone up, I shake it to another song and start dancing. The opening beat is catchy, so much it's easy enough to awkwardly bop from side to side.

"My names blurry face and I . . ." I stop singing when I see the light on the elevator pop on. I straighten up and tuck the phone into my back pocket.

When the door opens, a stressed out Kade storms into the entrance. He's carrying a couple of shopping bags in one hand and a dry cleaning bag in the other.

"Hi?" I call out, unsure of what else to say.

Kade stops in his path and turns to face me with an unamused look on his face. The sight of his on edge appearance has me wincing back. I don't want to piss him off today, especially not after the wonderful outing we had last night.

"I have a business dinner tonight. A black cocktail dress should be sufficient," he says.

Kade sharply turns back to his designed route and continues forwards. As I watch him fade down the hall, I nod my head. Sure, black cocktail dress, I'm sure I have one of those somewhere.

I walk back towards the bedroom and search through the wardrobe for a black cocktail dress to wear. I'm pleasantly surprised to have three options available to me.

One's rather sparkly, so I instantly push that one aside. I don't think a formal dinner calls for sparkly attire, which rules out the second option as well. I grab the third dress off the hanger and head into the bathroom to shower.

I scrub at my skin, wash my hair, and then rinse my body from the soapy substance before stepping out and drying off. I wrap the towel around my body and reach for the hairdryer on the bench. I blow the warm air over my body before turning it on my hair. The air whips through the wet strands and begins to dry. The only issue is the slight frizz to my hair. I'm going to need to straighten that.

Once my hair is dry, I put on my underwear and slip into the figure hugging dress. The tightness of the fabric pushes the air out of my lungs and shows off my physic. I'm self-conscious of the way it makes my stomach look a little pudgy. Maybe if it was a little tighter, it would snap everything into place.

I straighten my hair, put on a light layer of make-up and accessorise the outfit with a necklace and a pair of stud earrings. I find a pair of low heels to complete the outfit.

Once I'm done, I walk out of the bedroom and down the hall in search for Kade. I hear the sound of food sizzling in the pan, which immediately alerts me to Kade's presence. I make my way to the kitchen and stand in the doorway.

"You look nice, Lydia," compliments Kade.

"Thanks." I smile.

Kade looks down at the pan and keeps cooking. It's only on further inspection that I see the frazzled look on his face. He's still dressed in his work attire, but with a couple of buttons undone and his blue tie discarded on the kitchen stool.

"Um, do you need some help?" I offer.

"Yes, can you watch the pan?" I walk around the kitchen bench and take over for Kade. I slowly stir the sauce in the pan and watch Kade. He grabs the garment bag off the kitchen stool and unzips it. He takes out the new shirt and hangs it over the stool.

Kade slowly undresses and tosses his shirt into the garment bag. The sight of his bare muscular chest makes me forget about the pan in front of me.

"Is the food okay?" he asks.

I quickly snap out of my trance and smile.

"All good," I say as I stir it.

As Kade puts on the new shirt, I keep my mind distracted by asking questions.

"How come you're cooking dinner?" I ask. Somehow, it surprises me that Kade is cooking dinner himself for this business deal, but then again, with the amazing food he's prepared for me, why not?

"I hired someone to prepare and serve the meal, but they quit on me last minute. I couldn't get someone else to fill in, so I decided to cook myself," explains Kade.

"Oh, that sucks," I comment.

"Indeed." He nods his head.

When Kade is completely dressed, he returns to the stove and finishes cooking. He delicately plates up the food and then I take the plate from the bench and place it on the table. I grab the cutlery, wine glasses, and table napkins and lay them out with the addition of a few other ornaments on the table to make it look nice.

When the elevator door pings, Kade rushes from the kitchen and to the entry to great his incoming guests. I quickly straighten up the cutlery before joining him in the entry. The elevator doors open and two people step out.

