by Siren Allen
It wasn’t like he could see her through the door. She made it past his door with no issues. She should be happy, elated. Instead, she felt slightly disappointed. Willow sighed as she passed the secretary’s desk. Ms. Lynn looked up at her and smiled.
“I love the dress Willow.”
“Thanks Lynn. How’s your day going?”
“Good. I have a meeting with our interim GM later today.” Lynn blushed.
Willow felt the sudden urge to punch Lynn in the throat. Rolling her eyes, she continued to the elevator. Stupid Lynn. If Kang had any sense, he’d fire the woman. She was a hoe with a capital H.
Everyone knew that she slept around with managers. She didn’t care if they were married or not. Now, it seemed Kang was her new target. If Kang fell for someone like Lynn, Willow would be shocked.
Then again, she didn’t know this Kang. He wasn’t the same guy she’d grown up with. Willow pressed the elevator button. Arms folded over her chest, she waited for the doors to open. Stupid ass doors that took forever to open.
Stupid ass Kang and stupid ass hoe Lynn. Willow rubbed her hand through her straight hair that she rarely wore down. Why was she stressing over whether or not Kang got with Lynn?
They were both grown adults. They could do whatever they wanted. It had nothing to do with her. Finally, Willow thought, when the elevator doors opened. Her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw who was standing in the elevator.
Kang.
Stop racing heart, before you race out of my chest, Willow silently told her heart. And pussy, if you get turned on, I’m going to trade you in for a new one.
Kang’s dark gaze roamed over her. Her pussy disobeyed. Arousal bloomed inside of her.
I warned you pussy, you’re getting turned in for a newer model. A model that doesn’t get wet whenever a man stares at me the way Kang is staring at me.
Kang licked his lips. Did she just cum a little bit in her panties? Impossible. Willow shivered. She swallowed then forced herself to step to the side.
“Sorry, I’m in your way,” she told him. Get off the elevator so I can go.
“I’m not getting off,” he told her.
What? Why? “Oh,” was all that came out. The doors started to close. He pressed the button to keep them open. “Get on the elevator Willow.”
I’m scared, she thought. Scared of being alone with you. Scared of what we might do.
“Get on the elevator,” Kang told her again.
Gritting her teeth, Willow stepped forward, wondering if she could make it to the stairs before he caught her. She didn’t want to look like a fool, so she stepped onto the elevators then faced forward, back to him, and watched the doors close, sealing them inside.
Alone. Together. Again. Shit. Willow clutched her hands together in front of her and stood there, silently watching the numbers tick down. She was almost to her floor. She just needed to make it to her floor.
Kang was silent also. Another plus. Lady luck was on her side for a change. Maybe the power of the magic phallus was really working. Maybe it was keeping away negative energy. Kang hadn’t said one negative word yet.
Her number came up. Willow tapped her foot impatiently as the doors slowly slid open. Once they were open, she stepped out, pretending to be calm, when really her heart was sprinting.
She told herself not to look back once she was off the elevator. Like her heart and her pussy, her mind wasn’t listening to her. She stepped off the elevator, took two steps forward then looked back. The look in Kang’s eyes held her frozen in place. The doors began to shut.
He opened his mouth. “I love you, Willow. Please don’t shut me out again.”
Willow gasped. The doors shut. He was gone. The words he’d left behind brought tears to her eyes.
I love you, Willow. Please don’t shut me out again.
Damn it. Why did he have to say those words? Of all the words in the dictionary, why those. Willow touched her hand to her chest. Why was her heart hurting?
“You okay?”
She looked up to see Dez standing beside her. “Um...” She cleared her throat. There was no point in lying to Dez. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong?”
Willow shook her head. “I don’t know.” And that was the truth.
“Is it He Who Must Not Be Named?”
Willow nodded.
“What did he do now?”
Willow glanced at the closed elevator door. “He... uh.... He told me he loved me.”
“You’re lying.”
Willow shook her head. “I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried to.”
“And what did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“What did you think? Truthfully?”
There was only one phrase that crossed her mind after hearing his declaration of love.
“I thought... I love you too.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. BFF meeting in the bathroom. Now! I’m texting Kizzy to meet us.”
“He said he loves me, Dez.”
“Screw that. He’s been mean to you for years now.”
“I know.”
“You hate him, remember? You hate him so much, that after his mom’s birthday dinner, when he pissed you off, we went back to his mom’s house that night and put all of his tires on flat. Remember when we did that?”
“I do.”
“Then keep that same energy.”
“But, why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Why am I resisting it? I... I love him Dez.”
“Willow! If this was the past, I would say go for it. Actually, in college, I did tell you to go for it. You chose not to. And now, he’s shown his true colors. He’s been mean to you for years.”
“True. But I broke his heart.”
“Oh well. He should grow a pair and get over it.”
“But the way I did it...”
“Yeah, it was ruthless...”
“If he’d done that to me, you and Kizzy would still be terrorizing him.”
“Okay, let’s stop bringing up the past.”
Willow chuckled. “I have to admit my faults.”
