"Are you ready?" Kelvin asked.
They were preparing to leave for the office. He tucked the keys into his pocket, eyes sweeping over the living room to be sure he wasn't forgetting anything. After a phone call to the driver to skip work this morning, he was ready to drop his wife.
It was weird. They had been married for more than two months and all their car rides were with the driver. With his briefcase in one hand, he stalked to his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek. Leila didn't shy away from him and he was glad about that. Little by little, he would tear down the walls around her heart.
"You look so pretty," he whispered against her red lips. The black pencil gown hugged her frame and the naughty part of him wanted to bunch it at her waist and finger her. Until his dick was allowed inside her, he would make wise use of his fingers. Leila smoothed his jacket, she kissed him and backed away before he could react. The fluttering in his chest made him smile harder. It was a weird feeling but he liked it. "Can you drive?"
"No. Not really," his wife replied. She grabbed her handbag from the couch, spared the living room one last glance and headed for the door. "Can you?"
Kelvin snickered. "Of course I can." He opened the door for her and she stepped out. His mood was better and it was mainly because of his wife. They stopped at the elevator. "No or not really, which is it?"
They got into the elevator. Standing on opposite sides openly accessing each other, Kelvin caught a glimpse of the Leila he met in Korea. Relaxed and happy.
"I haven't had much driving practice," she answered.
Holding the car keys to her face, he opened her palm and placed the car fob. "You can practise today."
Her mouth dropped open, his mind zeroed in on her lips and how they moved. "What if I crash the car?"
Painfully taking a step back, he offered her his arm and replied, "Then we will get a new one."
They stepped out of the building with their hands interlocked, Leila spent minutes staring at the Porsche instead of getting in. Kelvin opened the driver's door and tried to push her in but she didn't budge.
Planting her hands firmly on the roof of the car, she asked, "Kev, are you sure about this?"
The garage was empty, so no one could watch their exchange. He pinched her butt and her eyes narrowed in warning but it only made him do it again.
"Yes, I'm sure." His nose brushed the skin of her neck. "Get in or we will be late."
This time, she listened. He buckled her seatbelt and rewarded her with another kiss. When he was inside the car, he checked his phone for new messages. Since he missed work yesterday and would be absent today, he had a few things to sort out. Amara was already on them but the CEO in him couldn't resist checking in every few minutes.
Leila started the car, he kept mute when she turned too fast. The road was empty so she got away with it but Kelvin was wary. A new text came in from Freya, she was at their meeting point. He sent a short reply and put his phone away.
"Relax," he told his wife. She was gripping the steering too tight. In the coolness of the car, she was still sweating. Her side profile was rigid. It was just a car. He would get a new one if anything happened to this. "I'm here. You are fine. You're doing great, Leila."
The car slowed at the traffic light and she wiped her hands on her gown. "You're only saying that to make me feel better."
"Not true."
But she wasn't listening. With his head against the window, he closed his eyes. Maybe if he kept silent, she would relax. A tap on his shoulder and he looked out of the window to the familiar walls of Tech Valley. They were a few metres away from it but the building was too tall to be ignored.
Leila picked her handbag. Her hair was down her shoulders the way he liked it and she was grinning. "How did I do?"
"Good."
A cute eye roll and a kiss later, she bid him farewell. Because she didn't want them to be seen together, he could only wave from inside the car. A strangeness enveloped him as he drove past the office without her in the car. He was getting too used to her presence.
Freya was sipping something red from a glass when he joined her. She stood and he waved off her formality immediately. If Leila trusted her, maybe he could too. If he wanted to handle Charles, he needed someone who could provide all the necessary information.
The restaurant was empty. They sat down in silence for the first few minutes. Freya laughed. He was making her nervous. People were always intimidated by him but he didn't want that from his wife's best friend. He wanted to learn about Leila through her.
"Hi," he finally said.
"Hi," she replied with a small wave.
Freya was pretty. He would give her that but no one came close to his Leila. "Do you want anything else?"