A bright smile tugs onto Kade's lip, the frazzled and stressed out man slowly slipping behind his outwards façade.

"Hi Richard," he pleasantly greats.

"Kade, nice to see you again," mutters Richard.

He bypasses Kade so that he can stand in front of me. His dark green eyes scan over mine. The intensity of his gaze leaves me squirming backwards with uneasiness.

"Alessia." He nods, his voice more of a warning than a greeting. The young woman behind him coughs awkwardly, which captures Richard's wandering attention. "A please as always," he murmurs.

"The same can be said to you, Richard." I lower my gaze to the ground.

Richard steps into line the young girl and looks towards Kade for a brief moment. His eyes wander back to my body as he begins to ease into a new conversation.

"Your trip to America seems to have done you well," he compliments.

"Thank you." I smile, "It sure has."

Kade wraps his arm around my waist and looks towards the woman. She brushes her silky brown hair over her shoulder and smiles. The woman's eyes don't soften with kindness, which leaves me feeling iffy about the woman. I don't know who she is and I'm not getting a good impression from her.

"This is my enchanting fiancée, Ebony," introduces Richard.

Ebony doesn't offer much of a response but an awkward smile and a tilt to her head. Richard shoots her a look of annoyance which seems to get her moving.

"Your dress is beautiful, Alessia," she compliments. "You must tell me where you got it." Ebony steps forwards and hooks her arm through mine. I guide her down the hallway and towards the kitchen. Before we walk around the corner, I glance over my shoulder to see them laughing.

At least their business talk is already going well. I feel like Richard is a man who seeks pleasure in more things than just his flimsy fiancée. I don't want to be in line for his amusement.

Ebony and I take a seat across from each other. I look towards Kade and he smiles. Once we're all seated, Kade thanks them for coming. We start eating and Richard pays compliments to the chef – unknowing that Kade is the one who prepared the meal.

Kade and Richard laugh - the kind that feels half fake, but sort of real. Ebony tries to dive into a conversation with me, but her lack of people skills trip her up. I find myself more inclined to listen to Kade and Richard's conversation than talk about clothing.

Richard finishes his glass of wine, which prompts Kade to stand up. Before he can leave the table, I get up and place my hand on his shoulder. I don't want to be left alone with Richard and Ebony. I feel as if they'd tear me apart.

"Please Kade, sit. I'll get the drinks."

"Thank you, Alessia." Kade takes a seat and I walk off. I hear another chair move, so I look over my shoulder and see Ebony getting up.

"I'll help too," she announces.

Ebony and I walk into the kitchen and I grab the wine bottle out of the fridge and place it on the bench. Ebony stands close beside me . . . a little too close for my liking.

"I know it was you," she mutters under her breath, annoyance ringing in her voice.

"What?" I frown. "What are you talking about?"

"You stole my boyfriend!" Her voice is whiny, which makes me roll my eyes.

I can't stand girls like this. No wonder Richard seems to keep an aura of annoyance when it comes to Ebony. She feels rather clingy and over the top - and I've only known her for about twenty minutes. I can't imagine being engaged to her.

"Who, Kade?"

"No, Johnny," she says.

"I don't know a Johnny, sorry."

Before Ebony has the chance to accuse me of something else, I grab the bottle of wine and walk towards the table. I hand Kade the wine and take a seat in the chair. I smile at the two of them and continue eating my meal.

Kade pours wine into everyone's glasses and then continues talking. At the end of the meal, Kade and Richard get up and excuse themselves to Kade's office.

"I hope that's okay?" says Richard. "I'd hate to leave the mess to you, Alessia."

"No, it's fine." I smile. "I'm more than happy to clean up."

Richard and Kade start walking towards the hallway and Ebony tries to follow. Richard catches onto her, so he straightens out her direction.

"Ebony, why don't you help Alessia?" Despite it being a suggestion, I can hear the warning in his voice.

"Okay." She nods her head, a sense of anger playing on her young features.