“You also have to recognize his.”
“I do.”
“Does his good outweigh his bad?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know this Kang. He’s not the guy I grew up with. He’s different, colder.”
“Exactly. And he’s leaving in a few months. Don’t get attached to a puff of smoke. Here one second, gone the next. L.I.G that shit. Let. It. Go.”
Dez was right. Kang was only here for a few months. She couldn’t allow her feelings for him to show. And she had to ignore his feelings for her. There was too much bad blood between the two of them for them to be anything other than friends.
And right now, they weren’t even friends. According to the oracle she’d met last night, she needed to open up her mind and let love in, let friends in. If she and Kang could be friends, that would be better than being enemies.
“I can’t be in a relationship with him,” Willow told Dez. “I’m not built for that type of relationship. However, if he’s willing, I would like to be his friend again. I do miss talking to him. I miss hearing him laugh.” I miss everything about him.
“What if he’s not able to be your friend?”
Willow sighed. “Then, we’ll go back to being enemies.” And that would be tragic. Willow wiped her eyes. “No need for a BFF meeting in the bathroom. I’m good. I know what I need to do and if it doesn’t work, oh well.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to ask him to be your friend?”
“I am.” She had to work up the courage to do so first.
“If he rejects you, I’ll key his car for you, okay?”
Willow chuckled. “I got bail money ready for you.”
“That’s my chick. Let’s get back to work.”
Willow followed Dez to the marketing area. For the r
est of the day, she tried her best not to think about Kang. Yet, his last words to her were on repeat in her mind. Every time she saw him, she ran the other way.
A couple of times she nearly fell down trying to get away from him. Her heart damn near stopped beating when Lee called her cubicle phone and asked her to come to his office. Luckily, Kang had been in a meeting with Secretary Lynn.
Hearing that the coast was clear had cheered her up. Hearing why the coast was clear had pissed her off. She refused to think about why she was pissed off by hearing that. Her day got a lot brighter when Lee told her that Kang approved her campaign.
They could now move forward with scent testing. That news brought a huge smile to her face. This was the first big campaign her team had ever gotten. They would do their best to make it a huge success.
Working on the campaign kept her and her team busy for the rest of the week. Which was a good thing for Willow. It helped her avoid Kang. They had to leave their office and venture to other businesses in order to do the scent testing and bottle design.
Willow was able to make it through the week without one single Kang incident. Even though she was able to avoid Kang, she couldn’t avoid hearing about him from the Gossip Queen.
According to Stephanie, Kang and his team were going through each department meticulously. He’d also had meetings with the head of their department, Olivia. In fact, he’d had three meetings with her.
There was a rumor going around the department that Olivia may be losing her job soon. Willow didn’t want anyone to lose their job, but she didn’t feel one bit sorry for Olivia. The woman was evil.
On Friday, Willow came face to face with evil. And it all happened because she was trying to take the stairs to avoid meeting Kang on the elevator. Who knew that Olivia would take the stairs too?
Willow smiled at Olivia in passing on the stairs and was shocked when the woman grabbed her arm. Willow stared down at Olivia’s hand then up at Olivia. I know this bitch didn’t just grab me like that. Keep it professional Willow. Keep cool.
“Can I help you?” Willow asked, before jerking out of Olivia’s grasp.
“I know you’re the reason I’m being fired.”
“Excuse me?” Olivia had been fired? Really? Yes! Wait, that was mean. “Um, what do I have to do with you being fired?”
Olivia stepped closer to Willow. “Which one of the higher ups are you fucking?”
“Wait a damn minute. You can’t talk to me like that.”
“I can talk to you however I want. I’m no longer an employee at Royal Cosmetics.”
“Which means you can catch this ass whooping, since you’re no longer an employee at Royal Cosmetics.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth.
Willow spoke up before the vile woman could say something she’d regret. “I’m going to pretend this didn’t just happen. Don’t push me Olivia. You’ve only seen the work Willow. You haven’t seen the, Stomp A Bitch Out Willow. But, you’re getting ready to make her acquaintance.”
“You little...”
The stairwell door opened. Kang entered the stairwell. Damn it. It had to be him. Of all the people who could’ve stepped out, he had to be the one who did so.
“Olivia, I thought I told you to pack your office and be out within the hour. Do you need me to have security escort you out?”
“This isn’t fair. I’ve been here for seven years. Seven. I’ve never been written up. I’ve never...”
“You’ve never done your job. No quality work has been put out by you in those seven years. And when quality work did cross your desk, you shoved it aside because of a personal vendetta.”
This was not her business. Willow moved to the door.
“It’s not my fault this bitch doesn’t come up with useful ideas,” Olivia yelled.
This bitch? What bitch? Willow whirled around.
“Please tell me you’re talking about me? Please tell me I’m the bitch you’re referring to? I want to be that bitch. Say it.”
Olivia opened her mouth.
Kang spoke up before she could. “Willow’s team have had consistently good proposals, but you rejected them all because Willow broke up with your cousin.”
