Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 266

In fact, the slower he was, the better.

Kira didn't want anyone else to be still at the office when Austyn came down.

'What are you still doing here?' Lexi trotted over. Are you staying back for overtime?'

Kira smiled. 'I'm just about to leave. Just needed to send one last email.'

'All right. I'll head out first. See you tomorrow."

'See you.'

Kira kept her head down and waited for the office to empty.

What He Sulking About Now

Ten minutes later, she shut off the computer and stood up.

She was the

only one left in the bullpen.

Ten minutes passed.

Austyn didn't show.

Kira checked her phone and tapped her foot on the floor.

'You could hurry up a little, you know,' she grumbled.

Another ten minutes and three levels of Angry Birds 2 later, the man was still a no-show.

'Have I been stood up?" Kira quit the game and called Austyn.

It was picked up after one ring.

"You're late. I'm leaving.'

'I'll be there right away. Stay put.'

""But I want to-

"You want to stay put and wait for me. Give me five minutes.

Austyn hung up.

Kira pulled a face at the screen.

Austyn logged out of his computer, slammed the file shut, stood up, grabbed the suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair and hastened out. He had not lost track of time.

When it was ten minutes past six, he saved his work but remained in his seat, keeping both eyes on his phone.

A relationship webinar he took secretly told him that sometimes, the man should give the woman a chance to take the initiative.

Calling first and calling too often made one seem needy.

Three minutes passed.

Kira didn't call.

Austyn checked his phone to see if it was still on

It was.

Five minutes passed.

Then six, seven, eight.

hari ke Sulking About Now

He drummed a finger on the desk and stared at his phone.

Why was the woman so patient?

Shouldn't she have called by now?

When she finally did, Austyn answered the call on the first ring.

He bounded out of the office and took the lift down to the 28th floor.

The moment he stepped out of the lift, he saw Kira rushing towards him.

A smile broke out on his face.

Austyn stood straighter and spread out both arms.

Instead of hugging him, however, Kira dashed into the lift and stabbed the button to close the doors.

She sounded out of breath. 'Phew! No one saw us!?

It was just the two of them in the lift.

Kira stood in front of Austyn, watching the numbers jump from 28 to 27, then to 26, willing it to go faster. Austyn crossed his arms and stared at the back of her head.

When the lift landed on the basement level, Kira shot out an arm to prevent him from going out. 'Wait!'

She kept her body inside the lift but poked her head out the door, scanning both directions.

'Okay. No one's here. You can come out now."

She darted her eyes around on the short walk to the Hummer.

Austyn followed her without a word.

When the car doors slammed shut, she finally breathed out. 'Where's Kai?'

'He has things to do. Do you prefer his driving to mine?' Austyn asked with a stony face.

Kira didn't notice his look.

She was busy buckling up. 'Not at all, I was just curious."

Austyn got in the driver's seat.

'What you waiting for?' Kira urged him to start the car.

'Get in the front."

"Why?"

'I'm not your chauffeur.'

Kira wanted to throw up her hands.

The backseat was so much more spacious than the front.

But in the end, she gave up, climbed out of the backseat, exited the car and got in the front passenger seat. 'Happy? Can we go now?'

Austyn started the engine.

Kira was glad the Hummer had privacy glass on the windows.

Everyone recognised the president's car, but no one could see that she was inside.

She glanced out the window.

"Where are we going? This isn't the way home.

Austyn drove in silence and ignored her.

Kira turned to look at him.

What was he sulking about now?

The man's mood changed faster than the traffic lights.

Kira reviewed their interactions of the day, trying to identify ways she might have inadvertently offended him.

But she gave up a minute later.

Austyn McCarthy was 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

Who knew what could have ticked him off?

Kira slid down lower on the seat, yawned and closed her eyes.

She'd had a long day at the office.

When she woke up, she felt utterly refreshed.

The car had stopped outside a shop with a red awning.

Ambjoy Makeover.

Ambush Makeover

'Boss, Young Madam.' Kai opened the door for Kira.

'What is this place?' Kira was led into the shop before she had a chance to see the signboard.

Kai stepped aside.

Kira found herself surrounded by four people.

One had a pair of scissors in his hands.

One held a makeup brush.

One carried a dress in a dry-cleaning bag.

The last one held her by the wrist and gently pulled her into an adjoining room.

'Hey! What are you- Kira was dragged away before she could ask Kai for help.

She forgot her question when she saw the inside of the room.

Portable racks laden with shimmering dresses dazzled her eyes.

Two tall shelves stood against a wall, overflowing with necklaces, bracelets, earrings and so much more bling.

The woman who pulled her inside led her to a chair in front of a vanity mirror lined with tiny .white lights.

She sized Kira up and whispered something to her assistant.

Kira became a life-sized Barbie doll, with the team of stylists playing dress-up on her.

She was asked to change into one dress, then another, and another.

She stepped into and out of dozens of pairs of shoes.

A stylist put necklaces and bracelets on her and shook her head at Kira's unpierced ears.

A hairdresser undid her ponytail and went to work on her hair.

A makeup artist put good-smelling powder on her face.

Kira was in a daze.

She felt like an unwitting participant in 'Ambush Makeover.'

Austyn must have put them up to this.

Hair, makeup, dress, shoes, accessories....

Kira endured it with a stole face.

Ambyth Makeover

Whatever game Austyn was playing, she would play along so long as she wasn't the one picking up the tab.

212

With the makeup artist standing in front of her and blocking the mirror, Kira had no idea what she looked like.

She hoped they didn't turn her into a clown.

Austyn cooled his heels on a sofa outside the room.