I try to keep myself busy - I rush around the table grabbing the plates and moving them to the bench. Ebony does the same, but collects the wine glasses, finishing them off as she places them on the table.

I scrape off the places and put them into the sink to wash. I could place them in the dishwasher, but I'm afraid of having to make a conversation with Ebony. I'm sure she'll accuse me of stealing something else - perhaps her dog, or even a tube of lipstick?

Ebony stands on the other side of the table and frowns at me. I scrub at the sauce on the plate to get away from her attention, but it doesn't work . . . I don't know what Alessia was doing, but I doubt she was stealing this girls boyfriend. I bet he dumped her annoying butt.

"I know you did it," she yells, "tell me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say.

"Don't play games with me!" Ebony grabs one of the dirty plates off the table and throws it on the ground. It smashes into a couple of pieces and scatters in different directions.

Thankfully, the noise captures their attention. Both Kade and Richard come running into the kitchen to suss out what's happening. Kade's shocked, while Richard's facial expression erupts into anger.

"What's happening?" asks Kade.

"Uh." I look towards Ebony, waiting for her to explain.

Ebony pouts and looks back at me. I shrug my shoulders and gasp. What should I say? Ebony thinks I stole her boyfriend to her current fiancee? I don't think that's going to work out well.

"Kade, I'll talk to you tomorrow for the details. But you can consider it accepted. Ebony, we should be going now." Richard storms off and Ebony follows in suit. Kade rushes to follow, so I follow as well.

Kade and I say goodbye to them. When the doors are closed, Kade jumps in the air and screams out with happiness. He wraps his arms around my body and swings me around.

"We did it," he calls out with excitement.

"That's great, Kade, I'm happy for you." I don't know what kind of business when down, but I'm glad things went well. Kade seems stressed out before hand, so I'm glad it's over.

"We make a good team," says Kade.

"What, you cook and I clean?" I laugh.

I don't think I'd be good at much else, business wise at least. I'm not good with numbers and I'm afraid of screwing up. I'd hate to be in Kade's position, at that point where one wrong move could mean you lose millions of dollars. I cry over losing a couple of coins let alone thousands!

"What happened in the kitchen?" he asks.

Ugh, the thought of Ebony and her whiny voice makes me internally groan! How does Richard do it? I don't understand. She must have a use, otherwise I don't see why she'd be hanging around.

"Ebony thinks I stole her boyfriend, so she smashed a plate in anger. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry, plates are easily replaced." Kade shrugs his shoulders.

"If you say so." I smile. It's not like I smashed the plate, but I still feel guilty about it.

"Now, dessert?" he offers.

"Sure, what did you prepare?" I'm not denying any of his food, it's amazing!

"Chocolate mousse."

"Yum!" Flicking off my heels, I run down the hallway and into the kitchen. I go straight to the fridge and look through it to find the mousse. It's on one of the middle shelves in fancy bowls. I grab two out and then source out some spoons.

Instead of walking around, I take a seat on the bench and smile. Kade walks into the kitchen and grabs the mousse off the counter.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's really good, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Once I'm finished eating, I put the bowl in the sink and say goodnight. Kade nods his head, his mind buzzing with thoughts. I leave the kitchen and collect my shoes off the floor on the walk to the bedroom. 

When I'm inside, I strip out of my clothing and grab my pyjamas off the end of the bed. Slipping them on, I go under the covers and snuggle under the blanket.

There's a knock on the door, which takes me by surprise. I lean up and look at the door with anticipation. 

"Yes?" I call out.

"Lydia?" he asks.

"Yes, Kade?"

"Goodnight," says Kade.

"Goodnight, Kade." I frown. 

I wonder what he was going to say.  

***** 

AUTHORS NOTE

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really enjoy writing this book : )

QUESTION

What do you think about Kade and Lydia?

What's your favourite dessert? Mines chocolate mousse!

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