"No, thanks." She put away her drink and drummed her fingers on the table. The carvings on the table intrigued him, his eyes followed the intricate pattern while his mind rehearsed his questions. Freya sighed. "Why am I here, Mr McKenna?"
Pulling out a file from his briefcase, he passed it to her. They were details about Darren's project. He didn't fully understand the concept yet but he knew someone who could help. This meeting should have been held with Darren but Darren didn't have the answers he wanted. Freya barely glanced at the file, maybe she also knew he was using this meeting as a cover.
"How long have you been friends with Leila?"
Some of her nervousness ebbed at the mention of a familiar name. Freya took a long sip of her drink.
"Long enough."
Her best friend was going to make this tough. He gripped his knees. "Long enough to know Charles Black?"
Colour drained from her face, she recovered but not fast enough for him to note her reaction. She knew whatever happened with Leila and he wanted to know that. Wiping her lips with the napkin folded on the table, she cocked her head and sized him up properly for the first time. Now, he wished she was still intimidated by him. It would have been easier to get information from her.
"She told you about him?" The statement was incomplete, their eyes locked for a brief second and she finished her drink in one gulp. "What do you want, Mr McKenna?"
"To help your husband," he replied.
Freya scoffed. He swiped his fingers through the tips of his hair. This wasn't going well.
"Don't bullshit me, Mr McKenna."
Placing a hand on the table, brows wrinkled, he said, "If you would please stop calling me Mr McKenna. Call me Kelvin." Freya crossed her arms, whatever secret of Leila she was guarding he was almost certain she would protect it with her life. "I want to help my wife, your best friend."
"By doing a secret marriage, right?"
Kelvin sagged in his seat. They had never discussed the settings of their marriage and Leila hadn't minded. She had seemed relieved at the secretiveness of the whole arrangement. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. They didn't know each other as well as he thought.
"Do you or do you not want to help her?" he asked.
Freya's fists met the table silently, she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to quiz him. "What do you want to know?"
"Did he do anything?" He didn't need a genius to tell him Charles was the asshole behind Leila's hurt. But what he didn't know for sure were the details. "Did he...?"
The weight of his unspoken words made his chest hurt. Her aversion to sex was unusual. Charles didn't have a violent record. Then again, he didn't know till she told him he was a violent drunk. His cousin was influential too. With the right amount, he could fix his reputation. His eyes flitted to Freya. Her hands were clenched on the table, lips pressed into a harsh line.
"No." A breath of relief left him. "But he almost did." Freya flexed her fingers, she was no longer looking at him. "Leila thinks it's not a big deal since almost doesn't kill a bird but yeah, she can't even get a guy to fuck her." Kelvin winced at her choice of words. Too blunt. Too crude for his innocent Leila. "Excuse my French."
"It's alright." It wasn't but he asked her for it. He slipped a card and his phone out of his pocket. Scanning through his contact list, he found the numbers he was looking for and wrote them behind the card. "This is my assistant's number." He underlined Amara's number and circled the second. "This is the CEO of Index."
Index was one of the biggest 3D video game companies in California. Getting an appointment with the CEO without knowing the right people was equivalent to passing a camel through the eye of a needle. Freya's eyes widened for the briefest of moments. The man could change her husband's life if he liked his idea.
"Contact her before you go to see him, she will get you an appointment."
Freya nodded, hand stretched to receive the card. Kelvin didn't slide the card to her and he felt like such an asshole for taking advantage of his wife's best friend. But he had to know.
"One more question. What about her parents? She never talks about them. Where are they?"
Freya cracked down with laughter but no sound escaped her. She snatched her handbag from the chair beside her and stood. "I think we are done here, Mr McKenna. Have a good day."
"Wait." She stopped. He pushed the card to her but she didn't take it. They both stared at it. Kelvin didn't have all the answers he needed and the only two people who could help were proving difficult. "Give her a call when you are ready." Another second passed and he added harshly, "Take it, Freya. Your husband needs it."
A heartbeat later, she snatched the card from the table. In a calmer voice, she said, "Thanks."