“Her cousin?” This was the first time Willow had heard of this. “I don’t know Olivia’s cousin.”
“What’s his name? Lucas?” Kang asked.
“Lucas White? He’s your cousin? He’s the reason you don’t like me?”
Olivia didn’t say anything. Her silence said it all.
“Your cousin cheated on me with a few bartenders. And a few of his club patrons.”
“He said...”
“Fuck what he said. And fuck you for treating me the way you did because of him. That’s unprofessional and I’m glad you got fired.” Willow whirled around. “Move,” she yelled at Kang. She was pissed off.
“I see you can still raise hell, Kitten,” Kang whispered. “But don’t let people like her take you there.”
And just like that, her anger dropped a notch. She didn’t want him to be able to calm her down. “Please, move.”
He stepped to the side. She stormed out of the stairwell, leaving the two of them alone. She didn’t slow down until she reached the bathroom and stormed into one of the stalls. She slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it.
Fucking Olivia. All this time the woman had disliked her because of limp dick Lucas. The idiot popped Viagra like it was skittles and still had a hard time getting it up. She’d been happy he cheated.
It gave her an excuse to end things with him. She didn’t know what lies he told Olivia to make Olivia hate her. She also didn’t care. Fuck Olivia and fuck him. She refused to let either of them bring negative energy into her life.
“No more negative energy,” She told herself. “Only positive vibes.”
Her phone rang. She stared down at it. It was Kang. Fuck! She sent it to voicemail. A text came through.
“Please don’t be Kang.” Willow opened the text. It was from Dez.
Dez: Kizzy and I are going to Chattanooga tonight for a party. Stephanie invited us. It sounds like fun. You should come too. We figured we’d get a room and stay the night and come back to Atlanta tomorrow. You down?”
Willow closed the message. No, she wasn’t down. She wasn’t in the mood to party. She’d spend her Friday night how she always spent her Friday nights.
Netflix and ice cream.
Chapter Ten
He called her three times that day.
Each called had gone to voicemail. She was ignoring him. Why the fuck was she ignoring him? He’d kept his distance, for the most part, like his friends asked him. By now, she should’ve calmed down and be ready to talk.
“They say the weather is going to be bad tonight,” Shao said.
Kang stared up at the television mounted on the wall. For the past hour, he’d been nursing a beer while watching television with his friends. He had no idea what they were watching. Oh, it was the weather channel.
The newscaster on screen was talking about tornadoes that ripped through Alabama. That same storm system was heading to Atlanta. The weather guy said to be on high alert. It was a fast-moving system. Georgia was at a Tor Con 5.
“What’s a Tor Con 5?” Lee asked.
“That means there’s a fifty percent chance for tornados,” Kang told him.
The newscaster was now telling everyone in the Atlanta area to be on high alert. It was dark, so it would be hard to see the tornadoes, especially because they were rain-wrapped.
“What’s rain wrapped?” Lee asked.
“It’s raining so hard that you can’t see very good. There could be a tornado coming and you wouldn’t be able to see it.”
Kang sat his beer down on the table. “I have to go.” He stood and grabbed his keys.
“Hey,” Lee called out. “Didn’t you hear the weatherman? It’s storming out there and it’s only going to get worse.”
At the front door, Kan
g slipped his shoes on. “Willow is scared of bad weather.”
“Ohhh.”
“Still,” Nahm spoke up. “She has her roommates.”
“They’re scared of it also.”
“Who died and made you the savior of damsels in distress?” Nahm asked.
“I just want to check on her. I’ll be back.”
He was out the door before his roommates could say another word. With no umbrella, he raced to his car. He arrived at Willow’s apartment drenched. He didn’t think to get an umbrella before leaving.
He remembered that his mother told him she stayed in apartment three. He quickly made his way to apartment three and rang the doorbell. The wind was blowing hard. Tree branches swayed as the rain came down in sheets.
Kang leaned closer to the door and rang the bell again. Should he call her? Just when he was about to pull his phone out, he heard a small voice say, “What do you want?”
He stared up at the peep hole. She must’ve seen that it was him.
“Open the door. I’m getting wet.”
“If you were at your hotel, you wouldn’t be getting wet.”
Right, she didn’t know he’d purchased a house in Georgia.
“Willow, let me in. There’s a tornado warning. I heard it on the radio during my drive over.”
“If you heard it, why didn’t you turn around?”
“I came because I know you don’t like bath weather.”
There was pause.
“Is that still true? Are you still afraid of bad weather?”
Another pause.
Finally, she whispered, “Yes.”
“Your roommates are too. So, I’ve come to keep you guys company. Maybe you won’t be so afraid with somewhere else here.”
Another pause.
“My roommates went to Tennessee for the night.”
Even better. Now, he could be alone with his Willow.
“Even more reason to let me in. I don’t want you to be afraid.”
She was quiet for so long that he thought she was really going to leave him standing in the rain. He raised his hand to ring the bell again. The lock clicked, the door slowly opened. Willow stood there with the door slightly ajar, staring up at him.
